<p>You classify Rutgers as a reach and Wake Forest as a match? I’d reverse those. You also didn’t indicate any school as a safety school. Did I miss it? You count UNC as in-state, but NC St as out of state? Huh? And, as stated, Wake and Duke don’t offer in-state tuition, although it is slightly easier to get into Duke in-state (but the cost is the same).</p>
<p>I’d agree with mom2collegekids and get rid of the OOS publics unless for some reason something really piques your interest. I’d keep NC St as my admission/financial safety, and it’s a reasonably good science/engineering school. I’d just make a pro/con list and give head-to-head matchups and ask yourself what you’d prefer. I think 17 is too many, but if you can afford it and handle the apps (most are common app anyways), then there is nothing WRONG with it. But if you can give a list of what you’re looking for in an institution, I think you could parse the list down to 9, with a breakdown of something like 4 reaches, 3 matches, and 2 safeties. That sounds more reasonable to me.</p>