<p>Is there a negative side to applying to a lot of school? Would it hurt my chances or anything?</p>
<p>It probably won’t directly hurt your chances, but it can make it harder for you to write good essays for the schools you really want to go to, indirectly hurting your chances. Additionally, it can cost a lot to apply to a large number of schools, since a 50 or 60 dollar application fee can stack up.</p>
<p>That makes sense. Don’t people usually write essay and just change up some information. Thanks!</p>
<p>Yes, generally 2 or 3 essays can be tweaked to cover all applications. The only downside to applying to many schools is that, the more people who do that, the more applicants in the pool and the lower the acceptance rate at any given school. That said, if you don’t apply to a lot of schools you’re almost at a disadvantage. Yes, the costs stack up, but think in terms of the overall cost of attendance; if applying to 10 schools instead of 5 gets you acceptance into 6 instead of 2, and you are offered varying amounts of financial or merit aid, isn’t it conceivably worth $680 v. $340 to apply to more schools in the scheme of a four-year cost of attendence that can vary greatly depending upon what you’re offered?</p>
<p>Its also tricky to keep on top of all the little things, like interviews, and who didn’t get transcripts yet, and who needed those subject test scores by Dec 15 th?, all at a time when there is a lot going on.</p>
<p>Some say the odds don’t always improve with the number of applications, but being thoughtful about it should help.</p>