<p>12 schools.</p>
<p>16 colleges, 6 UC, 3 Ivies
3 safety, 5 reach</p>
<p>8 colleges</p>
<p>1 safety</p>
<p>2 match</p>
<p>5 reach</p>
<ol>
<li> My son only applied to one school and was lucky enough to get in SCEA -- done. But before he heard from his EA school, he had to submit the app. fee to Stanford to start preparing their paperwork and then, when he got his EA results, and he didn't go forward with applying there, we couldn't get our $75 back. So they have our money, no application, and I'd like to figure out a way that what they did is illegal.</li>
</ol>
<p>They probably say it is non refundable. I'm guessing that they got in somewhere very good, as I only know of 3 schools with SCEA (HYS) so I would not care about that $75. I'm more ****ed that my money and even more time ended up to result in a rejection from Stanford.</p>
<p>I surfed college websites for a while and emailed the abmission officer lots of questions. Then I picked top 10 colleges that i really liked, And not waste their time or mine I picked top 4 and those I applied to MU,CC,FSU,UNF.</p>
<p>what do you think is the maximum sane amount of apps ?</p>
<p>because you have playing it safe... and just weird</p>
<p>My D applied to five. She got into four (EA and ED).</p>
<p>nice.
i think 10 is the maximum amout of a sane person,, but still that is alot unless you have a veeeeerryyyy good reason or disease. lol that was mean i take that back.
in my opinion it is 10.
Cheers</p>
<p>I applied to 18, because I'm *in*sane. I actually don't regret it, though. My profile is really lopsided (low GPA and rank/high everything else), and my GC basically told me that she couldn't really predict my chances of getting in anywhere. I like all the schools I'm applying to about equally, and I figure that statistically I'm bound to get into some of them. All I lost was the app fees, and the time needed to dash off/re-arrange a few extra essays.</p>
<p>Yeah, probably something around there, although I think a few were cheaper and one (Smith) was free. But considering I've gone to public school all my life, I figured that spending a ton of money one time was a good investment if it meant giving me a better chance of getting in somewhere I liked. More importantly, my parents, who paid for it, agreed. XD</p>
<p>InvertedCommas - No offense, but if you like 18 schools equally, I don't think you've spent enough time with these schools to warrant applying to ALL of them, let alone CHOOSING one of them. Also, factor in how much more time you'd have to polish and fine tune your essays if you applied to half as many (or less) colleges. I personally think it's wiser to apply to fewer schools and really shine on the application, versus applying to a hoard of a schools and "dashing off" on the application. Also, I don't see how it'll give you "a better chance of getting in somewhere I liked" as you're only applying to a bunch of schools that it looks like you haven't spent much time with to find out if you REALLY like them or not (Researching all 18 schools in depth and visiting them is very time-consuming, so I'm assuming you haven't done that).</p>
<p>Of course, this is just my 2 cents, and I apologize if my post comes off as offensive/insulting in any degree. Regardless, good luck with your colleges. I applied to only 7 and spent a litter over $400, and just that much seems like too much.</p>
<p>I have a question: how on earth do you handle teacher recs for 10+ schools? :) I'm only applying to seven and I'm already considering splitting the recs in half (asking on teacher for four and another for three).</p>
<p>As I said, I plan on applying to seven, but that number may go down. I'm going to have to apply to hopefully only one sight-unseen (and one I will see after my application process), so my eight may change after some overnight visits.</p>
<p>D applied to 6 schools.</p>
<p>applied to 9
got into 8, waitlisted at 1
but I'm done and its only february yay!!!
but I didnt think 9 was very many.. 1 took like 10 minutes, 1 was free online, 2 took common app
I think I should have applied to another reach though and made it an even 10.. but oh well I need a lot of fin. aid so now I have 8 to choose from</p>
<p>
[quote]
No offense, but if you like 18 schools equally, I don't think you've spent enough time with these schools to warrant applying to ALL of them, let alone CHOOSING one of them. Also, factor in how much more time you'd have to polish and fine tune your essays if you applied to half as many (or less) colleges. I personally think it's wiser to apply to fewer schools and really shine on the application, versus applying to a hoard of a schools and "dashing off" on the application. Also, I don't see how it'll give you "a better chance of getting in somewhere I liked" as you're only applying to a bunch of schools that it looks like you haven't spent much time with to find out if you REALLY like them or not (Researching all 18 schools in depth and visiting them is very time-consuming, so I'm assuming you haven't done that).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I applied to 14 colleges. I can't say I like all of them equally, but I was able to research each of them and find a unique reason to apply to each of them and therefore write personalized "Why this college? essays. I wouldn't mind going to any of them because I researched them all and they all have unique attributes I find appealing. I applied to a really diverse group of colleges - different academic programs (all have my major, but different focuses), locations, climates, facilities, sizes. It's not like I applied to 14 LACs, each with 3000 undergrads, all in Massachusetts. I could have narrowed down my list to 10 maybe, but I don't know the following: a) whether I'll be admitted; b) what financial package I'll receive if I do get admitted. If I were rich and had a perfect SAT/GPA/ECs/essay, I'd apply to maybe 3 colleges, but alas, neither apply, hence 14 colleges. </p>
<p>What helped me manage all of them was the spread out deadlines. Some were late November/early December, whereas the bulk were around New Years. And a few had mid-January deadlines. So it was like working on 4-5 schools for each deadline cluster, which I found comfortably manageable. And this is factoring in my procrastination. An eager student could easily start in August with personal statements and essays, spending a week on each application and submitting them well before the deadlines. Just because you apply to more colleges, doesn't mean the quality of your application goes down.</p>
