Why Choosing a College is Like a Season of the Bachelorette

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Choosing a college is like a season of The Bachelorette. Applying to college might seem as stressful as choosing a fiancé, but that’s okay.

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Weeks 1-2

During your junior year of high school, you will probably begin compiling a list of potential colleges. Throughout the remainder of your high school career, you will spend countless hours deciding which colleges to apply to, actually applying to them, and finally choosing a school. It sounds rough.

Similarly, JoJo Fletcher underwent a stressful process throughout the ten weeks which made up this past season of The Bachelorette. At the start, she was faced with twenty-six men seeking her heart. Each participant on the show offered a unique set of characteristics to his potential future fiancé, just as colleges do to prospective students. Of course there are colleges that offer none of what we are looking for... I think we all remember Chad from this season. While it may be easy to rule these schools out quickly, there will be multiple colleges with various pros. Maybe one has the name everyone knows and envies, like former NFL quarterback Jordan Rodgers. Another displays incredible guidance and support, like Robby Hayes. How can she choose?

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Weeks 3-5

As you begin to acquire acceptance and rejection letters from schools and narrow your choices down, the decision-making grows increasingly more challenging. Take it from JoJo. She shed tears nearly every episode, especially as the weeks went by. She continued to learn more about each man and had even more trouble letting one go. Like JoJo you are looking for a commitment, which can seem daunting. As JoJo send men home week after week, she found herself crying out that she didn’t even know what she was doing. She wondered whether the decisions she made rejecting men would be the best for her future.

Although your decision is far from easy, you will reach a moment of clarity in which you will feel comfortable with the school you have chosen. Trust me, I’ve been there too. Personally, I had a lot of trouble choosing between the University of Southern California and the University of San Diego. Being from New York, I knew that I was choosing a school far from home, in fact on the other side of the country. Just as JoJo visited the homes of her top four men as the season began to wrap up, I made sure to visit my top colleges before coming to a decision, which I cannot recommend enough. The visits helped me immensely, and I left California during the spring break of my senior year, where I visited five schools, with a clear idea of my two favorites- USD and USC.

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Weeks 6-7

If you still feel torn after visiting the schools to which you were admitted, as I did, don’t freak out. My first tip is to make a list of the pros and cons of each of your schools. Compare the various factors by their importance, such as the cost of tuition, the majors and minors offered, location, and opportunities for internships and jobs.

Although this process can help you to visualize the school which is most realistic for you to attend, I believe that following your gut will ultimately lead you to the best college for you. When JoJo was left with two men during the final episode of this past season, she talked rationally with her family about her two options, verbally listing their pros and cons. Both were great, but her parents and siblings all seemed to favor Robby. Her brother compared Jordan to a “New Year’s date” and claimed that Robby seemed to be more of a long-term fit for JoJo. However, America’s favorite bachelorette jumped to Jordan’s defense. Just as JoJo defended Jordan, I found myself defending USC whenever a family member or peer would persuade me to commit to USD.

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Weeks 8-9

When it comes down to it, you can ask your family and friends for their advice as much as you want, but you won’t end up choosing a school because someone else told you to do so. You are the one spending the four years at that school, not your loved ones. Though JoJo’s family encouraged her to pick Robby, they ultimately expressed their interest in her happiness. My family did the same when I was choosing a school, and I’m sure yours will too.

Instead of asking where you should go, ask your family and friends where they believe you truly want to go. You will come to realize that your heart is set on a college. Clearly, JoJo felt that Jordan was right for her early on in the show, as she gave him her First Impression Rose. She revealed after the season ended that she kept asking herself which man she could not imagine leaving, and the answer was Jordan. Think about which school comes to your mind first. Metaphorically, I gave my First Impression Rose to USC. My family could tell for a while that I genuinely wanted to end up there, since I always talked about it first and most often. I did receive more scholarship money at USD and was offered spring admission to USC, meaning that I would have to begin classes there in the spring semester, rather than during the fall. However, I followed my gut and felt absolutely relieved when I committed to the University of Southern California and made plans to study abroad my first semester.

