My daughter is building her list as a rising senior. My husband works at a college where she would get a big discount. She has very good stats and is a strong applicant in other ways, and we expect she would be admitted. She recently toured the campus as a prospective student and found that she liked it and would be happy to go there. (She’s spent many happy hours in campus, but as a faculty kid, so this was a new perspective.)
The other schools she is interested in are much more competitive/difficult to get into.
Right now, my husband’s college is the only “safety” she’s interested in applying to. She has one or two matches. The others are reaches. Her college counselor has suggested she have a more balanced list.
But given that she has an affordable option where she is virtually guaranteed admission, and where she would be satisfied to attend, does it really make sense to fill out a list with schools she has no interest in?
One consideration is that we have a very tight budget, and we expect based on the NPCs that some of the more competitive schools would end up being less expensive than her dad’s school. That is not the case for some of the matches and safeties her counselor has suggested, which would be more than we can afford, unless they come through with a lot of merit.
Is it really that unwise to apply to one safety, one match, and maybe six or seven reaches?
I’m curious about others’ thoughts on list-building strategy when there is a great safety in the mix
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