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<p>However, it’s not possible to have answers from those colleges without applying is it? And until you have answers you don’t really have firm options. You don’t get those unless you apply. </p>
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<p>Nope, not at all. There are easily 10 times more variables that influence decision-making between November and April than there are between April and Sept after a choice has been finalized.</p>
<p>Plus, eventually you have to decide where to apply to. It’s not like you can really change your mind as easily after April.</p>
<p>I think that it enables individuals to possess options. Perhaps one has undergone extensive research on 15 schools and has found all 15 schools to be preferable. If one applies to UC’s, which consist of 9 separate schools, one solely has to fill out one application, so one would not have to attribute a significant amount of time towards filling out a multitude of applications, but would also be enabled to successfully apply to 9 schools.</p>
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<p>If one is considering all of the schools that one applied to, I would not consider that to be a waste of time.</p>
<p>Years ago, applicants applied to ONE school. Maybe you applied to 1 other on a lark, but it’s nothing like today. Sure that was before the common app (before the PC!), but I wonder if kids today will have this same trouble when they choose a spouse.</p>
<p>Just because you have a very specific profile (like, you’re a recruited athlete and an oboe player), you still don’t need to apply to 19 schools. You know already the one that’s a favorite, the one that’s a second favorite, and the one financial safety, just in case. You wouldn’t even consider a dozen of those options, so why not be more targeted in December and stop wasting everyone’s time and effort … and your money?</p>
<p>Some applicants don’t possess a designated favorite or second favorite school. In those cases, it might be beneficial for the applicant to apply to a multitude of schools. Ultimately, I don’t comprehend why one cannot, or should not, apply to an array of schools. If one finds certain aspects portrayed by the various schools to be preferable, but does not have a designated favorite, then one would not be wasting their time or money in applying to those schools.</p>
<p>My niece applied to 13 schools, 2 safeties, 2 matches and 9 reaches. She was wait listed at one of her safeties, panic is setting in.</p>
<p>In case one gets rejected by 14(+) schools.</p>
<p>For us it is the unpredicatable nature of the admissions game. I have 2 high achieving girls, that apparently do not stand out in the admissions pool. (non-URM, not recruited athlete, from a high achieving Northeast area). Just smart, high GPA, high rank, ec’s make impact on their high schools but look like every other white girl on the admission office table. Reverse discrimination??? Gender, race??? We tried the ED route this time, didn’t work out so had to move on. But some kids do get into their reach schools here, so have to try. My older D applied to 9 schools, but D2 applied to 14 after she saw what happened with D1. For us though, D1 has been a great example of how to move on and do great things no matter where you end up so we remain optomistic.</p>
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<p>Or you could compile a list of desirable options and then have firm options after you’re accepted.</p>
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<p>No, you’re wrong. How are there 10 times more variables? If one does some soul-searching, it’s quite easy to figure out what schools to apply to before one actually applies to them. You say that applicants may realize something about themselves and the kind of school they want to attend after the application deadline, but what’s preventing them from doing that before the application deadline?</p>
<p>And if you’re going to point out financial aid, you get packages after you’re accepted.</p>
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<p>You don’t have options until you have answers. Prior to that you mostly just have speculation, conjecture, and the hope that things will work out a certain way. I don’t call those reliable options. </p>
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<p>Exactly, things frequently happen in the process that aren’t anticipated. Applying to a wider range of schools helps mitigate some of the uncertainty. </p>
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<p>I have a pretty lengthy and successful track record over the years that says I’m dead on the money. </p>
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<p>Easily, unless a person is clairvoyant, which may be true for you, but not so much for us. </p>
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<p>It doesn’t matter how well you select which ones to apply to as much as it matters whether or not you get admitted with terms and conditions you can live with and afford. Please tell me how one fully knows that information before applying? I am not talking about finding the “right” schools, I am talking about managing the various unpredictable outcomes in such a way that students maintain a degree of control over their own fate. </p>
