<p>So.
Applying to 26 schools is not the best idea?</p>
<p>I think you should apply to all those schools, no matter what the number is! You see, the bigger the number of schools the greater the chance (percentage) of being accepted! Good luck with all of those applications.</p>
<p>I am considering applying SCEA here. If I dont I will apply RD.</p>
<p>I was wondering, why does everyone want to go to Harvard? Other than it being Harvard, of course.</p>
<p>Yes, I’m calling you out Chris00656! Your advice is patently unwise! CPUscientist3000 is absolutely correct! Listen to CPU and read, read, read! Every year applicants with perfect grades and test scores are rejected to every reach school they apply to. This is because these schools are looking beyond your grades and test scores to see if an applicant is WISE, kind, gifted, talented and special in some kind of way. To present this kind of evidence to a reach school requires a lot of thought and effort. And I think this is why so many otherwise great students are rejected by so many reach schools. They simply cannot produce a high quality application, especially high quality application essays, when they are applying to 10+ reach schools. This is insane! Applying to 4 or 5 well-regarded back-up schools is a very wise strategy. If it were just about grades and test scores, then, yeah, shoot off your grades and test scores to as many elite colleges as possible. But this ain’t India!</p>
<p>CPUscientist3000, have a great year and career at Harvard! And I hope to see you at your graduation!</p>
<p>Presenting yourself as wise, kind, gifted, talented, and special in some kind of way is necessary, yes.</p>
<p>However, I don’t see how your application would change from college to college besides the essays. I don’t think Chris would waste his time applying to so many Ivies and only write sub-par essays. At least, I wouldn’t.</p>
<p>I’m only applying to four Ivies, but several other “peer schools”</p>
<p>Magentaturtle, I take it you have never looked at the Supplemental pages of elite reach colleges on the Common App. When the Common App opens again on August 1st, I want you to look at the number of essays and short answer questions you must answer for Princeton and Stanford versus Harvard. In fact, look at the Supplemental pages of Cal Tech and the non-Common App application of MIT and look at all of the Common App Supplemental pages of each Ivy League school and compare them with those of Duke, the University of Chicago, etc. Then tell me if all of these schools ask the same questions. Recycling essays and short answer responses will not be easy or even possible in some cases. These schools know what they are looking for, and this is why a student can be accepted at MIT and be rejected at Harvard, be accepted at Harvard and be rejected at MIT, be accepted at Cal Tech and be rejected at MIT, be accepted at Stanford and be rejected at Yale, etc. It is possible to look great at one school and not so great at another because admissions to elite reach schools in America is not only determined by impressive numbers. Thus, the essays and short answer responses loom large! Target your reach schools carefully by finding out where you can submit the best application, particularly after you review their Common App Supplemental pages. Listen! </p>
<p>I have no problem with you applying to 4 reach schools. You can even add 2 more! Just make sure you apply to a good number of quality safeties. But understand that although all reach schools like great grades and test scores, each of them have specific institutional needs and their own distinct characteristics as an institution. Do your homework and find out where you think you belong!</p>
<p>dascholar is very knowledgeable and has helped me through the college application process at various times.</p>
<p>I know you all want to believe what you want, but do not disregard the advice from people who have ALREADY BEEN THERE, especially if they have made the same mistakes that you are wanting to make (but of course you believed that you are not going to ‘end up’ like those before you).</p>
<p>dascholar, i hope to see you as well! i look forward to being classmates with desertscholar :)</p>
<p>I am well aware of the number of essays that reach schools tend to have. That wasn’t my point. My point was that if someone is willing to apply to so many schools and spend so much money, then they are more likely to write good essays.</p>
<p>I never said anything about recycling essays.</p>
<p>magentaturtle, actually, they are not “more than likely” to write good essays. it doesn’t matter how much you ‘want’ to do anything. after a while, those last essays will not be like the first ones.</p>
<p>the point about recycling essays was brought up to show that one will have to write many different, unique essays and they all won’t be of the same quality. take a minute to actually read and understand what is said rather than retorting so quickly. </p>
<p>however, i see no use in trying to give advice to someone who is unreceptive. remember this, though: you have never gone through the college application process. we have. good luck to you.</p>
