@YelloJacket The more, the better. Too many students try to save on app fees by applying to too few schools and end up getting admitted nowhere.
Also, mY D got into 2 academically equivalent schools so far, and one will be about $4k less per year than the other due to more generous financial aid. So this more than makes up for the app fee
Older child ED to match, accepted
Younger child went through application season last year:
3 Reaches (1 ED, 2 RD) (denied all)
4 Matches (accepted 3, denied 4th)
2 Safeties (accepted 1, waitlisted the other)
There was a 10th school on the original list for which the app was started but dropped as the process unfolded. It didn’t add anything specific to the list and as the reality of the application process played out, it felt like writing that application would undermine the effort on others.
I like the term “high” matches used earlier in this thread because that is a good characterization of 3/4 matches our student pursued–kid was in the mid-high range for stats for these schools but these matches were all acceptance rates 15-35%. Was denied from the “reachiest.”
Lessons learned:
Reaches were poorly differentiated–only one (ED option) was genuinely interesting to our student. The others were fits on paper only–were in the region desired, strong in the relevant major, but not a good cultural fit. Had there been an admission offered to one of those, not sure in retrospect if it would have felt celebratory.
1 out of 2 was a true safety. The other, which by the stats, should have been an obvious safety, is an up and coming specialized school that takes a specific profile of student; our kid wasn’t really that–and had no interest in trying to get off that wait list. Could have saved the application fee, lol.
The “high” match that became the final choice was actually probably a reach based on, as noted above, its selectivity. As the acceptances came in, it was a nail biter, as it was the 2nd to last school to notify, and as the other decisions came in, was becoming the clear favorite.
Our kid is not a gregarious soul who would easily acclimate anywhere, so fit was key – but at the same time, our student wasn’t heavily invested in exploring a wide range of options or building a longer list of schools to ensure the final fit was right. In the end, was very lucky to be admitted to an excellent college that is truly ideal. But, it could have gone the other way–admitted to one that was similar in profile academically but not the greatest fit.
I cannot emphasize fit enough, having sent 2 to college. Our oldest hit the fit jackpot with ED choice; our youngest also ultimately did so, but not because of a superior list building strategy, lol. My key advice to parents undergoing the process now is to take this aspect --fit–very seriously. Reaches are lovely; aspirations are admirable. We want the best for our kids. But scrutinize the list to ensure the kid has options that are truly energizing for your student once the acceptances come in, and the best way to maximize your chances are to deeply consider which schools go on the match list and then ensure that the rest of the list isn’t so long that the quality of applications to the matches suffers. If I had a third child, I would focus much more heavily on identifying a wider range of true matches.
Another thing we’d do differently with hypothetical kid #3 is add an application to a safety school with rolling admissions prior to submitting an ED application (not sure if this timing is actually workable but I think so?) so that an acceptance comes in before an ED is denied/deferred. That ED can be a real rough patch if it was an unrealized “dream.” Better that the first letter that comes in is a “yes” as it sets a positive tone for the rest of the cycle.
So: we didn’t do it this way, but here’s my advice
Reach: 2 max
Match: 3 “high” matches and 2 others
Safety (do your research so they are real): 2
If finances are not a barrier, ED to the most desirable reach
Hi I’m a high school senior!
How many colleges (approximately)?
I applied to 8 schools.
How many will be in the category of Safety, Match, Reach (respectively)?
I had about 4 safeties, 3 matches, and 1 reach. (I was originally going to ED to the 1 reach school, but decided it wasn’t the best fit for me. I already wrote the sup so I applied anyways).
If you are truly considering a reach school your best option is to ED. Many schools (i.e. Emory) accept up to 50% of the incoming freshman class through ED. Ultimately the School I want to go to does not offer ED because they are public, so that is the only reason I did not do so.
This is my first experience. But, I do think I am very knowledgeable. I have helped all of my friends choose colleges, write essays, create resumes, etc. I also visited over 14 colleges last year as a junior.
I can see why some kids and parents apply to 20, but it all really depends on how much time the kids has, and how much time they will spend on things like essays.
So long as the kids has time, and is willing to attend any of the colleges on their list, they should apply to as many as they can afford, both financially and by way of time and emotional energy.
I do think that there is a limit, though, on the number of colleges of which a kid can keep track. A kid should not apply to colleges of which they know very little, and about which they have no real opinion. If the colleges start blurring, and the kid starts talking about Williams College being the second oldest college in the USA, and how beautiful the leaves are around Pomona College in the fall, they’re applying to too many colleges.
My son has applied to 8. (already accepted to one with a substantial merit scholarship!!)
All of them were realistically within his “range”. He chose not to apply for a reach (even though he had very strong scores and resume) because of cost. We had trouble finding a school we could afford that was a top school since we do not qualify for any need. Every calculator we ran seemed unrealistic.
This is our first experience and choosing schools was tough. S had NO clue where he wanted to go, other than wanting a school with strong STEM offerings. We were all over the map, toured Trinity, UT-Austin, Stanford, Cal, UCSC, Rice, Austin College, UTD.
He’s super smart but had trouble deciding type of school (large/small, city/rural, near/far), so he kind of chose a variety and we’ll see what happens.