Planning to study in the US? Keep these points in mind

When should a student start looking for universities to apply to?

Students should ideally begin researching universities to which they will apply a minimum of six months in advance. A student should apply to 10-14 US universities, which means that they should initially start with a shortlist of at least 20. Too often, students and parents alike focus exclusively on rankings list (published by different periodicals/newspapers with vastly different criteria, which result in vastly different rankings) at the expense of qualitative research. The latter should be conducted by students through comprehensive review of each university’s website, attendance of virtual admissions information sessions and tours, review of objective university guides such as the Fiske Guide, and, when possible, in-person visits and conversations with students and recent alumni. If a student is considering to spend four years of their life at a particular university campus, they should spend an hour or two researching each university they will apply to, as each is more than just an academic institution - it is their potential home for four years.

How many colleges should a student apply to?

If a student exclusively applies to US universities, then they should be applying to anywhere from 10-16. They should apply to the higher end of this range if financial aid/scholarships are a serious consideration or if their college list included the most competitive universities in the US, which typically have acceptance rates in the low single digits. It is easy to apply to all eight undergraduate University of California campuses (which include UCLA and UC Berkeley) quite easily, for example, through a single portal, but overall the student’s college list should be balanced between safety, target, and reach schools. Too often, students have too many “reach” options and not enough target ones; they are overly ambitious, which results in myriad rejections, which can be emotionally devastating for the applicant.

How colleges evaluate applications

Holistically. Academics, standardized test scores (when submitted), extracurricular activities, internships, research, summer experiences, demonstrated leadership, essays, recommendations, interviews all play a role in the process. A student must demonstrate academic excellence, first and foremost, through high performance in a rigorous curriculum. Candidates that excel demonstrate intellectual curiosity through self-directed and/or external learning separate from school and often contribute to the discovery of new knowledge. There are many students with similar grades and test scores that the attention then shifts to who the student is through their non-academic interests, pursuits, and endeavors, and what is their story - their narrative.

When choosing a university...

A university is somewhere you will live, grow, and make friends. Choosing the right one is a highly subjective process unique to each individual and cannot be quantified by rankings, which may be a good place to start your search, but not definitive.

Think about what matters most to you and select universities that tick most of the boxes. Do you want to attend a university with a thriving Performing Arts program, even though you plan on majoring in Computer Science? Is school spirit important to you? How about diversity or the quality of the university’s athletic facilities.

Size Matters. Bigger is not necessarily better. Larger universities may have more students, majors, and higher research spending, but they tend to have larger classes. Do you want to sit in a lecture hall with 650 other students in Introduction to Microeconomics and have virtually zero counseling support and limited interaction with your professors? Choose the right size university for you.

Rankings change every year. If a rankings list is your North Star, keep in mind that the rankings change every year.

Culture matters. Students and parents often speak of the Ivy League (which includes only eight US universities and does not include MIT, Stanford, Caltech, CalTech, or the University of Chicago) as a monolithic bloc - but nothing can be further from the truth. Brown has an extremely different vibe than Princeton, and each university has a unique personality and character that is not for everyone. Choose the university right for you - find your fit - so you can be happy, thrive, and succeed.