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Understand Your Chances for College Acceptance

By July 20, 2022August 11th, 2022No Comments

How do you know if you will get accepted to a college?  There are a few factors that help determine your chances.

Information adapted from adMISSION POSSIBLE®.

As you’re thinking about colleges, it’s important to take into account your chances of acceptance by segmenting them into reach, target, and likely colleges. It’s critical to apply to a mix of the three and to make sure that you would be happy attending any of the schools, even the likely schools.

UNIVERSAL REACH / LOTTERY SCHOOL:

A college is considered to be a Universal Reach for a variety of reasons.  Some of them have to do with your credentials as an applicant; some do not.  Generally speaking, a school is considered to be a universal reach if:

  • Due to the large number of applicants, historically low acceptance rates, and unknown institutional directives, your chances of acceptance are difficult to quantify.  This is regardless of the strength of your college application.
  • Your standardized test scores are near or in the bottom 25% of accepted students. Students accepted in the 25% and less range are often athletes or a different kind of special admit.
  • You have a possible chance at acceptance, but it’s not probable.

GOOD CHANCE (AKA TARGET, GOOD MATCH, POSSIBLE):

You should consider a college to be a Good Chance if you have a 50% or better chance of acceptance because your GPA and test scores are in the middle 50% of the applicants admitted in the past. For a Good Chance school,

  • Your standardized test scores are within the 25th to 75th percentile range. The closer your scores are to the 75th percentile, the better your chances are for acceptance.
  • The school has an acceptance rate closer to 50% for students with your GPA and test scores.

LOVELY LIKELY (AKA PRETTY SURE THING, GOOD BET):

You should consider a college to be a Lovely Likely if you have a 75% or better chance of acceptance because your GPA and test scores are better than 75% of applicants admitted in the past. For Lovely Likely schools,

  • Your standardized test scores are near or in the top 25% of accepted students.
  • The school has an acceptance rate higher than 50% for applicants with your GPA and test scores.
  • Based on other factors such as your extracurriculars and teacher recommendations, you are reasonably sure you will be admitted.
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