Kids Applying to 18 Schools!!

Parents Forum
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<p>CountingDown, I think tailoring the approach to the kid. Someone who knows she wants to study geology can limit things easily to schools with strong departments, visit them all, see if the feel is right. </p>

<p>For my son, perhaps like your second son, a bigger list may make sense. He has clear interests but like your son they could be accommodated by several different majors. Our son's desires are: 1) flexible or no requirements; 2) really bright classmates who are intellectually inquisitive as opposed to capable hoop-jumpers; 3) a relaxed atmosphere even if kids are working hard; and 4) a place where he can explore a variety of his eclectic academic interests as well as studio art and creative writing. Plus the relative ease of getting home if needed. He's done a lot of screening on the first two and by reading has a sense of 3 and 4. He does not believe the impressions he's developed about the schools on his list have been contradicted by the visits he has made. Given that it is hard to know which schools will find him interesting and which won't, applying to a bigger list and visiting afterward does seem like a sensible strategy.</p>

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<p>I think there's a lot of value in applying to a good number of schools, especially whern looking for merit money, as I was. I applied to 7 schools: </p>

<p>-two oos publics where admission was very likely but good merit aid was not very likely at all (and it wasn't!)--these schools did, however, have very solid academics and gave me acceptances by October.</p>

<p>-one oos public which I had visted and really liked--I was applying for a competitive scholarship that required an on-campus interview which would have made the school very financilly do-able but was a lot let certain than many of my other schools, which just did merit aid by the application</p>

<p>-one oos private which I thought might give me good merit aid but disappointed me somewhat in this regard</p>

<p>-one oos public where I was applying for 6-year, direct admit program and got in with excellent merit aid</p>

<p>-one oos private that was the most competitive/highly ranked of the schools I applied to. I knew I would be competitive for good merit aid here (~1/2 COA) but that the cost would still be high.</p>

<p>-one in-state private I applied to at the last minute in case I decided to stay closer to home. Received pretty good (3/4 tuition) merit aid but turned down the chance to apply for a chance at full tuition, as I looked at my choices. The smallest of my seven schools.</p>

<p>Some schools gave me more or less merit aid than I was expectibng. They varied in size, scope, and geographic location but all had some points about them that made them appealing in some way. My first criterion for "throwing out" schools after acceptance was cost, though I did keep the most competitive school in the mix until the end. In retrospect, it might have been good to include an in-state financial safety.</p>

<p>On the other hand, I didn't get to visit many of my schools--out of the ones I applied to, I only visited the top two contenders. I would have liked to visit the other two as well but just didn't have the time senior year. So far, I'm happy with where I ended up.</p>

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<p>Question Quest - applying to 7 made sense for you and your list was well researched and well thought out. I prefer my kids to apply to five, but I would not not balk if they had 7 schools and 7 good reasons why. Your comment about not having time your senior year to visit the other two schools reinforces my belief that a couple trips junior year is helpful. What doesn't make sense was the original posture - applying to 18 schools - that points to one of two things: either a kid who is unfocused or a parent who wants the kid to go on a fishing expedition for a tuition discount/merit money.</p>