<p>20 seems like a lot- does he really like all these schools? As long as you have a balanced list, a list of 7-12 should work pretty well. I’m applying to 10 schools- 4 reaches, 2 matches, and 4 safeties, and it seems like a reasonable number to me. He shouldn’t apply to the top schools just because they’re ranked highly- he should make sure that they offer what’s important to him and have the vibe that he’s looking for. he probably won’t find 20 schools that fully fit this description unless he doesn’t really know what he wants yet.</p>