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Week 10

My final piece of advice to you is to not stress too much. Wherever you end up is where you are meant to be. I know that was corny, but it’s true. Please don’t let yourself cry as much as JoJo did this season (if that’s even possible). As May 1 approaches, deliver that final rose, also known as your deposit, to the school you cannot imagine denying. At the end of the day, choosing a college is a process, and you should trust it! After all, JoJo trusted the process this season, and she and Jordan are set to live happily ever after. *Roll Credits*

 

If you are still stuck, the following links will direct you to more help on choosing between two colleges:

http://college.usatoday.com/2013/11/17/fear-not-10-ways-to-choose-between-seemingly-equal-colleges/

http://www.fastweb.com/college-search/articles/stuck-between-two-schools

https://www.unigo.com/admissions-advice/once-accepted,-how-do-you-choose-between-colleges/168/1

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COLLEGE ADMISSIONS? CHECK OUT THE YGITW BOOK HERE!
LOOKING FOR A HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE INTERNSHIP? APPLY HERE!
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10 Scholarships to Apply For in August/September

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“We believe, that is, you and I, that education is not an expense. We believe it is an investment.” –Lyndon B. Johnston

  1. $5,000 Young Patriots Essay Contest

Deadline: January 5th, 2017

Age/Grade: Middle and High School

  The Young Patriots Essay Contest is designed to challenge middle and high school students to creatively engage with public policy and current events through the art of writing. We assign a controversial topic each year, and three winners are chosen to receive a scholarship out of hundreds of essay submissions. Find the topic and entry instructions below! "Are international free trade agreements in the best interest of the United States? Why or why not?"

Contest participants have the opportunity to: -Earn a college scholarship of up to $5,000 -Have your essay published on Debate Central -See your essay posted on the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) home page -Have your essay shared with 200,000 NCPA Policy Patriots via email -Have your winning entry be sent to your hometown newspapers, radio, and TV

Essays must be written in English and should not exceed 1,200 words. A bibliography does not count towards the word total.

  1. Don’t Text and Drive Scholarship

Deadline: September 30, 2016

Age/Grade: None

Citizenship Limit: US or Legal Citizen

Do you know how far you will drive on the freeway if you take your eyes off the road for five seconds, the average time it takes to send a text? An entire football field. According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, texting while driving makes drivers 23 times more likely to get into a "safety-critical event." The purpose of this scholarship is to help you understand the risks of texting while driving. You must be a high school freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior or a current or entering college or graduate school student of any level. Home-schooled students are also eligible. There is no age limit. You must also be a U.S. citizen or legal resident.

We'll select the 10 finalists based on the content of the 140-character message. The winner will be selected based on the content and creativity of the 500- to 1,000-word essay.

  1. $1,000 College JumpStart Scholarship

Deadline: October 17, 2016

Age/Grade: 10th-12th

Citizenship Limit: US or Legal Citizen

The College JumpStart Scholarship is an annual, merit-based competition that is open to 10th, 11th and 12th graders and college students and non-traditional students. The goal is to recognize students who are committed to using education to better their life and that of their family and/or community.

Applicants must be 10th, 11th or 12th grade high school, college, or adult students. Applicants may study any major and attend any college in the U.S. Applicants must be legal residents of the United States and complete the online application form including the required personal statement. The award may be used for tuition, room and board, books or any related educational expense.

  1. $500 Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science International Essay Competition

Deadline: October 5th, 2016

Age/Grade: High School and International Equivalent

All high school students and international equivalents are invited to submit an essay about the recent effects and future promises of science in our society. Write about particular discoveries, events, or persons from science in current events or present a more general account of the changes and developments. Each essay must be accompanied by a statement of acknowledged validity by a teacher in the field of the sciences, technology, engineering or mathematics.

