<p>Really, you should do something like:
2 safeties
2 matches
2 reaches</p>
<p>Personally, I had like 10 schools at first … did some research and narrowed it down to
2 safeties - UMich and Mich State
1 ‘match’ - Chicago (really it didn’t work that well b/c I was on the waitlist until 6/19 :o
and 3 reaches - MIT, Stanford, and Brown</p>
<p>I had more reaches because Michigan is already an amazing school that’s a steal when it comes to value as an IOS … and my parents warned me that they would be willing to pay my Michigan education only. They offered to pay for my Chicago education and nothing else when I got in (I didn’t qualify for much FA) but still I personally thought that Chicago wasn’t worth it and Michigan would help me more in the real world … stuff like that. It was really complicated, but now it’s finally over!</p>
<p>Beyond money, the most important reason for not applying to 15 schools is the fact that it takes so much time and energy to apply to that many schools that your S runs the very high risk of not having the highest quality applications.</p>
<p>Sit down and have him take a hard look at all of the essays, “Why school X?” and short answers he will have to write. Don’t forget, while he may have some basic templates, for good applications, he will want to customize essays for each school.</p>
<p>i guess applying to 15 institutions doesnt make much sense if you are not planning for a full ride. for a fact i know 1 international student who has applied to 18 universities and 2 others who have applied to 15. their main criteria was getting 100% of their need met.</p>
<p><<As predicted -
we are now down to
2 reaches
4 matches
2 safeties</p>
<h2>Stay tuned…there are sure to be more changes!!! >></h2>
<p>Wow…within the scope of a few hours…DS has (for now) eliminated 1 “reach” school. The chance of him getting into UT-Austin is slim, he has no driving “desire” to go there, and the in-state tuition cost is not that much less than several of his OOS schools…so he had dropped it. The other “reach” (GA Tech) is still in.</p>
<p>The 4 “match” schools include 2 in the Big 10 (Penn State and Purdue) and 2 in the ACC (Clemson and VA Tech), so there is a good mix there.</p>
<p>The 2 safeties (Auburn and Univ of OK) are also quite different.</p>
<p>It’s only mid-July…wonder what will happen by August!!!</p>
<p>To Gr–I hear you. Son is now actually receptive to visiting one of the southern schools that we would consider a “safety”. He would most likely get in, has a real easy app, bring your 30 bucks, your app, and have your GC send your transcript. We’ll tell you before you leave on visit day if you’re in. And it has his major. But we’ve never even been to the city it’s located in, know nothing about the school. We intend to visit sometime in September. It is in driving distance, although not a short drive, six hours, but it’s doable. Won’t hurt to submit the app, and if we decide after the visit, we don’t like it, for whatever reason, we can scratch it off. But, there goes a safety. </p>
<p>For his top choice, a northern school. Remember, we’re southerners. Only visited in the summer. Have visions of him going for a visit in the winter and saying, no way, can’t handle this. Then we’re back at square one. </p>
<p>As for visits, it’s cheaper to submit a 30 dollar app than to drive 300 to 400 miles for a visit, at the shortest. We will forego a lot of the long distance, expensive visits for when the acceptance and aid comes in. If schools accept him, but not enough aid, won’t even visit. Not worth the time and money if no way can afford. </p>
<p>If we had the time and money to visit all these schools before we apply, we could probably narrow it down to the six. But since we have limited time we can take off of work, we’re having to rely on brochures and internet searches for our information.</p>
<p>Thank goodness for CC. At least we can get some “inside” info on some of these schools.</p>
<p>What is the difference between a match and a safety?</p>
<p>And can you clarify what a reach is? Is it a school you probably won’t get in based on your stats, but you have some good intangible qualities, like service work, ECs, leadership, that they may admit you? Or is a reach a school you would really like to go to, may get in, but the only way you can go is if they give you a really good scholarship? </p>
<p>As for being able to afford the apps, many of these are free if you apply online, so there is no additional cost there. </p>
<p>Also, if a good portion all take the common application, aren’t you just doing one app and duplicating it for numerous colleges, or am I not understanding the process of the common app? Please educate me!</p>
