Wow- I read some kids applying to 20 schools-- does that include schools like CSUs or UCs where you just check the box on different campuses, or is this really 20 separate schools? My son has 12 schools- but one is a UC and the other is CSU- and, when checking the box, becomes 17.
DS22 submitted his SCEA application and all the EA/Rolling apps. Still waiting for these teacher recs, though!
Or student codes:
Chronic procrastination syndrome (characterized by delusional thinking that essays will write themselves & that teachers will magically write recommendation letters without reminders)
Temporary explosive temper disorder
Or, maybe thatās only my kid? 
I can never understand this. There are 20 schools that a student might actually attend? Hard to believe.
This is the reason for the headline low acceptance rates, even though top schools are actually accepting more students. Somehow marketing has driven a āmore application = better collegeā belief.
D17 had 7, which was more than enough. D22 has 12, and I suggested dropping three of them as I donāt see any realistic acceptance combination where they would be the choice.
7 is more than enough for a high-stats student from a full pay family. It may not be enough for students in other situations. Not every student has the exact same profile of your students. This is not a one-strategy-fits-all situation.
You may not understand it, but it is true.
They may not really want to attend all 20
schools but if they could afford the app fees, they may want to spread their net wide. Kids who have high stats and want to go to reach schools know itās a lottery in a way. 7 ish Ivies + Stanford, Duke, JHU, MIT (none of which are a gimme), 6 or so UCs (even UCs arenāt gimmes) etc. I can see how the numbers add up.
Really? Why? (Iām not doubting you, I just donāt understand.)
Itās totally cryptic to me how high-stat kids find their place these days. Schools with low admittance rates are still reaches, even if a studentās stats are above the 75% number. And then they quickly hit a point where schools seem to want to protect their yield rate. Itās been hard for us to find āmatches.ā If we were full pay, would this somehow minimize this problem?
Or, do you mean that a high-stats full pay student will get in to ASU and U of Arizona, and so donāt need to apply to very many more schools beyond this?
Iām curious how not everyone has the same profile and itās not a one-strategy-fits-all situation, yet a global ā7 is more than enough for a high-stats student from a full pay family.ā is a fact.
Such a student (example being 4.3 wgpa, 1540 SAT, no cost constraints) could, after winnowing down her options to 8 schools she would be happy to attend, apply to ā¦
1: her in-state flagship - in many states this is almost a sure thing and usually a great option, and honors school is a possibility.
2: her in-state flagship runner-up - example being Michigan State, a very good option, and honors college is likely.
3 & 4: Two OOS flagships of her choice, and still in the running for honors college there. The student/family will doubtlessly be intelligent enough to realize that a few OOS flagships (UNC, some UCs, UT-Austin, MI, etc) are not likely admits for any OOS student.
5 & 6: Two privates in the 21-55 range - example Tufts and Santa Clara U
7 & 8: Two Top15 unis - these <15% admit rates are a reach for every student and no student can count on acceptance.
From that list, most of these students will likely be accepted to 4-5. Because of their financial good fortune, all schools that admit will be affordable. There is virtually no chance the student will be left with no affordable acceptances, and virtually no chance the student will not be rejected at all of these schools.
I donāt buy that most or even half of 1540/top gpa kids would be happy to attend any of those 8, or even half of those 8. I know tons of these kids (well, 1500ish+, only a couple 1540+) who were fairly disappointed at 1-6. Those kids, especially if cost is not a consideration(you mentioned full pay), almost always want 7&8 and maybe 3&4 depending on the kid and the fit. The more competitive a kid is, the more their āmatchesā for their stats are considered āreachesā for everyone, so they are more likely to be a fit for schools with ridiculous acceptance rates. Our D23 is at or above 75th%ile for every school and definitely does not want to feel like a super-nerd at college (because HS has already been like that), so will apply to piles of 7&8s with well-honed essays and hope for 1 acceptance. Not 20 schools, but at least 10-12 in that group plus 2 true safeties that she likes well enough but isnāt overly excited about.