Students must submit their essays and entry forms electronically on or before the contest deadline of October 8th.

Students who have family members affiliated with the Journal, or serving as contest judges are not eligible to participate.

This year's prompt: Albert Einstein once said, "To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science." The scientific process has become increasingly interdisciplinary. Examine a modern issue in STEM being addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of how these separate fields approach the issue and interact with each other. Potential topics could be found within many fields, including environmental science, engineering, and neuroscience. Note that originality is a substantial component of scoring.

- No literary form other than an essay will be accepted. - Each essay must reflect the contestant’s own writing and original thinking. - No graphs, images, or illustrations should be included in the essay - The essay must be sent via e-mail to dujs@dartmouth.edu with the subject line "DUJS ISEC SUBMISSION." - The Student Entry Form should be scanned and saved as a .pdf, .jpeg, or .png It must be attached to the email in conjunction with the essay. - Entries must be received on or before October 5th.

  1. $10,000 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest

Deadline: January 4th, 2017

Age/Grade: Grades 9-12

Citizenship Limit: US Citizens only

The contest is open to United States high school students in grades nine through twelve (9-12) attending public, private, parochial, or home schools; U.S. students under the age of twenty enrolled in a high school correspondence/GED program in any of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or the U.S. territories; and U.S. citizens attending schools overseas. Past winners and finalists are not eligible to participate. Employees of John Hancock Financial Services and members of their families are not eligible to participate.

Topic: Describe and analyze an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official that took place during or after 1956. Include an analysis of the obstacles, risks, and consequences associated with the act. The essay may concern an issue at the local, state, national, or international level.

Requirements: -Essays can be no more than 1,000 words but must be a minimum of 700 words. Citations and bibliography are not included in the word count -Essays must be the original work of the student. -John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Edward M. Kennedy are not eligible subjects for essays -Essays must describe an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official that occurred during or after 1956, the publication date of Profiles in Courage. The official may have addressed an issue at the local, state, or national level Essays about past recipients of the Profile in Courage Award will be disqualified unless they describe an act of political courage other than the act for which the award was given. -Essays must have a minimum of five sources

  1. $500 Odenza Marketing Group Scholarship

Deadline: September 30th, 2016

Age/Grade: Ages 16-25 and have at least one year of secondary school left

Citizenship Limit: US and Canada only

In order to apply for the Odenza marketing group scholarship, you must first ‘like’ our Facebook page, and write two short essays. Every essay must contain 3 essential elements.

The essay must provide a thesis statement (in the introductory paragraph). The thesis statement must encapsulate the main argument for the paper. It must be clear and coherent, and it must answer the question that has been put forth by the application.

The essay must offer supporting evidence. The writer must provide the supporting evidence in paragraph (not bullet or list) form. Each paragraph must contain evidence that supports one idea or concept that proves the thesis statement. The writer must provide citations (in footnote, endnote, or parenthetical form) for all evidence presented.

Every essay must follow basic rules of grammar and format. Every paper must contain a beginning (introductory paragraph), a middle (several supporting paragraphs that compromise the body of the paper), and an end (conclusion paragraph). Grammar is vital for essay composition. Sentence fragments, misspellings, and improper punctuation denote a carelessly-written and poorly-conceived paper.

      7. $1,000 R2C Scholarship

Deadline: September 30, 2016

Age/Grade: 17+ and enrolling in college within 12 months or already enrolled

Citizenship Limit: US Citizens

Scholarship is open to U.S. citizens and legal residents who are starting a program of higher education (college or graduate school) within the next 12 months or are currently enrolled. Applicant must be 17 years of age or older and there is no maximum age limit. Applicant must share in three sentences of less why they are getting their degree.

