<p>The thought of applying to 23 schools sounds frightening. FA also was important to us, but ds1 made do with 11 schools and had some great offers from which to choose.</p>
<p>Are things challenging for single parents because of the question of custody, or are there other factors too.</p>
<p>If you’re a single parent, and there’s no question of a non-custodial parent paying (e.g. you’re widow), are things still more complicated FA wise than they are for a married couple?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about it at this point. My guess is a few will fall off, but really every situation is different. DS#1 applied to eight; DS#2 had some mental health issues, up-and-down transcript–we were pretty uncertain about how he’d do admissions-wise so he applied to 14, but we noodled around with many more for both. DS#3 (also current hs junior) probably has 35-40 on his “grand list,” but I imagine will end up applying to 8-10.</p>
<p>At this point I wouldn’t set any upper or lower limit. Focus on the schools your kid is interested in. I’d also <em>highly</em> recommend getting as many applications in early as possible. It’s really helpful to start hearing from EA/rolling admissions schools in the fall. It’s easier to adjust your application list (up or down) when you have some decisions in hand.</p>
<p>The recommended number of schools to apply to has been steadily going up over the years, but I think 17 is a few too many even today. 10-12 should be more than enough if you choose wisely. You could probably do with fewer of the “match” and “very likely” schools. You can always do with fewer reaches.</p>
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<p>I don’t think there are any issues for a widow/widower. (but you do need to include any stepparent income.)</p>
<p>For a single parent with a noncustodial parent, schools treat the nc parent’s income and assets differently (and the custodial parent doesn’t always have access to that information.)</p>
<p>(even the PROFILE schools that don’t use the non-custodial parent PROFILE form are all different - many of them have their own form.)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. It’s helpful to get different perspectives from other parents. :)</p>
<p>I’m sure the list will pare down after further visits. It’s going to be a crazy ride this year!</p>
<p>I admit to still having a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to any list of more than 10-12 schools. Will you be visiting the schools to see if you can pare down the list a bit?</p>
<p>Our kids will probably apply to 6 schools or so. We are looking for substantial merit aid, doubtful for any financial aid but with two going off this time, maybe?? All of the schools, except one, they are top 25%. I think we will have some good options in the end. I don’t know that if they applied to 12 schools that they would have any better options, probably just more of the same. Add in the reaches if you want and the app fees aren’t a big deal but I would concentrate more heavily on the schools where she would be top 25% because that mix of merit and financial aid will probably get you close to where you need to be financially.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with applying to many schools. My S applied to 13. 3 reaches, 7 likelies, and 3 safeties. We had him express interest by contacting all schools, visiting most and going to local college fairs. he got 5 offers of free apps from the schools which helped cut cost down. </p>
<p>I suggest you have your S start on the apps as soon as the common app is released, and to get in those rolling apps early. Some schools have early deadlines, like Dec 1st, if you want and opportunity at the maximum amt of merit money. Pay attention to deadlines. Good luck.</p>
<p>I second getting it done early. DS only had to pay for his in-state public apps and his super-reach school. All other schools waived if it was in before a certain time, if it was done online, etc. Also, if you are looking for merit aid, many schools will let you know if EA is required for full scholarship consideration (those schools required extra essays, applications for scholarships in our case). Also. many of his schools did not require official SAT scores if they were listed on his transcript, so that cut down costs.</p>
<p>I applied to only 2 schools (got in to both, got good aid at both), but I had my heart set on my safety. People kept encouraging me to apply to more, to “better” schools. I applied to my flagship (the 2nd school I applied to) just to make people happy (and see if I could get in so that people would shut up about that I picked “little brother” over big blue because I couldn’t get in). </p>
<p>I was lucky. Didn’t have to waste a large part of my senior year on essays, application fees, etc. Instead, I got to focus on applying for scholarships. </p>
<p>No more than 10 IMO. You really should be able to narrow it down to that much. IMO, 8 is ideal: 2 safety, 3-4 match, 2-3 reach. But hey, if you’ve got money and time to burn then the more the merrier!</p>
<p>There is no magic number. For some people, it makes sense to apply to one school, while for others 20 wouldn’t be too many. There may be some point of diminishing returns where you can’t do justice to all the applications–but that will vary from person to person as well.
As I see it, the best reasons to apply to a lot of schools (and by that I mean 10 or more) are (a) the need for substantial financial aid or (b) a strong interest in highly selective “reach” schools. There also may be kids who aren’t sure whether they want a LAC, a private university, a state flagship, etc.–while it would be nice to make this decision before apps are due, not everybody will be ready to do so, especially if visiting is difficult.</p>
<p>^^^ This is exactly right.</p>
<p>If you get an early admission (EA or rolling), then you can eliminate applying to any school that is less desirable even if it offers a full ride.</p>
<p>It so depends. One of my D’s classmates applied to 14, all reaches except for the state flagship (and got into Yale, Brown, and MIT); another applied only to the state flagship - it was where he wanted to go and, for him, it was a safety; another applied to just 2, both admissions safeties where she would have been happy to go - one a financial safety and the other not, to see whether she would get a FA award that would make the preferred one affordable.</p>
<p>My son applied to 8 last year. But this year my daughter applied in 11 schools and had 10 acceptances. She is very smart. I love my girl! :)</p>