SERF Sudbury

College Fair

Using Online Resources to Create Your Dream Colleges List

College admissions has many moving pieces for students and parents to balance. When you incorporate the pandemic effects, the SAT going digital, and schools’ different testing requirements, it makes knowing where to start more challenging.
Good news – a more virtually-integrated world has opened the doors to more resources for this process to start from the comfort of your own home!

  1. Find your dream schools by using a college search engine. You’ll filter by location, major, tuition, enrollment size, whether the school accepts the SAT® or ACT® or not, what the average score is, and more.
  2. Test-optional? Test-free? What do these even mean?  Test-optional schools will review your application whether you submit SAT or ACT scores or not. 85% of schools fall in this category. Test-free schools will not consider any test score for admissions consideration. 7% of schools fall in this category. Test-required schools are looking for you to submit SAT or ACT scores for admissions consideration. 6% of schools fall in this category.
  3. Check your target schools’ websites for virtual campus tours and plan a visit to the school campuses you’re interested in applying to. It remains the tried-and-true method for getting a sense of how you will feel about being a part of that community.
  4. Interview recruitment representatives. College admissions is a two-way street, so be intentional in asking questions qualify a fit for you just as much as the school will carefully qualify your college application. The SERF College Fair gives you the opportunity to meet 90+ university and educational programs in one place, so bring conversation-starters!

These resources can help you build and narrow down your college list. Eventually, they will help you make your final decision. The more information you have, the easier this decision will be.

Carlos Aguilera has dedicated a major portion of his professional career to working in higher education in administrative, academic, recreational, residential, and dispute resolution roles as he sought a 360 understanding of the student experience. As the leader of The Princeton Review New England territory, he and his team have routinely present to students, parents, and administrators on all topics related to demystifying college and grad school admissions.