…the college search “‘two-step”

EVERY COLLEGE IS NOT FOR YOU: Know Your Strengths and Apply to Colleges that Value those Strengths.

Happily colleges and universities are not all the same. Step one of the college search process is to consider what you require in a college experience and identify a set of colleges that “match” your requirements. Step two is to realistically assess your strengths and weaknesses, review the application process of each of your “match” college comparing and determine those college admissions processes that will highlight your strengths.

“Factors in College Admissions”

Source: 2007 State of College Admissions NACAC
(National Association for College Admission Counseling)

Public vs. Private Institutions:
Note: Admissions Officers in public Institutions read on average 2.5 times more applications than their private counterparts.

Private colleges place a higher value on Tip Factors: essay/writing sample, interview counselor and teacher recommendations, work and extracurricular activities and demonstrated interest.

Private colleges attribute slightly more importance to strength of curriculum.

Public colleges are more likely to consider class rank to be considerably important, while private colleges rated it as moderately important.

Small vs. Large Colleges:

Larger colleges placed more emphasis on admission test scores than smaller colleges.
Smaller colleges attributed more importance to essay, interview, counselor and teacher recommendations, and demonstrated interest.

Comparing Colleges based on Selectivity Level:

More selective colleges place more emphasis on tip factors and the evolving academic factors. Because applicants to most selective institutions typically have similarly high grades and test scores, these colleges need more information. (Grades in college prep courses are of considerable importance to 85.7% as compared with grades in all classes are of considerable importance to 54.2%.)

More selective colleges placed slightly more emphasis on subject test scores (AP and IB) and SAT II scores.