What types of colleges should I apply to?

While you'll have to decide for yourself which individual colleges and universities you want to apply to, it does help to have a strategy about what types of schools you should pursue. As you likely don't want to send out dozens of different applications, narrowing down your choices to certain levels of schools will make your life a lot less complicated. Here are some tips to get started.

Reach schools
If you've ever heard the term "reach school," you may be wondering exactly what this means. These colleges are typically more selective about admitting students and are often the most prestigious institutions. While you might dream of attending an Ivy League reach school like Yale or Harvard, it's wise to limit yourself to applying to only two or three of these colleges. According to CNNMoney, the least selective Ivy League university, Cornell, still only admits 16.2 percent of applicants.

Match schools
With less rigid admission requirements, match schools are typically institutions that offer a better shot of acceptance. These types of schools should comprise the largest chunk of your applications, as they are a good balance of high quality education without being overly selective.

Safety schools
As their name implies, safety schools are institutions where you're almost guaranteed admittance. Like reach schools, you may only want to apply to one or two of these colleges as backups in case you don't get into one of your higher choices.

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