By now you might receive the Early Decision/Early Action result. For students, you might have got deferred or wait-listed, or rejected. Maximum colleges Regular decision dates Jan 1st – Feb 1st. Applying to more than one college will give you a greater chance of acceptance, as well as allow you to weigh some options before selecting a school.

The College Level Category:

At the College Board, they introduce test scores as one additional factor to weigh as you refine your list: you should split your list into three categories: safety schools, match schools and reach schools.

  1. Reach/ Tier1 colleges (Dream colleges such as MIT, Harvard, Ivy College, etc.) – There chances are very low and difficult to get in. You have lower academic qualifications for reaching schools but still fall within the range of some admitted freshmen (bottom 25%). Tier 1 students interested in the most competitive schools apply to 15 reach schools, 2-4 target schools, and 1 safety school.
  2. Match schools /Tier 2 – Tier 3 colleges- There chances are high. You should score in the middle 50% of applicants, and you should be accepted by a university with an acceptance rate of 30-40% or higher.
  3. Safety college – Here, you definitely get chance. The academic qualifications you possess are higher than those of the average freshman admitted to a safety school. They are colleges that you think you will be able to attend and have a good chance of getting into.

Strategies for the Acceptance of College Application:

  1. Create your application (list your score and activities).
  2. Review the accepted student profiles from the college website of your college list.
  3. Then match your profile with the college-accepted student profile.
  4. Update your college list to determine which will be best fit as per your profile, location, and college type and program of your choice., tuition, and scholarship.
  5. Then divide your college list into Reach, Tier2/Tier 3 and Safety colleges.
  6. Update the college list in Common Application.
  7. Get the total count of the Supplemental Essay.
  8. List the Regular Decision application Date.

Case Study: Let’s suppose that there are three different types of student profile categories as illustrated in Table 1.

Case 1: The student who belongs to profile 1 category can choose 7-8 reach colleges, 8-10 tier 2 and tier 3 colleges, and 1-2 safety colleges.

In this case, acceptance rates for reach colleges are high. Furthermore, there will be no scholarship or tuition fee break if a student is selected in reach college. However, if students of having high profile and are admitted to tier 2/3 and safety colleges then students can receive scholarships or tuition fee breaks.

Case 2: If a student belongs to profile category 2, chances are very low that the student will be accepted to college. Because you have lower academic qualifications for reaching schools. In this case, student can select 1-2 reach colleges, 10-12 tier 2 and tier 3 colleges, and 3-4 safety colleges. Furthermore, if the student was admitted to safety colleges, then they could get scholarships or tuition fee breaks.

Case 3:  If the student belongs to the profile category 3 then the student can select 0-1 reach colleges, 10-15 tier 2 and tier 3 colleges, and 5-7 safety colleges.

Table 1. Student Profile Categories with Different Measurement Criterion

Measurement CriterionProfile Category 1Profile Category 2Profile Category 3
GPA4.0 (Unweighted)3.9 (Unweighted)3.6-3.8 (Unweighted)
AP Score553-5
SAT/ACT Score1570-1600/34-361570-1600/34-361400-1600/32-36
Awards/HonoursInternational Award WinnerNoNo
Physical ActivitySports/ Community ServiceSports/ Community ServiceNo
Essays7-10 out of 104-6 out of 101-4 out of 10
Extracurriculars/ ActivityApp Development/Project Manager, etc.App Development/Project Manager, etc.No

Advantages:

  1. Help you to put energy in the right direction.
  2. More focused effort.
  3. Economical (each application fee ranges from $70-$80).
  4. Defined count of supplement essay. (Less essay or more essay).
  5. Meet the college application deadline.
  6. More acceptance rate.