<p>Most of us aren’t really giving “inside” info on schools … it’s just helpful because the advice most of us give is based on what we’ve heard from school officials and what we’ve experienced … and we pass it on to you guys to help you out. It’s not entirely “insider” and sometimes the stuff we say (admittedly) may NOT be accurate at all. But this is a free service after all, and personally I do it with the best of intentions for everyone else. College admissions was very complex, and for me CC helped me out and I’m just passing on what I’ve learned.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the education. So, common app not as easy as it seems. There will be a way to weed out the fringe choices. As above posters said, save your best work for your top choices. As for inside info, not meant that it’s a secret. Just good to hear from parents or students that have actually been at certain schools and can give you first hand experience of life there, something you won’t get from a viewbook.</p>
<p>Thanks, B. Your statistical formula is what worries me about not applying to enough schools. You may think you’re going to get into a school, because your stats fall into their published range, but really, if they have a large number of applicants and a limited number they accept, you really are not Guaranteed admission anywhere. Glad you learned from the experience.</p>
<p>I’m in the 5-7 camp, but we are different than you in that we visited before applying so both my kids had about 15 colleges on their maybe list which was narrowed to 5 (older S) and 6 (rising senior son) by the time the visits were over. Older S had all match/safety schools, younger S has a big reach, two matches and three safeties according to the school statistics. Visiting before application quickly narrowed down the kids’ lists but some families can’t or aren’t willing to spend the money to do that legwork before applications which is perfectly understandable. We didn’t have kids that looked all over the country and simply targeted based on their must-haves which which included “must be able to easily get to skiing” so that helped narrow the search quickly and we accomlished our visits in 2 or 3 short trips.</p>
<p>montegut, we don’t know B’s list. Maybe it was poorly crafted and full of reaches. If so, it’s not a surprise he/she would be rejected from most of them. Six schools is still plenty to choose from; you can only attend one.</p>
<p>I would also say if son really does 15 apps or more (and he certainly can) and he goes to a public school make sure the guidance office is on board and understands the strategy or they may sit your child down for a “talk”…at least that is what would happen in my kids’ school. So make sure your kiddo has a rationale for the volume approach. If he is stuggling with how to eliminate there possibilities there are many threads on this topic. Some basic questions I can come up with from your posts here are: Why do you want to apply to a college without a BME program? Do you prefer a large school or a small school? Do you want to be able to come home for long weekends? Can your family afford the college/uni? Do you prefer an urban environment or a rural environment? Those types of questions can also help a young person narrow down a list. Or a simple pros/cons list can be helpful, too.</p>
<p>Here’s the part I don’t get … assuming your son is a rising senior … in mid-July the summer before his senior year why is your family frantically working on pairing the application list down. He has almost 6 months to figure this out … which frankly is just about how long most kids work on their list. Why the rush? Is the student driving this (OK I guess) Or is a parent pushing closure? Is so please consider letting the student drive the pace of the search; he has A LOT of time left.</p>
<p>Personally I think it is a good thing lots of schools are on the list at this point … it seems he is exploring options and finding lots of things interesting. If this were my kid at this time I would not be focused on the list but on helping him understand which attributes he likes best … use colelge visits to get a handle on … city/suburb/college town/boonies … big/small school … tech focused/well rounded … etc. Answering these questions will help narrow the list.</p>
<p>BTW I do not think a short list is necessarily a great thing if the student is driving the long list and motivated to do more apps … personally I think only having 2 reaches is a pretty limiting strategy. Short lists are also tough for folks shooting for merit scholarships or for schools with auidtion based admissions, for example.</p>
<p>As Alan pointed out, one reason to apply to so many is that all other things being equal, you never know who will offer merit money before you actually apply.</p>