Current/Future Applicants and Parents: Making a College Application List

alamemom
Fri, 02 Aug 2013 10:23:26 +0000

Great to have more input! Creating a list with 12-15 schools would be fine (note that paying application fees and sending scores and transcripts would cost as much as $1,500), assuming that list includes at least two financial+admission safeties the student would love* to attend. And it is fine to “shoot for the moon” with applications to the schools with super aid, but those can’t be considered financial safeties because admission is certainly not guaranteed. If a family can afford the cost of all those applications and the list is well thought-out (applicants, remember - if you apply to 10 schools that each have acceptance rates of 10%, that does NOT add up to a 100% chance of admission! It still is 10% overall!) that application strategy sounds good!

*Application fee waivers through The Common App are limited, so be sure you use at least one for that financial+admission safety I keep harping about!

**The issue I see commonly in posts is that the applicants HAVE a safety or two on their list, but then state that they would never consider attending the safety. Please, applicants, if you would not consider attending a school, do not apply! Worst-case scenario is that is the only school that accepts you and you run out of options!

Yes, LameFamily was strict about the number of applications. LameDaughter originally came to us with 24 schools!!! The thing that really helped her narrow it down was when we said that if she applied to a school she had to agree that she would attend it if the other options were out of our budget. To me, that protects kids from having their dreams dashed - what if she had applied to a school she didn’t like and received a full ride while all her other options were beyond our budget? What would be her options???