  1. $1,500 Shout It Out Scholarship

Deadline: September 30, 2016

Age/Grade 13+ and will enroll no later than 2022

Citizenship Limit: US Citizen

Scholarship is open to students 13 years of age or older who are legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia and are currently enrolled (or will enroll no later than the fall of 2022) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education. Applicant will need to submit a short response to a given prompt.

  1. $1,000 ShipDig.com Scholarship

Deadline: September 30, 2016

Age/Grade: High school seniors and college students

Scholarship is open to high school seniors and college students enrolled in an accredited academic institution. Applicant must submit an essay on the most interesting item they have received in the mail.

  1. Up to $100,000 Siemens Competition Scholarship

Deadline: September 20, 2016

     Age/Grade: Grades 9-12

Competition is open to individuals and teams of up to three students in grades 9 through 12. Students are encouraged to do research in mathematics, engineering, biological, or physical science.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COLLEGE ADMISSIONS? CHECK OUT THE YGITW BOOK HERE!
LOOKING FOR A HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE INTERNSHIP? APPLY HERE!
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6 Useful Scholarship Websites to Check Out

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Finding relevant scholarships can be a challenge; anyone who’s spent more than five minutes searching for one can tell you that. There are numerous scholarship search websites that boast about having millions of scholarships worth billions of dollars in total and that they’ll match you with the perfect ones just for you, but do they actually work? Are your scholarship matches really individualized? How many of those millions of scholarships can you actually apply for? To find out, sign up for six of the most popular free scholarship websites. I filled out each profile as thoroughly as possible in order to get the most relevant matches, listing three different majors (journalism, biomedical sciences, and mathematics) for each website, so as to distinguish between a website not having major-specific scholarships and there not being many scholarships for a specific major.

After a week, here, in no particular order, are the results:

Fastweb

Number of Matches: 51

I’d used Fastweb before as a college search engine, but never to search for scholarships. Every time I would open the website, their main page would always boast about their more than 1.5 million scholarships and how their system targets the perfect scholarships for you based on your interests and skills, so I had high expectations. After filling out my profile, I was matched with 49 scholarships, most of which were pretty general. I only found 3 scholarships that correlated with the majors I put in my profile, but most of the others were ones anyone willing to write an essay or create a short video could apply for. These scholarships seem to be based primarily on age, though the ones I was not qualified for based on my profile were eliminated, so I didn’t have to do a lot of voting through. These types of scholarships are great if you do not know what you’re majoring in or you aren’t super passionate about anything, and if you want to apply to a large quantity of scholarships that don’t require pages and pages of essays.

At the end of the week, I had 2 new scholarship matches, so it seems that their website is updated quite often.

Conclusion: While most Fastweb’s scholarships may not be individualized, it is nevertheless a great resource for scholarships, especially for those who don’t know their major.

Cappex

Number of Matches: 39

Cappex is primarily a college search website, and, from what I’m told, is a pretty good one, but it also has a section for scholarships, which sounded very promising. Despite my rather thorough profile, the scholarships I matched with on Cappex weren’t at all individualized; I didn’t find a single one that correlated with the majors I entered in my profile, unless you count the FeetRemedies.com Scholarship on plantar fasciitis for biomedical science. Like Fastweb, it seemed I was matched with scholarships based only on my age, taking nothing else into account. This can actually be a good thing, as I previously explained, but unlike Fastweb, some of the scholarships I matched with I could not apply for because I was simply ineligible for them. Whether it was because I was not a returning college student or a resident of Texas, these scholarships could have been weeded out easily using the information in my profile. The remaining scholarships I was eligible for were of quality, but they could also be found on Fastweb, which had a few more than Cappex did as well.

Conclusion: Although it may be a good college search website, I found it to be a mediocre scholarship search website.

