My D has applied to 6 so far, and will apply to one more in January so 7 total.
4 of these were free: 2 because of fee waivers and 2 because they are free for everyone. One of the schools was really a throw away app - she hadn’t visited or shown any interest in the school but it was free, on the common app, and had no supplement so all she had to do was click send.
My D applied to one Honors Program that actually has its own teacher recommendation form that it sends directly to the teacher after you apply. D warned her rec writer that this was coming.
One of my kids applied EA to one school and got in and was done. The younger one applied to 15 schools and didn’t decide where they were going until April 29 after much analysis. The younger one was concerned about fit and a diverse environment more than anything
My daughters both applied to at least 15 schools apiece. I did not encourage this but I did not stop them; they were the ones doing the work. They had different stats, different ECs, different types of schools to which they applied. Both were rejected by three or four schools and got into the rest.
I don’t know where the posters are from a year or two ago, but many in this group seems to be in the 5-10 range, where a year ago many posters said kids were applying to 15-20. We were in that range and it was great to have a ton of choices and scholarships, but everyone is different. Part of the need for a large number was having a student who had no idea (and I mean completely indecisive for most of the process) if they wanted big, small, urban, rural, close or far, despite having visited many many campuses. She needed to see several options and it wasn’t decided till crunch time with all the acceptances. Luckily, I had zero to do with the apps, this is my independent one who happens to be an excellent writer. So applying to that many was her choice. Now we both know she chose the perfect place for her and is incredibly happy, even though it was far from a top choice when the process started.
Not a parent, but I can weigh in with my parents’ opinions here. I’m applying to nine, although that is looking more like eight as I may drop one. All have application fees, some are $50 and some are $80. I know my parents are concerned about that aspect of it, especially since they have $0 saved up for college and did not know you had to pay to apply. However, they are encouraging me to apply to any school that I can see myself at that would be feasible with financial aid. I think they view it as an investment now into the aid packages I will get later.
As far as the time commitment of the actual applications themselves, they have no idea what the common application is. But that’s my responsibility, and I’m making sure to space everything out so I have plenty of time but I’m also able to keep my grades up in school.
Bottom line: I’m applying to 8-9 because 5-6 of those are reaches, so I’d like to have as many options as possible.
@peytonmg - Congrats on being a responsible and mature high schooler well ready for college! Your parents should be proud! It is great that while they may not understand the process, you are taking it on and they are supporting it, great family teamwork! Make sure your safeties are schools that you like and see yourself attending. Keep in mind, if aid is important, apply to schools where your scores and grades are in the top 25% of that school’s admission stats. That is your best bet to the big aid bucks. Good luck!
@CADREAMIN Thank you! I just feel as though it is important to me to take the lead on this because in a year, my parents will not necessarily be there to help out. (Although, Skype is a vastly underestimated tool.) I should be okay on aid, especially as I’m applying to some schools where I qualify for automatic merit scholarships, and my first decision in December should give me a rough estimate of what will probably be my best package. Thanks again for the advice, I appreciate your response.
@CADREAMIN Thank you! That’s pretty high praise. I do try to have all of my stuff together, but I have to give some credit to my parents, as they’re somewhat purposefully oblivious but also encouraging. They’re also divorced, meaning that I have to communicate and coordinate everything that I’m doing twice and way in advance.
peytonmg, ask all your schools if they have waivers or a way to apply for free. At DD#2’s school, you have to pay if you use the Common Ap, but not if you apply directly online. At DD#1’s school, they have a free application in July of each year, but I bet they have other ways too. Many schools just want you to ask. You’ll still have to pay for your scores to be sent, but if even half of your schools give you a waiver you’ll save $200.
OP - my kids were applying to about 7-8 schools apiece though they got in ED and withdrew the other apps.
Your guidance counselor’s opinion on how many colleges your kids should apply to is irrelevant. Just like you don’t care what the bank teller thinks about how much money you should withdraw from the ATM and what you should spend it on. Unless he/she is paying, he/she has little role other than to get the recos and transcripts where they need to be.
@sseamom , my kids went to a pretty small school, too. One of them applied to several schools that did not take the common app, and the letters were mailed via snail mail to some. The same letters (not read by my kids, as colleges generally prefer) were used for all the colleges. Teachers have a lot to do; I guess the only reason I can think that a specific letter might even help is if the teacher attended the college themselves. Or if the college had some specific format they wanted that differed from the others. Otherwise I don’t see the point, and it seems disrespectful of the teachers’ time and an unnecessary coordination effort. Just my viewpoint.
I teach Seniors this year, and I have close to 200 kids.
I’m more than happy to write letters, but know that I just spent an hour and a half prepping my work for this week-- in a week when I don’t have to make up a test. (I’ll get to Wednesday’s quiz later this weekend.) I got off easy this year, but last year was asked to write letters for 40 kids, 38 the year before that.
I simply do not have time to write a different letter for each of the 8 or 9 or 10 schools that each of my students are going to apply to.
I have to go into work for 5 hours today. And, by the way, it would be lovely if I could spend a little time with my own kids this weekend… before or after getting caught up on food shopping and laundry.
I’ve submitted my letters to the guidance department, and they’ll send them out from there.
The ONLY exception to that is the service academies, which have a different set of rules entirely.
Son 1 was one and done.
Son 2 applied to 6, none common app, but is applying to honors college and additional school scholarships at and fellowships at 5 that require extra work.
The seniors were not told that a single letter (or two) would be sent to every college. They were told to choose teachers carefully based on the schools where they were applying. I’m sure that the teachers are recycling letters if asked to send more than one for the same student. But our school has always been a little offbeat, so perhaps that’s why they’ve allowed the kids to customize who they asked for letters for which colleges. Or it could be that most kids only apply to one or two schools. It also might be because the counselor is new and doesn’t know the kids well and does more of a form letter for the kids. Fwiw, she is only the second student so far to even have started on apps yet, so… But I will have her ask if she’s being disrespectful and causing them to lose valuable time when they’d rather be doing other things.
Been admitted to all 3, all were safeties, probably. (I know for sure one was.)
She's actually looking for more to apply to, but since she is happy so far with her three...
I will add - many of her classmates are applying to at least 6.
My oldest kid only applied to 2, but he’s been track for USNA since the 7th grade and he knew he wanted to go there and worked toward it, the other school was just a last resort for him.
I have two step-daughters who weren’t raised like a lot of CC kids, average students, went to nice public schools, go to a nice state university. One applied to four, the other applied to three. Both got into their first choice.
My second oldest kid is similar to a lot of CC kids, as are the rest of my kids. She’s only a junior right now but based off of what I’ve seen from her, it’ll be a miracle if the kid applies to less than 6.
I’m not sure my HS student would realize that it was inconveniencing the teachers. Does the GC have experience from a prior position with admissions? Most GCs would not have the kids asking for letters individualized to a college if they had been doing this for long.
But that’s my responsibility, and I’m making sure to space everything out so I have plenty of time but I’m also able to keep my grades up in school.