<p>I am curious to know how many schools your child is applying to. Our guidance counselors have said that 6-7 is enough.</p>
<p>My daughter is now applying to seven: 2 reach, 3 match, 2 safety.</p>
<p>One - if you ask him.</p>
<p>Seven.
One EA match/reach, 2 super-reach, 2 match, 2 safety</p>
<p>I think the number of schools a student applies to is somewhat related to their situation or types of schools. If a top student applying to highly selective schools with difficult odds, it may mean slightly more schools. If requiring merit aid, it might alter the total number, etc. But overall, I believe that no matter the total number of schools, the list must be balanced, something like in the vicinity of 40% reach schools, 40% match schools, 20% safety schools. For most kids, I would think 8 schools would work. I think it is unnecessary for almost any kid to apply to more than 10. Therefore, depending on various factors such as those I already mentioned, a range from about 6-10 schools would work for MOST kids. </p>
<p>My oldest child, currently a college freshman, applied to 8 schools. She was offered a full ride scholarship at our state university, a school she had not intended to apply to, so did submit that app as a ninth app, given they waived the app fee as well, and so who wouldn't. I thought of her list as 8 schools but I realize technically, she filed apps at 9 schools. </p>
<p>My child who is a current applicant has 8 schools on her list. I do not think it would be wise in her case to apply to fewer schools. Her situation is different than a typical student going for liberal arts, like my older child. She is applying to BFA degree programs in musical theater and most programs in this field are highly selective with admit rates ranging between 5-9% or so. While I surely do not advocate students have a college list like this with no safeties, I have to admit that no school on her list is a safety as pretty much all the programs in this field are selective. We pray she can get into at least two of these. </p>
<p>For a typical applicant, I would suggest approx. 8 schools....3 reach, 3 match, and 2 safety. I think there would be variations of this depending on circumstances, however.</p>
<p>8 - 2 super safeties, 1 safety, 5 reach/matches. Like Susan's D, one of the safety applications was thrown in as why not - I thought she wasn't going to apply.
Financial aid is a real reason to apply to more schools - to me, one reason some kids apply to so many, is that they can't decide which ones they really want, and this justs delays the decision. Needing the best combo of fit and FA is a little more objective decision making.</p>
<p>I think most students apply to 6-8 schools. this seems reasonable. Many more than that, and it looks like you neither know what you want or where you would fit.
My daughter applied to 5 schools.
Of course if you apply ED and are admitted you only have to apply to one!</p>
<p>when y'all say ~8 schools, are you counting state schools as one app, or multiple apps? For example, the Univ of California schools have one app for all; just pay the fees online the sytem sends your app to any (or all 10) at one time.</p>
<p>5- 1 safety, already in rolling admissions (and she reminds me that she has no need to ever do another admissions essay, if she doesn't want to), 1 match, 3 reaches....including all campuses of UC separately (essays not yet done!)</p>
<p>my son only applied to 4. If he isn't accepted at at least one of his two early action schools, he'll have time to add our state school as a safety.</p>
<p>6: 2 safety, 2 match, 2 reasonable reaches. The safeties are also financial safeties.</p>
<p>First two kids each applied to one school ED and got in. If they didn't, each had two back-ups. This saved me a bundle in application fees!</p>
<p>Third will apply to one school ED and will probably have three back-ups.</p>
<p>d. applied to 3; one e.d., one for merit aid deadline, and one to show early interest. Getting in her top choice e.d. saved her from submitting the other 4-5 she was prepared to finish for r.d.</p>
<p>At least 2. One app is due before the EA notificiation. IF EA falls, through, a total of 6.</p>
<p>"my son only applied to 4. If he isn't accepted at at least one of his two early action schools, he'll have time to add our state school as a safety."</p>
<p>We're in a similar situation. My S has applied ED to one reach/near match that's truely his first choice and has apps queued up for two other schools that are strong matches or even safeties depending on who you believe. He's got a couple of ultimate safeties here in town whose deadlines are much later in the year.</p>
<p>Texas and Strick, I'm sure you've already looked into this, :), but in our state, housing is a big issue at the state schools, so those apps need to go in early to get on the housing list - just a thought for others who may read this thread.</p>
<p>My son is applying to 20 schools. More than half of them are audition schools and he will have the bulk of the auditions done by the end of the first week in December. Then there are a handful that have only second term auditions which he'll finish up by February. He applied to HPY because he did not feel he would be complete without doing so, applying early to one, but has shown no demonstrated interest in those schools and I do not feel it is necessary, other than going to the alumni interviews. He is applying to 3 more non audition schools of which one is a reasonable reach, one a match and one a safety. Some of his audition schools are music schools where his voice audition will be the main considerations, a few are drama/theatre programs where the monologues are the key factor, and the bulk are musical theatre schools where he will have to literally sing and dance his way in the door. He filled out all of the schools' prior year apps during the summer--very few changed their formats, and so it took him just 3 days to get all of his apps as soon as the new ones came out. He then scheduled the auditions in Oct, most in Nove, and the rest that he could in December. He'll have completed 7 auditions by the end of this week with 3 to go during the 1st week in December. Though he has only one official early app in, several of the schools have early notication and rolling admissions, so, hopefully in the next few weeks, he'll have a good idea where he stands. He has high test scores but a mixed bag of grades, and top ECs. He interviews very well, and hopefully he auditions well. </p>