My apologies for quoting your stated preference for 7 as a number you were satisfied with. 
I should have said ā7 is enough for RichPittās students, and MAY be enough for other high stats full pay students ā¦ā. I admit my mistake in misunderstanding that you thought 7 was enough and you thought 20 was so high you couldnāt possibly understand why anyone would apply to that many. Again, my apologies for misunderstanding your words.
It should also be factored in how unpredictable last year and this year are with covid/test optional. Two years ago kiddoās college counselor was solidly in the ā8 is enoughā camp. Now she is in the 12-14 camp, depending upon your demographic. She no longer thinks 20 is nuts, especially if chasing merit.
Numbers shift around for lots of reasons. For example, living in California, you would be hard pressed to convince me that an OOS public is worth it when we have the UCs. That knocks out a whole category. But kiddo is interested in a very competitive major, so he is upping the number reaches. His matches are the same.
Plus, he hasnāt been able to look at many schools, so he is applying to a few extra than he probably would have if he had the chance to evaluate them in advance.
My son is probably applying to too many, really. But the few weāve been able to visit have only been student-led outdoor tours. They all seem to have buildings on campus :). But not a lot of in-depth information is given. Weāve looked online, but itās hard to know what he wants. He doesnāt know what he wants. So heās picked a handful and is applying. Some are small, some are big, some north, some south. Itās quite the range. Heās learning more as we dig into each school, but itās a struggle for him to figure out what he wants. Heās our oldest, so Iām sure by the time we do this again, we will be better at helping the kid figure it out too.
We are likely full-pay for many schools for him, but that would not be possible for 2 kids in college, so scholarships are still a consideration. So far, heās applied to 8 and is finishing up a couple more this week. I expect when heās done, heāll have about 12-14. I can see him deciding to skip the last couple as well!
The class of 2021 experienced such an unpredictable admissions season. In the fall my daughter had a list of 6 schools that she felt good about. Then dynamics started really shifting because of Covid and the panic started to set in. At the end of the day she applied to 14 schools which a year prior would have felt like overkill to me. She was in the top 7% percent of large competitive California school and didnāt get a single UC acceptance, except one off a waitlist. I donāt blame anyone for applying to 15-20 schools right now.
So discouraging! We are in CA and my DS22 has been told he is around that % rank as well. Itās tough to hear how smart CA kids arenāt getting into state schools. I hope your daughter is thriving wherever she is!
We are relatively new to California so when I started to figure out that in state might not happen (summer before 12th) I completely freaked out. Especially because my daughter had a really high gpa, course rigor, team captain, job etcā¦I have so many stories of her equally impressive friends, one being Salutatorian who even got rejected at Slo. Itās absolutely maddening how California kids are shut out of the UCās. I am happy to report that she is absolutely thriving in the honors college at SDSU despite that being her last resort safety when she was submitting applications. I may never know why we had that stressful adventure but it definitely reaffirmed my belief that everything happens for a reason!
So stressful, but happy to hear about SDSU. My D22 has applied there. She just was accepted to her other safety -UO - and it feels great. She would be happy to go to either of those schools.
She is close to finishing up her UW application and then has 8 more applications. One of those is UC, for multiple campuses. It feels like a lot, but we also felt like a mix of private/public and instate and OOS was important. Sheās going to college! Hasnāt sunk in yet.
Congratulations! Quick question . SDSU is Cal state university? donāt they all open on Nov 1 ( UCs/Cal State etc? All the best!
Mine got into UW 
We had the same strategy. Mix of public/private in state and OOS. It was an eye opening experience getting to the final choice, but we felt really grateful to have options. Itās a very exciting time. As much as I miss my daughter Iām absolutely overjoyed with how happy she is. Itās surreal and amazing. Best wishes to your daughter!
Thank you!
The CSU application opened Oct.1 and closes Nov. 30. UC opens Nov. 1.
Got it. very good to know. Quick question. Do CSU applications ask for essays?