New York Times: In New Twist on College Search, a First Choice, and 20 Backups

<p>When it comes down to it, the Common Application is not that much of a time-saver. All of the top schools that use the Commonapp have supplements with more information to fill in and extra essays. If schools were to stop using the Commonapp I don't think it would change things at all. Students would still apply to just as many schools.</p>

<p>I applied to three schools.</p>

<p>Rutgers</p>

<p>NYU Film</p>

<p>Princeton</p>

<p>One safety, one match, one reach.</p>

<p>I spent much time researching schools and programs that interested me. In the end, I picked the schools that I felt strongly about attending in every category. I could've thrown some apps towards a dozen other schools I was considering, such as BU, BC, USC, Columbia, Penn, etc., but in the end, I knew that I would never attend these schools if accepted/or would grudgingly go. Applying to these schools would increase my chances of getting into a name brand school, not my chances of getting into a school I would really want to go to.</p>

<p>And that's the big thing, I think.</p>

<p>Kids shovel threw a pile of apps so they can go to a big name school. I've seen countless friends, relatives, and peers applying just for the sake of applying, when in reality the schools were terrible matches for them. I could've applied to Columbia, and who knows, maybe I would've gotten in. But I truly do not want to go to school there.</p>

<p>Propsective students have to start being more honest with themselves and stop seeking big names for the sake of big names. The point of college is not to go to a school that will make people jealous of you. The point of college is to go to a school that you can thrive at on multiple levels.</p>

<p>My friends think I'm nuts when I say I only apllied to three schools. I think they're the ones that are missing the point. When I hear of kids applying to double digit number of schools to boost their chances of getting in, I really have to wonder if they understand what higher education is all about.</p>

<p>
[quote]
what is missing from the article is how many of the 21 are UC schools? (As a prevet, he definitely would have applied to UC-Davis.)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>bluebayou, you're right: He's in at UC Davis! On the left-hand side of the page was a link to a graphic containing the list of schools Michael Martin applied to and the results thus far. It was really easy to miss. Here it is, in case anyone else didn't click on the link:</p>

<p>American University WAITING TO HEAR
Arizona State University ACCEPTED
UC Davis ACCEPTED
UCLA WAITING
UCSB ACCEPTED
UCSD WAITING
Colorado College WAITING
Colorado State ACCEPTED
Georgetown WAITING
Holy Cross WAITING
Loyola Marymount WAITING
Notre Dame DECLINED
Pepperdine WAITING
St. Mary's College of Calif. ACCEPTED
Salve Regina ACCEPTED
Santa Clara U. ACCEPTED
USC WAITING
Southern Methodist U. ACCEPTED
Villanova WAITING
Wake Forest WAITING
William and Mary WAITING</p>

<p>He seems to have covered the waterfront, in more ways than one! But he's not a prestige monger (to use a more polite word than the usual), I'll grant him that.</p>