College Planning Worksheets & Surveys

College Match: A Blueprint for Choosing the School for You includes more than a dozen forms and surveys to help students plan for college. The worksheets and assessments below are drawn from, or designed to complement, the book’s step-by-step approach to helping students define what they want in a college and learn how to find schools where they can be happy and successful.

The revised College Match Self-Survey asks students to rate 54 short statements about their educational attitudes, goals, and perspectives. As they score their responses, students gain insight into areas including growth mindset, enthusiasm for school, emotional vocabulary, time management, and more.

Counselors, students, and parents: We hope you find the new, shortened version useful. If you prefer the older 80-item version, it is available here.

The Activities/Experiences Record gives students one place to keep track of extracurricular activities, honors, accomplishments, and other experiences throughout high school. Maintaining this record can make it easier to recall and organize important involvement when it is time to complete college applications.

The Admission Readiness Profile helps students assess their strengths as college applicants by looking at coursework, grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, academic skills, time management, recommendations, and other factors considered in the admission process. Students can use the worksheet to identify strengths to emphasize as well as areas they may still be able to improve.

What makes a college a good fit? This worksheet asks students to consider 15 qualities that differentiate colleges and universities, including cost, academic programs, location, size, internships, study abroad, campus safety, activities, and more. By considering the importance of each, students can begin defining what they want in a college.

Choosing a college often involves trade-offs. This College Match exercise asks students to rank factors such as academic programs, cost, location, campus life, experiential learning, prestige, diversity, and access to support. The result is a clearer set of priorities to help guide the college search.

The College Fact Finder gives students an organized way to research and compare colleges side by side. They can record information about location, enrollment, academic programs, campus life, admission chances, cost, and other important considerations, then give each school an overall grade based on how well it matches what they are looking for.

Similar to the campus-visit worksheet in College Match, this form helps students capture their impressions and observations while a college visit is still fresh. Visiting a campus can help students see how well a college matches their interests and priorities. This worksheet encourages them to look beyond the weather or the likeability of a tour guide and record meaningful observations about academics, student life, facilities, campus culture, and their overall sense of fit while the visit is still fresh.

The Essay Brainstorming worksheet helps students uncover ideas for a strong college essay by exploring the personal qualities, experiences, achievements, and challenges that have shaped them. Students first consider the words that best describe them, then identify experiences that demonstrate those qualities and may lead to meaningful essay topics.

Developed to supplement the resources in College Match, this worksheet asks students to take an honest look at personal traits and habits that may influence college success. It encourages them to consider their strengths and areas for growth, then self-evaluate in areas such as study skills, self-advocacy, wellness skills, and resourcefulness.

The College Planning Values Assessment asks students to consider 12 core reasons and values that may influence why they want to attend college. Clarifying what matters most to them can help students make more thoughtful decisions and identify colleges where they are more likely to fit in and thrive.