Palmer Trinity School

palmertrinity.org 11 » ADMISSION SELECTIVITY – % of applicants offered admission. Average SAT/ACT scores of freshmen. % of freshmen ranked in top 10% of high school class. Freshman class profile. » FINANCIAL – Need blind or need aware/sensitive? 8. C O S T S A N D F I N A N C I A L A I D » COSTS – Minimum-maximum total costs per year. Student budget for tuition and fees/ room and board/books and personal expenses/ travel costs. Admission and enrollment fees. » FAMILY RESOURCES – What can your family pay toward college expenses? Your earnings and savings. » AWARDS – % of students receiving aid. Range of awards. Average award. » FINANCIAL AID – Based on need/merit/or funds available. Loan and job expectations. Off-campus work opportunities. » APPLICATION – Which forms are required? Deadlines. 9. I N TA N G I B L E S » Does the atmosphere of the institution appeal to me? REEVALUATE AND BALANCE YOUR LIST e final goal of the college search is to create a balanced list of colleges that fall into four categories. e terms we use – likely, possible, reach, and high reach– are relative, not absolute. In determining where a given college falls for a particular student, we use our best judgment based on experience with recent Palmer Trinity graduates, national trends, and institutional changes. Changes in academic performance during the junior and senior year may well move certain colleges into a different category, and better standardized test scores taken in the senior year can also increase the likelihood of acceptance. We offer frank advice to help you evaluate your chances of admission at a particular college – not as a judgment of your performance during your time at Palmer Trinity or your potential as a college student. Ideally, your final list should be constructed of approximately 7-10 schools so that you will be admitted to most of the colleges on your college list. In the worst case, you should still have at least two or three good choices. Palmer Trinity keeps extensive statistical data on college results and stays in close contact with admission offices to present students with an accurate assessment of competitiveness. Here are the definitions of the four major categories colleges fall into: » Likely: Palmer Trinity students with comparable test scores and grades are usually offered admission. It is important to apply to several "likely" colleges as the admission picture changes annually. » Target: Palmer Trinity students with similar grades and test scores are sometimes admitted, sometimes waitlisted and occasionally denied. » Reach: Palmer Trinity students with similar grades and test scores are less likely to be admitted, except in cases where extenuating circumstances, such as strong coach support or active alumni connections, affect the decision. » Unlikely: Palmer Trinity students with similar grades and test scores have not been admitted in the past. By the time you arrive at your final list of colleges we recommend that you have at least two colleges in the Likely category, and no more than three colleges in the Reach category. e majority of your colleges should be in the Possible category. It's also important to note that the most selective colleges in the country will be in the Reach category for almost all of Palmer Trinity's students, regardless of how strong he or she is. In addition, because these colleges have so many qualified applicants, they're not concerned with whether a student can do the work, the majority of the applicants can do so quite successfully; rather, they're trying to form a class of students who will bring unique talents to their communities in addition to a stellar academic performance. Your counselor will be able to tell you why certain colleges fall in a particular category. Remember that the selectivity of a college may have relatively little bearing on the quality of the education and experience that it can offer you.

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