<p>What i mean do you have a greater chance of acceptance if you apply to more, or when you apply to less. Like i read that some that apply to only one school get in vs the ones who applied to a lot don't really end up in their top choice.</p>
<p>Sometimes people apply to a lot of schools because they know that they are weaker candidates, and they are hoping to get lucky.</p>
<p>Even if you are a very strong candidate, I VERY STRONGLY advise against applying to only 1 school if it is a very selective school. </p>
<p>Unless you tell them, the schools do not know what other schools you have applied to.</p>
<p>i think 3-4 is a good number because it shows the schools that you are interested in them specifically without to low risk or having to fill out loads of applications</p>
<p>@moonlite,
If you really want to go to boarding school, I’d recommend applying to at least 4. If you need FA, I’d recommend applying to 5+. Also, don’t just apply to the insanely selective schools. Put a few schools on your list with acceptance rates in the 30’s and 40’s that you think you’d do well at.</p>
<p>Suggestion only, that you apply to those schools that you honestly see your self attending ie. fit and not focus on reaches and safeties. This is easier said than done but you have to rationally perceive whether you will be a strong attribute to the school in hopes that the school feels the same. In trying to perceive the fits you may only come up with 2-3 schools which is the hard part but after visiting the schools you may see that number change. Just because you visit and interview doesn’t mean you have to apply. Get out the calendar and start planning the road trips. In the interim, get on the school’s websites and try to grasp what they offer and their environment. Good luck!</p>
<p>@ops i really only have three schools i wish to attend after starting with a list of 10+</p>
<p>Great, that’s a good start. If three schools are it, then so be it. We only did 3 the first time and 2 for the second guy. I didn’t like it but I was out voted. We ended up 3/3 and 2/2 so all was well. I have to confess that we had an advantage in being quite familiar with other boarding schools which obviously helps when it comes to narrowing down the schools. Once you start actually visiting the schools you can get a much better feel whether it would be the right place for you. You may add and delete. Surely anyone’s perspective of a school will change for the better or worse after a visit. Personally I would feel more comfortable applying to 4-5 schools after visiting 6-7. The logistics of these road trips takes a little planning and can be very enjoyable. One obvious tidbit is that parents and prospective students alike have to approach the whole process with a good positive attitude because it is exciting and fun and it shows during the visits and interviews.</p>
<p>@moonlite I only applied to three schools this year, and I got into my top choice. Two of the schools I applied to are “rivals” and I was waitlisted at both of them- go figure. For my top choice, I, well obviously, didn’t apply to its “rival” and I think that helped. My theory is the because I applied to less schools, they knew that I was serious about them, and not just applying to a whole bunch just for the sake of applying, or just for prestige. I can’t really validate that, but it’s just my hunch. Overall, I would say, just apply to where you could actually see yourself going, not just because you feel like you need more schools to apply to. Applying to one school might help you if you make it clear that it’s your first choice, and if not accepted you’re willing to go to your public school/school right now. PM me if you have any questions about the application process! </p>
<p>and @GMT I found that all the schools asked me where else I applied to during the interview.</p>
<p>Apply to 10. Safety in numbers. The more times you can get to bat, the better the chance that you’ll get a hit.</p>
<p>Apply to whatever number of schools you want to, as long as that number isn’t ONE.</p>
<p>Going into the process we thought my D would apply to 3 and she did. However, only 1 of the 3 on the original list made it to the final list.</p>
<p>This “correct” answer is going to very different for different families. I could never see our family going through the full app process for more than 5 schools…too much time and mental/emotional energy. I also knew that my D was a fairly strong candidate, and that we had a great backup plan in our semi-local day school. So despite needing partial FA, we didn’t cast too wide a net.</p>
<p>In another recent thread, a parent (PelicanDad?) commented that they “were able to get a pretty good vibe from the interviews”…we had a similar experience. My D interviewed at more schools than she applied to, and how we felt the interview went helped cut some from the list. Love the school(s) that love(s) you, and all that.</p>
<p>I just wanted to add that you shouldn’t spend too much time worrying about the small details such as what they will think about the number of schools you applied too. I know the admissions officer at my school personally and know for a fact that it is greatly over exaggerated how much work they put into each app. They won’t care about where else you’re applying, that’s only so they can be in contact with the other schools regarding whether or not your attending. In addition, it is completely false that they will cross check your app to see if it is true, I know someone who completely lied about their clubs and activities, saying that they played an extra interment, and giving themselves leadership positions in 2 extra clubs.</p>
<p>It has been discussed in length in a previous thread that the schools do not (and cannot) actively trade notes with each on applicants, as doing do would violate U.S. antitrust law.</p>
<p>So it is entirely up to you whether you want to share with a school the information of how many other schools you are applying to.</p>
<p>Grammatical note: Applying to more schools vs. applying to fewer schools.</p>
<p>Apply to 3-7 in my opinion. This gives you a bit more range (on 5-7) and a small amount of schools (compared to 10-15). If they ask “Where else are you applying?” only state the ones you’re sure of, and if you don’t feel comfortable, you don’t have to answer it (although don’t just sit there…say, “Well, I know completely sure for one thing; I’m applying here!” and give a smile :)</p>