Reach Colleges

Students usually finalize their college list at the start of their senior year. The list should not be too long or too short. In today's competitive climate, and the ease by which you can apply through the Common and UC Application, students are applying on average to 12-15 colleges. If you have fewer schools, you are not giving yourself enough options.

On your list you should have some Reach Colleges: These are any colleges with an acceptance rate of 25 percent or less. That means you have 25% or less chance of getting in. Your Reach College would be any college where your academic qualifcations such as test scores and GPA fall below the 25th percentile of students enrolled at the college.

Use the admission rate of a college together with their average GPA and standardized test scores to decide if the college is a reach for you. If it is a reach school it means you are not likely to get accepted. Examples of Reach Colleges for everyone are Ivy Leagues such as Harvard, Yale and MIT, all with under 10% acceptance rate.

Do not be discouraged however, you should still select one or two Reach Colleges on your list. Schools look at more than your scores and are taking a more holistic view of the student by considering their extracurricular activities, recommendation letters, essays and background. However keep that low acceptance rate in mind!