BUILDING YOUR COLLEGE LIST Presented by Grady CCC Fall 2012

You can… Throw darts at a target Flip a coin Use a crystal ball Go to Vegas and bet it all on number 14 But get busy, because there are nearly 4000 colleges and universities to choose from!!! How can you avoid building another dreadful college list? Fall 2012 Grady CCC

Another Dreadful College List? Applying to too many schools. How many is too many? Applying to every Ivy League school, hoping to get in to at least one of them. Applying to schools you would never attend if accepted. Applying to schools because your _________ (friends, neighbors, parents) went there. Fall 2012 Grady CCC

Another Dreadful College List (con’t.) Applying only to schools you’ve heard of. Applying only to in-state schools. Not reviewing statistics to see what caliber of students have been accepted in the past. Look at SAT/ACT/gpa’s Not having at least one school in each category: Reach Probable Foundation Fall 2012 Grady CCC

The Big $ ? Tuition isn’t everything. Room and board Books and supplies Fees Travel to campus Miscellaneous (sorority dues, concerts, clothing, etc.) How generous are your college picks? Where will the money come from? Did you know that most of the scholarship money you will receive comes from the college that you are accepted to? Fall 2012 Grady CCC

Websites to check Our favorite: Collegeboard.org and bigfuture.org The College Board will share these key statistics about schools: Average financial aid package. Average need-based grants. Average merit award for affluent students. Average percentage of financial need met. Average indebtedness. Fall 2012 Grady CCC

More websites to consider: Collegecompletion.chronicle.com graduation rates Collegenavigator.com how generous is the college Collegedata.com has prior years’ admissions data Collegeprowler.com student reviews GaCollege411.org all colleges, not just Georgia The college’s own website Fall 2012 Grady CCC

Thank you for participating! Be sure and come back often to the CCC Each minute you spend in the CCC saves time, money, and aggravation in your college search! Fall 2012 Grady CCC