(By wide net, I mean over 12 college applications.) If this method worked for you, I’d love to hear your story and your results as they come in.
I applied to lots of colleges, some US, some international. Got accepted by most of them, though have to eliminate majority of them due to small amounts of financial aid. I’m glad I did this as I can now go to whichever one offers me the best bang for buck 
I’ll let you know on the 31st 
but I applied to like 17 schools, haha.
It made sense to me… I mean, everyone knows admissions at the top schools are a crapshoot, so why not raise the odds by applying to more? I could be rejected from all of them, but why not try?
If money isn’t an issue, apply to as many as you can.
I applied to a total of 29 schools which is absolutely insane because I was very unconfident in myself and my academic likelihood so as I started the application process late, I figured that I would apply to the ones I’m interested in and look very closely after at the ones I was accepted at. I don’t recommend it for everyone but it did achieve its purpose for me and I really enjoy it. Here’s my progress so far 
I’ve gotten accepted to 12:
Duke University (Likely letter)
UMiami with $84,000 Presidential Scholarship
UMinnesota with $20,000 Merit Award
UAlabama with $98,000 Merit Full Ride
UKentucky with $40,000 Merit Aid
UOregon with $40,000 Diversity Excellence
UPittsburgh
UWashington Seattle
UC San Diego
UC Davis
Mississippi State University with $56,000 Merit
School of the Art in Chicago with $89,000 Merit
Wait listed at:
UChicago
And rejected from:
UTexas at Austin 
I have 15 decisions coming within the next week and a half
@Homeless2Harvard bro that is insane lmao
@thegrant I think I overestimated the definition of casting a wide net
@Homeless2Harvard
yeah yo i applied to 10 and everytime i just took my parents credit card and it turned out being like $1500 lmao
they flipped out and thought i was crazy, but i heard from a few schools so far and they each offered a lot of merit money so far so now my parents realize im not that stupid lol
@Homeless2Harvard
if i ever have kids i am going to tell them to apply to 10 school (or more lol)
Results for me this far:
Accepted-
UIowa- full merit aid/honors college
William and Mary- Monroe Scholar
UMich
UVA
WashUSL
Amherst
Bowdoin
Waitlisted-
Middlebury
Kenyon
Rejected-
MIT
Deferred- Dartmouth
I’ll report back after the rest come in.
Any consensus? Does everyone agree it’s s crapshoot and worth applying to as many as one can afford?
@Homeless2Harvard Congratulation for your results "-)
By the way, for U of Alabama, it’s NOT a full ride. It’s a full tuition for four years, but still a very good offer :-j It’s only about 20k COA per year with scholarship
Meal plan: 1681/semester(unlimited, mandatory unless you have medical problem)
Dining Dollar: 325$/yr
College fees:around 400$/semester, depends on how many classes, how many credits given per class
health insurance: 600$/semester
dorm: 2800~4900/semester,depending on which dorm you choose.
What is your prospective major?
@paul2752 it doesn’t really matter as its not an option for me any longer. If I know I won’t attend I decline my admissions offer so that others that were wait listed can get into the school they’ve always wanted to. I’d much rather pay that amount for Duke. 
@Homeless2Harvard That is a lot of applications and you have received some nice offers. Congratulations.
I’ve been really happy with my results. I applied to 20 common app schools plus some state school safeties. I think I have a 3.3 UW GPA and 0 EFC so I could have easily been denied by all 20 common app schools and that’s the reason I applied to so many.
So far accepted:
Brandeis
Denison (23K per year merit and hoping for good need based aid soon(
Sewanee(merit and need based grant covered over 40K of 50K)
Holy Cross
Wait-list:
Kenyon
St. Olaf
Denied:
Whitman
Grinnell
Colby
Bates
Colorado
Macalester
@NorthernMom61 I know they’re a lot! Thank you!!! I appreciate it!
If finances are a concern I would not decline offers so quickly. While Duke is great (quite jealous here) and most likely cover 100% of demonstrated need, you cannot be certain how those numbers are until you get the paper or at least the email. Plus since they accept 2 or 3 people for every spot, just because you decline does not mean that Alambama will give someone else will automatically get it
@SaphireNY totally agree this is true, but I also believe if applicants are honest and decline their offers quickly, it does ultimately help move along the waitlist in a more efficient manner. Plus, in regard to funds, it definitely frees up funds the school can allocate to another. I think they are more conservative with offering FA initially because if they entice too many folks and oversubscribe, they are really up a creek. Not as risky for a needs aware school to offer to many admission slots as give away too much aid.
I applied to twelve:
Duke (haven’t heard)
Vanderbilt (haven’t heard)
Rice (haven’t heard)
UNC Chapel Hill (Denied)
Boston College (Accepted)
UMiami(Accepted)
UFlorida (Accepted)
UAlabama (Accepted)
Baylor (Accepted)
UConn (Accepted)
Clemson (Accepted)
Ohio State (Accepted)
I definitely cast a wide net…22 schools! The scary part us that my twin sister also applied to 22 schools. So it cost a lot. But we made sure a lot of them were free to apply or we could send our scores through our hs. In some situations, you need to apply to a variety of schools. Like, i applied to a couple in a bunch of categories : SUNYs, Ivies, big money schools, quaint liberal arts schools, research schools, and national merit schools. Ultimately, all the financial aid is the worst part. I also think writing a lot of essays can lower the quality of each essay-which is no good for brown, Cornell, etc. But we’re a family that can’t afford those schools, so i am excited for schools like UB and Oklahoma that have really cool programs and good deals. Plus, I think all the acceptances make rejections hurt less. Anyway, I don’t regret applying to so many schools-I think in some situations it is the best plan.
I’m compiling a list of admissions euphemisms. Apparently, making on the order of thirty applications or more is “shotgunning”, but the range of 12-22 is termed “casting a wide net”?
@JustOneDad Yeah I guess it may not be the best terminology to use… I think ultimately it depends on the process used to apply to so many schools. If you cannot allocate enough time to each school you are applying to and produce a substandard application, you’re doing yourself a disservice by applying to so many schools and are thus “shotgunning” as you’re just shooting away applications in hopes of hitting one college. On the other hand, if you can manage your time wisely and make each application the best it can be, you’re casting a wide net to draw in the colleges you want with your best efforts. I don’t think the definition lies within the number of schools you applied to but the quality of each application submitted.