Wow

<p>Two years ago I made a list of all the colleges I would be interested in applying too and as I recently went to look at it (its four pages long) I realized that there was no way I could narrow it down. Any suggestions? Im not a person who can simply say i want an urban school or a rural school and narrow it down that way because for me its more about feeling and I've visited a lot of colleges but theres no way I am going to have time to visit all of them. What should i do?</p>

<p>how many colleges are on four pages?</p>

<p>Some ways to narrow it or at least prioritize it:</p>

<ul>
<li>Offers an excellent program for the top couple of major picks you're interested in (program and reputation)</li>
<li>Is within reasonable admissions reach for your stats</li>
<li>Location (i.e. it's a desirable location - city, rural, close/far to home, beach, weather, recreational opportunities, etc. - for you since you'll be living there for 4-5 years)</li>
<li>Cost (including scholarship/grant chances)</li>
<li>Aesthetics</li>
<li>Access to corporate internships close by (college has good relationships with close by companies offering internships related to your major)</li>
<li>Access to internships/research on campus with professors (especially if major is in the sciences/engineering)</li>
<li>Likelihood of entering a grad school from this college (if you're interested in grad school)</li>
<li>Gut feel</li>
</ul>

<p>why not just apply to ivies? Those don't even take up half a page!</p>

<p>The only danger in that is you may end up not getting into a single college, haha... make sure you have at least one saftey!</p>

<p>zoosermom: 160 + 2 handwritten</p>

<p>I think Im going to able to narrow it down -- some are evangelical schools -- i didnt realize haha. Anyway, what is a good number of schools to arive at? Im not worried about paying to send in the application just dont want to spend years filling out the forms and writing essays.</p>

<p>Around 10 is a good number, in my opinion.</p>

<p>Well I did 12, and I was quite happy w/ that. I would say no more than 15-18 though, though it's obviously going to be tough to narrow it down from such a large number.</p>