Okay so first my stats:
3.9 GPA/ 4.05 UC GPA, all honors/AP all four years of high school, 33 ACT, I go to a rigorous and competitive public high school in California (its like #15 or something in the state) and I have a good amount of extracurriculars like speech and debate, piano, JSA, an accounting internship, etc. I’m looking to study business/finance/economics.
My list has unfortunately kept growing since the summer because my parents keep wanting me to add more schools and it’s gotten to be kind of big. Could you guys take a look and tell me if you think it’s too big, and if so, what schools I should cut? (Like schools that aren’t worth applying to because I probably won’t get in- I think Northwestern is one of them)
Boston University
Northeastern
Northwestern
Carnegie Mellon
Chapman
Loyola Marymount University
NYU (Stern)
University of Washington
George Washington University
USC
UCLA
UCI
UCSB
UCSD
UCB
SDSU
Cal Poly SLO
UT Austin
CUNY Baruch
U Pitt
As you can see, its a lot of schools but that’s mostly because I’m applying to like 5 UC’s which are all on the same app, so it kind of feels like one school. My safeties are U Pitt, CUNY Baruch, Chapman, LMU, SDSU and Cal Poly SLO. Is that too many safeties? Also, should I cut down on the reaches (like Northwestern, Carnegie, UCLA, etc)
Thank you!!!
Yes it is too many. DD 2018 just applied to 17, it was too many and very hard to keep up with and manage. My advice, which I apparently was unable to get my own kid to follow…under 10. Ideally, IMO, 2 reaches, 3 matches and 2 safeties and one super reach, if you really want, just because you never know…
You do not need more than 2 safeties. A safety is a school that you 1) can afford, 2) you are more than 85% sure to be admitted too. 3) and are 100% happy, ready, willing and able to attend. Cut the reaches to 2. Your reach should be a school that 1) you can afford 2) you would 100% attend, over all your other choices, if accepted.
I would change those numbers slightly if you have a special circumstance like you are applying to a direct entry program.
SLO is a solid Match but definitely not a Safety. SDSU/LMU and Chapman would be a safeties. Not sure about your OOS schools. You usually only need 1-2 safeties as long as your willing to attend.
UT Austin is mostly likely a Reach since you are OOS. I would drop that school vs UCLA especially due to costs.
NYU…ask yourself 1) is it affordable 2) are you likely to get a better education there than any place else on your list, for the $25k more per year it is probably going to cost to attend?
The number of schools to which you apply is entirely up to you. If you are willing to write all those supplemental essays, and application fees don’t trouble you or your family, then it is your choice.
I agree that 2-3 safties are enough. 2-3 match schools also enough. But it’s OK to apply to more reach schools. By definition, reach schools are hard to get in, so you’ll need more of them to have a decent chance.
OOS public flagships are mostly not worth it. California have superior public schools. UW and UT Austin are no better than UCs and are more expensive.
What is your guidance counselor saying???
She/he has to write up your recs and other paperwork. I wouldn’t be happy about doing that for each of my students.
Keep it under 10.
Thank you everyone for your advice! I’m definitely going to cut it down by 3 or 4 schools at the least. @suzyQ7 I haven’t run net price calculators on the out of states yet, mostly because I know I’m probably going to get little aid because my parents have a relatively high income even though they have like no money to pay for my college which is unfortunate @Gumbymom My parents want me to apply to UT because we have family in Texas and also since UCLA doesn’t have a business school I am apprehensive of applying there, do you think I would actually have a better shot at UCLA than UT? I thought it’d be the other way around for sure since UCLA is so competitive @labegg I most likely won’t attend NYU because we definitely can’t afford it, I’m just applying because it’s always been a dream school of mine and I want to see if I’d get in. My parents are fine with paying the application fee just for that purpose even though they know it’s a no-go
Wait til your parents have to send the financial aid info – they will be sorry that they asked for so many schools.
Sit down now and have your parents run the NPCs with you. It will likely make some of the schools unaffordable and knock them off your list. 10 is a good # (you can count all the UCs as 1, though).
I believe 12 schools would be plenty to apply to. Definitely apply to all the California schools and the U of Washington. Cut all the other schools. My two cents.
my parents have a relatively high income even though they have like no money to pay for my college which is unfortunate<<<<<<
Then you can cull most of your list. You need a defined budget from your parents, and know that any reach schools will exclude you from merit because your stats are nice but not tippy top. So cull all the desirable OOS publics, the top privates that are reaches, and OOS schools without real merit aid, you should start looking at the auto merit schools. Can you ballpark the numbers to run NPCs? You should be focusing on instate schools.
If you can afford to apply to all of these schools, then go ahead. However, you should really ask yourself if you would really consider attending this place. If not, it really should not be on your list. Furthermore, it can get really stressful to track your admissions for so many schools. I, myself, am applying to 11 schools, and it’s already getting pretty stressful.
@Sybylla Yes I am a senior, and I am finished with my UC and CSU apps, and already submitted my U Pitt app. I just have the supplements to work on for most of these other schools. I already am focusing on in-state schools, more than half of my schools are in California but I do agree with cutting schools like UT I just don’t know what my parents will think. I don’t expect to get merit aid from schools like Carnegie or NYU, but what do you mean by auto merit schools? Do you mean like the University of Alabama? thanks
Cut all OOS public schools, you are not getting any FA from them and they will be unaffordable. BU, NEU,CMU and NUY Stern, even you can get in, they will not be affordable because your parents won’t pay anything.
You might want to look into Bryant for business major with merit scholarships.
Yes, you should looking at automatic scholarship schools as financial backup. such as UAB etc
Well, you can save yourself a ton of work with the list cull. And yes, auto merit like UA. Can your parents pay for UCs? You know how much that would cost you as a California resident with no FA? They will pay room and board?
If you can afford to apply and can put enough effort into applications, do it. Run NPC and automatically take out any schools that aren’t within the range of what your parents will pay. I applied to 17 and only 1 ended up being unaffordable. My one regret though was that I applied to a lot of reaches and had 2 waitlist offers. I couldn’t give them the attention (letters, continuing interest, visiting etc) I wanted to because I had so much going on with all my other schools.
My S18 applied/is applying to as many schools as you listed. Like others have said, it is a lot to keep up with. However, other than at one high reach and in-state schools, he is really going for merit aid and we have come to believe that this strategy (“casting a wide net,” as some call it) is the best one for those seeking merit aid. However, many of the merit aid deadlines are early - some have already passed and many are December 1st. There are also early deadlines for the FAFSA and CSS at some schools.
My personal opinion is that you may be late to apply for some schools (for example, Pitt, which is on your list, started admitting people last month and has already notified some people about their merit awards). If your parents can’t pay a lot and you are looking at schools where you either won’t qualify for merit or are late to the game for merit, you really should take a hard look at finances and how you want to spend your time and energy over the next month or two for the best result.
Of course, there is always the option of CC for two years - you’re obviously a strong student and would likely do well there and be able to go to a UC after 2 years, saving a lot of $ - or a gap year.
@artloversplus@Sybylla I think there was a miscommunication, I might have exaggerated earlier when talking about my parents’ contribution- my parents are definitely willing to pay for my college, they just don’t have a TON of money saved up for it but they are still contributing and paying for the entire thing. basically it just can’t be like 50k a year, theyre more looking for the 35k and below range.