College list WAY too long. And I'm soo tired.

[le_seksy]

<p>Do you think that the amount of colleges isn't so important if the teacher can just make a copy of her recommendation? Or do most schools require a separate form of questions? Would it be insane to apply to 15+ colleges, RD?</p>

<p>I'm very very busy this year with ECs, 6 APs, and barely have time to study for SATs. Much less fill out things such as semifinalist scholarship and other scholarship apps which are due so soon. And I've found myself extremely tired every day, I stick in naps and do hmwk during school hours so I can sleep, but nothing seems to give me enough rest like before. I've been at the top of my class for the past 3 years and really want to come out strong, but I feel like my body's giving in or something. </p>

<p>I made a list some days ago about things that were important, trying to get a handle on the situation. It included:
[ul][<em>]location[</em>]scholars programs[<em>]competitiveness[</em>]size of class and campus as whole[<em>]majors interested offered?[</em>]% acceptance into med school, [<em>]individual attention given to students?[</em>]diverse clubs[/ul]and that's it, so far.</p>

<p>It takes a lot of energy and time to fully research these aspects on their websites (is it just me that thinks all colleges make their college look good on web/paper??), to go through posts to get majority opinion on overall feel, etc, since I don't have the means to visit campuses.</p>

<p>So do you guys have any idea on what to do to help me out a little? People are applying and know where they're going to apply and have already asked for recs and i still don't know which colleges i'm applying to!</p>

<p>MUCH THANKS.</p>

[dhl3]

<p>15+ colleges is too many.
Not to mention the time consumption level to fill out each application, it also costs a lot. (assuming each application is $60, that's at least $900 gone).</p>

<p>Reduce your school list to less than 10 if possible:</p>

<p>3 or 4 Reaches
3 or 4 Matches
1 or 2 Safeties</p>

[le_seksy]

<p>I have 1 essay in mind and I can probably do enough searching to find info for a why ____ essay, and I could probably do another essay on the app...so I was hoping this wouldn't take too much time. Aren't all the essays similar? Do you think I should use the common application when applicable or is nicer to use their customized application?</p>

<p>I have good stats but I don't have a lot of confidence so I picked out a lot of safeties and I have a lot of mail from reach colleges, but it needs to be narrowed down. Right now I'm staring at this huge stack.</p>

<p>Less than 10 is hard, I just feel like I need a lot of options to reassure myself. </p>

<p>Do you think I should just apply to "initial interest" colleges and research best fit later? About how many hours are you spending per week on college apps?</p>

[precocious]

<p>If you can afford it, go ahead! And instead of using websites, get something like Fiske's Guide to Colleges - it's much less hassling (I think anyways) to flip through a big huuuge textbook-like volume then keep searching up all the different websites and hunting down the admissions pages, etc. </p>

<p>And I totally know what you mean. I'm super tired when I get home from school everyday (which is like 5ish, since I tutor...) and then I usually nap till around 6-7, dinner, shower, and don't even start working till like 8, haha... so I end up going to bed around 1AM. It's NOT good :( I'm trying to get to bed earlier, and I just realized SATs are coming up around the corner and I'm stressing out sooo much... and yea. GOOD LUCK with everything :D!</p>

[dhl3]

<p>Consider these factors when applying:</p>

<p>1.) Do I want to live far or close to my home?
2.) Do I want to live in crowded urban or quiet suburb?
3.) Do I want to go to a big university with 20,000+ people or small schools with less than 10,000 student body?
4.) Does each school have good financial aid?</p>

<p>this will help you get rid of some schools.</p>

[le_seksy]

<p>Aww, thanks, you too girl. Best of luck. :) Senior year is really stress inducing.</p>

<p>So is Fiske's Guide accurate? I'll certainly get it if it's less stress. </p>

<p>My parents aren't inputting a lot into this college search & selection process, so I mean, I'm guessing the money isn't a huge issue since they've been education crazy since I was a kid.</p>

<p>dhl3,</p>

<p>Thanks, I'm not set in stone though with what I want. If I lived 10 hours away from home or 3 hours away, it doesn't make a difference to me. And for me, any population better than rural is good. So it leaves a lot of choices...how much time do you spend "researching" colleges, approximately? I'm sure I'm not the only person this disorganized, but yeah, just want to see how others are fairing.</p>