<p>These are some of the most disturbing responses I have seen. IMO applying to 5 or 6 schools is a lot. I can understand applying to a little more if you depend on financial aid, but IMO it should "never" (as always there are exceptions) top 8 or 9 schools. Sure, the commonapp has made it easier than ever to apply to more schools, and in most cases letters of rec can be generalized to any school. </p>
<p>However, this has become a very disturbing trend that appears to keep growing. I know some kids who have applied to 8 schools, including MIT and Harvard just to see if they can get in (they probably will). To them, college admittance letters serve as bragging rights. They have absolutely no intention of going there, but only want to say, "ya, I could have gone to MIT". While this is not everyone, it should highlight a point. Applying to 8,9, 14, 20 colleges, whether for bragging rights, to see who gives the most aid, or just because it only consisted of checking one more box on the common app only deprives other students from attending their dream school. Maybe you have 5 match schools. Chances are that through research and visits, you can narrow that list down to two or three that you really love, 1 that you cross off, and 1 that is only if you don't get in to the other two or three. Just by eliminating that 1, you can give another hard working, deserving student a chance to be admitted. Likewise, it really isn't necessary to apply to 5 or 6 safety schools. Through visits and research 5-6 can easily be narrowed down to 1-2, especially since they are safety and generally last resort anyway. </p>
<p>For those of you who would counter with, "well those kids can still be admitted off of waitlist after I don't enroll", most people scratch their dream school if they're waitlisted, opting instead for the colleges they've already been accepted to.</p>
<p>I am not trying to criticize those who posted above me, or anyone else who applied to an abundance on schools. I am trying to discourage this trend because I believe it will only lead to an essential elimination of the so called stretch schools because other student's will apply to those schools as safeties but with no intention of attending.</p>
<p>Please, for any juniors, spend that time you would have spent filling out those 9th and 10th apps to research your schools a little more and narrow them down.</p>
<p>Okay... but that's all based on one assumption: that the applicant will get into all the schools. I know I won't. I applied to a couple of safeties, a few matches, and many reaches. Many reaches. I'm not applying to see if I'll get in, just for the hell of it, or as "bragging rights." But my financial situation is iffy, and even if by a miracle of magic I do get in to one of my reaches, I might not have the financial resources to afford it if I don't get enough financial aid.</p>
<p>I applied to more than one safety because although each schools was a safety, getting into the honors program or getting a scholarship (I'll need more than half tuition) is NOT a safety. My academic record isn't strong enough to justify applying to fewer colleges given that I won't get into all my reaches (which constitute the bulk of my list; and what's it to them? they gain 60-70 bucks) and given that I'm not guaranteed financial assistance/scholarships from my safeties, much less from my matches. </p>
<p>And I've done research. I started out with a massive list of 25 contenders. You make it seem like people who apply to more than 8 colleges are merely whimsical, silly folk. I've read each college's website, talked about them to my counselor, read student guides about them, read forum posts about them. I've done my research, and if you ask me about any of the colleges listed (with the exception of one which my parents made me apply to), I can tell you a lot of info about the school and the reason why I wanted to apply there. And it's not like common app is just a matter of clicking another button. I've written a ton of supplement essays. And I mean a TON. The only application that really encouraged me to apply to another school to see if I could get in was with the UCs, in which you literally just check another box. I would love to go to that UC, but I know I'll never get in for the life of me.</p>
<p>Don't be critical of someone who aspires to get into at least one reach. Everything I've done in high school, from my grades, to SAT/SAT II/ACT prep, to summer courses, to ECs amounts to this (okay, sure, some of it is for personal gain, but all the pressure, all the expectations boil down to this). I've worked my ass off the past four years, and I've especially worked my ass off the write all those personal statements/supplement essays (and for your info, less than half the colleges I applied to used common app). Rather than wondering, "Well, I wonder if I could've gotten in there" or having no options to go to due to my financial situation, I decided to be cautious. It's always worth a shot, especially if I'm willing to put in the extra effort to write another essay for that school.</p>
<p>In any case, colleges account for the fact that not all the applicants they admit will enroll. They therefore (and this is key - pay close attention) admit more students than they can accommodate, knowing that not all of them will enroll. Did you catch that? Yes, they happen to admit a larger volume of applicants than the expected entering freshman class size. It's funny that they would do that, but I guess it works in kind of the same way students apply to more colleges than they will attend. Strange pattern.</p>
<p>Schitz-</p>
<p>You were wise to apply to the number of schools that you did. One never knows what is going to happen in the admission process. As hard as you have worked, you have earned the right to apply to as many as you desire.
Your research on the schools that are right for you will pay off. Best of luck getting what you want.</p>
<p>I applied to 17. 3 of which are in Canada (I'm Canadian, but I've been living in the U.S. since 7th grade).</p>
<p>Reason? Better safe than sorry. And yes, I did extensive research on all 17 all summer. I even visited all 6 of the UC's that I applied for.</p>