How to choose which colleges to apply to?

There are nearly 6,000 colleges and universities in the United States. How to choose where to apply? 

Step 1: Ask yourself these questions first: 

• Which college attributes/characteristics would make a good fit for me?

  • Consider size; location-rural/urban/state/region; programs of study/majors; social life; academic rigor; extracurriculars; and athletics

  • Community College, State Universities or Private Liberal Arts Colleges (see below)

• What skills, experiences and perspectives can I bring that a college might be looking for?

  • Skills; academic strengths; gender/cultural/religious/geographic perspectives; athletics; artistic talent; etc.

• Consider Financial Fit

  • Have conversations with parents/guardians about debt, potential out-of-pocket costs and what is realistically affordable for you and your family.
  • Apply to Target and Reach schools regardless of the college's sticker price! Many colleges meet 100% of financial need. Students will receive financial aid offers in March/April and will then learn what their actual out-of-pocket costs will be. 
  • Revisit conversations about financial fit with parents/guardians in April/May after financial aid offers (including many scholarships) have been awarded. 
  • Most Jefferson students, regardless of GPA or extracurricular participation, can graduate from college debt free (or pretty close to it) if they choose to live at home and attend PCC  and/or PSU. 

Step 2: Consider colleges on the following lists

Start your search here: bigfuture.collegeboard.org, a college Search Tool that includes filters for:

Majors; Academic rigor; Gender; Sports; Greek life; Religion; Size; Location; Historically Black Colleges & Universities; Hispanic Serving Institutions; Tribal Colleges and Universities; Access to the Arts, and more!

• List of colleges with highest endowments. An “endowment” is essentially how much money a college has in the bank. Generally speaking, the higher the endowment, the greater the aid. Consider applying to a few colleges with high endowments. Many are highly selective - but others on this list are more accessible. 
• List of HBCU's with the highest amounts available for scholarships
• List of colleges that meet full need (Guarantee that they meet full financial need without having to take out loans)
• For college athletes, search for colleges in your sport on the NCSA website (includes NCAA Divisions I, II, III, NAIA, and junior colleges)
•  WUE list of schools. The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) is a tuition savings program that makes attending out-of-state schools more affordable. 

Step 3: Check out the data on The College Scorecard - Shows the average student debt and median income (4 years after graduation) for different majors and for colleges. 

Step 4: Additional Resources

• maialearning.com - This is the official PPS interface that you will use to communicate with your counselors about the schools you are applying to.  It is where you select a school, organize the application process, request transcripts, and request letters of recommendation.  You can also use it for career college and scholarship research.  
• https://www.collegedata.com/college-search - A great resource when considering cost.  
• https://oregongoestocollege.org/explore/oregon - A great resource for all Oregon high school students preparing for college.  

Step 5: Create your list, depending on what you might want to study. It should include: 

• 1-2 Safety schools - that are BOTH academic AND financial safety schools (Examples: PCC and/or PSU). Whether they are a student's first choice college or financial back-up, PCC and/or PSU should be on everyone's list)

  • For many students, Community College might be their first choice, best fit and the only school they apply to because of programs offered, financial fit, family reasons, apprenticeship training, or GPA. 

• 1-4 Target schools - schools that you would be happy attending and that you are fairly certain you will get accepted to. 

• 1-4 Reach schools that might be more challenging to get accepted to.