College · Family Resources

A college list that ends
with good choices in April.

Enter your numbers and each college's admit rate and middle-50% scores. The organizer sorts the list into reach, target and likely, says why for each one, and checks whether the list is balanced.

Sort my listWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the College application season kit, $29 for 16 items.

The organizer

The worked example is seven made-up colleges for a student with a 3.70 GPA and a 1310 SAT. Add real colleges with numbers from College Navigator or each college's Common Data Set.

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What you get

College · Family Resources$5

What you finish with
Your college list sorted into reach, target and likely with a one-line reason for each college, a balance check (lane counts, an affordable likely college, Early Decision limits), a printable list and a .csv.
Who it is for
High school juniors and seniors building a college list, the parents and families helping them, and counselors who want a shared, written-out list to talk through.
Format
Browser tool. Works on a phone or computer and from the keyboard. Print the list or save it as a spreadsheet file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the College application season kit ($29) and the Caveat Suite pass ($299). The list stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Family Resources space in Caveat College.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Enter your unweighted GPA and your best SAT or ACT. Leave the test boxes empty if you are applying test-optional.
  2. Add each college with its admit rate, the 25th and 75th percentile scores and the average admitted GPA.
  3. Read why each college landed where it did, and move any card by hand when you know more than the numbers.
  4. Use the balance check to add targets or an affordable likely college, then print the list for a family or counselor conversation.

Sort my list

How colleges are sorted

A rule of thumb counselors use, written out so you can check it by hand. It is not a prediction.

The rule

  • A college that admits under 20% of applicants is a reach for everyone, because strong numbers are common in its pool.
  • Otherwise each number is scored below (−1), inside (0) or above (+1) the college's middle 50%. GPA counts as inside when it is within 0.15 below to 0.10 above the admitted average. With both tests, the better one counts.
  • An average of −0.5 or lower is a reach (a target if the college admits 70% or more). +0.5 or higher is likely if the college admits at least half its applicants, otherwise a target. In between is a target, or likely at 70% and up.
  • With no numbers, the admit rate alone decides: under 40% reach, under 70% target, otherwise likely.

What the numbers leave out

  • Essays, recommendations, the rigor of your courses, your intended major (some programs admit far fewer), and whether you are in state at a public university.
  • The 25th to 75th percentile is the middle half of enrolled students who sent scores. A quarter scored below it.
  • Early Decision is binding: one ED college at a time, and you withdraw other applications if admitted. Restrictive Early Action limits other early applications.
  • A likely college you cannot afford is not a likely choice. Every college's net price calculator gives an estimate from your family's numbers.

In the worked example, Northgate (9%) and Eastport (14%) are reaches by admit rate; Halvorsen is a reach because the 1310 SAT is just under its 1330 to 1480 range; Lakemont and Ridgeway are targets; Cedar Plains and Brightwater are likely. The balance check asks for one more target. All seven colleges and their numbers are made up.

Sources

  1. National Center for Education Statistics, College Navigator (nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator): admission rates and 25th and 75th percentile SAT and ACT scores for each college.
  2. Common Data Set Initiative (commondataset.org): section C1 (applicants and admits), C9 (test score percentiles) and C11 to C12 (high school GPA) that colleges publish each year.
  3. U.S. Department of Education, net price calculator requirement under the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008: every college that takes federal aid posts one on its website.
  4. National Association for College Admission Counseling, Statement on Principles of Good Practice and its guidance on Early Decision and Early Action (nacacnet.org).

General information. Lanes are a planning guide from the numbers you enter, not a prediction of any admission decision. Check each college's own figures and policies, which change every year. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.