<p>Why do people apply to 10-20 safety schools? Isn't it a bit excessive. A person only needs ONE safety school just in case they don't get into their competitive/reach schools. So why?</p>
<p>Two safety schools are safer, but 10-20 are definitely excessive. Oh man how are they gonna do all those interviews!</p>
<p>16 reach schools… solid chance to get into at least one.</p>
<ul>
<li>applying to highly selective schools (HYP etc)</li>
<li>seeking merit aid</li>
<li>need to compare financial aid</li>
<li>applying to specialty programs such as musical theater or architecture</li>
</ul>
<p>Personally I believe 10-12 makes perfect sense for lots of applicants</p>
<p>(sorry … I’m a parent posting)</p>
<p>It’s okay, we welcome your knowledge :)</p>
<p>10-12 schools TOTAL is fine. But 10-12 that are only safeties does seem excessive if coupled with targets and reaches.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of anyone applying to 12-20 safeties. 2-4 is fine for most.</p>
<p>^ the last couple posts … I agree … I did not read the initial post carefully … I believe 10-12 total applications can easily make sense. For folks shooting high a couple safeties should be fine … even for those shooting to be a big fish in a smaller pond (or shooting for merit aid) I wouldn’t think they would have a ton of safeties but a ton of solid matches instead.</p>
<p>Anyone applying to more then 4 safety schools should second guess how much talent they really have.</p>
<p>Essentially, I think OP thinks that when people apply to 12 schools, 10 of them are safeties and two of them are
reaches. This is most likely not the case, however.</p>
<p>Actually, I’ve known of students who apply to a variety of safety schools, because they are free to apply to. Why not just aend in your app, eh? Nothing to lose, but everything to gain :)</p>
<p>Maybe this is what OP is talking about.</p>
<p>^^ Apps aren’t free</p>
<p>Certain ones are, especially if you apply online (ex. Furman)</p>
<p>In many schools, you have supplemental required materials. Seems like a hassle to write 12+ different, unique essays - and you’ll probably spread yourself too thin.</p>
<p>Some are free, most aren’t.</p>
<p>I applied to 3 safeties and 11 crapshoots, and I had interviews for 9 of them. It takes a ton of time and effort to write so many essays, but with acceptance rates so low I’m glad I did. Applying to 4+ safeties doesn’t really make sense to me though</p>
<p>Yeah I only applied to 1 safety, although I applied to many other schools. I feel like the purpose of a safety is to pick a school where you’ll be happy, finances are affordable, and able to get a good education…and only selecting one, since it’s basically your “worst-case scenario” option.</p>