Last week, I gave a presentation to parents of rising seniors, and one question came up more than any other: how do we actually build a good college list? Here are the five things I check for in every list I help build, regardless of the student, from an honest read on where they stand to a real reason for every school that makes the cut.

Learn about Financial Aid and College Planning, take the new changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into consideration for college planning.