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[quote=Anonymous]We started by looking at our in-state schools, did a few tours to see what elements appealed to DS (realize this is challenging now but there are also a lot more virtual tour options).  That helped him decide he liked the energy of a big school and preferred a "college town" type of setting vs. urban. He also doesn't want it to be a big hassle to get to/from school so preferred to be drivable or a short flight from home.

Looking at Naviance you can figure out which schools are safety/match/reach for stats.  He decided to apply JMU (safety), VT (should be safety by stats but their admissions can be unpredictable), UVA (reach).  Then looked for schools with similar characteristics that had a chance of meeting our budget -- privates or OOS publics.  Naviance shows the % getting grant aid and the average amount. These were all safeties or matches since you don't get merit aid from a reach.  Ended up with U of Delaware, U of Connecticut, and Miami University. So far accepted everywhere except UVA and waiting on VT.

My DD is a junior and completely different from DS.  She went along on the tours with him so has some idea of the schools and based on that and reflecting on her goals and what she wants out of a school has decided she prefers a smaller school with an emphasis on undergraduate research opportunities, close faculty relationships.  Leaning toward LACs.  In-state she will apply W&M (reach), UMW (safety).  We looked at lists of schools good for her major (collegexpress.com is good for this), with a high proportion of students going on to complete PhDs, USNWR list of schools good for undergraduate teaching and undergraduate research.  Plus the same need for good merit aid and a desire to stay in driving distance of home. She now has 6-7 LACs that she's exploring through virtual tours and reviews and will go to any visits those colleges have at her HS.

I don't think the USNWR overall lists are useful at all but the sublists for specific characteristics can be useful.

I've found it helpful to listen to the Your College Bound Kid Podcast.  They did several episodes back in 2018 about selecting colleges to apply to. I think this was the first in that series:  https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/2018/04/20/ycbk12-how-many-colleges-should-your-kid-apply-to/

The biggest challenge in getting started is getting clarity on what your student wants in a college.  This site has a virtual card sort activity that can help you talk through the different elements to consider:  https://corsava.com/

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