<p>I don't think there is anything wrong with it, I just don't understand how people balance so many apps.</p>
<p>Xantos, right on. 27 is insane, but so is 5 or 6.</p>
<p>"As an example, if you're applying to schools with a 10% acceptance rate, then statistically speaking you need to apply to 10 just to get into one."</p>
<p>Xanatos, if you apply to 10 schools each with a 10% acceptance rate, you only have ~65% chance of getting accepted to one of them.</p>
<ol>
<li>4 reach (Columbia, Brown, Cooper Union, Wellesley) 3 reach/match (NYU, Stony Brook Honors, CUNY Honors) 3 match (Brandeis, Lehigh, Barnard) 1 safety (Binghamton)</li>
</ol>
<p>Good call casablanca. I am so glad I applied to many schools.</p>
<p>1 safety (Elon), 2 "matches" (Vandy and UNC), and 1 "reach" (Bryn Mawr, though its not a super-high reach). But Bryn MAwr is the only school that I actually want to go to.</p>
<p>Xanatos-
You can justify your decision any way you like. If your college counselor accepts bribes, then your are complaining in the wrong direction. And although not completely predictable, the admissions process is not a "crapshoot". If it was, there would not be a way to estimate reaches, matches and safeties. I'd suggest you go to the NACAC website (National Associtation of College Admission Counselors) and do a bit more reading. And your argument about the waitlist is also faulty. Colleges know about what their draw will be (ratio of accepted to enrolled students) and they make their offers accordingly. If there were no applicants rejected, then you might be right, but the waitlist is not infinite. It ends somewhere, and some qualified students will get rejected if many other students flood the admissions offices with excessive applications. Admissions officers are not stupid. They talk to each other and they read these websites. There is more to the admissions process then just cranking out applications. If a school was really a strong desire, there are ways to show your interest, correspond with faculty, etc. Oh, and take a look at "Chalk"s response. You might consider taking a statistics class while you are in Hanover.</p>
<p>Oh it's a crapshoot alright...notice how colleges never post statistics on rejected or waitlisted applicants. Let's face it, we can talk about whether a school is a reach, or a match, or a safety, but none of us here really has an idea of what an adcom will think about a certain applicant. I know plenty of people whose stats and activities made them absolute locks at schools that got rejected and people who get into places with honestly know idea of how they managed to get by the adcom.</p>
<p>And keep in mind that selling yourself to a school in the form of sweet talk isn't any better than applying to lots of schools. Admissions is supposed to be about the most deserving applicants, not about the person most likely to attend. There is a way to show that you are sincerely interested in a school, and it's called ED/EA.</p>
<p>And good luck to your son in his applications. Too bad he didn't like Dartmouth, but I don't really understand why you need to bring up the college that I attend in order to have this argument with me...is there a rejection story we should know about?</p>
<p>Xanatos says:"Admissions is supposed to be about the most deserving applicants, not about the person most likely to attend."</p>
<p>Surely you jest. It is all about who will attend. Schools want to keep their yield #s up, as it is an important statistic in their admissions data, and, unfortunately, feeds into the rating game in the USNews and World Report ranking. Schools want students who are passionate about the school-- as they will likely attend, graduate, be excellent spokespeople sending more qualified students their way, and will give lots of $$$ as alums. You really need to look at the bigger picture. Schools have been taking more students from their EA application pools because they (1) are a highly qualified and highly motivated group and (2) will attend. Unfortunately this leaves less spots open for those applying EA or RA. Hence, people like you feel the need to send in a gazillion applications because there are fewer spots available, and yes, the competition is steeper. And so goes the circle of life. Unfortunately the growth of colleges cannot keep up with the # of students applying, and many great schools have no interest in getting much bigger than they already are, so it is a tougher playing field. No one is arguing with that. But the admissions process is not a crapshoot, at least not at the top schools. At the larger universities there is a large number crunching component, but at the smaller and more elite schools the admissions counselors read every application and discuss every student. It is EXACTLY for this reason that they may select someone with lower scores or fewer EC's than someone else, but it is hardly a crapshoot. They read these applications day in and day out, year after year. They visit HS after HS and attend college fair after college fair. They are a well versed group.
