<p>Oldfort…in your example, did your nephew visit the school after mom put in the app. and he got in? I’m not sure my son would be willing to visit any more schools that he hasn’t already seen, even if he got into them…which does add to the frustration! In your example, I think my son’s attitude would be “I’ll go to (safety)…it was fine and I got in…I don’t need to go look at (high reach)!”</p>
<p>Yes, he visited the school. He liked the school after the visit. Most kids are adaptable. I have mentioned a few times…Most kids do not have a choice which high school to go to . They all seem to make friends and be happy and graduate.</p>
<p>One thing to mention about my nephew, he is laid back because he doesn’t want to appear as he is trying, just in case if he should fail. I think this college process did open his eyes about how things in life (whether you do them or not) could have an impact later on. My sister didn’t have to talk him into this school after he was accepted. He realized how lucky he was after all the rejections. It is also fate. I do believe in it.</p>
<p>Your son doesn’t need to visit every school he is applying to. With D2, in 2 years, we may really visit after she’s accepted. We will only visit schools where visit is required prior to acceptance.</p>
<p>^I hope the laid back nephew is happy at his top 10 school, after not taking the hardest courses in HS. My S visited one school as a sophomore, and decided that is where he wants to go, so he will apply there ED. I will continue to suggest other options and schools to visit, and insist he apply to a rolling admissions safety in case dream school doesn’t accept, or defers him to RD. To the original question, I think only 4 schools is fine if that is what the student wants. Most kids around here are like that - they go to Pitt, Penn State (main or branches) or smaller state U’s.</p>
<p>ReadyToRoll, Your S sounds a lot like mine. I tried like crazy to get him to look at a variety of schools and he was so unwilling. He thought he knew exactly what he wanted, a large OOS University. He applied in August of his senior year and was admitted in October. He was so done with the process but we pushed him to at least submit a few more applications to give himself some options. So he applied to two more OOS and a couple in state. Visited a friend at one of the other OOS and loved it there, found a major he liked and dedicided to attend. I was terribly concerned that he had not looked at enough (he absolutely refused to look at small schools, where I thought he would do best). He was a freshman last year and almost immediately decided this was not a good fit for him. He worked very hard, did extremely well (something he did not do in high school) and all on his own explored other schools that offered his major, applied to two of them, was accepted to both, visited over Christmas break, finished the year very well and transfered this fall. I dropped him off Saturday and he is delighted with his new school. Interestingly, over the summer he visited a small liberal arts college with a friend’s family and came home to tell me, “When I have kids I’m going to make sure they look at small colleges–this was such a cool place.” Grrrrrrr. Good luck, I told him. He eexpressed similar sentiments to a younger cousin who was telling him that he wanted only a big state school. “look at some small ones.” I think he is happy now, an he is at a large school, but in hindsight, he wishes he hadn’t been such a pain in the neck. For some of these kids, this process comes at the worst possible time in terms of their willingness to cooperate with parents or listen to suggestions that they think will add to their workload. What my son would say to yours is, “Look at some more schools, there is a lot more out there than you think, and you don’t know what you’re missing until you look. If you don’t like the others, it confirms your decision, and if you do, you still have a chance to apply.” Good luck.</p>
<p>My daughter will probably not apply to more than four, and every one is easily a safety. It isn’t that she doesn’t care about school; she has a specific long-term goal and a good idea of what kind of programs she is looking for for undergraduate education, and has identified schools that serve her purposes well.</p>
<p>That is fine with me.</p>
<p>Older D applied to 2 (both in-stateU’s) with one being the school she really wanted to attend. Accepted by both, attended the honors program of the one she loved, graduated in 2008 with a pile of honors.</p>
<p>Younger D applied to only 4 despite being the val, NMF, SAT/ACT in the 99%tile. Accepted at all four. Reallly loved the highest ranked school and is just starting her junior year there.</p>
<p>You have to know your kid. Ours both said they would be happy attending any of the schools they applied to. Sometimes I think kids apply to way too many schools - it is just overkill.</p>
<p>My D2 fits in this bunch. She’s applied to Pitt, which I think is her first choice (but she’s afraid to verbalize it in case she doesn’t get accepted). </p>
<p>I’m making her apply to an in-state safety as soon as the online application is available on 9/1. She calls it her “back-up” school…would probably rather go someplace else, but has spent some time on campus and knows that it would be okay. </p>