Raise.me

Number of Matches: It’s Complicated

Raise.me is a bit different from your typical scholarship searching website. Instead of matching you with scholarships that you then have to apply for, you are awarded with micro-scholarships from different schools based on your achievements in high school: $500 for each A you get, $200 for having perfect attendance, $10 for every hour you volunteer, and so on. You’ll receive more or less money from an achievement based on the school, as some schools are more focused on community service or extracurricular activities more than others. The most money I received from a school was $70,150 ($17,538 a year) and the least was still $1,455 ($364 a year). It all seems a little too good to be true, and, depending on your preference in schools, it is. Of the 130 schools offering micro-scholarships, most of them are small, liberal arts schools; only 38 schools on the site have over 5000 students, and there aren’t exactly any big name schools. Most of the schools I received micro-scholarships from were from schools I had never heard of in cities I had never heard of. So, while I would definitely give Raise.me a chance, if you know you want to go to a large school or an Ivy League university, it may be best to look elsewhere.

Conclusion: Fantastic for small liberal arts schools and a few large state schools.

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Scholarships.com

Number of Matches: 120

To my complete surprise and excitement, this was the first scholarship search website I visited that actually took my profile into account when matching me with scholarships. The scholarships I was provided with fit not only my majors, but also a few other factors listed in my profile such as my religion and high school activities. While I was matched with a few seemingly random scholarships like the ones for PlumbersStock.com and the Maine Grocers & Food Producers Association, most of them either matched my interests or were just generally geared towards all students my age and only required an essay, both of which are things I want when applying for scholarships.

Conclusion: By providing largely relevant scholarships with varying degrees of difficulty, Scholarships.com is a fantastic resource and lives up to its’ name.

The College Board

Number of Matches: 194

The College Board website is one many high school students are familiar with in some capacity, mostly from viewing scores for the SAT, the PSAT, and any AP tests, but it also can be used to search for scholarships. Although it matched me with the most scholarships in total, I was not able to apply for many because they were either past the deadline or I was just ineligible. I did, however, get matched with scholarships that were relevant to my major, but not to anything else; it seemed this was the only website that did not take my age and high school status into account when picking scholarships for me. They only provided a few general anyone-in-high-school-can-apply scholarships: most of their scholarships had specific qualifications such as race, religion, and membership to an organization that I did not fulfill, making me wonder why they were presented as options to me in the first place. All that being said, the scholarships specific to the majors I put in my profile were pretty fantastic on a monetary level and, as a whole, not that difficult to apply for.

Conclusion: Can provide one with great scholarships relevant to their major if they are willing to comb through the ones they’re ineligible for.

Chegg

Number of Matches: 86

When I began looking into different scholarship sites, I had a bunch of people tell me that should sign up for Zinch because they either read an article about it or knew someone who used it. So, sure enough, I typed in Zinch.com and was redirected to a site called Chegg, which specializes in textbook rentals. Thinking I had typed it in wrong, I tried again, but it still came back to Chegg. I soon came to realize that Zinch had been bought out by Chegg in 2011 and their scholarship section had been moved to the last to the last section of the last tab on the homepage. I was curious to see if, despite this major status downgrade, the famed scholarship search engine still lived up to its’ name.

I was matched with scholarships on Chegg based solely on my age and year in school, which at this point I’ve come to expect and appreciate in some ways; however, a little over half of the 86 scholarships I was matched with I was ineligible for. Attached to each scholarship were little tags that showed what aspect of my profile it matched: my age, year in school, or sometimes, my citizenship. These tags only graced 37 of the 86 scholarships I matched with, and the rest I was not eligible for because of my age, year in school, or citizenship. The scholarships I was eligible did have a wide range of participation levels, ranging from collecting peanut butter for a food bank to writing an essay about how collecting peanut butter for a food bank can affect your life. Community service was a common theme among many of the scholarships I matched with, which gave the website a bit of a flair in my opinion, as many of the scholarships I looked through over the week were more about academic achievement.

Conclusion: Not sure it lives up to the glory of its’ original name, but it proved it deserves more than being the last section of the last tab.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COLLEGE ADMISSIONS? CHECK OUT THE YGITW BOOK HERE!
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6 Clever Apps That Make Being An International Student Easier

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As an international student, transitioning into college or university can be stressful—and that's without the change of climate, culture shock, or language barrier—so here are six savvy hacks to make your international studies easy-breezy!

