I’m applying to 12 colleges–with 3 Reaches, 4 Mid-Range, and 5 Likelies. Is that too many?
For a general idea, here are the colleges I’m applying to:
Reach:
Wesleyan University
College of William & Mary
Barnard College
Mid-Range:
University of Virginia (Early Action for this one)
Kenyon College
Oberlin College
Bates College
Likelies:
Emory University
Fordham University
SUNY Buffalo
Bennington College
Sarah Lawrence College
Emory is definitely not a safety school
It’s a little on the high side, usually people have more reaches than safeties. There isn’t a huge leap between Emory and Barnard, you may want to re-categorize some of your picks and run NPC on each one to make sure you can afford them.
Any financially safe schools?
Seems bottom heavy on the safeties. Are you willing to attend every safety listed? If not, trim it by a couple schools.
Once you get into double digits, you’re in danger of having too many.
I personally only apply to 2, maximum 3, safety schools, those that I have the utmost certain that the schools will accept me and I can afford to go.
The groupings don’t seem right…
Would you be happy attending each of the safety schools?
Are you able to afford all of the safety schools?
Are you 99 percent certain you’ll be accepted to all of the safety schools?
I realize you called them likely but there is a reason people use the term safety and not likely. You need to be almost certain a school is an option. You don’t want to be one of the people that comes on here late in the year scrambling because they (1) didn’t get accepted anywhere because they only applied to reach schools or (2) was accepted to some schools you would love to attend but are unable to afford them and are terrified you’ll not be able to go anywhere in the fall because it is too late in the year.
Not knowing your stats, finances etc. it is hard to opine. But I’d say if Barnard is a reach then Emory is likely as reach as well – definitely not a safety. And why not apply EA to Fordham as well? And if you are a strong student apply to SUNY Buffalo, I’d consider adding SUNY Binghamton as well.
Are you sure your “likelies” are likely (aka safety schools)? I looked at previous posts and you say your superscored SAT is 2070 and your estimated GPA is 3.75, right? I would say Emory is a high match rather than a likely. You may need to recaliberate your list a bit.
Look at the 2014 Common Data Set for each school, check out their acceptance rate but also the 25 to 75 percentile of their freshman class for the SAT and then look at the breakdown of the high school GPA and see where you fit. Also run the NPC for each school for financial reasons. If you live in Virginia, look at other state schools (e.g., James Madison, ODU, George Mason) for safety possibilities. If you live in New York, look at other SUNYs. Either way, your state has good in-state options.
Personally I do think 12 is a little much - have you visited these schools? Can you actually see yourself attending and being happy at every one? Remember, all you need is one!
BTW, I would say W&M and UVa are in the same tier. And if you are in-state, definitely consider Mary Washington or Christopher Newport - your list indicates that you prefer liberal arts colleges to major universities so consider them in addition to/instead of a massive school like GMU, JMU, etc.
If Barnard is a reach, then Emory and Oberlin are both reaches and Fordham and SLC may be matches. And if you are OOS for UVa, that may be more reachy as well.
Your “likelies” are also expensive schools, not all of which are known for giving good financial aid. SLC, in particular, is known for being quite expensive. If you are in-state for SUNY Buffalo, you may want to add one or two other SUNY or CUNY schools (after subtracting some of the likelies on your list).
12 is okay.
I agree your classifications are off and all your colleges are bunched pretty close in selectivity. You have to remember some are self selecting to some extent and the pool is well qualified.
If you are applying for financial aid, remember that each school has its own deadlines, and there are variations on what paperwork and tax forms they want and how it is provided (snail mail, fax, IDOC – we have done them all). It is a lot of work to track & complete, especially if there is any added complexity in your parents’ financed (small business, divorce, etc).
My D2 had 8 schools, and the FA stuff was a lot of work. I think I’d have gone nuts with many more.
Bates will be harder to get into than Barnard. Your UVA vs William & Mary is flipped and Emory isn’t a safety.
Reach:
Wesleyan University
College of William & Mary
Barnard College
Emory University
Mid-Range:
University of Virginia (Early Action for this one) => I’m assuming you’re a VA resident?
Kenyon College => even if your stats place you at midrange, selectivity levels mean this is too unpredictable to consider a match and should be treated like a reach
Oberlin College => same thing
Bates College => same thing
Fordham University => apply EA
Likelies:
SUNY Buffalo
Bennington College => unlikely to be affordable unless your parents have 250K in a college fund for you
Sarah Lawrence College => unlikely to be affordable unless your parents have 250K in a college fund for you
Therefore, you’re really short on matches and likelies. You need to apply to three among VCU, CNU, UMW, JMU, GMU. if you’re a VA resident; if you’re a NYS resident, apply to SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Bing, and SUNY New Paltz in addition to Buffalo.
Then, look for LACs in the 40-60 range for your matches, and LACs in the 60-125 range for your safeties.
Macalester, NCF, Beloit and Hendrix would be good if you be good if you like Oberlin, Agnes Scott and Mount Holyoke if you like Barnard.
Have you run the NPCs? What’s your parents’ budget?
It depends on the person. I’m applying to two, average seems to be about six/seven. Twelve seems pretty high to me.
Emory is NOT a safety! Maybe cut out a safety or two.
Have you visited these schools? Some of them are quite expensive, what is your EFC?
I put Emory as a Safety because that’s what my college counselor told me.
I also made a mistake in calculating my GPA. It’s not a 3.75, it’s actually a 4.10 (made a HUGE mistake in calculating it, imagine my relief when my college counselor showed it to me!).
UW??
Unless your parents donated a building to Emory, or Emory is recruiting you as an athlete, it is rather unlikely that it can be a safety.
Also, 4.10 is presumably using some kind of weighting which may not be applicable outside your high school. Your unweighted GPA is more useful when estimating what can be a reach, match, or safety.