How College Matchmaker works
Understand the algorithm behind your Reach, Target, and Safety school recommendations.
Updated March 14, 2026 · 1 min read
College Matchmaker compares your academic profile against published data for each college, its acceptance rate, its admitted GPA and test-score ranges, cost and outcomes, to categorize schools as Reach, Target, or Safety.
What the algorithm considers
The algorithm weighs several factors when generating your matches. It looks at your GPA relative to each college's admitted range, test scores (if provided) against its published percentiles, and the college's acceptance rate. It also weighs your stated preferences, location, size, cost and campus culture, against what each school actually offers.
Match categories
Safety means your academics sit above the college's admitted range and the fit score is high; a school that admits nearly everyone also counts. Target means you are competitive on the published ranges. Reach covers everything else, including highly selective schools where no profile makes admission predictable. A balanced list usually has 3 to 4 schools in each category.
Categories are set when you submit the Matchmaker quiz. Editing your profile later does not rerun it, so after a meaningful change, like a higher SAT score, retake the quiz to see schools move between categories.