<p>Could I be at a disadvantage if I only apply to one reach school, that being Harvard?</p>
<p>there is no advantage or disadvantage to the number of highly selective schools you apply to. they all have such low acceptance rates that any ‘advantage’ is negligible.</p>
<p>dascholar, how many reach schools did you apply to and how many rejected/waitlisted you?</p>
<p>^Chris00656, when I applied to college, years ago:), I applied to one reach school and I was accepted. But I ended up going to a non-reach school that accepted me. However, my main experience on this topic is as a college admissions advisor (20 years). This year I advised a student who was accepted at 2 of the 4 reach schools he applied to. He was waitlisted at one of the 2 and was rejected by the other. Harvard and Stanford accepted him. </p>
<p>Chris00656, it is okay to be ambitious, but be wise. You can be successful in elite college admissions if you allocate your creative energies to write great applications for a select number of reach schools. As I said to magentaturtle, 6 (if you start early) is probably a manageble number of reach schools to pursue, along with 3 or 4 sure-fire safeties.</p>
<p>Why didn’t you attend the reach school?</p>
<p>@CPUScientist,</p>
<h2>Actually, it clearly does matter whether one wants to do something. If a person doesn’t want to write a supplement and feels like he has to because he needs to apply to a certain school, it will not be as good. However, if they thoroughly enjoy the school and want to write the supplement because they want to end up at that institution, then I believe the essay will be much better than the person in the first situation. In my mind, it doesn’t matter how many places a person has on their list.</h2>
<h2>If that was the point that dascholar was trying to make, then I apologize. However, one has to write different and unique essays regardless of whether the school is a reach or not. Thus, it is only natural for the essays to differ in “quality.” Should that stop anyone from applying to several reaches? Absolutely not.</h2>
<p>Just because I disagree with you does not mean I am not receptive, I merely disagree with your opinions. Take that for what you will.</p>
<p>magentaturtle and Chris00656, may you both get in the college of your dreams! Part of maturing is finding your own way, no matter what others say. Go for your dreams!</p>
<p>And Chris00656, back in the day some reach schools were not as generous as they are now. So I attended the non-reach school because I could not afford to attend the reach school. But now, OMG, a poor or middle class student admitted to Stanford, Yale, Harvard, etc. will receive a full-ride to attend these schools! So apply, apply, apply! Just be selective about where you apply. :)</p>
<p>I understand that schools like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton contribute amazing and extremely generous financial support for your undergraduate years, but what about your graduate years? I watched in a Princeton Video that if a student is currently attending one of the graduate schools and their parents don’t necessarily make the same salary that they have made when their child was an undergraduate (in other words, financial problems with paying the graduate school tuition), then Princeton will grant the student free tuition for their graduate years. What about Harvard and Yale?</p>
<p>magentaturtle – 11 reach schools with a lot of essays (Brown has about what, 11? Stanford also. just as examples. they might be short, some extremely so, but the shorter, the harder). No matter what the quality won’t be the same. </p>
<p>I have been through senior year of high school, and applying to colleges. Take my experience and other people who are older and wiser than you for what you will. I second dascholar, you will be admitted and attend the school of which you deserve.</p>
<p>Hey Chris00656, some scholarships and fellowships, both teaching and research fellowships, are available at the top graduate schools for exceptional college grads, but not so much at the best professional schools (law, medical, and dental). So expect to go in debt for graduate or professional school, no matter where you go. That’s why you want to apply to undergraduate colleges that guarantee to meet 100% of your financial aid need. If your parents are not rich, try to gain admissions to colleges that you really like and that will award you way more in scholarships and grants than loans. Nevertheless, dont jump the gun. Focus on completing high school with flying colors so you can take advantage of all the great higher education opportunities that are available on the undergraduate level and that will be on the graduate level later on. CPUscientist3000 is an exemplary student in this regard.</p>
<p>@CPU </p>
<p>Hi! I’m taking a gap year, so I think I’ll have more time to devote to apps. </p>
<p>Is it then wise to apply to many schools? I’ve started essays already.</p>
<p>I’ll also be studying for the SAT and SAT II (maybe ACT).
I have lots of essay ideas worked out…</p>