Tip:
How competitive for admissions will you be? This is based on several factors. Some factors are more measurable in the college applications process than others. The easily measured factors include:
- Your GPA
- Your tests scores on ACT, AP, SAT or Subject tests
Less measurable, but equally important in your college application process are:
- How hard you challenged yourself in your course schedule
- Activities you were involved in during high school
- Contributions you made to your community
- Your love of learning
- Your life’s experiences
Using Measurable Factors
Use the measurable factors to do a final check of your college list. Using My Chances, make sure you have a balance in your college list. You need colleges in the red, yellow and green zone of My Chances in your GuidedPath account.
What puts a school in your RED zone?
- your test scores are lower than the average scores at the college
- the college has a low acceptance rate (typically under 20%)
What puts a school in your YELLOW zone?
- your test scores are in the mid 50% range, along with most other students
- the college has an acceptance rate of 20-60%
What puts a school in your GREEN zone?
- your test scores are in the top 25% of students
- the college has acceptance rates of 60-100%
How many schools should you have in each zone?
- 1-3 in the RED zone. These are your DREAM or REACH colleges. This is where immeasurable factors can be very influential.
- 2-5 in the YELLOW zone. These are your EXPECTED or TARGET colleges. A majority of your college list should be in this zone. It is your sweet spot for college admissions.
- 1-4 in the GREEN zone. This is your FOR SURE or SAFETY colleges. These are very important especially for financial aid or merit scholarship potential.
Your Edge:
Follow these steps to check your zones:
- Make sure your latest test scores are up to date in GuidedPath.
- Then view My Chances under My College.
- Change “Display All” to “My Colleges”.
- Count how many of your colleges are in the Red, Yellow and Green zones.
- Adjust your list if needed!