<p>I don’t consider those schools matches for anyone. It’s simply not enough to have the high stats as too many applicants have those as well. We called those “lottery ticket schools.” Just being competitive for those schools is wonderful but the schools are building a class, not rewarding individuals. </p>
<p>Your son is certainly competitive at any school. I wish him the best of luck.</p>
<p>As for the original question; 2 reach-for-everyone, 1 reach, four matches and one safety. We were very lucky in that his safety was guaranteed to our state flagship due to his rank, that took a lot of pressure off. He was not accepted at either reach-for-everyone schools but accepted everywhere else. He is happily attending one of his match school.</p>
<p>Pugmadkate, by match I certainly did not mean to imply a safety school with a virtual guarantee. But I would think that at least 1-2 acceptances, out of 4 such schools in the 20-27% acceptance range, would be a likely outcome. We do have the state flagship as a safety, in any case.</p>
<p>@TacomaJoe – My DD is like your son–she wants to stay in California. And yes, it really seems that the competition to get into any UC or CSU school, no matter the reputation, has really heated up this year. DD applied to 7 schools (2 UCs and 5 CSUs). Initially we thought there were 2 reaches (UCSB, CalPoly) and 2-3 safeties (CSUPomona, CSULB, SFSU). Her major is impacted at all the schools. She has heard only from CSULB and was denied (and we thought she’d definitely get accepted there!). So we’re starting to panic a little. DD applied to a CA private school at that point, just to have another option and to see what kind of FA they might offer. Most deadlines have passed and there are not many CA schools that have rolling admissions. There are 2 CSU that are still taking applications: Bakersfield and Dominguez Hills. The rest are all private schools. My DD got an invitation yesterday via email to apply to UC Merced through the ‘Count Me In’ program which they evidently offer to students who are borderline or whose majors are impacted at the UCs they’ve applied to. They used to offer up UC Riverside, too, but UCR got so many applications this year, they can’t take more. </p>
<p>It’s crazy. Every ‘chances’ calculator we looked at indicated my DD was a match or better for 5 of the original 7 public CA schools she applied to but now I’m afraid she may be denied by all. The extra budget cuts which are cutting out classes/programs, causing instructor furloughs, and cutting numbers of students accepted will likely continue the years that our kids are in college. </p>
<p>Google for ‘CA schools rolling admission’ and you’ll find several sources with lists of possibilities. I hope we are both worrying in vain and that our students will find a perfect fit no matter what!</p>
<p>Tacomajo–since you mentioned your S was guaranteed admission to a UC, I assumed he was ELC (eligible in the local context). As others posted, in the top 4% of his class. His stats look good to me for UCSD and Cal poly SLO, but again no guarantees. I don’t think you need to worry. If he is a good fit, he will get in and be happy.</p>
<p>D1 applied to 11 colleges and D2 applied to 10. Both adopted the same strategy of applying to 2 safeties, 3 matches, and 5 or 6 reaches. Both got into all of their safeties and matches and some but not all of their reaches. Both girls chose to attend one of their reaches.</p>
<p>S1 applied to 12: mix of matches reaches and safeties.
He is in at 6/7 so far. A no from his “reachy reach.”
He has GPA/ACT mismatch, so matches, etc, were hard to judge.</p>
<p>Most kids we know who were shooting for Ivies/other elite schools applied to more than a dozen. I would say 15 or so is typical. My son applied to 18.</p>
<p>D applied to 13 in all, plus Navy (which she hasn’t completed so it doesn’t really count). I thought her list would be smaller (like around 8-9) but she kind of panicked when she got deferred ED. It ended up being a good mix (I hesitate to use the word safety) and I think/hope she’ll get into 3-4 so she’ll have some choices.</p>
<p>Can you suggest your child do 2-3 more? Lots of schools have rolling admission</p>
<p>Yes, but I guess most of us have kids who applied EA or rolling. I highly recommend it for anyone deciding what to do for next year – it takes a lot of pressure off to get a some early replies. (Also I think some people are discussing what their kids did in earlier years.) My S applied to two schools EA and one with rolling admissions, and has been admitted to all 3, 2 of them with very favorable financial packages. Like I said, it takes a load of stress off, for sure!</p>
<p>D1 applied to 11 schools. She got into 2 safeties, 3 matches, and no reaches. She should have applied EA to some schools but she is very happy with her college so all ends well.</p>
<p>D applied to 9 and is already in at 6 - she appled to very specific limited programs (less than 65 seats per school) so all but 1 were considered “reach” programs, not necessarily reach schools.</p>
<p>D applied to 11 schools and is into 7 or 8 so far. No rejections yet. Her 3 reaches she is into; they were probably "low"reaches. We are pleasantly surprised.</p>
<p>Last year my daughter applied to 10 and got into 7. Two of them were OOS safeties (but not financially feasible). The other 5 were all in CA. Out of the three UCs she applied to, UC Davis accepted her. Two private acceptances: USC and University of the Pacific. Again, they were considerably too expensive even with merit awards. So, she decided upon Cal Poly SLO and it’s definitely been an excellent match for her. It’s kind of ironic because when we first began looking at colleges, she had a “type” that appealed to her. That was more the traditional brick and ivy. When we visited Cal Poly, she turned up her nose and insisted she would NOT be going there! Well, 5 months later she’s certainly not singing *that *tune anymore. ;)</p>
<p>(1 of each was an in-state, financial safety)</p>
<p>This was too many, particularly the 3 safeties. The problem was that the GC had us convinced that “you never know” and wouldn’t concede any matches. At one point, I was thinking she’d be lucky to get in one school. After the apps were submitted (Oct), I was thinking perhaps she could get in to all. So hard to know, esp the first time around.</p>
<p>Results:</p>
<p>1 deferred, 1 waitlist at the reaches. Accepted at all the others. She is now happily attending one of her match schools (OOS).</p>
<p>I wanted to update that my son was accepted to Cal Poly. So all the worry and anxiety is now gone. He will wait until he hears from UCLA and UCSD, but I’m pretty sure his mind is made up. :)</p>