College · Family Resources

Line up the requirements
before you apply

Every college asks for something a little different: one more year of a language, two more essays, a portfolio, a third letter. Rate how well you meet each college's list, count the essays and letters, and see which gaps you can still close.

Start a comparisonWhat you get

Comparisons

The worked example is made up: three colleges for a student missing a required world language year, and two art programs with portfolios. Use initials or a code.

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What you get

College · Family ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A saved comparison per application season: how much courses, testing, writing, letters and extras matter to you; each college rated 1 to 5 on how well you meet its list, with its extra essays and letters required; seven questions such as the testing policy for your entry year marked answered or still to ask; and a next step. The flags rank the colleges, add up the essays into weeks of writing, name the most letters any college asks for and call out a must-have rated 2 or lower. A side-by-side table prints.
Who it is for
High school juniors and seniors building an application list, and the parents and counselors helping them.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per decision. Prints a side-by-side table with the scores, the full record, every comparison in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Family Resources space in Caveat College.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add the colleges on your list.
  2. Read each one's requirements for your entry year.
  3. Rate how well you meet each part.
  4. Count the essays and letters.
  5. Print the side-by-side table.

Start a comparison

Where requirements live

Where to find each requirementWhere it is listedWhat to checkCoursesAdmissions site; CDS C5Years per subjectTestingAdmissions sitePolicy for your entry yearEssaysApplication portalCount and word limitsLettersAdmissions siteWho must write themExtrasThe major's own pagePortfolio, audition, interviewWhere to find each requirementCoursesWhere it is listed: Admissions site; CDS C5What to check: Years per subjectTestingWhere it is listed: Admissions siteWhat to check: Policy for your entry yearEssaysWhere it is listed: Application portalWhat to check: Count and word limitsLettersWhere it is listed: Admissions siteWhat to check: Who must write themExtrasWhere it is listed: The major's own pageWhat to check: Portfolio, audition, interview
The Common Data Set is a standard report many colleges post; section C lists first-year admission requirements.

Required or recommended

Colleges separate what they require from what they recommend. A missing required course can stop an application; a missing recommended one usually weighs less. When a page says "recommended," ask admissions how often admitted students arrive without it.

Testing policies move

A college may require scores, make them optional or not look at them at all, and many changed their policy more than once after 2020. Check the policy for the term you will start, and if scores are optional, ask how they are used when you do send them.

Sources

  1. Common Data Set Initiative. Common Data Set, section C: first-time, first-year admission (commondataset.org).
  2. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. College Navigator: admissions considerations (nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator).
  3. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. IPEDS Admissions survey component (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
  4. National Association for College Admission Counseling. State of College Admission report (nacacnet.org).

The worked example and its colleges are made up. Requirements change every year; each college's admissions office is the final word. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.