<p>I come from a family where my dad is a teacher at a high school and my mom stays at home. So money is tight, and I'm aware that I shouldn't apply to, say, 20 colleges or anything. But what's a good number that generally everyone agrees on? I know I definitely want to apply to:</p>
<p>1) U of Chicago
2)Columbia
3)Yale
4)Harvard
5)Stanford
6)U of M (safety)</p>
<p>.... How many more do you think I should apply to? I know that I should apply to some more easy to get in schools like carleton or amherst....</p>
<p>I hear that 8-14 is about how many colleges that most CCers apply to. I won’t be going through this process till 2 years from now, but I’m looking at 12 schools.</p>
<p>Since money is an issue, and acceptance to top schools is VERY tough these days…</p>
<p>1) Apply to a few top schools that meet 100% of need without big loans. Maybe 3-5 or so.</p>
<p>2) Apply to a few financial safety schools THAT YOU LIKE that have your major and will accept you…**AND, you know FOR SURE that you have all costs covered thru ASSURED merit scholarships, small student laons, and/or family funds. ** I think kids with money concerns should apply to at least 2-3 financial safeties.</p>
<p>3) Find out how much your parents can pay each year?</p>
<p>4) Find out how much federal aid you qualify for by using a FAFSA calculator. Find out your EFC…which may be roughly about 20-25% of family income.</p>
<p>What are your stats? GPA and test scores…</p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>Is U of M …Michigan???</p>
<p>you have U of M listed as your safety, but that may just mean that you know that you’ll get accepted. Do you know if you have all costs covered? I don’t know if UMich meets need. And do you know if your parents will pay their EFC?</p>
<p>Around 8 to 10 is good even just 6 is fine, but 1 or 2 reach, 2-3 target, and 2 safety. You really have to make sure that these are schools you really would go to. I can’t stress that enough, you have to be realistic if you were to go there. Also, do all your homework on these colleges by researching your program, looking at the location, estimating cost, etc.
Find schools that will fit you, not you fit to them.</p>
<p>Looking at your list right now, apply to another safety or even a third to keep options open in case. Some of these safeties may provide you scholarships, or entry to the honors programs at these universities which can be such an advantage.You may not need another safety because I don’t know about how your stats are. </p>
<p>Have you thought about including other public universities in there that your family can afford?
Have you thought about community college as an option and transferring in later?</p>
<p>Some people have made it Ivy leagues like Columbia and UPenn through community college and some people go that route because they can’t exactly afford the sticker price for the first year or two.</p>
<p>Looking at your list right now, apply to another safety or even a third to keep options open in case. Some of these safeties may provide you scholarships, or entry to the honors programs at these universities which can be such an advantage.</p>
<p>I agree.</p>
<p>First of all, U of M may expect your parents to pay more than they can afford…if that is possible, then U of M can’t be a safety school. A safety is ONLY a safety if you know FOR SURE that you have all costs covered.</p>
<p>Secondly, it’s always a good idea to have a few financial safeties, just in case your top schools don’t work out (either financially or acceptance-wise). If you only have one safety, and the other schools don’t work out, then you won’t feel like you have a choice…you’d feel rail-roaded into one lone safety.</p>
<p>It’s always better to have a choice…better for morale.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the above posts everyone. I hope to recieve a lot of scholarships; I have a 2300 SAT, 2400 SAT II, and 34 ACT. My extracurriculars are goooooood, and I have 5 AP scores so far: all 5’s. I got a 220 on the PSAT, so yes, I’m a NMSF. I aslo should have been clearer; U of M = U of Minnesota :)</p>
<p>Michigan doesn’t give out much in the way of merit or need based aid, I hear. Also it’s not always a safety, I have several friends with 31+ who got rejected.</p>
<p>I’m guessing your Expected Family Contribution might be about $10K. It could be a little more, or much less, depending on details. Run an on-line EFC calculator to get a better estimate. You definitely need to consider cost in choosing safety and match schools.</p>
<p>Minnesota-Twin Cities costs about $20K for an in-state, residential student.<br>
If you can live at home, your costs drop to about $12K. MN State-Moorhead would be a few thousand cheaper. Commuting to one of these schools might be your best financial safety option. If you can live with family in the Twin Cities area, Macalester College is another possibility. It’s an excellent LAC, somewhat less selective than Carleton or Amherst, but still generous with financial aid. It is also one of the few urban LACs (which might give you better internship opportunities than most other small schools.) So Mac could be a better “match” school for you than Carleton (if you want to keep the number of apps down). </p>
<p>Once you have your admission and financial safety bases covered, your qualifications are good enough that you should be able to focus on very selective, wealthy schools with generous aid. Look for no-loan, need-blind schools that meet 100% of need.</p>
<p>6-8 schools could be enough if you cover those safety bases.</p>