Number of applications

thumper1
Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:52:16 +0000

Cost can also be a factor when applying. Many applications have a FEE and these can really add up.

The number of schools truthfully depends on the student. DD originally wanted to apply to only three schools…and you know, we should have just let her do that. She is attending ONE of those three schools and one of the others was her second choice. The third was the only other post acceptance visit she made. She subsequently added a reach school and an ultra safety to the list. To be honest, those two applications were a waste of her time. Her number ONE choice was in the first three schools. She didn’t get accepted at the reach. The three schools to which she originally applied met all of her criteria and she was accepted to all three by mid January (two EA and one Rolling).

So…it depends on the student. My DD did a lot of work crafting her list before she applied. We visited 16 schools with her alone and she also tagged along on 12 other visits with her brother. There were many other schools she could have added to her list, but she really loved those first three. She could have just done those and she would have been done!

Some students apply to a larger range and variety of schools because they want to be able to compare things like financial aid options. Some students apply to all the Ivys and equivalents in the attempt to get accepted to one of them (I’m not sure I understand that strategy…but that is their decision). Some students apply to a wide variety of schools and make up their minds when the are accepted. Any of those methods can work.

Personally, I would rather see a student do a GREAT job with less applications than a so so job with a ton of them…but that is my opinion.