How to build a college list designed to help your student get in—and thrive.
Lots of schools look good on paper. This guide helps you answer questions that go deeper:
- What does it really take to get admitted?
- Where will my student find belonging?
- Which schools will bring out the best in them?
Grab your free guide to choosing the best college for your student.
Sarah Bergin
Director of College Consulting, Senior College Counselor
Meet Your College Support Expert
Sarah Bergin helps students and parents stay organized, confident, and clear at each step of the college application process.
Sarah is an experienced educator with over 15 years of supporting high school students through academics and social-emotional growth. For nearly a decade, Sarah has worked with Evolved Education Company, building strong relationships with students and families while guiding them through key milestones from 9th–12th grade, including extracurricular planning, summer programs, course selection, and early college exploration.
Frequently asked questions about building a college list
Do we need to make a college list if we already know what schools we want to apply to?
It’s common for families to enter the college admissions process thinking they, or their student, has a pretty good idea of where they want to end up. Lots of factors like school rankings, location, size and family history affect college list building. But none of that really takes into account how your student learns and what will help them grow and thrive as a young adult.
This guide is designed to help you evaluate fit from multiple angles. Like many of our families, you may be surprised how your list evolves!
How many “safety” schools should be on our college list?
On average, students apply to 7 to 9 schools during the application season. When building the college list, we agree with having a mix of schools—including some where your student is likely to get in—but we encourage families to think beyond technical admissions. Every school on the list should be one where your child can become their own person and succeed academically. Our guide will help you ask the right questions to make sure your student has genuine options at every tier.
How much should college rankings impact our list building?
Early in the process, school rankings can help students compare a cross-section of schools for a specific factor, such as program major or affordability. College rankings can also help your student discover school options they didn’t know about. However, ranking schools is far from a science and frequently tells you more about brand recognition and how much the school has invested in getting ranked than about how your student will do there.
At Evolved, our approach is about fit first; the list-building practices we share in the guide start there, too.
