<p>I'm trying to really figure out where I'm going to be applying and where I won't be... and there are 12 schools on my list that I want to apply to. Two are safeties, two are matches, and the rest are slight reaches. I know, I'm setting myself up for what possibly is a lot of rejection... but I really do want to apply to all of them. Do you think I have way too many or what do you think I should do?</p>
<p>It's the same for me.</p>
<p>I have ten; seven of them are reaches.</p>
<p>I think it's fine.</p>
<p>Personally, I think you have too many. You will do well to narrow down your list, and spend more time on the ones you choose.</p>
<p>How many do most people apply to?</p>
<p>I'm not sure how many most people apply to, the number is probably skewed by people who apply to 15+ and those who choose to only apply to one school. However, I think that 12 is too many, especially if only two are safeties and two are matches. I would rethink what you want in a college in terms of size, student body, academics, social life, etc. and eliminate some of those slight reaches that don't qualify. In the process you might stumble upon a school that is a good match or safety and make your list well rounded.</p>
<p>edit:
Also, it's better to have 5 matches and a couple of safeties/reaches than it is to have only a few of the former and tons of the latter (so if you still ended up with 12 schools, and more of them were matches, it wouldn't be as bad).</p>
<p>Well, I'm not most people, but I am a person, and when I was applying last year I applied to 12: I did two safeties, two slight reaches, and eight reaches, now this is not the norm obviously, but I was a person who (a) had already been accepted to one of his safeties and (b) really loved that safety plus the money was there, so anything from here was just dreams, but things worked out luckily, so...</p>
<p>i've done the whole application process four times, and in my experience, a lot of the essays are very, very similar. I'd pick some to focus on, but once you've passed a critical threshold of a few colleges, it takes very little time to take essays you've already written for a college you care more about and modify it for colleges you like but aren't on top of your list. Therefore, if you think that you really would like to go to a college, apply there, as long as you're willing to handle the app fees.</p>
<p>that's my opinion, anyway.</p>
<p>I applied to 11 US universities. OF those 11, all were matches and reaches. I was about to send my 2 safeties in when I got an acceptance from one of my 11 initial applications in early January. So no, applying to 12 universities is not excessive, even if 7 of those are reaches. It all depends on what you want to get out of the application process. Looking back, I wish I had seriously analyzed the universities I applied to because I would probably haveapplied to just 7 or so schools had I done more research early on.</p>
<p>My daughter applied to 12 colleges last year. She was accepted at 9, waitlisted at 2, rejected at 1 (an Ivy). I would say that 5 were safeties, 2 were matches, and 5 were reaches. In hindsight, she applied to too many .... but that's only because we now know that she ended up being admitted to several reaches. If things had been different... well, then she would have been happy about the safeties she had on the list. </p>
<p>In hindsight, there is only one college she should NOT have applied to. That was an out-of-state public which she had never visited and was a safety for her. The problem was that the particular state U. offers no grant aid whatsoever to out of staters, and we could never have afforded the out-of-state tuition -- so basically if we had researched things better we would have realized that she could not afford that school. </p>
<p>Also, I didn't think she should have applied to the Ivy that rejected her, because I didn't think she had any chance of acceptance there -- so in hindsight, I was right. I don't mean it was a long shot - I mean that based on my understanding of things, it was darn near impossible. But I think she felt that she needed to at least give it a try -- otherwise she would have never known. </p>
<p>Also, of several private colleges that admitted her, only one offered enough financial aid to make it affordable. So again, there is a value to applying to multiple colleges if financial aid is a factor: the more colleges you get into, the more aid packages to compare. </p>
<p>So I don't think 12 is out of line.</p>
<p>^^ where is she going?</p>
<p>I so disagree, having had a brother who did this a few years ago and four cousins.......they all applied to anywhere between 8-14. In my small private school, the average is 11, and I know someone after getting rejected to U PENN with double legacy applied to 23!! Hey, better be safe then sorry, look what happened to last years kids, sooooooooo many not getting in anywhere or their bottom saftey school, what really do you have to lose? You have ONE shot.</p>
<p>I think you answered your own question. You said you "really do want to apply to all of them." Then do so.</p>
<p>However, have you looked at the application forms for all these colleges? If you are going to need unique essays, perhaps it would be good to pare things down so you can give each the time it deserves. But if not, and particularly if you are dealing with the common application, the only limit would be the cost of the applications.</p>
<p>If the "reach" is indeed slight, however, I don't see why you would want to apply to all of them. Have you visited them all, researched thoroughly, etc. and yet are indifferent between the eight of them? If the reach is greater, I can see the justification for applying to more.</p>
<p>BTW how are you measuring "reach?" Don't make the mistake of just comparing your stats to the average for admitted students. For particularly selective places, the average can be misleading, because most students with the same stats are NOT admitted. Since you are a new poster, I want to make sure you understand this. Some students don't.</p>
<p>Usually I discourage 10+ applications because the applicant is trying to go the "shotgun" route of applications (shoot applications everywhere and hope to score a few hits). This doesn't seem to be the case here, though. Although 12 does seem a bit much (you can only go to one, after all), you should apply to all of them if you want to. You only get the chance once, and you don't want to think back wishing you'd applied somewhere but didn't. I would definitely apply for fee waivers.</p>
<p>collegecrazy, that boom in applications is mostly what's causing the increase in selectivity- it's a rat race. The Common Application and online applications have made applying to college comparatively simple, and many people are applying to 10+ colleges. With a boom in applications comes a slump in admit rates. The UK limits their applicants to 6 colleges. I wish the US could implement this policy, but it's not feasible with our system.</p>
<p>I think 12 is fine for this day and age. To me, the notion of "apply to less places and focus more" is a ridiculous concept, it literally takes only a couple extra hours per application after you've done 5-6 of them (sometimes less!) given application questions are so similar. I ended up getting accepted only to the schools where I literally spent the least time on my applications lol!</p>
<p>^^ me too heh</p>
<p>elsijfdl, my daughter is going to Barnard. The Ivy that rejected her was Brown.</p>
<p>ah (10 characters)</p>
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<p>hah... some of us would rather chill out senior year than spend 40+ hours on applications to schools you know you're going to get rejected from anyways. Plus, if you add it up, you'll be paying like $700 just on application fees!</p>