Step 1
Decide what you are looking for
Before you look at a single school, agree on the Five Fit Factors: odds, program, cost, culture, outcomes.
Guide: What Is College Fit? Coming soon.
College Guides
The college search, without the chaos.
Clear, practical guides to help families move from 4,000 options to the colleges where students are most likely to belong and thrive.
The complete method
How to Choose a College
The fit-based method for the whole decision: what to evaluate, six questions to discuss with your kid at home, and how to filter 4,000 U.S. colleges down to the 20 that fit.
Read the guideHow these fit together
The college search feels overwhelming because it looks like one giant decision. It's really five, and when you start with fit, every one after it gets clearer.
Step 2
Turn 4,000 schools into 20
Build a shortlist you can hold in your head, with a real mix of Reach, Match, and Likely options.
Guide: How to Choose a College
Step 3
Cut it to the list you submit
Eight to twelve applications, chosen on evidence, each one a school you would genuinely attend.
Guide: How Many Colleges Should You Apply To? Coming soon.
Step 4
Pick a round for every school
Binding or not, restrictive or free. This is the decision that quietly shapes both your odds and your aid.
Guide: Early Action vs. Early Decision Coming soon.
Step 5
Hit every date that matters
Application, aid, program, reply. Four dates per school, and missing the aid one is what costs money.
Guide: College Application Deadlines Coming soon.
These guides are written by Mike Harp, who founded Admissions GPS in Brooklyn, NY, after using federal college data and AI to help his own son find schools where he would belong and thrive. Where a guide points at something the product does, it says so plainly.
Put the method to work on your list
Build Your Fit 20 from 4,000 colleges using 200+ data points. Free to start.
Build Your Fit 20