College students invest up to $200,000 to earn a Bachelor’s degree.  
Like any other major purchase, careful thought and planning are important to find the proper college that MATCHES your needs, abilities, and selection criteria.

What colleges look for

• Academic achievement Grades (cumulative GPA), quality of courses taken, rank in class
• Test scores Midwest universities tend to use the ACT, coastal schools tend to use the SAT I and some highly selective universities require the SAT II subject tests.
• Personal profile A measure of what the student did outside the classroom - jobs, athletics, community service, activities.

FINDING THE RIGHT ‘MATCH’ 

The best college for you may not be the best  known school, but one that match your objectives and abilities.  Specific entrance requirements vary with each college or university.  Students should pick schools that match their abilities.  

		Minimum GPA	ACT composite
Highly selective	U of M, Northwestern,  Ivy League	3.8	28
Selective	Calvin, Valparaiso, MSU	3.5	25
Traditional	Eastern, Concordia	3.0	21
Open	Schoolcraft	2.0	17

Large public universities are less likely to use the personal profile and tend to be formula driven by GPA and test scores.  Smaller private colleges tend to look at the entire application allowing a weakness in one area to be offset by a strength in another.