How many apps is too many?
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Anonymous
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Interesting NYT story on panicky kids applying to many colleges--sometimes dozens. The single record? 86!
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/nyregion/applications-by-the-dozen-as-anxious-students-hedge-college-bets.html?hpw&rref=education&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0 |
Anonymous
| DC did four, so for him 5 would be too many. It depends on the student- but I would say once you get into the double digits, it maybe time to reassess. 86 is WAY too many and indicative of a poor search process. |
Anonymous
| Our 2 college-aged kids applied to around 12 colleges each--considered to be "too many". Neither of them knew where they wanted to go to college before the apps were filed. Fortunately, each were accepted to the the "this is it" college when we visited (in late fall of senior year). As much as we tried to start the process early, my kids just we're ready to be seriously making lists of colleges or narrowing down lists before college apps were due. So far, so good. |
Anonymous
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It's probably easier if you know what you want to major in, because then you can focus on the top schools in your field.
If, like many kids, you have no clue about your major, plus you probably don't know yourself well enough to have strong feelings about rural/urban, big/small, liberal arts/tech, then you'll end up filling out a dozen apps. With the idea that you might have a better idea about all these things by March. Then, you wait to see who chooses you. DD filled out two (thank goodness for ED). DS is a junior, but already it's looking to be a marathon of multiple apps. |
Anonymous
| DD did 8 this fall. Her guidance counselor recommended 6 to 10. This seems a bit excessive, but this allows us more possibilities for aid (both merit and need-based) as well. We are a single parent family, so this will be a big factor. But I worry it will be hard to make decision. She has already been accepted at 4 of the schools. |
Anonymous
I don't think it's wise to focus on just the top schools in any field. The average applications should be about 7. 2 safety, 2 reaches, then middle ground, competitive choices. Even if a kid doesn't know their major, figuring out if they want size school they want, urban, rural, geographic location is probably half the battle. |
Anonymous
| I think anything over 12 is too many. My son applied to three, and my daughter applied to seven. |
Anonymous
| One kid did 6, the other 11. The one applying to 11 applied to more competitive schools where the outcome is pretty random. The one applying to 6 applied to a less competitive set and had more confidence about admission - and in fact was only denied at 1 (the first choice of course). So I do think it depends on the schools. At the end my DC with 11 wanted to apply to a couple more at the top end but basically ran out of time. At the same time DC also dropped a couple of safeties after getting in to a solid school EA. |
Anonymous
I agree, I just didn't spell all that out. If your intended major is Policy Sci, you don't want to just apply to Harvard, Yale and Princeton, instead you want some targets and safeties with strong English programs. What I meant was, you can rule out lots of other schools, in this case MIT and CalTech. |
Anonymous
| ^^^ targets and safeties with strong poly sci programs. |
Anonymous
| Anything over a dozen. |
Anonymous
| I did 7 in 2001 but all of the friends of my younger sister did 15-25. The only reason my sister didn't was because she was recruited for a sport. |
Anonymous
| 1133 here, sister is 10 years youngerthan me |
Anonymous
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I would take the following approach:
2 "reach" schools 2 "safety" schools 4-6 other schools that you have a reasonable chance of getting in based on the student's profile but are not assured of admission. |