Anonymous
02/26/2026 08:39
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:our high school limits to 12 - up from 10 pre-pandemic.
and the average, even when you take out the ED kids, is only about 7.
fewer apps = better apps
Look, the privates are also feeders. You acquire an advocate with your tuition. I know all this very well because I attended one of these schools, greatly benefitted from it, and used to work at one. But a lot of our kids are at public schools where a huge number of kids have taken 10+ APs and have extraordinary GPAs - and the counselors hardly know them.
I agree with other PPs that you don't need 5 safeties. My very high stats kid applied to 1 safety. He applied to 4 targets and got into all. And he applied to 15 reaches, was accepted at 5 (including ivies), waitlisted at 5, rejected at 5. I would never have been able to predict which ones.
I doubt the issue for any were his applications. I assume it was more about institutional priorities and where something resonated with an admissions officer - again extremely hard to predict. No one wants to apply to 20 schools but when you are unhooked and ambitious, you make the most of your chances.
I dont think limiting apps is needed at publics. it's important at feeders, because if you have a kid who is double Princeton legacy who is also child of the guy who runs Princeton's endowment who is also the grandchild of a sec of state, he needs to apply to Princeton and go there. Not apply to 20 schools and then attend Princeton.
Colleges can only take so many from each feeder, you need to limit how many apps go to each reach. They dont care how many are applying to Santa Clara.
Anonymous
02/26/2026 08:14
Subject: Re:high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
If every HS plus the Common App limited, wouldn’t it dial back the craziness for everyone?
Anonymous
02/26/2026 08:07
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
Anonymous wrote:Once again middle class families are at a disadvantage. Upper class families can afford to apply to as many as they want while low income families can apply free to as many as they want. Most middle class families cant apply to more than ten bevause it is just too expensive.
10 is plenty. Applying to as many colleges as you want as a wealthy family is not a flex. It’s just a poor use of time.
Anonymous
02/26/2026 07:59
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
We didn’t limit our child but she limited herself. I think for every student applying to 40 in order to see what shakes out, one student realizes that she can’t handle option overload.
Colleges know students apply to 100 schools and build it into their yield protection. When it’s free and as easy as a click, why wouldn’t you if you wanted to. My daughter applied to most of the SUNY colleges when it was their free application week back in October.
Right now, she’s happy to have a reasonable list to work through. If she were applying to Ivies only, I would have recommended applying to all of them. It’s a lottery to begin with. It’s not based on a lot of understandable qualifications past the obvious.
At the end of the day, there is a low chance the kids applying to 100+ schools are damaging the system much. Colleges emailing daily and extending deadlines for applicants. They chase the applications.
Colleges know students apply to 100 schools and build it into their yield protection. When it’s free and as easy as a click, why wouldn’t you if you wanted to. My daughter applied to most of the SUNY colleges when it was their free application week back in October.
Right now, she’s happy to have a reasonable list to work through. If she were applying to Ivies only, I would have recommended applying to all of them. It’s a lottery to begin with. It’s not based on a lot of understandable qualifications past the obvious.
At the end of the day, there is a low chance the kids applying to 100+ schools are damaging the system much. Colleges emailing daily and extending deadlines for applicants. They chase the applications.
Anonymous
02/26/2026 07:26
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:part of why schools limit is the burden on the college guidance office to get that many transcripts and recommendations out to the colleges.
It's electronic, a matter of clicking a button. I don't think it's a huge burden considering our public does it successfully for many more kids applying to an unlimited number of schools. (Though maybe our counselors are just awesome?).
The counselors literally click a button. I think there is an alert built into SCOIR, so they can send it early. Is the PP imagining a counselor photocopying transcripts and mailing them to schools?
Anonymous
02/26/2026 07:03
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
Anonymous wrote:part of why schools limit is the burden on the college guidance office to get that many transcripts and recommendations out to the colleges.
It's electronic, a matter of clicking a button. I don't think it's a huge burden considering our public does it successfully for many more kids applying to an unlimited number of schools. (Though maybe our counselors are just awesome?).
Anonymous
02/26/2026 06:49
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
Anonymous wrote:our high school limits to 12 - up from 10 pre-pandemic.
and the average, even when you take out the ED kids, is only about 7.
fewer apps = better apps
Look, the privates are also feeders. You acquire an advocate with your tuition. I know all this very well because I attended one of these schools, greatly benefitted from it, and used to work at one. But a lot of our kids are at public schools where a huge number of kids have taken 10+ APs and have extraordinary GPAs - and the counselors hardly know them.
I agree with other PPs that you don't need 5 safeties. My very high stats kid applied to 1 safety. He applied to 4 targets and got into all. And he applied to 15 reaches, was accepted at 5 (including ivies), waitlisted at 5, rejected at 5. I would never have been able to predict which ones.
I doubt the issue for any were his applications. I assume it was more about institutional priorities and where something resonated with an admissions officer - again extremely hard to predict. No one wants to apply to 20 schools but when you are unhooked and ambitious, you make the most of your chances.
Anonymous
02/26/2026 06:34
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
Anonymous wrote:Agreed.
This is why the top privates oversee the process carefully. Everyone who can is encouraged to ED their first pick, and plan to apply to no more than ten total EA/ED2/RD if that first swing does not pan out. In a class of 150-200 kids, this is highly effective.
It gets a much better distribution across the class, and most kids do well because the colleges only have a small group of kids from a top school from which to choose.
I wish public school students could benefit from a similar process, but the counselors have far too much work and far too little influence to help. And the rise of (scam) college consultants who encourage 20 apps per kid is seriously unhelpful. I also doubt it improves outcomes. But it sure juices the fees!
We took this into account when choosing our high school.
Really? Mine’s at a top DMV private school where kids often apply to 20+ colleges.
It’s really none of your concern, PP
Anonymous
02/26/2026 06:30
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
Once again middle class families are at a disadvantage. Upper class families can afford to apply to as many as they want while low income families can apply free to as many as they want. Most middle class families cant apply to more than ten bevause it is just too expensive.
Anonymous
02/26/2026 06:10
Subject: Re:high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
My son’s private HS limited them to 10.
Anonymous
02/26/2026 05:27
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
Colleges admissions has many flaws that should be fixed. Limiting the number of applications a kid can submit does not make the top 10.
Anonymous
02/26/2026 05:10
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
This should be a new rule. The admissions process is so crazy. I’m glad it’s over but going forward they should prob limit apps.
Anonymous
02/26/2026 03:36
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
Anonymous wrote:Our school limits to 12 applications without a special exception.
I’d like it to be lower, but that’d require schools to be incented to be more transparent. See the UK model, where 5 apps are the max and a sub 20% offer rate is elite. [/quote
This is the answer.
Anonymous
02/25/2026 23:58
Subject: high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
Agree 100% that there should be a limit (imposed by the common app, not schools).
Anonymous
02/25/2026 22:52
Subject: Re:high schools SHOULD limit kids to 12 college apps.
My kid applied to so many colleges that she ended up listing "applying to colleges" as one of her EC's.