<p>It all sounds like good advice to me, if not in the order presented - for example, you should start working on “Step 5” your freshman year, not last!</p>
<p>Also, I don’t think the instruction to “apply to 15 schools” is valid. I’m in the humanities and I heard that the average is 7 or 8. Sure, the more schools you apply to, the better your chances of getting accepted and the more choices you might have, but each application could cost up to $100 and each application is a lot of work. At some point enough is enough.</p>