And I am so sorry to disappoint you, but my s. is not currently in the admissions process. He is a freshman at the school he wanted to attend. He did extensive research, and, without going into detail, identified the school he really wanted to attend, and applied ED. He'd already sent in his safety school app. as well, and by Dec. 15 he was into both and we were done. What a pleasure. There really is more to the application process than just submitting an app. and taking a tour. I will not minimize that my s. was, fortunately, a very strong candidate. One of the adm. counselors came to his school-sponsored college fair asking for him by name. At another college, when we sat in the parlor with 75-100 other parents and students awaiting the info session, one of the adm. counselors happened to walk through, stopped in her tracks, came right up to my s. to say hello and chat because she remembered him from elsewhere. That was a nice feeling, though we got a few funny looks from the others around us.
I greatly enjoyed my visits to Dartmouth during my college years, and I have several friends on faculty there. It's a great school and I know you will love it. However, I do hope they don't still throw dorm furniture into the bonfire during homecoming. My comment about your school was not negative-- I was merely making a point that I really thought he'd like it, and in fact I hoped he would, but he didn't. The only reason I used it (Dartmouth) as an example of the many variables that go into the applicant's selection process is because I saw your location, and it wasn't too hard to figure out. Don't be so touchy. Enjoy your college experience. And if your HS adm. counselor really is subject to bribery, that is unfair to the current students and someone should address that, if they haven't already. That is a shame.</p>
<p>Jym, BTW- you dont have to take language classes at the crack of dawn at Dartmouth. They offer afternoon drill for night-owls (at 6pm)</p>
<p>Slipper-
He was told about the later classes, but was also told, If I recollect correctly, that the freshmen are at the bottom of the totem pole, and if the later classes are full, well-- guess who gets those a.m. classes?? Unless he wanted to put it off another year and get into one of the later classes his soph. yr (he didnt, he wanted to get it out of the way if need be),there was a chance he'd have to take that early class. That didn't put any points in the "plus " column, as it were.</p>
<p>I am one of those seniors who narrowed down my list from more than 10 to 6. I was completely honest to myself. And I realized that the only reason I had more than 10 was because I wanted to brag about the schools I got into. And one of my current reaches is still a school I"ll brag about if i get in, even though I would rather attend a community college and due what I love then go to that school just because of the name(it doens't offer my 1st choice major).</p>
<p>3 are reaches, two are match, and one is a safety</p>
<p>I'd be completely happy with attending anyone of these schools. I think people just need to be honest with themselves and see that not ever school on your list is a true match for you because once you research a school more you'll see that it isn't what you really want in a school.</p>
<p>3 safeties, 2 matches, and 1 reach (Bryn Mawr ED)</p>
<p>8: 2 safety (UGA and UMiami), 1 safety/match (GWU), 3 match (UNC, WUSTL, Tulane), 2 reach (Yale and Brown).
Did EA to UGA, UNC, Tulane, and UMiami.
Also applying for Robertson scholarship @ UNC and Fellows @ UGA. If I get the fellows in March, don't really care where else I get in.</p>
<p>I applied to ten. Three reaches, five supposed matches, and two safeties. Really, there are nine, now, because I withdrew my application from one of the reaches. All the reaches and matches require auditions for admission to the program I want which is why I have so many. I'm gonna probably go with the best one that offers a full academic ride if a local scholarship I'm applying for doesn't come through.</p>
<p>12 here,</p>
<p>8 reaches
2 matches
2 Safeties</p>
<p>8 for me
ui champaign (accepted), u arizona (accepted), umichigan, uflorida, UVa, USC, UC - santa cruz, and my top school uchicago</p>
<p>8</p>
<p>4 reaches
2 matches
2 safeties</p>
<p>ui champaign has rolling as well?</p>
<p>i didnt know ui champaign had rolling</p>