<p>So right now I am a rising junior, and am worried about the application process. I am very very interested in around 17 colleges right now:
Harvard University
Boston College
Boston University
Brown University
University of Connecticut
Yale University
University of Maryland
Columbia University
New York University
Princeton University
University of Pennsylvania
Georgetown University
George Washington University
University of Virginia
College of William and Mary
University of Chicago
MIT
(And I know some are very different from each other, but you know I have researched each and everyone and been to 14 of them, and like them, I'm not just interested in prestige. I legitimately, truly like each one of these schools)</p>
<p>Obviously, my main problem with this would be essays. Are some of the essays for colleges similar, where I could use the same one, even tweaking it if needed? And if I were to apply to all these schools, how many approximately how many essays would I be expected to write?
Thank you!!!</p>
<p>visit as many as possible, im a rising junior too, and over spring break i went to chicago. loved uofchi, didnt love northwestern. you will find a personal connection with a school on campus, on will get that feeling it is right for you. also what do u want to do, if business, brown may not be the best for you. do not copy essays! no matter what</p>
<p>Since you’re a rising jr, you should go to the websites of these schools this fall when they release their applications/supplements. Most essay prompts such as Why this school?, Who influenced you?, Tell us something about yourself, etc. tend to remain the same from year to year. The ones that change annually are ones with quotes to respond to and those know to change (eg. UChicago). Of course there’s always the chance that a school will revamp their format and change, add or delete something, but there’s no way to predicting that.</p>
<p>This will give you a good idea of which essays you’ll be able to reuse for different schools, tweek, etc. But don’t underestimate the amount of time it takes to edit an essay to address a slightly different prompt, different length limit, etc.</p>
<p>You have far too many “reach” schools on this list unless you have a trully stellar GPA and standardized test scores. I applaud your thinking about this so early but without your junior year grades and ACT/SAT, it is premature to be worrying so much about narrowing a list. You will likely do far better conscientiously applying to eight schools than cutting corners applying to twelve of them.</p>
<p>Apply to the number of schools you can do a superb (customized) application for. For some students that will be 4 schools, others 10; I personally can’t imagine anyone doing an exceptional job on the essays for 17 college. Many of your schools use the CommonApp so there’s the personal statement and the short answer. Most of the school on your list will require anywhere from 1-3 additional essays. You are looking at somewhere between 18 and 55 essays. </p>
<p>Supplemental questions among the schools are similar but not identical, so thinking you can cut, paste and change the name from Yale to Penn is unlikely to result in a good answer to the questions. Frankly you have too many schools. I think you would be better served spending time a) assessing your chances at these schools - Harvard, Yale & Princeton have miniscule acceptance rates, even with a stellar academic, extra-curricular and leadership record your chances are very slim at those schools and b) spend some time deciding what is important to you as far as size and environment - BC is very different than BU, UChicago has very little in common with UVA.</p>
<p>You’re better off fine-tuning what you want and where you can get in than trying to produce 3 or 4 essays that you can tweak 50 times.</p>
<p>As I said before, I genuinely like all the schools on my list. And regarding applying to schools with low acceptance rates-of course I am going to apply to them! I do not think the money will be a problem. But what if I do get in? So I am not basing it on acceptance rates either. When do most supplement essays come out? And less than 12 is not an option for me.</p>
<p>pick your top ones which you’re definitely applying to and put them aside (if you don’t have these, don’t worry). then pick out 3 reaches, 3 matches, and 3 safeties. or whichever numbers seem most suitable to you :)</p>
<p>I think you need to trim down your list. There about about a hundred colleges in this country that I like but I’m only going to apply to the ones that I like best (and provide a range of reaches, matches, and safeties). Which of these schools do you feel have programs that match almost all of your preferences, and which of them have just one or two things you really like? Which of these can you see yourself at for 4 years? What don’t you like about each school?</p>
<p>For example, how do you feel about Chicago’s or Columbia’s core curriculum versus Brown’s open course selection or Yale’s distribution requirements?</p>
