Okay, I have been following this thread and holding back. @Baloney1011, I see absolutely nothing wrong in what you are doing. You seem to be the type of outgoing student who will do fine wherever you go. My daughter is one of those. Back when she was applying in 2007, she was applying to 14 schools…we were just going to see what happened. Fortunately she was matched to her number 1 school through Questbridge Nov 30th her senior year so she didn’t need to continue. However, she was ready with her apps and supplements in case she wasn’t matched. Back then she was questioned as to the number of apps, 14. To those who say yout cant write X number of essays, that may be true for many, but for some it can be done…and not just some bs… D did the shotgun approach for med school as well, submitted 34 or 32 apps. Had to write EXTENSIVE secondaries for them, but she did. Got 23 Interview invites from them. I dont understand why so many are putting down the OP for his choice to apply to so many? It is his pprerogative to shotgun. Whether it works out or not, well we will see. Good luck.
There was a student last year who made national news for shotgunning all ivies. It was news because he was admitted to all of them.
Good luck OP
Hi, GA2012MOM 
Questbridge, through, is entirely different. We’re not talking about Questbrige here. The QB is , among other things, a fishing expedition (in part, only!, but it’s a necessary & legitimate part of it.)
Can this thread be closed?
At the end of the day there are those who support the OP and those who don’t, and until we get the results from the OP(and even then), there’s no way this argument is going to grow into anything meaningful.
Hi @epiphany , yes I know QB is a different animal, but my D had 14 ready to go if that hadn’t panned out. In regards to the med school shotgun , she wouldn’t have done it if she was wanting to go to our state school. She didn’t, so we HAD to cast a very wide net and see how the money came in,; I do think that this approach is not good for everyone, only those who can adapt to any school.
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@QuadMaster I don’t see the point in closing it, the thread has brought about many interesting viewpoints and debates on very interesting topics. If anything, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading both sides of the spectrum for so many topics and have learned a lot. Closing this thread would be disappointing. Keeping it open would perhaps spark discussions on even more topics so it’s a fun read in my opinion.
But, GA2012MOM, was she not a Hooked student? As I recall, she was.
OP is not hooked. There’s no two-way searching occurring with unhooked students.
“I don’t see the point in closing it, the thread has brought about many interesting viewpoints and debates on very interesting topics.”
Agree. If anything, now is the time to talk about these topics.
@epiphany , yes, my daughter was hooked, but she/we still felt the need to apply to many schools. According to cc folks, my hooked daughter with her stats and EC’s should have applied to just a few schools, but we didn’t feel safe in doing that, therefore the high number of apps. I just see it as covering all your bases.
I don’t know why this thread should be closed. We are drawing near to the time when the OP and parents have to start completing FA tasks for 31 schools… Doubt the OP will tell us, but I suspect his parents will have some complaints during that process…
@epiphany Actually. No. And that was not my LOCAL paper. And it was not written in a school newspaper. Again, you can believe what you want. You’re entitled to your opinion. That is NOT the story I am talking about. This girl was already admitted, was at an orientation, and trashed the school. You are choosing to misinterpret my words. I’m done discussing this.
@intparent Your one example does not negate the fact that people send out many, many resumes and applications. And in some cases, this strategy proves to be the most effective. Shot gunning in job applications and college apps isn’t a fair comparison.
I’m excited to see how it pans out for you! Curious if you applied ED though- if so, were you deferred. I saw earlier you had planned on applying to Columbia or Cornell ED.
@bsalum Nope no ED.
Each year, some of the university newspapers poll the incoming freshmen in an attempt to divine the numbers that admissions might not happen to compile. If you do get into one of those more competitive marks, you may be in the running for some kind of a record in terms of numbers of applications made.
Agreed. I find this thread strangely compelling. And kudos to OP and everyone else for maintaining a civil level of discourse.
I was thinking about the term shotgunning. At what point does the number of applications cross the border into that territory? For purposes of argument, if someone doesn’t have to compare FA offers, is 15 schools shotgunning? What about when someone applies to 4 or 5 safeties?
@green678 - that is a very interesting question. I think in the olden days, even 10 applications seemed excessive - but now clearly 10-12 is within normal limits for middle class USAmerican kids. So the answer will change. Maybe “shotgunning” should be defined as more than 2.5*N where N is the “normal” number for that time and place and school…?
Baloney1011 isn’t even close to the highest number of college applications.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/nyregion/applications-by-the-dozen-as-anxious-students-hedge-college-bets.html?_r=0
I thought the prevailing advice on CC was apply to two-three safeties, some number of matches (3?) and then any number of reaches you please. That’s what the OP has done. Does it make sense? To him, it obviously does. He’ll find out the quality of his essays and its effect in April.
What disturbs me is not the number of applications. It’s more the attitude that this is merely a game and the general disrespect for colleges and their admissions offices. I’m not talking about “respect your elders” respect. I’m talking about the tone of contempt and general feeling that he can “act” his way without actually putting himself into these essays or interviews - bs’ing his way to success, if you will. @Fretfulmother summed it up nicely in #243.
What is even sadder is that students like Baloney feels the need to apply to so many colleges. Why the need? Is it to garner trophies (college acceptances)? Is it because the focus is on so few colleges and universities when, in fact, there are scores of very good universities and colleges in this country (even for the IB aspirant)?
There is all kinds of craziness out there. If you were responding to my post, I specifically referenced students who got accepted to the most competitive marks.
I don’t doubt that shotgunning will yield results (of some kind). If you apply to 86 schools and don’t get something I feel sorry for you. I’m waiting to see if this tactic yields results at any of the most selective schools. Or at the very least, a reach.
I knew a young man who did over 30 applications. He was focusing on joint BA/MD programs that had very small chances for admits. He ended up getting an accepted to Harvard and some other highly selective school but to none of the medical schools.