Build Your College List

Students should apply to a good mix of reach schools, target schools, and safety schools…

Reach School (average SAT score above yours): Schools you have a chance to get into, but it’s more of a long shot (~25% chance of being admitted).

Target Schools (average SAT score close to yours): Schools you have a good shot to get into, but rejection is plausible (~50% chance of being admitted).

Safety Schools (average SAT score below yours): Schools you should get into, but there’s no guarantee (~75% chance of being admitted).

Reach School (schools with an average SAT score above this range):

Big Schools: University of Alabama, University of Missouri, University of South Carolina, VCU, University of Kentucky

Small Schools: Berea College, Spelman College, Whitman College, Principia College, College of Saint Benedict, Juniata College, Saint Mary's College

Local Schools: DeSales University, Penn State Lehigh Valley, Bryn Athyn College, Widener University, West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): Hampton College, Immaculata College, Purchase College, Houghton, Penn College of Technology

Target Schools (schools with an average SAT score in this range):

Big Schools: Rowan University, Georgia State University, Old Dominion University, Boise State University

Small Schools: Alfred University, University of Southern Maine, Albright College, Bridgewater College, Virginia Wesleyan, King's College

Local Schools: Penn State Abington, Cabrini College, Delaware Valley College, La Salle University, Holy Family University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): City College of New York, Stockton, Montclair State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Safety Schools (schools with an average SAT score below this range):

Big Schools: Liberty University, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Small Schools: Bloomfield College, Villa Maria College, New Jersey City University, Albany State University, Medaille College, Hartwick College

Local Schools: Harcum College, Rosemont College, Gwynedd Mercy University, Neumann University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): Delaware State, SUNY Oneonta, Kean University, East Stroudsburg, Morgan State

Reach School (schools with an average SAT score above this range):

Big Schools: University of Delaware, Virginia Tech, Florida State University, University of Iowa

Small Schools: DePauw University, Dickinson College, Furman, Wheaton College, St. Lawrence University, Wabash College, Wofford College, Muhlenberg

Local Schools: Ursinus College, The College of New Jersey, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University, Saint Joseph's University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): Penn State, Naval Academy, Military Academy, University of South Florida, Iowa State, Touro College

Target Schools (schools with an average SAT score in this range):

Big Schools: University of Alabama, University of Missouri, University of South Carolina, VCU, University of Kentucky

Small Schools: Berea College, Spelman College, Whitman College, Principia College, College of Saint Benedict, Juniata College, Saint Mary's College

Local Schools: DeSales University, Penn State Lehigh Valley, Bryn Athyn College, Widener University, West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): Hampton College, Immaculata College, Purchase College, Houghton, Penn College of Technology

Safety Schools (schools with an average SAT score below this range):

Big Schools: Rowan University, Georgia State University, Old Dominion University, Boise State University

Small Schools: Alfred University, University of Southern Maine, Albright College, Bridgewater College, Virginia Wesleyan, King's College

Local Schools: Penn State Abington, Cabrini College, Delaware Valley College, La Salle University, Holy Family University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): City College of New York, Stockton, Montclair State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Reach School (schools with an average SAT score above this range):

Big Schools: University of Illinois, Ohio State, University of Maryland, UConn, Clemson University, UT Austin, UC Irvine, University of Washington

Small Schools: Wesleyan, Davidson, Bates, Trinity College, Gettysburg, Holy Cross, Bucknell, Lafayette, Oberlin, Mount Holyoke, Franklin & Marshall

Local Schools: Lehigh University, Drexel University, Rutgers University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): University of Pittsburgh, Binghamton University, Air Force, University of Florida, Purdue University

Target Schools (schools with an average SAT score in this range):

Big Schools: University of Delaware, Virginia Tech, Florida State University, University of Iowa

Small Schools: DePauw University, Dickinson College, Furman, Wheaton College, St. Lawrence University, Wabash College, Wofford College, Muhlenberg

Local Schools: Ursinus College, The College of New Jersey, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University, Saint Joseph's University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): Penn State, Naval Academy, Military Academy, University of South Florida, Iowa State, Touro College

Safety Schools (schools with an average SAT score below this range):

Big Schools: University of Alabama, University of Missouri, University of South Carolina, VCU, University of Kentucky

Small Schools: Berea College, Spelman College, Whitman College, Principia College, College of Saint Benedict, Juniata College, Saint Mary's College

