How many should I apply for?

Applying to College Admission Stories
1

I have my “top-tier” wish list, now I need my “**it hit the fan” list. How many is enough? 5, 15, 50? :slight_smile: Thanks.

2

5 matches and 2 safeties are a good range, provided your matches admit 40%+ applicants

3

I’d go with 5 matches and about 3 safeties (you want variety just in case **** hits the fan)

4

My son applied to 14 places. Several were no-cost applications. Accepted to 8 (5 with merit scholarships), rejected/waitlisted at 6 (including one early decision ivy lol). Will be attending a top 12 LAC in the fall. It’s what worked for him (casting a wide net) and gave him several great options to choose from. Tip: Don’t be discouraged if you are rejected from a seeming “safety”; I’ve learned that candidates with grades/scores that exceed a school’s average are sometimes rejected/waitlisted to protect yield.

5

Also: before anyone says something about the cost of applying for many schools: I’ve seen parents pay more for sports equipment, one term of art classes, a single dance camp, etc. don’t let anyone tell you it isn’t a good investment in an important part of your future. If you and parents feel like casting a wide net, do it.

6

At least 2 safeties that you would be happy to attend (really happy). At least 2 matches that you would also be happy to attend. Think of these minimum 4 apps as your real applications and get them ready first. The reach ones are lottery tickets.

7

I think you should apply to 2 safeties (in case one doesn’t work out) and by safety it means that there either is some kind of auto-admit that you fulfill or a very high acceptance rate (and obviously places that you can absolutely afford, even with no financial aid)
2-3 matches, places that you like a lot and you are in the range of their SAT/GPA scores.

I think the idea of casting a wide net is a great idea, having a lot of options is always better than none, but depending on your matches/reaches, you will have a lot of essays to write (that you will have to correct and spend a lot of time on) so make sure you can handle that on top of your academics/EC’c.

How many schools are in your top-tier list? I think applying to around 10 schools total is a good amount, at least that’s what I’m doing.

8

Just make sure any school u apply to is potentially affordable. If u need FA, there’s no use applying to an OOS public college that doesn’t grant FA to OOS students.