<p>I agree with automatic. It is a good idea to do your research before your applications are do so you can get a feel as to if you really would like to attend a particular school. 2-3 safeties, 3-4 matches and 2-3 reaches. IMO, 9-10 schools at most. Applying just to apply is a waste of money and takes away spots for someone who would really like to attend a particular school if you should get in but don't want to go there. Another thing to remember about reaches is that they are a "REACH" which means statistically you probably know that you might not match up whether it be grades, SAT/ACT stats, EC's etc. You need to evaluate the difficulty of the school and the competition you will face should you be admitted to a reach and make sure it will be a good match for you. On the other hand fo example, I guess a reach could also be an OOS trying to get into a UC or someone who needs the financial aid to attend a particular school. Then I can see taking a shot if your intention is to go if you get in. Anyway, the bottom line is apply to schools you would be happy at and good luck to all of you.</p>
<p>7 - 10 colleges, I think, is best.</p>
<p>1-3 reach schools
3-4 semi-reach, semi-safeties
2-3 safeties</p>
<p>Anything more than 15 is getting kind of crazy. I know someone who applied to 16 schools and I'm sure he'll get into multiple schools.</p>
<p>I only applied to 6. </p>
<p>I've known kids who applied to 1-2 schools, so I mean, there are extremes on both ends.</p>
<p>Apply to free/reduced lunch in your senior year. If you're eligible, you'll receive free lunch at school, you don't have to pay for SAT/ACT registration fees, and you also get fee waivers for college applications. If you are still considering about applying to 20 schools, see if you can get the free/reduced lunch. It's gonna help you save SOOO much money.</p>
<p>I agree with bkstg_mt, you should visit the schools first, during this summer if you can. You might change your mind about the schools that you are interested in. I applied to around 17 schools and I don't really regret it. But some of the schools are state schools, which I could care less. My school CAP advisor said that in the end, it'll pay off, and I'll be able to have more options and see how much each school offers me. But I made the mistake of not visiting the schools first, because I am quite torn in many options right now...</p>
<p>So I say, go for it--go ahead and apply to how ever number of schools you want to apply to, but make sure you fill out the form, and if you qualify for the program, you'll save loads of money. If you want to have more options in the end, apply. If you prefer dealing with just a few schools, then apply to less.</p>
<p>OMG 35... 20 is still A LOT. Cut it down to the lower 10's. I am thinking of 6-7colleges, 8 AT MOST. Don't know how people can fill out so many applications.. it's a pain in the butt!</p>
<p>my app number=16</p>
<p>not only was i ready to die after submitting 16 apps (checked millions of times) but after 16 FA forms i never want to think about college ever again.</p>
<p>dont do this to yourself. you def dont want to got to all of them. find something you dont like about some of them, and cut em.</p>
<p>I plan on applying to ten as well.</p>
<p>Originally, I was going to apply to 11, and I wrote essays for six schools and submitted them, but I ended up getting in ED, so I withdrew the 5 I sent other than the ED and never applied to the other 5. I would have applied to less but for a few I used the common app + the school supplement.</p>
<p>I applied to 14...14 wasn't that bad considering (the UC only had one app) but it is definitely manageable if you are responsible. If you aren't though you are going to struggle and that might affect some of your apps (Stanford and MIT for me). But if you start in the summer, pace yourself, know you're deadlines, and gather all the required things (recommendations, transcripts, etc) it definitely be done without much stress. The only problem is the choice of where to choose after that...</p>
<p>i applied to like 26!</p>
<p>Hey, apply to as many schools as you want, as long as they're schools to which you actually see yourself going.</p>
<p>You should apply to as many schools as long as the time and money you spent is worth more than the opportunity cost of making your favorite schools' applications better, both in composition (grammar & writing) **and **content (going out and getting an award...doing comm. serv., etc.).</p>
<p>I applied to very few schools so I could create a very determined focus on my target school.</p>
<p>I applied to 9, and I was fine during the application process. Money for application fees wasn't too much of a problem either. The real problem that starts to happen when you appy to so many schools is when financial aid starts to come out if you're applying for financial aid. All schools have different forms, deadlines, and questions resulting in a more hectic Jan-March than when I was actually applying. Also, I might have missed out on a few scholarships available at each school that you had to apply for because I basically had too many to check the different scholarships and deadlines at each school. I'm glad I'm going to have a lot of choices possibly, but I wouldn't recommend the amount of work that came from it after the applications were in.</p>
<p>Yes, when you look around at colleges, it's pretty exciting. You're like, MAN! colleges are so cool! I want to go EVERYWHERE! .. and you have so much energy. </p>
<p>But then you sit down and start writing applications. And you realize the futility of your earlier aspirations. And you end up applying to half as many colleges as you once intended to.</p>
<p>Well, that's just my experience, anyway. You guys might be more diligent about this.</p>
<p>One thing I've always found funny though is an oft-circulated strategy to apply to a couple of reach schools, stack your list with "match" schools, and round it out with a couple of safeties.</p>
<p>I mean, if these "match" schools are also your top choices, why bother applying to "reaches"? On the other hand, if some "reach schools" are your top choices, why would you minimize the chance of getting into one by only applying to a couple? By filling your list with "matches" which are lower on your list, you're only increasing the odds of going to a school you're rather "meh" about. </p>