<p>Since Pitt is rolling admission, D2 should get a decision in October. If she’s in, I bet she doesn’t fill out another application. If not, there’s three more possibilities waiting in the wings with November - January application deadlines.</p>
<p>If he does not care which school he goes, he should apply to one and save effort/money.</p>
<p>We visited several schools during our various travels with a ‘ho-hum’ reaction from DS. I feared that we would never be interested in college at all. Then he saw a school that was ‘ka-boom, I love this place.’ Top tier tech school for a science nerd. Now I fear what’ll happen if he doesn’t get in. I don’t know which is worse.</p>
<p>Four schools is not enough! We speak from experience. She applied to six and would only attend two of the six if got in (by the time April rolled around). Thank godness she got in her top choices…don’t know what we would have done!</p>
<p>oldfort, I feel like your example only reinforces rtor’s son’s choice. IF you like your matches and safeties and won’t feel badly rejected by all (even if it’s all 1 or 2) of your reaches, then there is no need to apply widely.</p>
<p>Like JHS, I only applied to three schools, theoretically a reach, a match and a safety, though nowadays all 3 would be considered a reach for anyone. I understand why so many kids apply to more now, but many don’t need to.</p>
<p>What I meant is that if he does not care which one to attend, why he would not apply to the one that he for surely will get in? Everybody has reaches and safeties.</p>
<p>Personally, I think that if he has done the research to narrow down his choice to the top 4 he is definitely, specifically interested in…he just knows what he wants. I remember I visited 7 schools and was just confused after visiting them. After so many, I felt like they would begin to mesh together. I know many others would disagree with me. I understand many people enjoy the road trips and family time together. For me, specifically, I would take a vacation for a road trip and family time and do the college search a different time. We all have our own way of working it!
But, if your son knows what he wants…I think that is great!</p>
<p>I agree, the CC 10 - 15 school appplications is not the norm. My oldest applied to three and very grudgingly applied to a fourth. Was accepted at all and went to his “most favorite.” He would have been just fine with just one app to his favorite but I was new to the process and CC “scared me” into encouraging more apps. S2 has started his apps, and will apply to 4 or 5, but one is a super reach and two are matches. He, too, is perfectly content with his safety school so no need for “more apps” but is not as certain as his older brother. A friend’s daughter went to a CC revered boarding school out east and only applied to 5. Again, there is no “right” or “correct” answer, depends on the kid.</p>
<p>I agree, everyone and every situation is different!</p>
<p>For some students in some situations, four may be too few:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Need to compare need-based financial aid offers.</p></li>
<li><p>On a search for significant merit awards.</p></li>
<li><p>Not entirely sure yet, at the start of senior year, what kind of program is preferred (engineering vs science/math, etc.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>For my son, 2 and 3 were factors (he is a computer science student, and those programs vary, a lot). He would have preferred to keep things extremely simple, because he had an extremely busy senior year, but ended up applying to 8 schools. He ended up with a lot of options, including the merit awards he wanted.</p>
<p>I am relieved, however, that my daughter is narrowing her focus earlier, because she will have a better senior year than she would if she were stressed over a lot of applications to reach schools. Different kids, different long-term goals, different preferences.</p>
<p>I was going to say what mom in VA said, Apply EA and/or rolling to the safety and the match if possible. If neither of them offers those acceptance plans then find a 5th and maybe a 6th school that do. If not leave it alone with the four. </p>
<p>My daugters also had a fall sport were not at all interested in researching MORE schools but applied EA and had both been accepted to 4 schools by Thanksgiving and it really took a weight off. </p>
<p>Your boy is fairly typical in his attitude and it does sound like you have raised a balanced thoughtful young man.</p>
<p>Forgive for not reading every message, but I would make certain child also has financial safety and possibly financial reach (the former being the most important)</p>
<p>FYI…We got a surprise WL with one of the safeties.</p>
<p>i applied to 9 schools, and later i felt like it was too many. i would have narrowed it down to 5 or 4. i didn’t visit any schools before deciding which one to attend. i ended up doing very well in college too (i’ll be starting my 2nd year in the fall). i don’t think you should worry too much. it’s not like he doesn’t care, but he probably thinks that it’s unnecessary and he knows what he’s doing.</p>