1.Becoming a money-saving master:

Trying to scrounge up a few extra dollars for the next lunch of Raman noodles is the sad reality of most college student's lives, but lucky for you, keeping track of your money couldn't be easier.

Mint, an app available for free on iOS, Android or desktop, easily connects to your bank account to manage all aspects of your activity, including spending, savings, earnings and budgeting. (They also update a cheeky, informative blog called MintLife for all your financial/lifestyle questions).

This well-trusted app also determines your spending habits and can alert you whenever you're nearing your budget limit, keeping your credit in line and extra cash in your hand.

2.Knowing your way around the city like a pro:

Navigating through a brand new area, especially a large place like California or New York, can be intimidating and downright irritating. But how do all of those other people get around so quickly? Easy; they know the ins and outs of the city, and soon you will too. Google Maps is a great GPS tool for newbies, but knowing the city is about more than just recognising the street names—It's about discovering the local shops and attractions, as well.

Like A Local, a free app, is exactly what the title claims to be. This handy app tells you what the locals' favourites are around your area. Now you can let yourself explore while staying away from those tricky tourist attractions.

3.Getting the best value for your buck:

Even with the confusion of foreign currency, you'll be the best sale-scavenger around if you utilise one of the most accessible, underrated tools out there: coupons. I'm not talking about your grandma's $1.00 off Dish Soap discounts, either. How does up to 85% off your retail purchase sound? Sounds like my wallet is yelling, "hallelujah!"

Apps and websites like Yowza and Groupon offer sales that can save you big time, and here's how it works—Just type in the store/item you're looking for into the search bar, and the app will give you a selection of coupon codes to enter into the 'discount' section on your chosen store's website.

There are also coupon apps that offer digital discounts that allow you to save your chosen coupon, then present it on your phone at the check out in-store. Just like Grandma, except more $$ saved and it's much more convenient.

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4.Effortlessly keeping on track with your priorities:

Organising any priorities for the day should be a habit that any university student utilises—especially international students. Within the hectic mixture of moving, having new classes, meeting new friends, and all the other struggles that non-international students don't have, a to-do list is a must. The easiest way to keep track of your assignments, or whatever else you need to do, is to remind yourself. Sound's simple, right? It is. With technology, to-do lists have been modernised into something that's reliable and simple, and it's never been easier to remember things.

My personal favourite for this specific task is Wunderlist; Wunderlist is an app (plus it's available for download to your desktop!) that helps you organise your busy life in a minimalistic, trustworthy fashion.

5.Acing your classes with flying colours:

The reason you even became, or are thinking of becoming, an international student is because of the education opportunities, right? You should make sure that your class marks stay in tip-top shape by using Evernote.

If you had to pick only one of the apps listed , Evernote should be the one you choose. It's the smooth-running, multitasking king of organisation, equipped with note taking, bookmarking, online chat with other students, to-do lists, and more!

Evernote.com

So whether discovering convenient, local shops is your forte, or if you're more of a study-on-the-go type of person, hopefully you can find some great resources within these top six apps! Good luck on your journey to a new life, and don't forget to let us know in the comments if you've ever tried one of these apps!

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COLLEGE ADMISSIONS? CHECK OUT THE YGITW BOOK HERE!
LOOKING FOR A HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE INTERNSHIP? APPLY HERE!

 

 

College Search Websites You Need to Be Using

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If you are a high school student in any grade, you most likely have been asked about college.  For example, ‘Where do you want to go?’and ‘What do you want to do?’.  Presumably, unless you are a senior in your second semester, you do not know the answers to these questions.  Luckily, these websites and apps are here to help.  Whether you are looking for colleges that match the criteria you want or majors that might interest you, at least one of these websites will have what you are looking for. Not only is it important to find what you want in a specific college, but it is important to get your name out to colleges.  Signing up with these websites will put you out there, and colleges that are interested in you can get into contact with you, making it easier to have an idea on where to apply senior year.

