Courtesy of www.greenbergcpa.com

Editor's Note: As part of the Road to College program, the North County Times School News page will routinely feature college-related events and tips. To suggest a tip, resource, important deadline or other information that would help students prepare for college, contact us at roadmap@nctimes.com.

Is it possible to predict which colleges present higher probabilities of admission for your student?

Yes, but being realistic also helps. The truth is that from one year to the next, the statistical profile of both the applicant pool and the admitted class looks nearly the same at elite colleges like Harvard or anywhere else.

So what is the way to the gatekeeper? Brian C. Greenberg, a CPA and certified college planning specialist, notes that "criteria vary from college to college. Grades count more at some, community service at others. Some admissions committees look closely at recommendations, others don't. Athletic or musical talent can sometimes boost your chances. The criteria cover a wide range of variables that often interact in complex ways. But the mysterious admissions process really comes down to nothing more than matching the strengths of the various applicants against the attributes a particular college is looking for.

"To help you evaluate how your strengths stack up, you can build models based on statistical profiles of recent freshman classes at the schools, data on their applicant pools, and analysis of other primary sources of information. And of course realism is important. You do not want to place all your bets on colleges where you have little chance of getting in. At the same time, you don't want to be frightened away from colleges where your chances may be much higher than you think.

CPA and certified college planning specialist Brian Greenberg provides tips to help along the Road to College. Go to www.briangreenbergcpa.com or e-mail brian@greenbergcpa.com.