<p>I am making the process sound a lot smoother than it has been. I have been gnashing my teeth at the stupidities that he has done in this process that have required much intervention on my part including forgetting his accompaniment tape for the Tisch audition necessitating my driving back to get it, which meant I was on the road for 6 hours straight (would have been more but my sweet, sweet neighbor met me about half way with it when I called her frantically about the situation--otherwise the the tape would not have made it for the audition as we live more than 2 hours away) that day fighting NYC traffic for a bulk of the time. He sent off apps online without my proofing them and they are pock filled with all kinds of errors. He sent his "bad boy" attachment essays to schools that never asked for them. He sent apps without getting a copy of them first. He sent incomplete apps. He has gotten the school counselor and his advisor and his mother upset during this process.</p>
<p>Ideally for him, I would have applied to 10-12 schools. This morphed into more when he decided to add some onto the original list, including a school that gives 2 weeks notification and the HPY schools just because he wants to apply to them and, of course, Juilliard because, again, he feels incomplete without it. I would have picked about 6-8 audition schools, with 2 being "practice" runs, then 3 that were non audition in the reach, match and safety range, and then Juilliard. The fact that most of his schools are audition schools does help in that he does not have to go too far with the demonstrated interest. He goes to the college sessions if that college visits his highschool, went to nearly all of the schools last year for prelim visits, and is visiting as he auditions. He gets in the interview during the auditions and revisits the school at that time. </p>
<p>My other son applied to 17 schools because he was also a mixed bag of credentials and picked up some schools after applying to an original group of 10. My girls only applied to about a half dozen schools, maybe less, I believe my D only applied to 5. My nephew only applied to 5 schools initially and three transfer school when he transferred out. So it really depends on the situation. There is another young man at S2's school that has applied to as many or more schools as he has in that he needs a full ride to go to college. But a number of the schools are on one app as he is a NY state resident and you can do that. Another has used the common conservatory form for a half dozen schools and has applied to another half dozen music programs that do not use that form. It is always tricky when you are auditioning or going for money. For S's school this year, the average number of apps is 11, but many of them are being held for the early letters, and if they are positive, the average will go way down as last year more than 65% of the kids got in early from his school. We actually mailed out the apps instead of holding them until the early answers came even though it cost us about $1000 to do this. I wanted to do it this way, because I truly believe getting the app in early is beneficial even if you are not applying through any early program, and I want to start the new year knowing every piece of paper work is at the schools and already started to be perused. Only the auditions for some of the schools will be on hold till the new year.</p>
<p>Uh---counting ED, 11. And that's a winnowed down list, and shorter than D's guidance counselor recommended. She recommended 4-5 reaches, 5 matches, and 3-4 safeties (in her words, though: competitive, possible, and likely). D's actual list has 4 reaches, 5 matches, and 2 safeties. Her GC pulled her aside and told her that she needed another safety, but her father and I talked her out of it. We have visited 10 of those schools and she thinks she'd be happy at any of them and doesn't want to rank them now so we're keeping the list as it is. Three other schools were crossed off the list after we visited.</p>
<p>Searching, why do you think the GC recommended so many? Are they highly competitive? For aid purposes? How many students does this person mentor, and how does she do it if they all apply to 14 schools??? How in the world would your D decide among all those schools???? I think there are definitely good reasons and certain situations that need a long list, but, for my kid I worried about the quality of more than 6-10 apps.</p>
<p>Jamimom, I always thought from your posts over the years that your son did not fare that well in school with grades and all that but I may have misunderstood. He must be a pretty good student if he is applying to HYP. I am impressed with how he has gotten 20 apps done with a busy performing arts schedule and school! and prepped for all his auditions which is an extra thing that normal college applicants don't have. </p>
<p>My D, as you know is applying to BFA programs in musical theater as well, though JUST those. I thought she was doing well to have five apps done (including numerous essays) considering she is mostly home just to sleep. She just came off of an 8 day period when she did not get home daily until 1 AM or later. She will be working on her sixth app in the coming days (though has to miss two days of school now to attend a music festival she got into) and I am sure will have the final three apps done in plenty of time. However, for a few schools, there are ADDITIONAL essays you must bring to the audition. She has prepared two monologues and is preparing three songs but her first audition is in Dec. and the rest are mostly in Jan/Feb. I thought she was doing alot but your son is doing a heck of a lot more. My D is still out each afternoon, night and weekend, even though her adult musical production out of town just ended. She just began rehearsing the show she created and is directing and is in all her other ECs/training too. Your son is doing a lot more it seems (with 20 apps and more than 8 auditions) and I can't imagine doing much more than this! Did your son apply ED to Tisch? I imagine he did if he just has his audition (and wow, your story about the tape is the kind of thing my D might do). My D's boyfriend's audition for ED at Tisch (for acting) is this week there. My D is not applying ED there, however, just RD. Is your son applying to UMich (sorry I forget his list). My D made it past admissions there and got the invitation to audition in Jan. and that is like one small step in the right direction, lol...with much LARGER steps to go. It is mind boggling to me what these kids have to go through, plus a LOT riding on what they do in ten minutes. It is also quite expensive to travel to all these auditions! If you ever want to tell me his audition dates, I wonder if we will run into him along the way. The only Dec. date my D has is Dec. 5 at Emerson. Will your son be there that day? </p>
<p>Susan</p>