Once you have your most important criteria in mind, you can go about finding a range of colleges where you can thrive academically, socially, and financially. 

Crafting a balanced college list is key to maximizing your chances of admission and finding the best academic, social, and financial fit. Building a balanced list can seem tricky, but it’s actually a matter of using your criteria and widely available data and information on colleges.

Where to Find Colleges

Find colleges that might be a good fit by looking at your high school college platform, such as Naviance, Scoir, or Maia, or online resources, such as:

College Navigator 

Niche 

College Board 

Or guide books such as:

Fiske Guide to Colleges

Follow these three steps to create your balanced list of colleges 

1. Identify two or three schools where your grades, test scores, and interests make admission very possible. These are colleges where your stats sit in the middle 50% of accepted students or higher. These should be schools you would excitedly attend if admitted - not just safe bets. Be sure you can reasonably afford the tuition or qualify for aid as needed.

2. Add a couple of reach schools that you are genuinely interested in attending but where your chances of admission might be less than 50%, even down to below 20% at the most selective colleges. Make sure you have the grades and extracurricular involvement to be a competitive applicant so as not to waste the application fees. Our Guide to Highly Selective Colleges can help you understand what a competitive applicant looks like. Remember, reach schools should still be an affordable option for your family.

3. Consider two or three likely schools where your grades and scores are on the higher end of typically admitted students. These schools likely have higher acceptance rates, often 50% and up, but still offer programs you are excited about. And they may have honors programs that would make your experience similar to a more selective school.

Building a balanced list requires analyzing admission stats and being realistic about your chances. Including schools across all categories will maximize the options you have to choose from in the spring of your senior year of high school.