<p>I can't believe I'm applying to 17 colleges!</p>
<p>UC App - 7 colleges (reach, match, safety)
Common app - 8 colleges (super reach, reach, safety)
USC
UMich</p>
<p>I know it's going to cost me a fortune in fees and score reports and I have many essays to write for the apps and supplements. Is this crazy atypical? Counselors at our school are saying "you never know" and I want to have some choices in April!</p>
<p>The counselors at my school frown upon applying to more than 10 schools.</p>
<p>I’d say after 13 it’d start getting too much.</p>
<p>I’m only applying to 6 schools, do you guys recommend applying to a few more?</p>
<p>We have a limit of 10 counselor recs, but the UC’s don’t need them so they’re “free”.</p>
<p>blaw: I agree with your GC, 17 is too many. Will you really be able to put together 17 high-quality applications, without neglecting your schoolwork? Besides, when someone applies to more than about 10 or so schools, they look either super-indecisive or desperate. Or like they want to brag about all the schools they’re applying to. Make some decisions and narrow it down a little.</p>
<p>Banana-Boi: As long as you’ve got at least one true safety on your list which you’d be happy to attend, then 6 is fine IMO.</p>
<p>The UC app is a single app. Easier than common app b’cos there are no supplements or recommendations. So you can look at it as 10 apps + UC app == 11 apps.</p>
<p>Yeah, if UCs are all one app, no supps, then they’re all really one app.</p>
<p>
It depends on what types of schools to which you are applying. For the majority of students applying to 6 schools is plenty. </p>
<p>There are situations where more applications may be a good strategy … here are 3 situations
<p>Honestly, that’s is just obsessive.</p>
<p>17 ???</p>
<p>Geez…and people are giving me grief because DS is applying to 9!!!</p>
<p>Would you really want to go (if accepted, of course) to all of the 17?</p>
<p>The problem is that the ones that I want to go to are a toss up for my stats, no-hook, need FA situation esp with all the budget cuts in CA.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley
UCLA
UC San Diego
USC
Brown
Dartmouth
Northwestern
Notre Dame</p>
<p>So I end up applying for a bunch more that I may consider and of course a string of safeties … In CA we can’t be sure what’s a safety any more and so we hedge our bets.</p>
<p>UMich
CMU
Cornell
Santa Clara
U of Miami
UC Irvine
UC Santa Barbara
UC Davis
UC Santa Cruz</p>
<p>LOL…maybe we should go to a lottery system. Everyone puts their stats and scores and EC’s on a national website, accessible only by institutions, sort of like FAFSA. And they divvy up the kids, with a prearranged and perhaps regulated system to avoid discrimination on the basis of race, creed, geographic location and economic circumstance. </p>
<p>Who knows? </p>
<p>How many is too many? Subjective question…depends on the student and his/her stats and the selectivity of the schools to which applying. If its all ego and collecting “acceptance letters”, I really frown on that. It hurts other kids chances, its rude to your teachers and gc’s, and its narcissistic. Its also disingenuous to the schools who accept you. Only apply to schools where you have a genuine interest. </p>
<p>We all have to game the system, sadly, because of the numbers involved. It would be better if we could pick 2 or 3 and go from there. Some kids do that and get in. Some apply ED, wait and see, and then have 6 or 7 others lined up incase they get rejected or deferred.</p>
<p>17 isn’t too many since 7 of yours are UCs. That’s like applying to 11 schools. It’s still a lot, but just do what you think is OK.</p>