<p>Has anyone else noted the number of schools kids on these boards say they are applying to? There are many saying they are applying to 16 and 18 colleges! Is this about selectivity, aid or something else?</p>
<p>The number of schools a student applies to will vary for individual cases but I can't think of hardly any situations where a student will need to apply to more than 12 schools. I feel that between 8-12 should be suitable for the majority of applicants. Once a student adds more than this, their efforts on each application will be diluted as well as showing interest in each school and so on. I do not believe that by adding more and more schools, it increases the odds. Every applicant shoud have a BALANCED LIST. My own children each applied to 8 colleges. I have advisees applying to 10-12. I have had a few students apply to as many as fourteen but I don't think I have had any students ever apply to more than that and that is even higher than the majority apply to. This includes those applying to highly selective colleges or programs. I think much more than 12 or 13 is rarely justifiable.</p>
<p>The eighteen schools break down how? One safety, three matches, and fourteen reaches? That may be statistically advantageous, but ....</p>
<p>Here's an example, a list that includes every ivy except 1:</p>
<p>One kid in my daughter's high school applied to 24 schools. She told me she would not do anything that crazy. It was mostly for merit aid.</p>
<p>If it is a very selective major...nursing...I could see someone applying to 18 schools. My sister's list had about twenty on there. They were mainly schools that either had direct entry into the nursing major or a 2+2 program. We narrowed it down to eight though because that was all my parents could afford and that's how many SAT fee waivers she got to send in scores.</p>
<p>Even if applying to highly selective programs, I don't agree with the 18 school approach. I have a child who applied to BFA in Musical Theater programs. The admit rate to all of these programs is in the single digits. This is worse odds than the Ivy League. She had 8 schools. I have many advisees applying to these highly competitive programs and it is rare that anyone has over 13 schools. As well, those applying to the most selective colleges (such as Ivies or colleges that accept less than 20%) still should not need more than 12 schools. Their lists should have reaches, matches and safeties. </p>
<p>By the way, in my view, a kid who has all 8 Ivies on the list is a "must have an Ivy" applicant and not choosing schools based on any other selection criteria.</p>
<p>My S is applying to 12 schools. The only reason for that many is a chance to compare merit aid offers. Three of the schools are reaches (no merit expected) and the rest we are hoping will provide good merit packages to review.</p>
<p>I read this student's post. He is from a family that has not gone to a four year college. I think he is a combination of naive and out to prove himself. Please head over there and help him out.</p>
<p>There has been debate on CC as to whether or not applying to more colleges increases one's odds of getting in somewhere "good". Looks like we have a case study now.</p>
<p>WOW. My daughter (currently a hs junior) has a list of two. One is much higher than the other in her mind. I'm in the opposite boat, trying to get her to expand her horizons.</p>
<p>researchmaven, I think 12 schools is fine and justifiable in many instances. You give one such instance...chasing merit aid. Another such instance involves those applying to highly competitive specialized programs. I have many students seeking BFA programs in musical theater and the acceptance rates are in the single digits and so many have 10 programs plus two BA back ups. It is when you start getting much over 12 schools, that I think it is rarely justifiable and not focused enough. </p>
<p>I read the student's post that was linked to here. Geez. Ironically, he is from a rural VT public school, like my own kids were. His college list is unfocused and purely based on reputation and not fit. He is using a shotgun approach of "get into any good presitgious school." He doesn't have match schools. Even if he is a strong student, it is so hard to get into those schools and he doesn't stand out in an exceptional way though is in the general ballpark. Very naive. He has a good profile that would do well at a myriad of schools that are not the tippy top ones where the odds are so long. There is a good chance he'll land at UVM (not a bad option at all) but there is so much in between the Ivies and UVM.</p>
<p>My very talented, high-scoring son has applied to 2 schools - state flagship and state safety. He'd be happy at either, and has an acceptance+meritaid+honorscollegeinvite in hand for state safety. Waiting until Feb. for word from flagship U.</p>
<p>Would I like him to apply to more schools? Sure. Am I pushing hard? No. With the economy and 3 in college it's either a state U or a school that offers major $$, and there are no guarantees there. I am encouraging him to keep looking to find one or two other schools he'd like to apply to, but so far, no go.</p>
<p>His older brothers attend these two schools, and he's visited a lot, so I think the high comfort level has fed into this.</p>
<p>All that said, even #1 son who applied near and far only applied to 6 schools. Accepted at NYU, UNC Chapel Hill, GW, and two state U's, waitlisted at the dream (U of Chicago), ended up at Flagship U because of $$$ and a great program in his chosen major. And getting 6 apps out was REALLY hard (he might have applied to some other great schools but missed their deadlines) 12-18? OMG, it would have killed us all.</p>
<p>Oh, hi there. I applied to 16 because a lot of them didn't require essays -- meaning that I could spend time on essays for others -- and because I liked the sound of the atmosphere and that I could potentially see myself at such a place. My list composed of five financial safeties, two private schools that would give me great merit money, two insane reaches, and seven matches. Surely I won't be accepted at all of them, and we're visiting by acceptance basis, and it gives me a greater pool of financial aid/merit/geographic and social diversity to choose from, and we had fee waivers to pay for all of them. I am the sort of person who likes having all available options on the table at one time, and given the reasons specified, I don't see the problem with applying to 16 or 17. (Besides, I only had to really write essays for nine -- which is average.)</p>
