<p>My younger son applied to fifteen colleges last year, ranging from tiny (ie. <1000 students) to huge (ie. >20k students). He could have cut the list, but he did all the work, and it was his choice. Five of those colleges had free applications. Three were UCs, with separate fees, but a single application. The application timetable was spread out sufficiently for him to pace himself while balancing a highly rigorous, full-IB courseload and some demanding extra-curricular activities. People thought my elder son applied to too few colleges, because he was an aspiring actor: some students in the arts apply to more than twenty colleges. He was not organized and disciplined, and I doubt he could have handled too many applications and auditions. In the Common Application era, 8-10 is probably an ideal number, but 12-15 is not outlandish. I also see nothing wrong with applying to a range of colleges, provided you think you’d be happy at any of them. It’s sort of like having a basic black dress and a frilly, ornate outfit to choose from. </p>