<p>What's the rule of thumb? How many schools should a student apply to? </p>
<p>I had heard 1 reach, 3 match, and 2 safeties. (Or maybe it was 2, 3, 1. I forget.) When I mentioned this to my H his jaw dropped. He couldn't imagine needing/wanting so much anxiety. </p>
<p>Then I came to CC and read about that "Stepford" kid who applied to ALL the Ivies, plus about 5 more! Yikes! Now, THAT'S overkill and anxiety.</p>
<p>So, what does conventional wisdom say these days? </p>
<p>And, is it true that if you come to a school's open house or tour they'll waive the app fee?</p>
<p>1) is pretty much certain to admit the applicant, based on its known behavior in acting on recent admission applications,</p>
<p>2) has a strong program in an area the applicant is interested in,</p>
<p>3) is affordable based on its known behavior in acting on financial aid applications,</p>
<p>and</p>
<p>4) is likeable to the applicant. </p>
<p>Identify a college that fits ALL of those characteristics, and to which you can apply with a definite result early in the year (for example, a college with a nonrestrictive early action round or rolling admission process), and then you only need one safety on the list. All colleges that aren't sure bets should be considered "reaches." </p>
<p>I applied to 2 reaches, 3 good matches, and 2 safeties. Looking back, I still think it was a bit much, but you should choose your colleges very carefully. And make sure that all these colleges that you apply to - you'd WANT to go to. A lot of my friends get into safety schools they have no intention of attending...which is both a waste of time and hurts other students who really do want to attend the school. hope that helps!</p>
<p>I agree with bonbear reagarding tons of safetys. D applied to only one safety that was rolling admits. If it is a true safety (you have done your homework well), you should not need very many. The mix after that depends a little bit on your record I would think.</p>
<p>It depends on the size of the schools you are applying to and the degree of competitiveness.</p>
<p>If you are applying to large public universities, 5-6 may do it. If you are applying to LACs, you probably need more. If you are applying to the most competitiveness schools, there is a significant random element-being in the top 25% of their applicant pool just gets you a sympathetic read-whereas, at the less competitive schools, being in the top 25% would probably make it a match. And then, there is your degree of certainly about what you want and need: Lots of people don't have that figured out when they apply, so they need to apply more broadly and think it through as the senior year progresses. Finally, the financial angle-if you need a lot of scholarship money, you may need to apply to more places than if you are not depending on this.</p>
<p>Many "safeties" (depending on your child's stats) are rolling admits, so you can find out if they're accepted in the fall. Here in Texas, the top 10% rule (contested as it is) let me know exactly what my safety was in the application process -- any state school would take me in. Knowing that in the fall gave me more leeway to pursue reaches and matches in the spring. However, if your safety doesn't have rolling admits, apply to more than one just in case. You never know.</p>
<p>Matches are schools where a student has about a 50-50 chance of admission. Those are the most important schools to concentrate on. Reach schools are great and glamourous, but, in the end, many starry-eyed applicants get into none of their reaches.</p>
<p>My suggestion is 2-3 reaches, 4-5 matches and 1-2 safeties. No, you don't need ten schools. But, given the roster of kids in my HS senior's class who were disappointed in their acceptances this year, more is better. Students shouldn't expect to get into more than half of their schools, and no one wants to have just one choice in April.</p>
<p>If you put some effort into developing a list and paring it down through researching and visiting the schools, you can get by with a smaller number of applications (4-6). What's hard to tell is whether a school is a safety, match, or reach in these times because admissions at so many schools is a moving target. What was good enough last year ends up on the waiting list next year.</p>
<p>My son's list started with about 15 schools, was reduced to about 10 after doing some pretty basic research, and he ended up with 6 after his campus visits (1 safety, 4 match, 1 reach). Of those 6, one was way out in front and the others were in a fairly close cluster some distance behind. He was accepted at 4 and waitlisted at 2.</p>
<p>I'll second pretzelbreaker's thoughts on schools with rolling admissions. You can either lock up a safety by Thanksgiving or get a reality check before it's too late to adapt your list of schools.</p>
<p>I think applying early to one safety is good- if it's rolling, you'll know soon and won't have to apply to another. </p>
<p>I applied to probably... 4 reaches, even though I probably could have cut it down to two. Two/three is probably good with that one. Then I applied to one more low reach/match, and then two easier matches (sort of safeties, I guess) and one super-safety. I wish I had applied to more upper matches. </p>
<p>2-3 Reaches
3-4 Matches
1 Safety</p>
<p>Seems pretty good to me. Just as long as you hear back from your safety EARLY- if you apply to it so late that you don't know by January, maybe making it two safeties would be good. And your safety SHOULD NOT be known for having Tuft's syndrome (rejecting good applicants that it thinks will go elsewhere), that does not make a good safety.</p>
<p>1 safety and 9 reaches here, i got 2 of them :) ... however it is a very very stressful thing to do, getting 7 rejects nearly on the same day isnt fun</p>
<p>Depends what types of schools you are applying to.
When I first came in December I was told about two rules. #1: A popular top 40 school with admission rate of less than 30% is never a safety. # 2:top 12 or so schools are reaches for everyone. If you agree with these rules, a kid aiming for Ivies finds himself in a funny situation. His matches are "not matches for anyone" and his safeties "are not safeties for anyone".
I could see my daughter's list two ways.
The first one does not accept the abovementioned rules. Then she had 4 reaches (HYPs), 4 matches, 2 safeties and 3 super-safeties. This list appears to be very heavy on safeties.
The second one accepts the rule. Then it was 8 reaches ("all top 12 schools are reaches"), 3 matches (schools were within top 40, popular and selective, so "not safeties for anyone) and 2 safeties. This list seems to be very heavy on reaches.
The thing is: we will really never know how safe her list was. After 8 acceptances, 3 waitlists and 2 rejections it may look safety-heavy, and that the "rules" are wrong. Indeed, some of her friends with similar stats did even better in admissions, suggesting that she was not particularly lucky. But couple friends, also with similar stats, got waitlisted at 5 or 6 schools clearly below HYPs, which indicates that there is something about these "rules".</p>
<p>My school suggests that we apply to 6-7 schools: 2 safeties, 2-3 matches, and 2-3 reaches. Personally, I have several reaches that I love so I may try to convince my GC to let me do 2 safeties, 2 matches, and 4-5 reaches. I know it's kind of excessive, but the worst thing that happens is I get 5 rejection letters next April and go to a match or safety.</p>
<p>How far are willing to go away from home? Can you spread a reach and a likely safety in each of the midwest and west? Being from a different geographic area can provide a little bit of a tip for you.</p>
<p>well, personally, I went for the "mass of reaches" plan. I applied to 13 schools total. 1 safety (got into), 3 matches (2 gotten into, one waitlisted), and 9 reaches (2 gotten into). I mean, I had relatively good stats, I think, and with admissions so crazy, I figured I should apply to a bunch of reaches, probably getting into one at least.</p>
<p>I think the most important part of that plan is that even your safeties have to be schools you wouldn't mind going to. Like, I literally would not mind going to any of these schools.</p>
<p>My mom wants me to apply to only eight schools, so I think I'm going to go 2 safeties, 2 matches, and 4 reaches.</p>
<p>But if I can convince her to let me do one more, I'll make it 2,3,4, which seems optimistic but also quite reasonable. I just can't see myself giving up on one of my reaches to add another match, so if I can still only apply to eight, I'll probably go with my original plan.</p>