What is a Research List?

The first list of colleges that we send you is based on your responses to our pre-shortlisting questionnaire, academic parameters and test scores. This is not your final college list, but rather is designed for you and us to identify what you are looking for in an ideal college so that we can refine and update your list to reflect your preferences.

What to Keep in Mind:

• If you haven't yet finished your testing: some colleges on the research list may not be test-optional, so they will only be included in your final list after you complete your SAT/ACT.

• Your academic performance in your upcoming 11th-grade final exams and 12th-grade midterms will determine your eligibility for a lot of competitive, academically rigorous schools. Do share your transcripts with us once you receive them.

• Students applying for Financial Aid will receive college shortlists that are primarily based on their requirements for financial aid.

• For students whose schools impose a limit on applications: we will consider the limit for your final shortlist, but not for the research list. We want you to explore a wide range of colleges before finalizing your preferences!

• The Reach, Target, and Safety classifications will not be done for your research list. We will do that after receiving your 11th-grade transcripts and SAT/ACT scores.

How do I document my preferences?

In the US colleges differ on multiple factors that matter to students. The most common are:

• Location

• Ranking 

• Academic Rigor

• Class Sizes

• Internships and Career Opportunities

• On-campus life (societies, clubs, fraternities, sporting facilities, etc)

Refer to this article to understand how to evaluate each factor

We recommend either of the following two approaches to help us understand your preferences:

Approach 1: Grouping

Group the colleges into 3-4 groups in descending order of preference (e.g. 1 being happiest to attend and 4 being would not like to attend).

This will help your mentor identify common factors and refine your list accordingly.

Approach 2: Scoring

Choose the factors that matter most to you and, for each college, assign a score out of 5 in each factor. We recommend using Microsoft Excel to tally the total scores before sharing it with your mentor.