<p>I am trying to narrow down a list of 15 schools. I've been advised that it is wise to apply to around 10 schools nowadays: 2 safeties, 3 matches, and 4-5 reaches. I also understand that applying to fewer schools enables you to focus your efforts and have a life beyond filling out applications. Understandable. But now I am being told that...</p>
<p>"colleges will see a list of other schools you apply to, and won't take students who apply to more to 6-8 schools seriously. They will see the student as indecisive as to what they want" (hurting admissions chances and aid opportunities) </p>
<p>Is this really true? I just checked a cc poll and found that the majority of students are looking at 10+ schools, as are many of my friends. Is this unwise from an admissions/aid standpoint? (put filling out the apps and paying to send them in aside for a moment). I am looking to compare financial aid packages (not applying ED). I have researched my choices intensely and simply cannot see myself narrowing them down to less than 10. If schools can see my list, is it bad that I have four Ivies?
WHAT ARE THE REAL BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF APPLYING TO 10+ SCHOOLS OR LESS THAN 10 SCHOOLS?</p>
<p>Part of the decision has to be a a family one. In your list of schools, be sure there are at least two that you love, are pretty sure to be accepted and your family can & will fund. These are "financial safeties." If money is an issue (as it is for more & more families), it sometimes makes sense to apply to a larger # of schools in hopes of getting favorable merit & financial aid offers so that you will have more options in the spring.</p>
<p>As you have said, applying to too many schools may dilute your efforts and could detract from you doing as well as you'd like in your senior year (you still have courses & material to learn).</p>
<p>I have not heard that schools penalize students who apply to 10 or more schools--my S applied to 9 & ended up with several very good options to choose among. If he had wanted to & had the energy to apply to more, we would not have prevented him from doing so.</p>
<p>The HS counselor recommends each student choose 6-8 schools--2 likelies, 2-3 50/50 chance of getting in and 2-3 reaches. Each student & family has to decide what works best for him/her/them.</p>
<p>If you are a top student, admissions can get really unpredictable. I see nothing wrong with applying to 10 schools. As long as you have one safety, you can apply to 9 reaches for all I care. Maybe you get lucky one or twice, but in reality it is just a crap shoot.</p>
<p>There's no magic number. You shouldn't have any more than 2 safeties unless you're applying around for merit money. The same principle applies to matches, but I'd say 2-4, same reason, merit money. If you're an average student, 3 or 4 reaches seems reasonale. If you're a top student, I'd apply to more reaches because it actually seems realistic you'd get into one. What I mean is, I wouldn't apply to all the ivies and MIT, Stanford, Caltech, etc. if I were a mediocre student, but if I was a top student, I might apply to 4-6 reaches, but I'd try to have a limited number of matches and safeties to balance it out.</p>
<p>It really depends on many things, what you're looking for, your time and energy, your qualifications as a student, your parents' willingness/need to pay the application fees, and your counselor/teachers' willingness to fill application recommendations. I consider my limit to be 10, and want to narrow it down, for example. 2 safeties, 4 matches/slight reaches, 4 reaches.</p>
<p>I've seen the number 8 being thrown about a lot, and I think it's a reasonable fit for someone who had diversifed interests and a lot of aspirations for college. This was you'll have 2 safties, (2-4)matches and (2-4)reaches. </p>
<p>However, you may want to shorten this if you want to focus on getting into select colleges, and want to work on your last year in high school(you're supposed to be having fun too remember!).</p>
<p>A lot of kids apply to more than 10 schools because they're applying to top schools, which at this point have so many qualified applicants that they're picking and chosing them in seemingly random ways (this one wants an oboe player, that one needs Slavic Studies majors). These kids figure if they apply to a bunch maybe they'll get into a few.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if that's really true, if all your schools reject 80% of their applicants than you have a good chance of being rejected at all of them no matter how many you apply to.</p>
<p>I'd say only apply to schools you are truly interested in, and be sure your list includes at LEAST 1 - 2 SAFETY schools, that you are comfortably above the usual admission stats for, so you know you'll have SOMEPLACE to go. A reputable state school (not too picky, like UNC-Chapel Hill, but a decent one with an honors program) is a good safety choice.</p>
<p>There was a scary thread here last year about a top kid who applied to 10 top schools and was admitted by ZERO, he ended up doing a gap year. Moral of the story: LOVE THY SAFETY.</p>
<p>My son is applying to 6: 1 reach, 1 reach/match, 2 match, 2 safety. He decided he didn't want to look any more, they're all starting to look alike anyway.</p>
<p>I'm doing 1 safety and the rest are reaches. I don't know of a match I want to go to. Or the safety for that matter, but we all gotta have one =)</p>
<p>Thanks a lot entomom. After reading all of these responses and this past thread, I question whether I shouldn't limit my list to less than 10. This is what I have so far...</p>
<p>Safeties:
UMASS Amherst<br>
UVM </p>
<p>Matches:
Brandeis University
Boston College </p>
<p>Reaches:
Tufts<br>
Dartmouth College<br>
Brown University<br>
Harvard University<br>
UPENN </p>
<p>Contingent Upon Upcoming Visit:
Bates
Bowdoin College
Swarthmore College<br>
Haverford College</p>
<p>The only colleges on this list that offer merit scholarships are UMASS, UVM, and Brandeis. I see myself getting into these 3, probably BC, hopefully Tufts. Maybe I can land an Ivy. But, realistically, I cannot afford to pay full tuition at 40K a year and do not qualify for a lot, if any, aid. My family is not well off but not poor, so I’m stuck in a middle state; and have to foot most of the bill myself. I will not run up more than 100K for undergrad school and hopefully end up paying far less. I have free tuition to UMASS and would not be unhappy there. Although, I would rather attend UVM and run up between 30-60K with merit, outside scholarships, federal f-aid, etc. But some schools like Dartmouth only consider 2.4x the parents yearly gross when calculating home equity into the equation. What I’ve heard is, if these schools want you, they’ll find a way for you to afford it. With 2 safeties that I like and can afford, I figured why not have 4-6 reaches. But now I question if it’s wise to apply to so many competitive schools that won’t be offering me aid. Might it be better to cut it down to around 8 schools (cut some Ivies) and really focus my efforts on (1) tailoring apps to them and (2) applying for many scholarships? I know this should be under f-aid section, but how and when should I zero in on scholarships? I belong to fastweb and get new entries everyday; some expire tomorrow and many have deadlines as late as next April. Will it be too late to wait until after all my apps are in to start the scholarship hunt? It will be tough, but I’m more than willing to start scholarship entries now in the hopes that I can afford a competitive school on my list. Suggestions as to the scholarship world? Are the big ones mostly essays? Which ones have necessary weekend events come 2007? And to what degree should you research the validity of a scholarship before you tackle it? I’ve heard that some are really just loans in disguise. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I think that your idea to "cut it down to around 8 schools (cut some Ivies) and really focus my efforts on (1) tailoring apps to them and (2) applying for many scholarships" is a great one. Putting the time and energy to more viable reaches might help you out in the long-run.</p>
<p>I'm applying ED to one school but if that doesn't come through I'm applying to 6 more schools. I agree with some of the other posters that 6-7 is a good number, as long as you've done your search well (have at least 2 safeties!!!) Over 10 seems like a waste of time and money (app fees) to me.</p>
<p>For me, my admissions pattern was a little odd. I got waitlisted as some of my safeties, rejected/waitlisted at some of my match schools and got into most of my reach schools. Quite a suprise for me, especially because I spent the most time on my match, safety, and reach schools (in that order of effort).</p>
<p>In my case, I was glad I applied to 12+ schools.</p>