Elite LACs have similar standards to elite universities. The very top ones are just as hard to get into, and yes, they are unpredictable. Just yesterday my kid was offered a place off waitlist at an LAC, with merit aid. No way we would have predicted that!
You are getting a lot of good and well-intentioned advice here, but my advice is:
- You have a plan you like but seem afraid that you might "get laughed at".
- Stick to your plan.
And don’t ever deviate from what you think is the right thing because of fear of being laughed at, or even for what other well-intentioned people say.
Btw, LACs have different tiers, just as universities do. Some are easy to get into. Others aren’t. No one would say Amherst, Williams or Carleton are easy to get into, and you can be sure that the vast majority of students at those schools will have high test scores, high GPAs and probably good ECs. It is possible though that LACs don’t place quite as much emphasis on amazing ECs, and that essays might hold a bit more weight, but I wouldn’t assume that is the case at all.
When you see lower GPAs or lower test score averages at LACS, it is possible that those could be URMs, or athletes, or some other special case. The same can be true at universities too.
^ excellent advice
K1 applied to a lot of schools, I did not announce it and unless another parent was really looking for advice rather than a basis for comparision, I did not go into details AT ALL. In general it is much better not to tell the world where you apply for a multitude of reasons.
Dear Abby and Ann Landers always had great advice on how not to answer a question!
- Not if it's not affordable.
- Definitely not if it's a UC, UVA, UNC, U Mich, UT Austin, etc. (I doubt some of these are 60% but they appear frequently as OOS choices)
Let’s take a baseball analogy:
A player isn’t well coached.
Didn’t practice much.
Isn’t really ready to play in the game.
If that player has 5 at bats or 15 will it make much difference if he is totally outmatched in each plate appearance?
If your gameplan is to go onto US News and apply to many “prestige” schools you are at risk to getting shutout. Being very frustrated and disappointed, At risk to scrambling at the last minute for a plan b. Or plan c.
If you are not ready to win the game, don’t skimp on planning. Don’t skimp on practicing. Don’t skimp on preparation.
Practice and hope. But never hope more than you practice.
@junejiehuang Have you looked at some of the ivy results threads yet and compared your stats to those? Please let us know.
You mention you cannot visit? Are you a US citizen or permanent resident? If you are an international your results will be different than even the standard ivy RD results thread. If you are an international who needs financial help, your stats and ECs have to be absolutely stellar for a Top 50 school never mind a sub 20 school.
If you are in the US, schools do expect you to visit if you are within a couple of hours of the school, you could take a bus, go with a friend or schoolmate who now attends, unless they do not track interest and even the ones who say they don’t do. I believe Yale asked on their application if you visited and when.
@Lindagaf - Congratulations on your kid getting off the wait list and with Merit to boot.
Yes, it will! Check out a national league game or 15. 
If you have a handful of safeties and matches that you are happy to attend, then why not expand the universe of reaches that you think about applying to. My S found the application process for reaches eye-opening in terms of the kinds of questions they ask, and that can be an intriguing part of the process. By expanding his reach, he got into a few schools that he originally did not expect to, and will be attending one of them. By contrast, he has couple of friends who cast smaller nets and got largely shut out. But the issue is finding that core group of safeties and matches that you would be delighted to attend. Fixate on them first, because that may be all you get. After that, yeah, reach for the stars a little.
I have seen many many thousands of NL games.
Let’s not take what I said out of context. Here is the rest of it:
A player isn’t well coached.
Didn’t practice much.
Isn’t really ready to play in the game.
As many as you want, so long as:
- you have some solid safeties (you can get into and afford)
- you have some good matches -- those are the ones that might offer merit if you get into them, whereas your reaches might be unaffordable
- you either qualify for the application fee waiver or money is no issue
But, bear in mind that: application to elite schools requires writing good essays which are time consuming! Can you realistically fit that in along with your classes, SAT, APs and all the rest?
It’s true that you could get rejected from Stanford but accepted to Princeton, so applying to both increases your chances. But if cost is an issue at all - this is assuming your stats are in the range for the elite schools - I would suggest applying for a few elite schools (~ <20% admission rate) but more “tier 2”, or whatever we want to call them, schools that will give you more merit (~ 20%-40% admittance), which gives you more options from schools that you might realistically be able to afford.
Disagree with insane dreamer. Applying to more high reach schools does not increase your chances because every single school prioritizes different aspects of an application. Perhaps that would be true if every school approached it in exactly the same way. Using the oft-cited example of the UK, which doesn’t practice holistic admissions, we see that students can only apply to Oxford or Cambridge but not both. They do not have holistic admissions and if candidates could apply to both, then you could say it would increase your chances.
It’s been said many times before, but high grades and test scores only help get you to the gate. Getting through the gate is not a matter of throwing out more applications.
OP,
Came across one of your earlier posts. Will you be recruited for ice skating? That will make a huge difference. Otherwise, I think you need to talk to your GC after you get scores and see where you can apply that are safeties and targets. BU is a target at best, depending on scores possibly a reach. They have gotten much more selective in recent years. I am not familiar with George Mason. The problem is that a 3.84 which is your UW junior year is still at or below the 50th% for most top tier schools. From what I understand your prior two years where not at that level.
Look at all the threads by people with perfect stats and impressive ECs who get rejected. Sure it is fine to apply where you are a legacy but in your case you do need backups, realistic ones.
I applied to many competitive schools with a poor application. What I ended up was not an acceptance letter but a heavy blow to my ego (which was well deserved). Ended up doing a gap year and this time around I was much much more fortunate. Just be wise with your college choices. If your schedule and Guidance Counselor allows you to apply to that many schools (and you have a good reason + money), do so but be wise with those choices.
Usually when people apply to Medical School/Law School they apply to like 25, I’ve heard of people applying to 40. I wonder how many schools people apply for Undergraduate transfer?
I recommend applying to a lot of schools if you need significant financial aid, especially if you qualify for a fee waiver. Nowadays getting into a school that provides sizable grants is very difficult. Applying to many certainly increases your chances, so long as you produce quality essays.
^ Applying to a lot of top tier schools were you are above their 50% or preferably their 75% makes sense for the unhooked. Applying as unhooked to more than a couple of schools where you are at their 25% does not.
@SeekingPam I checked the net price calculator and only ~30 schools could provide me with enough financial aid for me to attend. Of course all of these schools are very selective. If one qualifies for a fee waiver, such as myself, there’s no harm in applying to many. In my personal experience, applying broadly worked out even for the schools I was slightly under the 25% bound and “unhooked”. Everyone has a different story and if you can present it compellingly enough there’s always a chance.
Congratulations @Janizary would you mind sharing your stats and where you were accepted? That is unusual, was there something special in your essays or ECs are you first generation or have a compelling story. It might be helpful to others with lower stats, Sounds like you did not have a choice since your stats may not have gotten you free rides at UA and similar school. Yes every story is different. I know way more people who applied above their stats and were rejected and are going to their state school.
I do not think OP qualifies for fee waivers as OP claims in another post to have ice skating as one of her ECs. Unless there is a special program in her area that is expensive.
I am in favor of applying broadly however, even if money is not a consideration it really is hard to keep up with more than 15 or so and to write the essays. Especially for the more prestigious schools. Also, as @Hamlin noted, applying above your stats may not work out and you will not have a lot of choice. If most schools are above your stats, you may end up with the one safety you picked hoping you would never have to go there.