Here’s actual data from the common app platform. Obviously this won’t capture UC applications, nor Coalition, or any individual outlier schools. As you can see most kids apply to 5 or fewer schools, with 1 (1!) being the most common by far. Really highlights how the CC community is not especially reflective of the larger “applying to college” universe.
Here’s the full report if you want to read up:
Really interesting on the # of apps shrinking until the spike at the max
Probably because the max aggregates everyone who would have organically topped off at 20 and everyone who would have done >20 but were constrained by the cap.
Would it be correct to assume that most of the 50 colleges (and scholarships at those colleges) did not have unique essays or other unique application items that needed to be done?
“Most”? Tough to say.
Going from what I remember, because significant FinAid was needed, most were private universities. And most of the private universities had at least one essay. Even public universities sometimes had essays. VA Tech had four essay questions - none as long as a usual essay, but each required some degree of deeper thought and preparation. And even when schools didn’t require an essay for admission, several required essays for some scholarships.
I know the consensus on CC is that it’s difficult to modify essays to fit different schools’ essay requirements. Maybe that’s true for some applicants, but it wasn’t the case during S20’s process. I read nearly all of the essay prompts and very few seemed so different that one of the four-or-five trusted essays he had couldn’t fit. A couple of schools (U Richmond comes to mind) had ridiculously unique questions designed specifically to generate a one-off essay, but most were fairly generic.
Part of my past was in writing/communications/marketing, so I was able to coach S20 along and help him hone his ideas and change them for different prompts. Maybe that’s why that part of the process didn’t seem overwhelming to him. Not every student will have a parent who can be a ringleader and coach during this process; and without a ringleader/coach, not every student will be able to handle so much on his/her own.
D20 applied to 15. S24 will likely apply to 14.
If you have fluid interests and a difficult-to-gauge profile, you apply to more schools. D wasn’t sure she wanted a LAC or a big public or private university. (Funny enough, she ended up at Barnard). So she applied to a mix.
S24 is in a different boat. He has a certain type of school that he likes but his top choice schools are very popular. So, he’s applying widely.
From my vantage point, 12-15 apps is the norm among my kids’ peer groups.
D24 will apply to five EA. Those are reach/targets.
We have four RD options that she would do in January if need be.
So, total of 9 (1 reach, 5 targets and 3 safeties). EOD she would be okay attending any of them.
Seems that she threaded the needle just right in that case 
For my S23, out of 7 early applications (1 ED and 6 EA) - not counting the UCs, which are on their own schedule - most of the EA schools deferred him into the RD pool. (1 rejection ED, 2 EA acceptances from match/target schools, and 4 deferrals.) Deferral from the EA pool to the RD pool was very typical among his high stat peers. EA doesn’t seem like the advantage it once was.
Yeah been worried about that! Hope to have Elon, Denver and UDel get back to us by Christmas, some of her other EA (Santa Clara and Umass) seem to defer a lot of kids esp given how many apps they get now
From what I understand, the vast majority of SF moves on to be a finalist. Do you know what prevented him from becoming a finalist?
Multiple C’s in his freshman/sophomore years.
Got it. Glad it did’t keep him from getting accepted at one of his top schools.
