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Thinking About College: Activities Adults and Teenagers Can Do Together

How College Admissions Have Changed During Covid

Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, freshman applications at UCLA grew by 28%, from nearly 109,000 last year to almost 139,500, making UCLA once again the most applied-to university in the nation.

Managing Expectations and Outcomes

When you begin to select schools, it is important to build a healthy list that includes a rnge of target, likely, and reach schools. Naviance and your counselor can assist you in determining which schools fit in each category for you. Below are definitions of each category.   

What is a target school?

A school where you meet most of the application criteria. You fall within the acceptable range of standardized test scores, GPA, extracurricular activities and other requirements. It is advisable to have about 3-4 schools in this category on your list. 

What is a likely school?

These are schools where your chances are highly likely or certain for admission. Your standardized test scores are on the high end of what they accept, and you generally meet or exceed their requirements. Sometimes referred to as "safety" schools. It is advisable to have at least 1-2 schools in this category on your list.

What is a reach school?

A school where you apply knowing that you are on the low end or do not meet some requirements. This may be worthwhile if you have other attributes, experiences or qualities that will allow you to stand out. It is advisable to have about 1-2 schools in this category on your list.

Small schools tend to boast some of the most competitive acceptance rates simply because they have relatively fewer spaces available to offer. Some schools with similar academic statistics will appear much less competitive because they have more spaces to offer.

More Applications = Lower Acceptance Rates

An acceptance rate tells you nothing about your specific chances of getting into a school unless you place yourself within
the greater pool of applicants. If your GPA or test scores fall well below the average of accepted students, it’s likely that
the school will be difficult for you to get into, no matter what the acceptance rate is.

EXAMPLE: 

• College A has 100,000 applicants and accepts 5,000 students-- Acceptance Rate is 5%

• College B has 10,000 applicants and also accepts 5,000 students-- Acceptance rate is 50%. 

Although both schools ultimately accepted the same number of students, their acceptance rates are very different because College A received 10 times the applicants that College B did. The Average College Acceptance Rate is 65%

Other factors to consider instead:

• Yield- # of students who enroll after being offered acceptance

• Graduation Rates

• Class Sizes

-From the National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC)-

• Naviance Student

• CollegeBoard- BigFuture

• College Discovery- Slate

• US Department of Ed: College Scorecard

• Encourage App

• CollegeVine- A *free* tool that assists you with college advising. Help with your college search, essays, financial aid through livestreams and virtual counseling. 

• Check out the US News College Personality Quiz for great insights!