<p>PG…I agree. Neither of my kids wanted to go to the State U (though we think well of it). Older D had a FREE RIDE there which is given out to all vals in the state but the school did not fit her so she chose two safeties (for her)…Lehigh and Conn College. Our state U did not have D’s major, and she could not be on their ski team (is one of top ones in the nation), was not in a new location not near home as she wanted, and so on. D2…only wanted a BFA in MT and our state U doesn’t offer it. Had to go where the programs were. My girls only applied to schools that would be happy to attend and did not pick safeties just because they were safeties.</p>
<p>I suppose having two safeties might help psychologically if a kid was rejected by all reaches and matches–at least he’d still have a choice.</p>
<p>Hunt, that is also my reasoning behind two safeties, rather than one. It leaves kids with an option in the spring and not having to attend a school by default.</p>
<p>Also, though most on THIS forum do not understand the BFA in MT process (though mosey on over to the MT Forum where many do get it), ALL the BFA in MT programs must be considered “reach” odds. It is not really possible to make the list balanced in quite the same way as for a regular college applicant. It is a very stressful and chancy game all the way around and subjective as well.</p>
<p>Mathson had two safeties since he hadn’t visited either of them and didn’t plan to until he found out where he was accepted. The were quite similar, but had some significant differences.</p>
<p>My son’s safety (American) is very strong in one of my son’s interests (international relations) even though it’s not as selective overall as most of the other colleges on his list. He really hasn’t found anything in the middle that he likes as well. He loved the location, the campus, the courses offered and even the food. We like it too, both parents are from DC originally and has has an aunt in the area. It really doesn’t feel like a fall back. (Don’t we always say “Love thy safety” is rule number one? 
)</p>
<p>SOOZIEVT – Love the passion baby, but maybe we ought to start a thread about limiting the number of paragraphs in a post. (glad you got it all out of your system, though.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, glido. </p>
<p>I was responding to several different posts all in one post. I could have made them separate posts but did not. </p>
<p>Feel free to skip my posts though!</p>
<p>Hiya.</p>
<p>I just wanted to point out, this is the case in England; we are only allowed to apply to 5 universities or less. This is done by applying through a central admissions service, UCAS, which sends on the application to university. You can’t apply directly to a university without going through UCAS, and the limit on the application form is 5. Considering how many more universities there must be in the US it seems a bit draconian to limit it to 6 applications. Though I don’t know how many it is normal to apply to in the US?</p>
<p>Wow, lots of enthusiasm on this topic! :-)</p>
<p>Re: “19 schools – I would love to see a list of what the son wants out of a school, and to see if each of those schools meets 75% of his wants.”</p>
<p>I did put son’s criteria out there on a the other thread discussing this issue. By far, son’s most important factor was a a strong program in his major. After that, he liked a vibrant sports program, warm weather, lots of school spirit, a big school (no small LACs), located in a city, a reasonable male/female ratio and a chance to go see music/bands wherever the school was located.</p>
<p>We visited many, many schools during this process (starting before his jr year). He ruled out many types of schools (cloistered, quaint little LACs, e.g.). For each of the schools on his list, the top factor was met (good to world-class program in his major). The other, less important but still relevant characteristics were met in varying degrees. </p>
<p>As it turned out, he ended up (happily) at a school that is in very warm weather, w/a great sports program & spirit but not in a big city. Is he miserable that he “compromised?” No, seems quite content for the most part.</p>
<p>Our factors as parents were: 1) place where son could get a good education 2) where he’d be happy 3) that might give some merit $ so we wouldn’t be in astronomical debt.</p>
<p>The school he chose gave quite a bit of $.</p>
<p>I’ll just say that you can analyze it all using Naviance, extended research, quizzing your kid on everything from he availabilty of a campus shuttle to the types of sushi and icecream in the caf. The reality is, some kids don’t have an extensive list of strong preferences. Some have just a few and of that few, some are stronger than others. </p>
<p>I think it’s pretty clear that it’s an individual process, with a variety of variables in the mix.</p>
<p>For some kids, 6 apps might be fine and 19 incredibly redundant. For others, the larger number might be perfect – for that particular kid and that particular family. </p>
<p>It’s comforting to think that there is one ultimate ‘truth’ out there about the optimal/appropriate number of schools to apply to. However, with so many different types of students (strong preferences on multiple factors vs pretty-easy-to-please might be just one of those differences) it’s probably safe to say that the real truth of what’s best depends on the student and family.</p>
<p>I don’t really understand the term trophy-hunter.</p>
<p>If a student with a 2000 SAT score looks for schools where his scores fall in the middle of the pack, he likely will find some schools which accept more than 20 % of their applicants, even if he wants to be only in certain geographical areas, or only in a big city.</p>
<p>If a student with a 2350 SAT looks for schools where his scores are fairly typical, and prefers to be in a big city, in a school with smaller class sizes, he will have a hard time finding any schools which accept more than 20%. So, he applies to 6 or 8 of those highly competitive schools. Mom remembers Andi’s son and begins the nervous breakdown. She insists he adds a couple large public safeties, even though they have larger class sizes. Dad remembers the state of the college accounts and insists on adding a couple schools where son’s scores would qualify for merit aid. </p>
<p>Is this young man a trophy hunter? I see him as smart and optimistic, and his parents as smart, hopeful but not optimistic, and very practical.</p>
<p>When I think trophy hunter, I think of a student who was admitted SCEA to the student’s dream school, who had no financial aid concerns, and who then proceeded to apply to similarly selective colleges RD just to see if they could get in.</p>
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<p>LOL. We call those the ‘parental prerogative’ colleges in our house.</p>
<p>Applying to six schools is pretty intense not to mention expensive.</p>
<p>^^ Eh, it depends. With the Common App, a lot of the basic info (name/address/blah) is the same (& entered only once). </p>
<p>You can also look at it as: college is (can be) really, really expensive (over $100k in many cases). $ spent on apps – if it reduces significantly the cost of attendance – can be an investment.</p>
<p>“Maybe in the ideal world, a better solution is having better trained college counselors for all HS students.”</p>
<p>Maybe in the real world, none of this will matter.</p>
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<p>Most public high schools don’t have specialists in college counseling. By the same token I’m guessing most are pretty saavy about their particular area/region. I doubt that high school counselors would support a huge number of applications, most likely they would support limiting them.</p>
<p>I applied to two schools. This was after many parents on CC convinced me that one was too dangerous. I’m happy.</p>
<p>The “real world” in California can mean a student/GC ratio of 600:1.</p>
<p>The ONLY schools DD’s GC is familiar with are the UC’s, Cal States, and the private school she just graduated from. This is at a public high school in southern Cal.</p>
<p>i’m a huge proponent to limiting apps. I’ve given my reasons a million times over, but in short, i think anything more than 8(i know the thread said six, but you get the idea) is completely insane.</p>
<p>Many will say that this would hurt “top” students, well I’m a top student only applying to 4 schools, so i really don’t see that as a factor</p>
<p>The only people it would hurt are the people desperately seeking admissions at 12 or more places. I think this reach heavy attitude as wrong</p>