My D’ s high school wants her to apply to ten next year (she’s a junior). We’ve already gone on about eight college tours/info sessions, and she has seen admissions reps when they visit her high school. Frankly, she has one close and one safety, each, in two different cities, and two Ivies that are total reaches so she may not bother…there just aren’t that many schools that have appealed to her. How/why should she pad her list to get to their magic number?
Two - UT Austin and UPenn (Wharton) for ED
I’ve already gotten into UT Austin through automatic acceptance, so at least I know I’m going to college, lol. Results for UPenn come out on the 16th. I’m so anxious / nervous / excited, I’ve started a countdown on my calendar D:.
My application process was certainly less stressful than that of my peers (some of my friends are still stressing out about college apps), so that was kinda nice. I wished I had applied to NYU and UMich, but whatever.
I applied to ten, and I suffered because each application was in depth and required writing. I liked every school except three, and those were legacy/ close to home.
1 ivy
1 new ivy
6 public ivies
1 close to home (but not public ivy)
1 directly next to top choice, had a campus feel and good programs
My friends all applied anywhere from 6-8, except for one who applied to ten and one applying to 16 or so.
My D is applying to 7 all RD. Her school recommended applying to between 8 and 10.
4 in-state public
2 in-state private
1 out-of-state private
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<li>Didn’t think about applying to more until recently, but at this point it’ll be way too much of a hassle for my college counselor, so I decided against it. </li>
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2 public in-state
4 public OOS
1 private in-state
1 private OOS
My son is applying to a dozen. Four that are safe, with the rest on a continuum between match and very high reach. He hopes to be able to compare several options in-depth after admission and financial aid decisions are known, and expects to be rejected by some, if not most, of the reach schools. We are hoping some of the match schools will offer merit aid. We visited nearly two dozen schools to come up with the list, and he’s applying regular decision to the 12 that survived his initial cut.
I am thankful that he does not have his heart set on a specific reach school. He certainly has preferences, but if he doesn’t get into MIT he is not going to be crushed. He can picture himself attending any of the schools on his list.
I applied to 10.
1 in-state public
3 OOS privates
6 OOS publics
Son applied to 10
Reach
1 Public-Ivy In State
1 Private In State
Matches
1 Public-Ivy (Out of State)
3 Public-Ivy (In-State)
1 Public
1 Private In-State
1 Private Out-of-State
Safety
1 Private In-State
Now most of these are match. Having had experience with applying (kid #2), the only reason for the large number of matches is to compare Merit/Financial Aid.
One thing i learned was not waste too much time on Safeties if the kid doesn’t really like them. So didn’t pay attention to “fee waivers” and such. As a parent, all of these choices are perfect.
So far strategy has worked. One EA acceptance already from a match.
My D applied to only five. Local public university, two small LACs out of state and two other rather large public universities out of state.
My D2 had a list of 8 (6 LAC and 2 small univ), plus a couple others she was on the fence about (1 LAC and 1 small univ). She knew she wanted to go to a relatively small school and we learned a lot about where to focus our efforts after having been through all of this once before with D1.
She ended up applying to
- in-state Univ (small/mid-size) rolling admissions (accepted)
- 2 small LAC early action (accepted at both, merit aid at both)
- 1 LAC (Skidmore) early decision (accepted).
Process (thankfully) done. After the more drawn out experience D1 went through, this was a nice bit of relief.
4: 1 safety (in-state), two “matches”, one reach.
I applied to 3 and wish so bad that I would’ve applied to more. I didn’t get the financial aid I needed from my first choice school so I had to go to my second choice, which I wasn’t that crazy about. I am doing pretty bad at this school now and wish I would’ve looked at other options than being so focused on my first choice school! I’d say now apply to 5 as a minimum!!
applying to 13ish
2 state schools (same application)
4 ivies (legacy at 2, harvard as a ridiculous addition to yale because it’s the same essay, and my parents are willing to pay–as a christmas present)
1 other university that’s a reach
1 other university (match)
1 total reach LAC
3 LACs that are matches (range from nearly safety to low reach)
1 total safety for my sanity
I love every school on the list with the exception of the state schools and the total safety.
Applying to 10-- 8 LACs and 2 small universities, mostly out of state.
One is a financial/admissions “safety” (guaranteed scholarships, rolling admissions) that I really like. Seven are likelies, admission-wise, and have large, competitive merit scholarships that I would need to afford the schools-- I consider these “matches”. I also have one top LAC and one Ivy as unlikely reaches.
So far have been admitted to the safety and two of the matches; one match offered me enough merit to attend and one did not. No surprises so far 
I applied to 4:
Northwestern
Rice
UT Austin
U of Houston
After being rejected from Rice, I now regret not applying to a few more, particularly Texas A&M. Now I’m stuck between a not-really-good-school (Houston) and a really good public school that might not give me much money (Texas). Northwestern is kinda not likely for a number of reasons, even if i do get it.
I applied to 16 last year. This time last year I wasn’t sure what I was looking for in a college: large, small, location, etc. But I think applying to a wide variety helped me discover what I wanted in a school.
I was admitted to 9 schools, waitlisted by 2 Ivy’s, and rejected by 5. In the end, I was thankful that I could choose a school that I felt was the best match for me in many aspects.
Word of advice: if money/time isn’t an issue and you have two schools and you’re not sure which one you should apply to, apply to both.
I applied to:
1 catholic university
3 selective LACs
4 state schools
1 match out of state university
1 reach university
I deliberated applying to an ivy, but none were great matches for me, and is didn’t feel like putting tons of time into it if I probably wouldn’t get in or attend in the first place
I applied to 5, had a list of 11, but got into my ED school so didn’t apply regular to the others.
I am applying to twelve:
Safety
1 OOS private LAC
3 in-state public
Match
2 OOS private
1 in-state private
1 in-state public
Reach
2 in-state private (1 LAC, 1 university - deferred)
2 OOS private (1 LAC, 1 university)
I am applying to like 15. I want to go to pretty selective liberal art colleges that are hard to get into. This is why I am applying to so many schools. Hopefully I will get into one or two that are not my safety schools.