I am wondering if we are applying to far too few colleges.
4 target schools
4 Safeties
2 reaches
S has decided on a major and knows the region he wants to be in.
My S23 applied to half as manyâ1 safety, 2 targets, 2 reaches. He was happy with all the places he applied and got into 4/5. If your child would truly be happy at any of the schools they are applying to, 10 is more than enough.
My S24 will probably apply to 5-8 schools because he has fewer constraints than his older brother on location, and the places he likes better are more reachy.
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That seems like a great mix to me. I think 8-10 for many students is a good number to shoot for. Several people have mentioned the burnout that comes from completing each application. I think itâs reasonable to do 8-10 well but after that I worry that the burnout kicks in. Of course, there are exceptions like applications that donât require a supplemental or the UCs where itâs just one application for several schools.
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As long as you have categorized those schools correctly, our college counselors would think that was perfectly fine. Indeed, you could potentially cut a couple each of the âsafetiesâ and âtargetsâ and they might still think it was fine.
To put the point another wayâthe really critical thing is to have a couple safeties (we call them likelies) that are in fact very likely for admission, very likely to be affordable, and would be very good fits for the kid (not necessarily perfect, but very good). Ideally at least one would provide an early answer.
If you have that, then everything else is really negotiable. Indeed, if you find a âlikelyâ that happens to be a great fit and which will provide an early answer, you might end up applying to very few places. Which would be great!
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Those of you looking at lists in the high teens are scaring me a little.
Once the Common App essay is done and the first app is submitted, the supplements may suddenly feel a lot easier, so the adding may not be a big deal and we have time. I need to stop champing at the bit.
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Does anyone know if Pitt considers Honors classes as rigorous or is it just AP courses that colleges typically count as rigorous?
I think there are circumstances where that could be warranted.
One thing that I think is weighing on some families in this cohort is a bad freshman year related to COVID, and uncertainty about how exactly colleges will handle that is a possible reason to apply to more schools.
Another is uncertainty about affordability if merit aid is a possibility.
Finally, visiting in person can be expensive, so people might be hoping to backload some visits just to admits.
Still . . . I do think in many circumstances, it would be worth thinking seriously about cutting a list like that down. And I definitely donât feel like you need to be looking at imitating that if you have a smaller list of colleges that is really well chosen.
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Itâs an individual choice. As you said, the results are unpredicatble and our D wants to go to a highly selective school. So of course, that leads to a lot of applications.
All her friends are at or near the top of their class so when everyone says to find their people and fit, thatâs her fit.
Would she be happy attending SMU, Indiana or UConn? Sure but sheâd be much happier at Rice, Brown, UMich, University of Texas, etc.
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They should be relying on the school reports/counselor recommendations for this sort information, meaning that should tell them whether Honors classes are more rigorous, less rigorous, or the same as AP classes at your HS.
But I can tell you our private HS regularly sends kids to Pitt (and many more are accepted), and we offer very few APs. We do that because we think in most cases, our honors/advanced classes are better, not worse, than AP classes.
Pitt doesnât seem to mind that coming from our HS, and I doubt we are the only exception.
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I canât keep everyone straight anymore, are they applying to BFA programs or BA programs within LACs/universities. If it is BFA programs rigor is not important. There are a few schools that have baseline academic thresholds for BFA students (NYU, Michigan CMU are the big ones) but otherwise the schools that are best for MT and acting are not generally rigorous schools and do not care. For academic merit the rigor is not as important as the GPA and testing scores. (S21 is a rising third year in a BFA acting program)
Same. I do think that TO has led to more kids throwing apps at a lot more reaches just to shoot their shot. Unfortunately, that leads to lower acceptance statistics for us to look at.
I know D24 wonât be convinced to apply to that many (fine with me!), nor will our college counseling dept advise it. Oldest brother applied to 7 and was accepted at 6/waitlisted at 1; middle guy applied ED to Williams and was done.
D24 currently has 2 safeties, 3 targets, and 5 reaches. I really want her to eliminate at least two of the reaches, ideally 3, and one of the targets. We shall see. Sheâll apply EA to all of them so if rejections come in, she can always apply to RD on those farther down the list.
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To clarify, I understand completely, as I have a kid in a similar position. Thatâs whatâs scary, the reality that acceptance rates are so low at such schools. Itâs a little hard to wrap oneâs head around. I was telling S the other day that he could get accepted to all his schools and we would say, âof course!â He could also get rejected from all but his safety and we would say, âof course!â
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Yes you can do that. For the life of me I canât remember if scores are self reported in main common app tab or the individual college questions section. Either way:
If self reporting in main common app tab. Put the scores, submit only to colleges you want to send to, then delete the scores by going back and editing, then submit to the remaining colleges. --you can edit for any college not already submitted and submission is done individually for each school
If self reporting is done in individual college section then of course itâs no problem doing for some.
Canât believe I canât remember where it is but either way itâs no problem.
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Completely agree. One school that recently perked her interest is UNC.
Without this going off the rails, our D may have a better chance after reviewing the UNC trusteesâ comments on admissions after the SCOTUS decision.
Weâre trying to keep a disciplined timeline to get as much done as possible prior to the school year so the entire process doesnt get overwhelming. Start with your Top 5 and then go from there.
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I think as long as you feel the first are right (meaning safety/ target/ reach) which it appears you have been thoughtful, you will be good. My son only applied to 4 originally. They were solid fits- safely/ targets and maybe 1 reach. Ended up adding 3 more âjust in caseâ- for a total of 7. Got in to all because they were proper fits for him. He, like yours knew major and region. Good luck! Nerve wracking times! But soul did like your thoughtful and it will all pan out:)
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Someone mentioned that there is a thread regarding the Affirmative Action ruling. Can someone please point me to it? I cant find it.
TIA.
Itâs in the politics forum (*adding, one would need to join this forum) and I can never find it unless I go back through notifications. This link should work: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/t/race-in-college-applications-faq-discussion-14
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Note that you need to join the politics forum to read.
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Northeastern has never had a supplemental essay, even when their acceptance rate was 50%.
But now that everyone does and they are considered a highly selective school it is so easy to just press send!
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