Hello, so I am currently an upcoming senior and I’ve been briefly researching colleges I have an interest in applying to. I currently have 17 colleges listed down, but I plan on doing an extensive research for each of them, so my list will most likely narrow down as I go. My first question concerns application fee waivers. I know that there are multiple ways to attain fee waivers, such as through the College Board, Common App, etc. However, I’m a bit confused on my limit. I already qualified for the College Board fee waivers and read that the College Board has a limit up to only 4 colleges, but I’m not clear on the Common App’s limit. If I qualify for the Common App’s fee waiver, how many college application fees will it cover?
Also, what would guys say is a good amount of schools to apply to? I’m currently thinking of applying to a good amount of target and reach schools, and only two ivies (UofPenn and Cornell). The others range from 20%-75% acceptance rates, with two of my listed colleges being safe schools (I’m trying to look for a few more safe schools). I just want to be on the safe side, especially since I will be applying out of state.
And my last question is does it matter how early I apply for my colleges and FAFSA? Will the time I apply have any positive or negative effect?
Thank you in advance 
Have you run the NPC on all the schools on your list? If not, start there and pair down those that are completely unaffordable.
I think you are smart to focus on your safeties and matches, especially if you are needing aid.
Look closely at the deadlines for the schools on your list. Some schools have Nov 1 deadlines for merit consideration, others are on rolling admission, so don’t assume that you can wait to apply.
Usually I would say not to apply to more than 10 schools but if you are needing significant financial aid, you may need to cast a wider net. Start writing your essays now. There will be a lot of them. For reference, my D applied to 8 schools and wrote 19 essays.
I can’t help you on your fee waiver questions but hopefully someone else will chime in.
There should be advice about fee waivers in the Financial Aid Forum. So go there, and look for threads on that topic. Also keep you eyes open for information on automatic scholarships, and places that offer at least some full tuition or full rides.
I don’t believe there are any limits to obtaining application fee waivers through the Common App. There is a fee waiver page that asks you to check off one or more qualifying criteria. Ultimately I assume it comes down to the individual schools to determine if you qualify and what is required. Link to Cornell’s page on this. https://admissions.cornell.edu/apply/first-year-applicants/admissions-requirements
FAFSA limits us to 10 colleges on its application. Their FAQ page says we can make the information available to more than 10 though. https://fafsa.ed.gov/help/fotwfaq14.htm
College advisors always told us to apply as soon as the application becomes available (October 1st). No idea if it affects how much aid you receive or what not though.
Thank you everyone! You guys really helped me out with some great tips! @momofsenior1 I actually just finished breaking down my list to remove schools that were either not worth the price (in my opinion) as well as schools that aren’t in a safe area. I also just created a google doc with important information, such as deadlines, outlined to help me out, so thank you for that tip. I think I’m going to post my final list in another forum to get some reviews of certain colleges.