How do you actually build a college list without spiraling? The best tip I got was to rank your priorities before you look at school names. Mine were cost, major strength, distance from home, and campus vibe.
Then I made 4 simple columns: likely, target, reach, and financial safeties. If a school was exciting but failed one of my top priorities, I moved it down or cut it. That made my college list way more realistic.
Also, limit yourself to 2 or 3 “nice to have” factors. I wasted so much time comparing tiny differences that probably would not matter once I got there.
If your list feels messy, try sorting by fit first, prestige second. That helped me a lot.