coola426

So far i'm looking at around 17 schools. The number is likely to grow because my parents haven't added their colleges to the list yet. Out of the 17 colleges, i'm only doing 6 REAL applications because three of my colleges are Canadian colleges so no essays are required. Also 9 of my colleges are Common App and if my college list is likely to grow it is ONLY the common app number that is going to change. Basically i'm pretty indecisive as I see myself at all of these universities. O yea finances shouldn't be a problem. So in conclusion am I doing too much???

coola426

I WILL try my best to lower down this list though.

LittleTexan

Honestly, I think anything over 10 is way too much. I'm applying to about 5 or 6.

Lagging

Ideally 6-8 schools. Over 10 is too many. Let your parents choose one school each to add to your list.

2-3 safeties, 2-3 matches, 2-3 reaches on your part.

coola426

Ok I'm trying to reduce it to 13 by tomorrow.

queenofthekeys

You should pick 3 schols maximum .....#1 school ULTIMATE FAVORITE(NO IF AND OR BUTS ABOUT IT)...#2 Good choice but not exactly matching standard of #1..#3.a last resort(because of lower cost or better location)

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ElijahPhillip

I don't think 3 schools maximum is a good idea... what if you don't get into any... then what? But, yeah, 13 is fine if you can afford it. And is defiantly a good idea if you're applying to a lot of reaches. Just make sure you have safeties and matches. I agree with what @Lagging is suggesting.

MizzBee

Rank all your schools by favorites. Ask yourself if you got into school 1 and could pay for it, then would you bother with an application at school 15. Run net price calculators and eliminate any school on your list that you can't afford that doesn't give merit aid. That should help you narrow down the list a bit.

My DS was chasing scholarship money and applied to 19 schools. He had to put in a ton of work for all those applications because even if the school had basic common ap essays with no supplements, the scholarship applications involved extra essays, interviews, projects, etc. He would not have applied to so many if he had to do it again.

Lagging

I disagree with queens. Three schools are not enough unless they are all safeties financially and academically. If you're struggling to get your list down, apply early to one or more schools (preferably your top choice).

I applied early to one school and had nearly 20 schools on my list. It would've been ridiculous to apply to them all! Got in early and only had to do one college app.

Etuck24

17 is too many. 13 is still too many. I'm probably looking at 10, max.

GCLawmom

I respectfully disagree with most of the previous posts and adhere to the "cast a wide net" theory. As long as you can afford the application fees and don't mind putting in the extra work to write the essays (so that each application really gets 100% effort put into it), there is no downside to applying to all of the schools you are interested in. In fact, the only downside is to not applying and with so many kids applying to so many schools, your odds only improve.

My son applied to 11 schools. 3 of them were safties recommended by his counselor that he had no interest in attending. 1 was our state flagship that was his safety (although a fantastic school). 2 were other state, very high ranked schools. The other 5 were all top 20 reach schools for anyone (although he had very good stats). His counselor actually told him not to bother with the 11th school, as it was yet another reach and he had already done 10 applications.

Moral of the story....The 11th school was Washington University in St. Louis where he will be attending in the fall.

I think it is really a personal decision. Within reason, nobody can tell you how many is too many. I would say as long as you have a few good safties you would be ok (if not thrilled) to be attending, put the extra effort into your "wish" schools.

Good Luck.

magentaturtle

To be honest, who was the person that made the number of 10 being too much?

LittleTexan

Well, the average application fee to the schools in my area are $50. If you applied to over 10 schools, then you'd spend over $500 in application fees alone.

barrk123

Find a safety

If you don't like a school better than your safety then take it off your list

sylvan8798

I wouldn't worry about reducing the list until September/October. Let it continue to expand if necessary.

Then when you want to reduce it, try comparing 2 of the schools that are fundamentally similar, A and B. If those were your only choices (for whatever reason), which would you choose? If you would clearly choose A, decide whether there is any reason to keep B on the list (it's a safety, etc.).

Also, if you can make visits/tours that will help you to see which ones you prefer.