Yep, it’s a great plan. I wrote mine Junior year and came back to it before I submitted my apps.
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It’s pretty clear that college administrators are systematically seeking to increase applications, lower admit rates, and increase yield. Chicago is probably one of the best at this strategic game, by offering the most complete menu of ED1/ED2/EA/RD options, which helps them optimise all the above metrics.
One also observes the massive pool of applicants to the UCs, which obviously reduces the admit rates, and results in continuous yield improvement at Berkeley and UCLA.
It seems that it is just a matter of time that selective colleges pool their applications into a UC style where one single application can be applied to all the schools in a syndicate, and improve their collective metrics. One could for instance easily imagine this decision to be made by the NESCAC schools. Once this trend is started and results in positive results across the syndicate, others will undoubtedly follow.
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I would consider Iowa State University. Excellent engineering program and you might be able to get some merit aid to make it affordable.
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@COMom3 are you looking for additional colleges to add to your list?
One of my kids applied to 7 schools, while the other applied to 15. This is not a one size fits all. The one who applied to 15 schools wrote her essays during the summer so that she would not be swamped when school started. I think finding a few rolling admissions schools (ie Pitt) is a good strategy.
As a side note, my students with low blood sugar have a 504 plan and the staff goes through training. That is different than kids who just do not want to eat in the dining hall at their chosen school and get cranky, hungry, etc. Test the food out and have that conversation with them ahead of time (eating in the dining hall vs spending lots of money eating out, keeping snacks in the room etc).
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More looking to make sure he has a balanced list. But it sounds like he has few that he should be able to get into early enough and make decisions from there. I wouldn’t say he’s dying to go to school in Pittsburgh mostly bc of the weather but I may be able to get him to consider some of those SEC schools.
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Is he excited about Arizona? I assume since it’s on your initial list up top. It’s an easy admit - and with merit - and they respond relatively quick. It’s the same as Pitt - but even easier.
Has he considered ASU? Another easy and auto admit.
Both Arizona schools have automatic entry - hence their ridiculously high rates.
It’s the same thing. You can have balance or not - as long as U of A is on your list (and it’s affordable to you).
PS - for Arizona, you don’t even need to write an essay - unless you want Honors.
That your son has a 3.0 qualifies him automatically.
Same with ASU - or a 24 ACT/1120 SAT
These schools are really good…but really easy to get into!!
And if they meet your students need (and it seems Tucson does), then it allows you so much flexibility to handle the remainder of your list as you see fit.
You could have targets and reaches or you could avoid them. You could have 20 apps…or you could have 1-2.
It’s their beauty. They give you choice!!!
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People have given good advice on strategies for creating a balanced list.
I just want to add that it typically gets easier to complete applications as you go. The prompts in the first applications are hard to respond to because you don’t know what to say. But after completing several applications, you have a better idea of what you want to say. You can write those essays more easily.
Obviously it still takes additional money to apply. And it takes more time. But schools 1-5 often require more time and thought than schools 6-10.
I think this is true to a point. At a certain point though, many applicants get burned out on apps and essays. So don’t leave the most important ones to the very end.
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Agree. I did all the harder ones with lots of essays first. Made it easier because there was less burnout and I was able to reuse a lot of content from those schools for the easier schools I applied to later.
I recommend applying to
2 safety schools (virtually guaranteed admission and affordability)
2 likely schools (high probability of admission and affordability
3 target schools and
as many reaches as your child has the appetite for, keeping in mind the work associated with supplemental applications and how they will feel receiving this many rejections, since by definition a “reach” school is one that is likely to reject you.
It’s extremely important to identify one or more “safeties” and “likelies” that your child would be happy to attend. Bonus if one or more of these have rolling admissions.
Best of luck!
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Seems like there just needs to be at least one school with assured admission, assured affordability, assured access to the desired majors, and otherwise desirable in the application list.
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If affordable.
That’s how Caltech and MIT did not end up on our kid’s list (and will not end up on our other kid’s list, no matter what her resume and interests look like at that point)
#1 is correct - but you have to find that one you can be enthusiastic - so that #3 doesn’t happen - getting in nowhere (and yes, the somewhere has to be affordable and desirable).
But that school, not the reach, is far more important!!
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I agree - the military is a great option but it’s likely unrealistic for a kid who is heading to college in the fall.
Someone shouldn’t not go to college because they wanted to get into Harvard but only got into Hofstra.
That doesn’t seem a reason to join the military.
Wanting to serve or develop in a military setting seems a reason to do so - and most likely have that in mind up front vs. oh crap I didn’t get in anywhere desirable or affordable - now what?
It’s all about proper planning - which for many does include community college as the only option (for cost, pathways or other reasons)
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#1 is a REALLY good point. We might have to take Pitt off the list. I think I can get him excited enough about U of Arizona and maybe Oregon State. Time for a visit to these safeties.
We had the same strategy.
She ordered her list based on when she wanted to apply. The first ones were some EA schools/rolling admissions school and some with simpler applications, included a safety. Then she started on the ones with lots of supplements, doing her top priority ones first. It was a lot more work than she expected and she was not able to reuse many essays. But once EA and rolling decisions started coming in, she started deleting some schools from her list if she knew she’d choose the EA school over it. She also crossed some out simply because she burned out. She did throw one back into the mix at the last minute - and funny enough thats where she ended up. She probably ended up with 10 or so.
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