Applying to EVERYTHING - good or bad strategy?

Applying to College
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<p>@woogzmama‌ 100% of perfect test scores? For rlz? (researches COA…)</p>

<p>Baloney, my answer is: No, nyet, nicht, nein. College acceptance rates are not independent of one another, so by applying to so many you’re just flushing money down the toilet. Lop off most of the Ivies, plus the two Techs, and maybe add some of the schools mentioned above like the Claremonts</p>

<p>To talk about your 25K point, there are slightly less than 25,000 high schools in America (<a href=“Fast Facts: Educational institutions (84)”>Fast Facts: Educational institutions (84)), and there are international students abound, so unless you are valedictorian caliber, you aren’t cracking that magic number.</p>

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<p>Pro-Tip. Apply to some smaller, regional LACs instead of all these schools with nation recognition. </p>

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<p>Prevalence of parties/alcohol actually matches D1 schools with strong football/basketball programs. Not sure why. Also true at D3 schools where Greek Life is important.
Notre Dame would NOT fit your description actually… it’s wild crazy on football weekends and there is quite a drinking culture as the Irish aren’t traditionally teetotallers. :slight_smile:
Based on your description, I would think of schools such as UChicago, StOlaf, Goucher (thinking in tiers). They’re all very different but would match the “suburban, quiet, grown up, no crazy frat parties” description better…
You would need to purchase one or all of these guides: Fiske Guide, Princeton Review’s Best Colleges, or The INsider’s Guide to Colleges. You’d have better descriptions about life at various universities.</p>

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<p>@woogzma Disregard. That costs way too much.</p>

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<p>Someone asked how I got a 2400 on my SAT. Well… the usual. I saw a pretty good tutor 1-2 times a week for several months. I did several practice tests. I already had a 2100 or so on my PSAT before any studying so I suppose I am naturally adept at test-taking. </p>

<p>The key is to get tons of sleep the entire week before the SAT (just the night before isn’t enough). You have to be rested and have a clear mind the day of the test. The biggest obstacle for me was time, especially on the math sections. Now as immature as this sounds, the key on test day was just to be… furious. And angry. Just wake up, be angry at the world, listen to some metal, and come in with an “I’ll show them” mentality. Now I obviously don’t mean to actually show or express your anger - but on the inside you should be boiling. Does this state of mind increase your intellectual capability? Certainly not. But it allowed me to rush through problems and the essay, so I was able to finish every section - something I hadn’t been able to do even on most practice tests. I’m not encouraging you to do this, though if it… doesn’t sound like something that would help you. :slight_smile: And I certainly didn’t let anger cloud my judgment. You should always be cool and composed. I know this isn’t exactly orthodox advice so feel free to criticize me. But it did work. </p>

<p>The vocab - that I just got lucky on, and I’ve always loved grammar so that I pretty much just knew.</p>

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<p>Consider what major you want to pursue. Do all of these colleges have programs that cater to your interests?</p>

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<p>@novalynnx 64 percent for an average applicant which the OP obviously is if not slightly above average because of his 5 800s</p>

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<p>@spuding102‌ That’s assuming that 0% of the people rejected from one school have been rejected from any and all others, which is totally wrong. These statistics are not independent of one another.</p>

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<p>Op, if you are an international student
(Asking for financial aid? You haven’t answered that) that chances the situation dramatically. You can eliminate most I your colleges if that’s the objective. </p>

<p>Harvard is not quite there is a highway running through campus (which put me off.) Columbia is also not exactly suburban. </p>

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<p>OP, congrats on listening to the advice here- do you notice that you are starting to define what you are looking for a bit more? So, as woogzmama, suggests you can start re-shaping your list. </p>

<p>For example, you have now clarified what you want your uni to look like- beautiful old buildings, big old trees, not too rural, not too urban. So, cut the rural (Dartmouth, Cornell, Wake Forest, Notre Dame,) and the urban (Columbia, University of Chicago and maybe Johns Hopkins)</p>

<p>You also want studious but not ‘nerdy’ classmates, so not a hard-partying school (Dartmouth) or too serious (MIT, CalTech, Cornell).</p>

<p>You are not interested in STEM subjects, so cut CalTech and MIT.</p>

<p>You mention that you like the idea of a religious school. These offer a more structured college experience- more specifically designed curriculum, rules about student life, etc- the antithesis of Brown. So, if you like the structure of Notre Dame or Georgetown, cut Brown.</p>

<p>Do you see why people are pushing you so hard to do some homework? You might try unigo (.com)- they have pretty realistic descriptions of the colleges, and offer “similar to” suggestions that aren’t bad, and might help you focus a bit more.</p>

<p>I wonder if all the publicity about the student who got into all 8 Ivies has affected your thinking? Your SATs are higher than his, but your GPA is a LOT lower (and your ECs much weaker). Be aware that some unis will see high test scores and lower grades as signs that you are not working up to your potential- and they don’t like that.</p>

<p>If you don’t have the time to do more homework about the colleges, you don’t have the time to write all those essays! And, as another poster has said, you will have to do it in the end anyway, for the ‘why this college’ essay.</p>

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<p>ha- CC *** out the competition. Try uni + go (put them together) dot com.</p>

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<p>Collegepr o w l e r.com :slight_smile: </p>

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<p>All schools already considered some admitted students would decline the offer from the beginning. That is why they keep track on yield rate. So a student rejecting an admission offer would not open up a slot for someone else. Not until the number of rejection goes beyond the expected rate that they may need to accept someone from the wait list. For most top schools and most students on the wait list, waitlisted and rejected are pretty much the same. You can look up the record and find out how rare is a student accepted on the wait list from those top schools.</p>