<p>“Sure. But it sends a very clear signal about the kind of kid who does this. It sends a signal that this kind of kid is so incredibly naive that he actually only believes that the top 20 (or whatever) number of schools are worth getting into”</p>
<p>Not necessarily. </p>
<p>We know kids at DD’s HS who basically applied to UVa, our state flagship, plus all eight ivies (these are kids with numbers so high that they really could take admission to UVA for granted. with not too much risk). Their attitude was “UVA is just fine, since its a sure thing, there’s nothing to lose in applying to all 8 ivies, and neglecting all other private schools” </p>
<p>For a kid with an acceptable state flagship option (and lots of very good state flagships are safer for a kid with numbers like that than UVA is), and a virtual certainty of getting into that state flagship, applying to 8 ivies is hardly a statement that only ivies are worthwhile </p>
<p>I would agree though that as you go from 8 ivies, or 8 plus Stanford and MIT, to 20 or more, its hard to see why someone with an acceptable safety would do that.</p>
<p>Also, if it were me, I would want at least one school much safer than a UVA. Im kind of the nervous type that way.</p>