Applying to the right number of colleges
About this video
Counselors explain the three types of schools to apply to: reach schools you aren't confident you can get into, fit schools that match your grades and test scores, and backup (safety) schools that will very likely admit you. They suggest applying to about four of each.
You'll be able to
- define reach, fit and backup (safety) schools.
- sort example schools into these categories using grades and test scores.
- explain why a balanced list includes all three types.
Key words
- Reach school
- A school you're not confident you can get into because your grades or scores are below what it usually requires.
- Fit school
- A school where your grades and test scores are right within its usual range.
- Backup (safety) school
- A school that needs lower grades or scores than you have, so you can be pretty sure it will admit you.
Transcript
- So you always want to apply to three different types of schools. You want to apply to your reach schools. Your reach schools are going to be those schools that you're not going to necessarily confident that you can get into, but you have a strong pull towards wanting to apply to Yale let's say, but you were a 3.8 GPA student, your SAT scores just aren't strong enough and don't match what they outline as their requirements, you can definitely apply to those schools.
We call them reach schools, but you can write a compelling enough essay that you might catch the admissions department's attention to read over your essay and say, you know, we want to actually meet this student, see what the student is about and bring them onto our campus.
We think they have enough value and enough of a story in their background that they could bring diversity to our campus. Something unique about them. Then you have your fit schools.
- Those schools that are right within range with your grades and your test scores.
- Then you have your backup schools. So you are determined to go to college, that's where you want to be and so we always want to make sure that you have some sort of backup just in case. So these might be your...
- Schools that perhaps don't need as high a GPA or highest scores as you have and those are called safety's or schools that you can be pretty sure will admit you.
- We usually take the concept of applying four reach schools, four best fit schools and four backup schools and you'll have a whole range of opportunities with that mindset.
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