Lots and Lots of College Lists for You to Check Out
Y’all might already know this — my second favorite part of college admissions after the personal essay is helping create college lists. It combines my love of travel, research, learning about culture and people, and education. I love throwing out suggestions for students to explore and go off on their merry little way as they lose themselves (in a totally good way) in a world of college research.
If you’re looking for ways to get started thinking about your lists, I recently made a couple of posts that might help you get started even figuring out what you want in your list:
About The Lists
So, after a bunch of years of suggesting colleges on A2C, Instagram, and for my own students; a ton of college info sessions, college virtual tours, and college fairs; over 85 in-person college visits over the last few years; a lot a lot of book reading, and learning from my fellow counselors and consultants at conferences and through counseling/consulting groups, I’ve decided to finally organize and share all my thoughts about college lists into well… organized lists (sort of — you’ll see).
Most of the colleges on these lists are colleges I’m familiar with in some way — either I’ve personally visited, or I know someone who attended, or I’ve interacted with their admissions team, or a counselor or consultant I know and respect has suggested it.
Some of these lists were put together by others or in tandem with others. I’ve tried to give credit where it’s due. These lists are an ongoing project so I’m sharing them in google doc form so I can update them easily as I hear about other schools. And as the works-progress-that they are, I’d love to get your suggestions! Know a school you want to be added to one of the lists? That would be awesome. Let me know in the comments, please!
You’ll notice in my lists that I don’t provide links for the most part and I don’t organize by alphabet or region. These are truly lists of colleges I’ve bunched together over the years to help me get a sense of what works for what kids. You’ll have to do the googling for links part tho — sorry :).
I’ve organized my lists in folders in my google drive. If you click on the folder link, it will take you to all the lists I include.
Colleges You Might Not Think About
This folder is filled with some pretty random lists of colleges like:
Big School Spirit Schools for B/C Students
City Campuses You Might Not Think About
Colleges for First Gen Student Support
Colleges for Hunting and Fishing
College for Jewish Kids who want Jewish Life on Campus (you might not have thought of)
Colleges with Global Travel Experiences
Colleges with Great Co-op Programs
Colleges that Change Live Type Schools
Hidden Gems
Honors Colleges That Require No Extra App
LGBTQ+ Friendly Schools you might not think of
Liberal Arts Colleges with Engineering Majors you might not think of
Mid-Size Universities You Might Not Think Of
My Fave Colleges in Safe States
My Favorite LACs
Public Colleges with Cheap OOS Tuition You Might Not Think Of
Public “Ivies”
Southern City Campuses
Sure-Fire Sure-Bet Colleges
Trans and LGBTQ Friendly Colleges
If You Like This College, Then Check out These Colleges
Here you’ll find lists like:
If you like Harvard, you might like…
If you like NYU, you might like…
If you like Stanford, you might like…
If you like Swarthmore, you might like…
If you like USC, you might like…
If you like UT Austin, you might like…
If you like Vandy, you might like…
This one’s def a work in progress, but here’s what I have so far:
Coastal Colleges
If You’re Into Mountains and Outdoorsy Colleges
Definitely a work in progress here, but here’s where I am:
Biggish Southern Schools with Biz Majors
Biomedical Engineering Programs
Biz Programs in California you might not think of
Biz Programs you might not think of
Chemistry & Physics Programs you might not think of
Colleges With Design your Own Major you might not think of
Colleges With Exploratory Programs
Colleges with fashion design and museum studies
Colleges with Music Production Majors (near the ski slopes!) You might not think of
Colleges with Music Production Majors You might not think of
CS Programs with good merit aid you might not think of
Direct Admit Biz Programs you might not think of
Engineering Programs for B Students — you might not think of
Engineering Programs that Don’t Require You to Declare Major When Applying
Engineering Programs where you don’t have to declare your major when applying you might not think of
Entertainment Biz Programs you might not think of
Film Programs that don’t require a portfolio
Film Programs you might not think of
Hands-On Engineering Programs you might not think of
International Relations Programs
Marketing Programs You Might Not Think Of
Mechanical Civil Engineering Programs you might not think of
Mechanical Engineering Programs for someone who wants to Work in Aerospace you might not think of
Poli Sci Programs You Might Not Think Of
Psychology Programs You Might Not Think Of
Sports Management Programs you might not think of
STEM Schools you might not think of
u/prsehgal’s CS Programs you might not think of
Most of these lists are not my own, but I’m happy to share!
Jennie Kent’s and Jeff Levy’s “Domestic Undergraduate Need-Based and Merit Aid”
Colleges That Offer No Merit Scholarships
Colleges that Offer Really Big Merit Aid
Colleges Where Students Pay No Tuition
Colleges with Early Deadlines for Scholarships
Selective Colleges that Offer Merit Scholarships
Large-Scale Merit Scholarship Opportunities — Institution-Specific Scholarships
Merit Aid Colleges That Appeal To Highly Rejective College Applicants
Schools that Offer Full Scholarships
Stem & Engineering Colleges that offer Merit Scholarships
Most of these lists are not mine, but I’m happy to share the ones I’ve accumulated and organized
Jennie Kent’s and Jeff Levy’s “Domestic Undergraduate Need-Based and Merit Aid”
Colleges that are Need Blind and Meet 100 % of Financial Need (domestic)
Colleges that are Need Blind and DO NOT Meet 100 % of Financial Need (domestic)
Colleges that are NOT Need Blind, but that do meet full demonstrated need
Colleges that offer NO Loans
Colleges in the Northeast that meet need or close to it
College Lists For International Students
These lists are of colleges that have historically been generous with international students
Ivy Achievement’s Guide (from 2019)
11 Most Affordable US Colleges For International Students
Jennie Kent’s and Jeff Levy’s “Financial Aid for International Noncitizens”
Colleges with Low COA for International Students
Links to other helpful info
Lists and Resources for Undocumented/DACA/Dreamer Students
2019 Undocumented DACA Policies for U.S. Colleges & Universities
2021 Working List of Undocumented & DACA Policies for U.S. Colleges & Universities
Undocumented Friendly colleges — Links to Lists and Resources
US Colleges that Meet Need for Undocumented Students
Other Lists That Aren’t in Folders: Jennie Kent’s and Jeff Levy’s Spreadsheet: Early Decision and Regular Decision Acceptance Rates
And if you just want to take the time to go through all the lists, here’s the link to the whole folder:
AdmissionsMom’s Big Folder of College Lists to Share
I’m constantly adding to and updating these lists, so please feel free to make suggestions or check back from time to time — especially for sophomores and juniors who are just beginning the exploration process!
tl;dr: Some might say I’m a college admissions freak. Kind of true, for sure. But that makes me love to learn about all kinds of colleges, and not just the ones you might hear of if you only survey the first couple pages of USNWR. I’ve got lots of lists and they’re growing and I’m sharing them with you! Please feel free to share your suggestions with me! I’m all about crowd-sourced resources!
Originally published at https://admissionsmom.college on July 29, 2022.