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<p>Exactly, and if your FA package stinks there’s nothing you can do about it at that point unless you’ve planned for such contingencies, right? That’s why diversification can be important for a lot of applicants.</p>
<p>Just for perspective . . . </p>
<p>only about 3% of students apply to 11 or more schools</p>
<p>about half apply to 4 or fewer</p>
<p>and about 85% get into their 1st or 2nd choices</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>I applied to 50 because that’s how many are in the first two pages for the US News & World Report.</p>
<p>Because my dad forced me.</p>
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<p>Way to avoid the question.</p>
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<p>You’re advising people to spend thousands on application fees and put in an enormous amount of effort in the wrong area. One should spend one’s time figuring out the kind of school one would best thrive in. It would be unnecessary to apply to 15+ schools if students did this.</p>
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<p>One does not have to apply to 15+ schools to find terms and conditions that one can live with and afford. I’d say 10 is about the limit.</p>
<p>You should never apply to 1 safety, 1 match, and 1 reach. I think we all know why that’s dumb. But the only alternative is not to then apply to 2 safeties, 3 matches, and 10 reaches. Sure, if you honestly come up with a list of 15 schools that you’d like to go to, go ahead and apply to them. But I guarantee you, a majority of the people who applied to 15 schools did not actually think about if they’d like to attend each one.</p>
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<p>Lol, draw whatever false conclusions you like. I said nothing of the sort. Even if that were true, however, I’d still say being able to choose from among multiple full rides and other scholarships would constitute money well spent in applying. I understand that might not be important to some people, but others appreciate being in such a position. </p>
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<p>One does not even have to apply to 10. What’s necessary and reasonable really depends on the individual’s circumstances and objectives; various applicants have various needs. All I’ve suggested is that there are indeed circumstances where greater numbers are justified.</p>
<p>Here is a good reason
SAT=2150
GPA 3.65
Top 10% in a class of about 440
Great EC’s
Great essays</p>
<p>From web searches and visits and books and such we visited and liked
Stonehill
Dayton
Providence
Quinnipiac
Richmond
Villanova
Clemson
Dickinson</p>
<p>Thats eight schools right there. With the stats my child has I had no idea which of these school deemed her worthy of a scholarship. And since we get no financial aid, a scholarship meant a great deal, not everything but still. It really was like a guessing game and now that the results are in, they were not what I would have thought! So adding her reach schools of Dartmouth, Penn, and Brown we are up to 11. Add in 2 NY state schools (in case of unforeseen emergency) and thats 13. Add in two local good schools, just in case going away cold feet kicks in and its 15. We visited W&M and UVA and loved them but we hear that NY residents with similar stats are a rarity for acceptance. Thats 17. She would also consider Duke and ND with out merit aid if accepted and that rounds it out at 19.
We can afford the application fees. The colleges all sent letters viewbooks, and common app makes it easy.
So far, a very nice scholarship from one of the original eight and her love for the school is in the lead. If we tried to limit that list down to 4 who knows?
So in the end, options, options, options, are in my mind very worthwhile.
The only true way you know what school will offer you what is to apply. Especially if you are truly in the hunt for scholarships and honors programs.</p>
<p>I don’t comprehend why individuals should not feel compelled to apply to a multitude of schools if they are fond of certain aspects of each one and don’t possess a definitive preference towards one particular school.</p>
<p>jfl, thanks for providing that example. Perhaps that will add a little more clarity for some others than my previous comments. I have seen this repeated many times among those seeking both, options and planning for various unpredictable contingencies. Not everyone needs to take those steps, but I think for many applicants that approach makes a lot of sense – and it does work. </p>
<p>Wartsandall, I agree. I understand why it is off putting when students are merely sending around applications randomly, but yes, when there’s an actual level of interest, I don’t think there needs to be some arbitrary limit. However, as jaddua suggests, I do think a good level of due diligence should be applied for the sake of balance and ensuring that the level of interest in each school is genuine.</p>