Local Schools: DeSales University, Penn State Lehigh Valley, Bryn Athyn College, Widener University, West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): Hampton College, Immaculata College, Purchase College, Houghton, Penn College of Technology

Reach School (schools with an average SAT score above this range):

Very Prestigious: Georgetown, Emory, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, Washington University in St. Louis

Big Schools: UNC, UVA, William & Mary, USC, Georgia Tech, NYU, University of Wisconsin, Boston College

Small Schools: Williams, Amherst, Wellesley, Bowdoin, Barnard, Middlebury, Hamilton, Smith, Vassar, Colgate, Colby

Local Schools: Bryn Mawr College, Swarthmore College, Haverford College, Villanova University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): Unfortunately, there aren’t many top universities with affordable tuition. However, many top schools often have generous endowments for need-based aid as well as opportunities for merit-based scholarships.

Target Schools (schools with an average SAT score in this range):

Big Schools: University of Illinois, Ohio State, University of Maryland, UConn, Clemson University, UT Austin, UC Irvine, University of Washington

Small Schools: Wesleyan, Davidson, Bates, Trinity College, Gettysburg, Holy Cross, Bucknell, Lafayette, Oberlin, Mount Holyoke, Franklin & Marshall

Local Schools: Lehigh University, Drexel University, Rutgers University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): University of Pittsburgh, Binghamton University, Air Force, University of Florida, Purdue University

Safety Schools (schools with an average SAT score below this range):

Big Schools: University of Delaware, Virginia Tech, Florida State University, University of Iowa

Small Schools: DePauw University, Dickinson College, Furman, Wheaton College, St. Lawrence University, Wabash College, Wofford College, Muhlenberg

Local Schools: Ursinus College, The College of New Jersey, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University, Saint Joseph's University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): Penn State, Naval Academy, Military Academy, University of South Florida, Iowa State, Touro College

Reach School (schools with an average SAT score above this range):

US News Top 20: Princeton, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Caltech, Duke, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Columbia, Cornell, University of Chicago, Berkeley, UCLA, Rice University, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame

Target Schools (schools with an average SAT score in this range):

Very Prestigious: Georgetown, Emory, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, Washington University in St. Louis

Big Schools: UNC, UVA, William & Mary, USC, Georgia Tech, NYU, University of Wisconsin, Boston College

Small Schools: Williams, Amherst, Wellesley, Bowdoin, Barnard, Middlebury, Hamilton, Smith, Vassar, Colgate, Colby

Local Schools: Bryn Mawr College, Swarthmore College, Haverford College, Villanova University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): Unfortunately, there aren’t many top universities with affordable tuition. However, many top schools often have generous endowments for need-based aid as well as opportunities for merit-based scholarships.

Safety Schools (schools with an average SAT score below this range):

Big Schools: University of Illinois, Ohio State, University of Maryland, UConn, Clemson University, UT Austin, UC Irvine, University of Washington

Small Schools: Wesleyan, Davidson, Bates, Trinity College, Gettysburg, Holy Cross, Bucknell, Lafayette, Oberlin, Mount Holyoke, Franklin & Marshall

Local Schools: Lehigh University, Drexel University, Rutgers University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): University of Pittsburgh, Binghamton University, Air Force, University of Florida, Purdue University

College admissions are extra competitive at these top levels. Even though these “target schools” are in range, the admissions chances are still low for ALL students. And “safety schools” will still be pretty competitive. Even high scoring students should add some “safety locks” from lower range schools.

Target Schools (schools with an average SAT score in this range):

US News Top 20: Princeton, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Caltech, Duke, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Columbia, Cornell, University of Chicago, Berkeley, UCLA, Rice University, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame

Safety Schools (schools with an average SAT score below this range):

Very Prestigious: Georgetown, Emory, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, Washington University in St. Louis

Big Schools: UNC, UVA, William & Mary, USC, Georgia Tech, NYU, University of Wisconsin, Boston College

Small Schools: Williams, Amherst, Wellesley, Bowdoin, Barnard, Middlebury, Hamilton, Smith, Vassar, Colgate, Colby

Local Schools: Bryn Mawr College, Swarthmore College, Haverford College, Villanova University

Schools with affordable tuition (Below $30,000): Unfortunately, there aren’t many top universities with affordable tuition. However, many top schools often have generous endowments for need-based aid as well as opportunities for merit-based scholarships.