<p>I say 7 - 10 schools based on a couple of things – both are highly subjective and anecdotal. (1) 7-10 schools was recommended to our family by a consultant that we hired to help us find the right school for my kid. I never asked her reasoning for this, but we paid the money and took her advice. By the way, many people are skeptical of such consultants and I was at first too. But this lovely lady was worth every penny. By the time she was done with us, we had locked down my kid’s major and she introduced us to a number of schools that would have been off our radar had it not been for her help. She also showed us how to apply for financial aid, etc. Given my lack of time due to running my own business, I can honestly say that she saved me many, many hours of spinning my wheels doing research on my own. It was some of the best money I ever spent. By the way, my kid ended up going to one of the schools that we had never heard of before we met her.</p>
<p>(2) I’ve seen so many kids online here that did not choose enough schools and ended up with no offers! The biggest mistake I’ve seen is applying to too many reach schools and balancing it with overly popular “safeties”.</p>
<p>Anyway, 7-10 school’s is my recommendation based on the above completely unscientific reasons.</p>