<p>You’ll probably say you like all three, but really think about it, because when you’re at these schools, there are characteristics that are certainly defining.</p>
<p>When I read this, I was under the impression that you were planning on reducing your list over the next year, so I didn’t really address the fact that your list is too long and extremely top heavy for anyone. </p>
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<p>Then you are at a high risk of submitting less than compelling applications.</p>
<p>Okay clearly you don’t understand. You’re asking for advice now and you’re getting it. You’ve got too many colleges on your list and you’re bound to do a half-a***d job cutting & pasting your way to 50+ essays. </p>
<p>Your reaction to people trying to help you betrays a lack of maturity that will doubtlessly come screaming through in your essays. A half-baked job will only make it easier on your competition. You just finished sophomore year, generally speaking the appropriate supplements won’t be out until sometime in August before the start of your senior year.</p>
<p>stefankr, the thing is you are a rising junior. you can write your common application now and start brainstorming for possible supplements. but you still have time to grow and change your mind throughout the next year. you will probably change by then (hopefully for the better) and that’s a side of you you want colleges to see. although it’s good to start early, I wouldn’t begin before the summer before senior year.</p>
<p>I’m getting deja-vu here.<br>
Each will take a very hard look at your school performance. You need more safeties. Right now, that’s only UConn and UMd. Don’t tell us you like them all- of course you do. “Like” is only one aspect to evaluate. As you mature, over the next year, you should be able to trim this list. Go spend time looking at the course catalogs and prof backgrounds/interests. Check any financial aid considerations. Rate yourself against their profiles of admitted students. Don’t just plan to “master” the CA process now- if all you want is practice, you can look at the 2015 supplements.
Trust us: there is nothing you could write now that will exceed what you can write after a year of growing and maturing (and more research on coll admissions.) Best thing to do this summer is go over your ECs and take steps to fill in any gaps. Wish you luck, but some of us have a different perspective.</p>
<p>I’m a rising senior who has been relying on the CC community for the college application process, and trust me, they know what they’re talking about. I understand that you want to start your essays as early as possible; I’m the same way. If I were you, I would do the following:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Because you are a rising junior, you have yet to take the PSAT that actually counts. You should spend some time reviewing.</p></li>
<li><p>You should also spend some time reviewing for the SAT. This can overlap your PSAT studying, which is why I’m listing it here. Many juniors take the SAT in March and May, at the least, so you still have time.</p></li>
<li><p>You should make a list of your qualifications for a college other than prestige. I’m sure you, just like many other people, would love to say you’re a Harvard or Yale graduate, but there’s a lot to consider when choosing a college. I have no doubt that you “like” these colleges, but can you live there for 4+ years? Will each of these colleges best prepare you for whatever your goals may be?</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t dismiss safeties!!! Of course, everyone applies to academic and financial safeties, right? Maybe, but some people apply to these colleges because they are safeties. What happens if you get rejected by your reaches? You should make sure you would still be happy at your safeties.</p></li>
<li><p>Focus on your academics during your junior year. Based on your list of colleges, I think I can safely assume you have a stellar GPA and a rigorous courseload. Don’t lose sight of your academics because you are looking too far in the future. I have friends who caught a bout of junioritis because they were so caught up in college searches and that they were going to be seniors. Keep working hard. It feels like you’re almost there, but trust me it counts. Your GPA, ECs, test scores, teacher recommendations, etc from junior year are important.</p></li>
<li><p>Be nice to your fellow CC’ers. Most of my advice I got from them. Even if they don’t answer your initial question, they’re still helping you. If you were more knowledgable than them, you wouldn’t be here.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Some colleges release supplements June after your junior year, others in August when the common app come out. The common app doesn’t change as far as I know, but I can’t be 100% sure about college supplements.</p>
<p>About the deja-vu. OP posted his grades on another thread. Including junior year grades. Now he’s a rising junior, looking at elites. Are we being ■■■■■■■?</p>