Build a college list with reach, target and safety schools with ChatGPT

PartialEvidence: Described by posterPosted Jun 18, 2024Last checked Nov 4, 2026

ChatGPT built a 15-school college list for an SAT 1500 student, but Syracuse and Cornell numbers were wrong until Copilot checked them.

Source checked Nov 4, 2026
Results shared
Limitations noted

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Tap Copy prompt.
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Paste it into the message box.
Send it, then read the answer before acting on it.

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Prompt

Original prompt

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What the prompt labels mean

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My child has an SAT score of 1500 and a GPA of 3.9. She is interested in mostly east coast colleges and universities. Create a list of 15 colleges to apply with 5 reaches, 7 targets and 3 safety schools.

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ChatGPT Used in source Gemini Grok Claude

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Optional stronger version

Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.

Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish.

Goal: Draft a starting college list for my child that I'll verify on each school's official pages.

Questions to ask me first:
- What are your child's test scores, GPA and intended major?
- Which regions, sizes and costs are acceptable?
- Which must-haves or deal-breakers matter (research, music, Greek life)?

Inputs (fill in or confirm):
- Scores and GPA: [SAT OR ACT / GPA]
- Intended major or career: [MAJOR]
- Regions: [REGIONS]
- Budget: [AMOUNT PER YEAR]
- Must-haves: [LIST]

Rules:
- Split the list into reach, target and safety schools and explain each placement.
- Mark every acceptance rate and SAT range as "verify" with the year it's from.
- Link each school's official admissions or Common Data Set page.
- Don't invent club or program names; say "check" if you're not sure.

Checkpoint: Show me the school names and categories first and wait for my OK before adding details.

If you get stuck: If you don't know a statistic, leave it blank and say where to find it.

Verify before you finish: Recheck each number and mark which ones still need checking on the school's site.

Output: A table of schools with category, key facts, links and a verify column.

Done when: I have a draft list with every number checked against an official source.

Customize the stronger version

Answer these questions and we'll put your answers into the stronger version. The original prompt above stays exactly as published.

Scores and GPA

Intended major or career

Regions

Budget

e.g. 50 dollars

Must-haves

Your prompt

Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish.

Goal: Draft a starting college list for my child that I'll verify on each school's official pages.

Questions to ask me first:
- What are your child's test scores, GPA and intended major?
- Which regions, sizes and costs are acceptable?
- Which must-haves or deal-breakers matter (research, music, Greek life)?

Inputs (fill in or confirm):
- Scores and GPA: [SAT OR ACT / GPA]
- Intended major or career: [MAJOR]
- Regions: [REGIONS]
- Budget: [AMOUNT PER YEAR]
- Must-haves: [LIST]

Rules:
- Split the list into reach, target and safety schools and explain each placement.
- Mark every acceptance rate and SAT range as "verify" with the year it's from.
- Link each school's official admissions or Common Data Set page.
- Don't invent club or program names; say "check" if you're not sure.

Checkpoint: Show me the school names and categories first and wait for my OK before adding details.

If you get stuck: If you don't know a statistic, leave it blank and say where to find it.

Verify before you finish: Recheck each number and mark which ones still need checking on the school's site.

Output: A table of schools with category, key facts, links and a verify column.

Done when: I have a draft list with every number checked against an official source.

Scroll to see the whole prompt. Your answers show in green.

5 blanks are still empty: Scores and GPA; Intended major or career; Regions; Budget; Must-haves. They'll stay in brackets in your prompt, so the chat tool may ask you about them.

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AI tools

ChatGPT Copilot

Outcome

Dileep Mishra, a parent whose daughter was starting college applications, ran a side experiment with ChatGPT alongside the daughter's traditional research, using a hypothetical senior with an SAT of 1500 and a 3.9 GPA who wanted East Coast schools, research and a pre-med path. ChatGPT produced a list of 15 schools split into 5 reaches, 7 targets and 3 safeties, then added research and pre-med notes, acceptance rates, average SAT ranges, a cappella groups and Greek life. A Google check showed the University of Maryland's acceptance rate was accurate, but the numbers for Syracuse and Cornell were off. Mishra then gave the list to Microsoft's Bing Copilot, which found several more errors in acceptance rates and SAT scores and corrected them with links. Mishra warns not to use a chatbot as the main way to pick colleges.

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

Known limitations

PartialThe source says it only partly worked, or had a significant problem a person had to deal with.

What went wrong: The list was a useful start, but acceptance rates and SAT ranges for several schools, including Syracuse and Cornell, were wrong.

Source

Posted: Jun 18, 2024 by Dileep Mishra (LinkedIn)
Last checked: Nov 4, 2026
Method:: How we verify

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/college-ai-dmissions-how-i-leveraged-ai-create-curated-mishra-mbdpe

Context: Original prompt: Step 1 of the LinkedIn article, quoted. Mishra used a hypothetical student profile, not the daughter's real data. The post is from 2024, so the model and the numbers are dated.