Kevin McMullin's Advice: Design a List for Success

I am a regular reader of Kevin McMullin's WiseLikeUs blog. You should be too! His post from May 29, 2013 is copied here because it echoes the advice I have been giving to juniors and their parents for the past few months.

Design a list for success

If I could give one piece of advice to juniors who are about to begin the college search process, here it is—build a college list designed for success.

A high school counselor emailed me this morning seeking advice for one of her seniors who wasn’t accepted to any colleges.  I asked where the student applied, and the list sounded like a who’s who of US News rankings—15 of the most selective schools in the country.  Not a single school on the list accepted more than 20% of its applicants.  That's a list designed for failure, not success.  Six months ago, there were hundreds (and hundreds) of good colleges she could have applied to that would have admitted her with open arms.  But this student chose to play the admissions lottery, and she didn’t win.

If you have a dream school or two that are out of your reach, by all means, take your best shot so you’ll never have to wonder if you could have gotten in.  But fill the rest of the list with schools that are likely to accept you.  If you say you don’t like any of those schools where you can surely get in, you’re showing symptoms of a severe case of namebranditis.   Get over it.  You’ve worked too hard, and there are just too many great colleges out there for you to hang your admissions hopes on a list of schools with prestigious names who reject most of their applicants.

Building a list for success does not mean lowering your college standards.  It does mean you can expect more offers of admission, more financial aid and scholarships, more choices, and more control of your college future.

Do your research, find schools that fit you, and ask your high school counselor to gauge your chances of admission before you settle on the final list of schools to apply to.  Then you’ll get to enjoy the fruits of building a list designed for success.