I started signing up for websites like these ones the summer before my freshman year of high school.  That way, when I wanted and needed to start looking into colleges, I already had a basic account set up with all my information.  Because I signed up for websites, I started receiving letters and emails from colleges that were already interested in me, before I had even started high school!  I highly recommend all of these websites, as they are great ways to fuel your college search.

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Big Future (bigfuture.collegeboard.com)

CollegeBoard is the owner of the Big Future website as well as the SAT, PSAT, and AP tests and classes.  Big Future has a college search engine where you put in factors that you want in a college, for example: size, location, majors, selectivity, and diversity.  It goes through all the schools in it’s database and picks out the ones that match what you want.  After you search, you can then pick specific schools to look more in-depth in.  Big Future provides average GPA, average test scores, what the campus life is like, average cost, deadlines you need to know, and more.  Big Future also provides inside looks into different careers and majors, planning tools to help you get on the right track for colleges, and has information about financial aid and affording college.

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Cappex (cappex.com)

Cappex is a great way to connect with colleges.  Colleges can send you messages through this site and if you state that you are interested in a specific school, Cappex will connect your profile with that school.  Cappex is interesting because you can see your chances of getting into a certain school.  Cappex provides statistics for average test scores, an admissions scattergram, campus life, your fit at that school based on criteria you enter into your profile, and tuition and costs.  Cappex also has a quiz you take to see what majors or careers are right based on your personality and a tab where you can find scholarships.

College Raptor

College Raptor (collegeraptor.com)

College Raptor also has a college search engine. You put in information such as GPA, test scores, financial information, and intended major and it matches you to schools that have what you want.  It also provides if the school is a reach, target, or safety school.  (Safety: a school you will probably get into for sure, target: you have about a fifty percent chance of getting in, and reach: it is a stretch to get in, but it might happen.)  This site gives you an approximate percentage of the chance you have getting into a school and you can add schools you are interested in to your college list.  College Raptor also provides statistics for each school and has a blog page and a YouTube channel.

Niche

Niche (colleges.niche.com)

Niche (formerly collegeprowler) has many great factors including a feature called “Chance Me”.  Chance Me basically allows other students to look at you GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and basic information to determine how good of a chance you have of getting into a certain college.  Niche also ranks the colleges with scores ranging from A+ to F.  You can find scholarships you are interested in and compare colleges side by side with their compare tool.  They also give you recommendations of colleges you might be interested based on your profile and schools you have already added and connect you with the colleges you are interested in.

Niche 2

Raise.me (raise.me)

Raise.me can also be a considered a college search engine, but is actually a scholarship website.  This website gives micro-scholarships for simple things you have completed in high school, such as getting an A in a class, scoring well on the ACT/SAT, participating in an extracurricular activity, volunteering, and participating in a college event.  If you choose to go to a school that participates with Raise.me, they add the scholarships into your financial aid package.  Not every college participates, but many are being added every day.  (One school has given me $45,030, which is $11,258 per year!

 

Schoold (get the app at schoold.co)

Schoold is an app that can also aid you in your college search.  It is not very in-depth, but if someone mentions a college, you can quickly look it up and learn some information about the school.  If you add them on Snapchat, they give snapchat tours of different colleges and give away scholarships.  You can also find careers, majors, and scholarships right on the app and Schoold gives you an approximate percentage of your chance of getting into different schools.

It is important to take the college admissions predictions from these websites with a grain of salt. Do not let yourself be discouraged if a website tells you that you do not have a good chance of admission at one of your dream Universities. It is important to still apply and see what happens, you never know.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COLLEGE ADMISSIONS? CHECK OUT THE YGITW BOOK HERE!
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