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The Balanced List Score

Cristina Hernandez Updated by Cristina Hernandez

For schools that enable this feature, Scoir assigns a grade to a student's college list based on the balance of schools they’ve added. The goal is to help students create a well-rounded list, with higher grades reflecting a better mix of schools.

By default, list scores include colleges in the Following, Applying, or Applied states of a student’s My Colleges list. However, your school can choose to only include those in the Applying or Applied sections.

Here’s how the grading works:

1. Categorize schools: Colleges are grouped into categories—Likely or Very Likely, Level, Reach, or Far Reach—based on the school's selectivity and the student’s academic performance

2. Compare to the school’s minimum requirements: The mix of schools is compared to the minimum requirements set by the student’s school

3. Assign the Grade: A grade is given based on how well the list matches this balanced standard

The grading system checks that a student’s list meets the required numbers in each category, and the grade is reduced if it falls short.

Balanced List Score details panel

As always, remember that the list grade is not a measure of how competitive a student is for the schools on their list. It simply evaluates how balanced the list is to ensure a variety of options.

Improve the Balanced List Score

Balanced List score details panel with emphasis on search

In the List Score detail panel, you can click the 🔍 icon to jump straight to the college search page. Filters like Likely, Very Likely, Level, or Reach and Far Reach will be automatically applied to help you find colleges that match your profile.

Heads up: If you don't see the search icon, it means this feature isn't available to you.

Questions

Why can’t I see a balanced list score?

There are a few reasons why you might not see a Balanced List Score. First, students need to have colleges added to their My Colleges list for a score to be generated. At least one of these college must have Acceptance Likelihood set, which can be done by the student (if allowed by their high school) or by their counselor. Additionally, students must be linked to a high school in Scoir, and parents must be connected to both the student and the high school within the platform. If any of these conditions aren’t met, the score may not appear.

If a student’s list gets a bad grade, does that mean they can't get into the schools on their list?

No. A bad grade means your college list isn't balanced and needs work.

For example, imagine you have perfect test scores and a 4.0 GPA, but your college list consists of 5 Ivy League schools. Scoir would give your list an F (see image below). Does that mean you have no chance of getting into these schools? Absolutely not. What it does mean is that your list is very unbalanced—in this case, it’s overly aggressive because you have 5 reach schools and no level or likely schools to provide balance.

We suggest the student work with their counselor to find and add colleges to their list that will balance out their score.

Overly agressive list with a score of F

What are the differences between Likely or Very Likely, Level, and Reach or Far Reach colleges?

Scoir categorizes colleges into Likely or Very Likely, Level, and Reach or Far Reach to help you assess how well-balanced a student’s college list is. Here’s a quick guide:

  • Very Likely or Likely: Schools where the student has a strong chance of admission based on their academic profile
  • Level: Colleges that are a good match for the student’s academic profile.
  • Reach: More challenging schools to get into, given the student’s academic profile.
  • Far Reach: Schools that might be out of reach based on the student’s academic profile.

Remember, your school may customize these labels, so the terms you see might be different.

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