<p>Both my kids had 14 or 15 schools on their lists - a couple of safeties, 2-3 reaches and the rest in the match category (as defined by their high school counselor). They were both accepted ED, but in the meantime had completed most of the other applications (their high school strongly recommends completing apps by Dec 1) and had each gotten in to one of their safeties rolling. My concern was whether they would have time to complete all of the essays, and still keep up with more-important-school-work - but they put school work first, and did the essays where they could. If they hadn't been accepted ED, they probably would have spent the last couple of weeks of December filling out the applications for the last 3 or 4 schools, which would have been doable. Maybe some would have fallen by the wayside at the end, which would have been fine and would have been evidence that they weren't really that interested in the school.</p>
<p>I know that sounds like a lot of schools, but I think they both wanted to maximize their chances of having a good range of schools to chose from in the spring if they didn't get in to their ED school. Their "match" schools were highly competitive schools to get in to so while their stats made them very good candidates, there were no guarantees. Their high school defines match schools as a school where your chances are 50/50 - so maybe they would have gotten into 4 or 5 of them? </p>
<p>Each list included several schools that did not require additional essays.</p>
<p>There may be some special circumstances that suggest more than 12, though I'm not wed to this view. In my son's case, he is a terrific student with pretty high test scores but is a) quite dyslexic; b) has had a program of partial home-schooling; c) has not taken a foreign language at the recommendation of both the school and his neuropsychologist and is applying to schools that recommend or require this; d) has a number of relatively unusual extracurricular activities; and c) has fewer of the ECs and awards that stong students typically get (not that NHS matters much, but he declined membership when offered). I think it is very hard to predict which schools will be especially interested in him and which will reject him or not give him full consideration because he won't fit into the boxes they check. Given the huge numbers of applicants to good schools these days, he probably should apply to more than kids who have a more conventional look. He had a list of 24 that we cut to 18 and then tentatively to 15. This seems sensible to me in his case (although a pain in the rear) and I'm not sure that the cut to 15 leaves the appropriate list at the end.</p>
<p>He also didn't want to visit many schools before getting in because he didn't want to fall in love and then get rejected. He wants to be able to evaluate the schools that accept him. This probably increases the size of the list. The extra time/money required for that extra application is probably less costly than the extra time/money that would have been spent on a visit.</p>
<p>My S has 13 schools on his list. Two are true safeties (although he hasn't visited, so neither qualifies in the "love thy safety" category), two highly probable safeties (one visited which DOES fit the "love thy safety"), two reasonable reaches, one insane reach, and five good matches. </p>
<p>He would like to go out of state, and we were only able to visit three schools, so felt he needed to cast a wider net, and we'll visit upon acceptance after reviewing any hoped-for merit offers.</p>
<p>S didn't get enthused about the process until he started back at school this September and his friends started talking. It made visiting very difficult - thankfully, CC has given me enough information so we're not playing catch up. Most of his friends are just starting the process, and he'll have finished (please, please, please) this weekend.</p>
<p>When kids are applying to that many colleges do they check to see if the colleges have the majors they want to go into? Or do they do that after receiving an acceptance?</p>
<p>I think that it may make sense to apply to more schools--like 10 or even 12-- if you are applying to the most selective schools and if FA is crucial. Not having been able to visit all of your schools is another factor that may work in favor of applying "just in case."</p>
<p>My S applied to 12 schools, was accepted at 6 and wait-listed at 2. (He had planned to apply to 10, but we added two at the last minute out of nerves and some screw-ups in the process.) He was rejected at one school and wait-listed at another that were, on paper, less selective than others where he was accepted. He has a friend who was accepted at H and P but waitlisted at D. Admissions can be strange.</p>
<p>We found that FA offers varied by up to $20K, even from completely need-based schools. By far the worst FA offer came from his safety, which he could not have afforded to attend.</p>
<p>Eighteen schools seems like overkill, especially in the case of the kid in the other thread, who is throwing a Hail Mary pass at about 15 of them. His problem is that he needs to grab the brass ring financially--in other words, get into one of the need-based schools with deep pockets--but he doesn't appear to quite have the stats to get in to those places. He seems to be hoping that something about him will catch the fancy of some adcom at one of the Ivies. Anything is possible, of course, and I certainly sympathize. There are those of us for whom $20K or even $30K in merit money off a $50K cost of attendance is not going to cut the mustard, and that is probably by far--very, very far--the most he could hope for from the schools that would be his matches.</p>
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<p>My S, anyway, resisted the idea of entering college with the idea of majoring in any particular subject. He's interested in many academic areas and believes in the ideal of the liberal arts education. ANY good college is going to have a major in History, Philosophy, or Poli Sci, his most likely majors. For those who are looking for job training in college, or who have a very specific field of interest, such as Medical Anthropology (just picking one out of the air), it is obviously another matter.</p>
<p>Skullduggery.....I like your approach. As a parent, my son was sent many application options without essays,fees, guidance recs only, and quick replies guaranteed. I wish he used them.</p>
<p>I feel when you start going much over 13 schools, one's college selection lacks focus. This means in spring, if one hasn't visited many of their schools, a lot of visits will have to be squeezed into a month. As well, the student will then have to develop college criteria for selection, which in my view, should have happened in a more focused manner when the list was created. I still think it is a rare situation where a kid needs more than 13 schools. If the list is built VERY WELL and is VERY balanced and appropriate, it should yield results, no matter who the candidate is or the level of selectivity of the colleges. Both my kids entered highly competitive college admissions processes. They had 8 schools. Someone else might have 12. I understand. Much more than that, I don't.</p>