<p>I think if your desired choices are also hard to get into - which probably applies to a lot of people here - locate a <em>couple</em> of schools you like that you probably or almost definitely will get into, but don't go trigger happy and stuff your list full of them. I mean, you're not trying to maximize your application success rate, but rather to get in somewhere where you'll be happy.</p>
<p>I mention this because I think a major reason for these ridiculously sized lists (aside from pure indecisiveness) is some internal urge to round out your list so it doesn't become "top heavy"...but I think that's unnecessary.</p>
<p>35 applications is just the lazy way of doing things right. </p>
<p>It's blindfolding yourself and throwing darts everyone in hopes of hitting a target. I'm applying aorund 5 schools and it's insanely hard. Multiple prompts, multiple essays, different scoring systems, different transcript submittal dates, fin. aid & merit aid deadlines, and the list doesn't end. Oh yeah, don't forget about hounding those professors to send your transcripts. Applying to different majors? Can't use a Business professor's recommendation for Soc major...etc. In other words, even the rec's have to match the dept. you're applying to. </p>
<p>Look harder, research more. Applying to numerous safety schools defeats the purpose of it being "safety." Safety schools are schools you know you will make it into, thus there's no point in having too many. With the superfluous college statistics you can find here and elsewhere, finding the scope of your safety schools is just clicks away. </p>
<p>The match and reach schools will require you to be much more vigilent. Applying more than 30 colleges will put you at an instant disadvantage since your competition, who are probably applying to less than 10 schools, will have much more time focus on the quality of their application. Spread yourself too thin and you might just lose the quality needed for your previously thought match schools. </p>
<p>Take 25 schools out and focus on other things...EC's...your current grade...etc.</p>
<p>Be sure that when you are determining what's a reach/safety/match, you also evaluate what is a FINANCIAL reach/safety/match. You can expect to spend nearly $100 per school on the application fee, SAT/ACT reports and Fin AId reports. Talk to your parents NOW about what <em>they</em> are prepared to contribute. Ask them for your family's financial figures so you or they can run schools through the EFC calculator. </p>
<p>As a parent, there is a big disconnect between saying "yes, we'll help you go to college" and the reality that hits when one sees the actual EFC figure and realizes it represents as much as 1/3 of one's current pre-tax income.</p>
<p>I will join the chorus advocating for 6-10 apps, leaning to the high side if you are looking for serious finnancial aid.</p>
<p>Woops, in my previous post I meant to say: "...professors to send your recommendations"</p>
<p>I applied to 18, mostly cuz my stats (low 3.33ish GPA but good 33 ACT) and profile (good ECs, essays) make it a crapshoot re where I might get in. So far I've been accepted at my one safety; denied at my match state school; and deferred at 2 EA schools and 2 rolling admissions schools. All those apps and fin aid forms were a load of work, but I want to go to a strong program. I've got my favorites, but who knows?</p>
<p>I would definately not apply to more than 12.
I personally applied to a total of 10 and let me tell u, it was really stressfull. I have so far gotten into 6 of them and I am waiting responses from the final 4. Just filling out the applications wasnt the proble but moreover mailing the transcripts and letters of reference, plus deal with schools never recieving transcripts and re sending them. It was soooo stressfull. for ten apps, it was like 300 dollars. if ur gonna apply to 3 dozen, prepare to pay close to 1 k. I would reccommend u pick 1 safety, 4 matches, and 3 reches.</p>
<p>The ease of filing the online common app and the surge in overall number of applicants are the principal reasons why kids have to apply to an ever greater number of schools to get some meaningful choices. </p>
<p>The old formula with 2-3 reaches, 2-3 targets and 2-3 safeties is simply not working for many kids.</p>
<p>My D ended up applying to 18 schools (17 private) and I don't think in the end the number was excessive. She visited every school except 3 and had 11 interviews. All the applications except for 5 were filed through the common app. She was willing to attend any of the schools if accepted.</p>
<p>She wanted a school with a strong premed track record (70% or greater acceptance rate) preferably in the Northeast. She is in the top 2% of her class of 430 in a very competitive public school but like many applicants lacks any strong hooks. Like many strong applicants she applied SCEA to a most selective school and was deferred. Now she faces pools of 5,000 to over 20,000 highly qualified applicants in the RD round at all her schools of interest.</p>
<p>Of the 18 schools:
-Ten of them are reaches (stats are in the 25-50% percentile in terms of SAT and GPA)
-Seven are targets (stats in the 50-75% percentile)
-One safety (stats above the 75% percentile + legacy)</p>
<p>All the reaches are highly selective with less than 20% RD acceptance and even the targets typically are in the 20-30% range. </p>
<p>With this type of selectivity, had she restricted her reach and target schools to 2 or 3 choices each, there would have been less than a 50/50 chance she would be accepted to any of them. As it stands she will be lucky to be admitted to more than one of her reaches and 2 or 3 of the targets. This will leave her with 3 to 4 real options to choose from come April. Since all the schools she applied to were need blind, financial aid packages will be largely the same for all schools. </p>
<p>In many ways the college application process for some students is similar to the process of applying to med school, just 4 years earlier. You apply to a whole bunch of schools and hope to get in to 2 or 3.</p>