Now that you’ve compiled a set of criteria to help you in creating your college list, it’s time to utilize the Internet and other resources. In the "List of Resources" is a complete list of Internt and hard copy resources students can utilize, and we encourage you to try several different resources.

Juniors are encouraged to develop a preliminary college list the second semester of junior year. There are various college search engines, such as www.collegeboard.com and www.princetonreview.com; for other suggestions of college search websites, see the List of Resources on the Judge College Counseling web site. There are also useful resources in the Counseling Center for developing a preliminary list, such as an Index of Majors, a book identifying which colleges and universities offer Division I, II, and III sports, and a book listing every 4-year college or university alphabetically by state.

Objective Guidebooks

The JMCHS Counseling Center has what we call "phone books": the College Board’s College Handbook and Peterson’s Guide to Colleges. These books provide useful paper summaries of an institution’s size, admissions statistics, popular majors, and cost information. See Appendix A for a more complete list of paper resources.

The next step in examining schools on your preliminary list involves research. This is the time to gather information about individual schools and see how they will meet your needs.

Online Research

We encourage you to do your own web research and visit the websites of the individual colleges you are considering. Some of the things you can do on a college’s website include:

Many of the online college search sites (see separate list) have links to the colleges’ websites. Most colleges list their admission requirements, test requirements, degrees and majors offered, housing information, and cost/financial aid/scholarship information. Most schools also provide statistics about the average or middle 50% SAT and/or ACT scores of the freshman class, and average or middle 50% high school GPAs. This information can be very helpful in rating your chances of admission.

Subjective Guidebooks

When you’ve narrowed down a list of colleges, these books can give you more insight into the personality or culture of the institution. They offer student perspectives and opinions or evaluate various programs, usually for only 300 or so 4-year colleges. See list of resources for some titles.

JMCHS Historical Application Information

Ms. Alamilla keeps a database of each senior class’s application information. The database (1999-2005) includes where our students have applied to college (all names of students are omitted), the applicants’ test scores and GPAs, and whether the students were accepted, denied, or wait listed. This resource is a great tool for looking at the current trends in admission decisions for Judge students, although it does not address the influence of other factors (athletics, activities, or other talents).

People as Resources

1. Your college counselor, Ms. Alamilla, can tell you how you might like a place and fit in with the kinds of students who attend those schools.
2. Recent JMCHS graduates are often willing to share their experiences.
3. Teachers, parents, and college alumni are additional resources to investigate.
4. Mrs. Voss, a parent volunteer who works in the Guidance Resource Center, is available Tuesdays and Wednesdays to help students with online college searches.
5. College representatives visit JMCHS every fall to share about their institutions.