Start the year off right: 94% of our students were accepted to their top choice schools over the last five years!

Which colleges should I apply to?

Choosing which colleges to apply to is one of the most difficult parts of the college application process—and one of the most important. The more you know about the schools you’re interested in, the easier it will be to come up with a curated list, and to write compelling, passionate supplemental essays that really show your interest in that school. This resource was designed to help you learn more about some of the best colleges in the US and find the schools that are the best fit for you!

Here, you can find lots of information about colleges, from class size to location to which colleges offer Early Decision, Early Action, and Single Choice Early Action (Restrictive Early Action) options to send in your application early. You’ll be able to learn about the different cultures and vibes of the top schools. Although we believe that you can find every type of person at every school, school culture is still an important consideration when deciding which schools to apply to. Which are the colleges where students study the most, or party the most, or are the most likely to participate in Greek life? Which schools are the most preppy or the most alternative?

Location is also an important consideration when considering which colleges to apply to. While some students may not want to attend college too far away from home, for others, being too far away to spend weekends at home can be a real selling point! Beyond distance from home, location can be a factor when it comes to climate and weather, size of the town or city the college is in, and, for public institutions, in- or out-of-state tuition. We’ll also tell you about the undergraduate class size and admissions rate. Class size can be a major factor for deciding which college to attend—students who grew up in small towns may prefer a smaller school, or they may want the biggest school possible! We’ll help you find out which colleges and universities have that ‘big-campus vibe’ and which feel like a smaller, close-knit community.

There are so many factors to consider when trying to get a sense of a college—but hopefully, through this resource, you’ll be able to get a better sense of your dream schools!

Amherst College

School Location: Amherst, MA
School Type: Liberal Arts

Brown University

School Location: Providence, RI
School Type: Liberal Arts / Ivy League

California Institute of Technology

School Location: Pasadena, CA
School Type: STEM

Claremont McKenna College

School Location: Claremont, CA
School Type: Liberal Arts

Columbia University

School Location: New York, NY
School Type: Liberal Arts / Ivy League 

Cornell University

School Location: Ithaca, NY
School Type: Liberal Arts / Ivy League 

Dartmouth College

School Location: Hanover, NH
School Type: Liberal Arts / Ivy League

Duke University

School Location: Durham, NC
School Type: Liberal Arts

Georgetown University

School Location: Washington, DC
School Type: Research University

Harvard University

School Location: Cambridge, MA
School Type: Liberal Arts / Ivy League

John Hopkins University

School Location: Baltimore, MD
School Type: Research University

MIT

School Location: Cambridge, MA
School Type: Science / Tech

New York University

School Location: New York, NY
School Type: Liberal Arts

Notre Dame

School Location: Notre Dame, IN
School Type: Research University

Northwestern University

School Location: Evanston, IL
School Type: Liberal Arts

Princeton University

School Location: Princeton, NJ
School Type: Liberal Arts / Ivy League

Rice University

School Location: Houston, TX
School Type: Research University

Stanford University

School Location: Palo Alto, CA
School Type: Liberal Arts

Tufts University

School Location: Medford, MA
School Type: Liberal Arts

University of Chicago

School Location: Chicago, IL
School Type: Liberal Arts

University of California, Berkeley

School Location: Berkeley, CA
School Type: Research University

University of California

School Location: Los Angeles, CA
School Type: General Education

University of Pennsylvania

School Location: Philadelphia, PA
School Type: Liberal Arts / Ivy League

Vanderbilt University

School Location: Nashville, TN
School Type: Liberal Arts

Washington University

School Location: St. Louis, MO
School Type: Research University

Williams College

School Location: Williamstown, MA
School Type: Liberal Arts

Yale University

School Location: New Haven, CT
School Type: Liberal Arts / Ivy League