Studying abroad is one of the most crucial decisions within a family. This choice would impact a student’s career and life moving forward ,hence it’s important to think through and have a sound strategy to build students college list.

Starting point should be an honest assessment of your academic profile. Student’s GPA in high school, the rigor of the course work, class rank, standardized test scores (SAT/ACT) is at the very core of the decision-making process at Ivy League & top colleges in the world. By rigor of course work I mean, how have you challenged your self beyond the regular class syllabus and how have you faired in those classes. Have you taken AP/IB courses with increased difficulty over your high school.

Similarly , have an honest assessment of your extracurricular profile and community contribution. Is it touching many activities without really having a big impact or it’s a unique profile which showcases your contribution, challenges and learning in your area of interest. Each top college would like to see how have you spent your time outside of the classroom and what’s your unique impact and achievement.

Once you have an honest assessment , it’s time to think through strategy encapsulating your life & career goals , country aspirations. Thinking deeply on these aspects should provide clarity on your best fit college list. Generally speaking , this list can be anywhere between 8 to 12 colleges and can be bifurcated into three buckets –

Safety : Academic profile significantly stronger than middle 50%; appx 80% likely hood of admission
Reach : Academic profile similar to middle 50%; 5 – 20% likely hood of admission
Dream : Academic profile is not as stronger than middle 50% ; <5% likely hood of admission