Balanced Lists

If you remember that deferred student profile from last week, it might leave you wondering what to do if your student most likely won’t earn those test scores and/or doesn’t have a GPA nearly that high. It’s very important for students to create a balanced list when they’re starting the application process. The pictures I attached are from a software program that I love, College Kickstart. It uses students’ GPAs and test scores to categorize schools as likelies, targets, and reaches based on the data from admitted students as published in the common data set that I’ve described before. All students should have at least 2-3 likely schools and 2-3 targets on their list, then they can add as many reaches and unlikelies as they’re interested in. Both UF and FSU admit less than 25% of students who apply, so they will be either an unlikely or a reach based on the student’s scores. The goal is to receive many acceptances from multiple schools that the student would love to attend. A balanced list is crucial to attain that goal.