Guide/03 Building Your College Strategy
Building a Balanced College List
Reaches, matches, and safeties that are actually balanced — not just balanced-feeling.
Chapter 11 of 243 min readUpdated September 23, 2026 Preview
The reach / match / safety framework is the foundation of every college list. The problem is that most students build lists that feel balanced emotionally rather than lists that are balanced statistically.
This chapter explains what each category really means, how many schools to apply to, and the single question every school on your list needs to pass.
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What’s in this chapter
- 1What the categories really mean
- 2How to categorize schools honestly
- 3How many schools?
- 4The one question every school must pass
- 5Don't forget cost