I avoided the University of Washington and Oregon State because of their annoying applications. I did, however, apply to Portland State. Simplistic and to the point. I applied to twelve colleges in total, so I was beyond burnt out.
i decided not to apply to northwestern because i was so sick of typing up the same stuff over and over. i also gave up with the university of rochester one since i knew nothing about the city and how i could keep their environment “ever cooler.” so annoying. i applied to 13 schools so i was done with everything
I was going to apply to University of Rochester until I saw this prompt: (not exact wording) this year UofRochester had a record winter, students here who thrive in white winters wonder how can you make Rochester ‘ever-cooler’?
I saw the prompt, thought “nope,” then deleted it from my common app list 
Wow, this thread astonishes me. Granted, I haven’t begun the application process yet (junior now) but how on earth could an application be this bad? College is awesome…lots of coding and sex and K-theory at good ones…I don’t think I would not apply to any college I actually cared about because of their application.
@KinglyBill Tell me that next year when you open a school’s app and it says:
“At Colgate we strive to foster an inclusive community. Please discuss how your life experiences, family background, and/or culture has helped to shape you as a person. It would be especially helpful if you would also reflect on an experience which demonstrated your character and personal values.”
And? If Colgate were at the top of my list, I would gladly spend an hour or two writing some stuff. This prompt doesn’t even seem too bad.
I’m pretty sure we’re not talking about schools “at the top of the list.” I had this experience with FSU, which was a last-minute addition. When they wanted me to create an account with some third party and enter the entire HS transcript there, I was done. Bye!
I think the key phrase is “I actually cared about”. I suspect most didn’t drop a choice at the top of their list. Or even if it was, the fact that they dropped it anyways kind of shows they didn’t care as much as they thought!
Or it was equal in appeal and kids have already heard from several EAs. One of the things my S said about why he decided not to apply to several other schools on his list (which had later deadlines or no EA II) is that it’s already going to be really, really hard to decide between the four that gave him good news. Adding more cool ones to weigh, when merit money was already making all things basically equal on that front, and then writing the essay for the other appealing choices can be … well, sometimes the mind just starts to move on from applications to decisions, and at that point doing another essay can seem like going back, I guess. (Whereas my reaction was, “wow, you’re getting in everywhere! How about adding more schools! Fun fun!” But it’s not my app )
@KinglyBill,
Imagine you’ve already spent a hundred hours or more studying for the SAT, and spent 3 different Saturdays taking it. You’ve spent a half dozen hours filling out various financial aid forms. You’ve spent another 3 filling out the basic information on the Common App, plus another couple on a non CA school’s application, making sure you have your classes and extracurriculars listed correctly and in the order you want, sending links to the teachers writing your recommendations, and adding any additional information the school should have. You wrote 3 different versions of your main CA essay, revised the best two twice, met with an English teacher or counselor, rewritten your final essay yet again, proofread it twice, written and proofread your small CA essay. Your two fall long weekends and half your Thanksgiving break were spent in the car with your parents driving to schools for interviews. You’re applying to 10 schools, and 5 of them have one additional essay, and 2 have 2 or more additional essays, all of which also take writing, revision, and proofreading. You’re sleep deprived from trying to keep your grades up while serving as captain of the basketball team and not neglecting your NHS community service responsibilities, cramming like crazy for exams and buying your family members something approximating Christmas presents. You have one day in which to finish the last two essays, one of which is for one of your least favorite schools. Now some application is asking you to reflect on how you’re going to change the world or what kind of tree you’d be. You know you can’t give the same answer everyone else would or punt and write something dumb. Can you see how you might just say, “Maybe 9 applications is enough”?
@Sue22 Well if I’m that kind of a guy, yes. But of course your post is irrelevant. We’re not talking about some “least favorite school” on the last day. We’re talking about a front-runner school (read OP), and for those you should probably be responsible enough to plan out your time for them…
BTW my brother applied to 20+ schools and he said he enjoyed just doing them for fun since the prompts were amusing.
Edit: also, my brother told me that there are people out there who say stuff about themselves like in your post, but that they are just attention whores who don’t actually know how to manage their time. I know, he is blunt LOL. But he’s pretty smart and I think he has a point.
@KinglyBill,
Hopefully you’re not calling me an attention whore! I’m not even an applicant, just a mom who’s watched multiple kids go through the application processes for both secondary schools and colleges and who’s witnessed how stressful the entire process can be. My kids got everything done in plenty of time, but I know life and timelines don’t always work out as one plans. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the process of applying to colleges.
LOL of course not! I meant to say that my brother told me that’s what they thought of their peers who complained like that. Ok I’m beginning to realize that my siblings were rather … unconventional people.
If only more parents shared your perspective.
@ClaremontMom
"I think the key phrase is “I actually cared about”. I suspect most didn’t drop a choice at the top of their list. Or even if it was, the fact that they dropped it anyways kind of shows they didn’t care as much as they thought! "
Yes. For my d, she had a few on her list that we had not yet visited. The idea was to go ahead and fill out the app and then visit on a day when she does not have school here. They have a balance calendar at her school- so she has two week long spring break. Plus, if you combine long-distance visit with Presidents day (or some other day when there is no school), she could visit and miss minimal time from school. After realizing all the essay requirements for the 12 schools on her list, she decided to just apply to the 5 schools she had visited.
One thing to note is that she is a high stat student and would likely qualify for scholarships or honors programs at the schools on her list. So, it was not just a matter of doing the application essay. Each school had multiple essays and applications for honors programs, “Fellowship” programs, and scholarships. So, it seemed like each of the 5 schools she applied to had 3 applications tied to it. @KinglyBill- this is something that you might want to keep in mind when you make your list.
@momofsmartdancer Thanks, this is definitely something I will do. This is also the main reason why my brother applied to 20+ colleges: so he would get free trips around the US for interviews during his SSS instead of wasting his time at school, lol. Don’t get me wrong - he was seriously considering these schools, but the presence of a free trip is…an additional incentive.
Forget whether it was Oregon State or Univ. of Oregon that had 6 essays! That’s more than Columbia. Dropped it.
I almost didn’t apply to the UCs due to this reason. I was already swamped with 17 essays and was in no mood to add two more to the list 
However, my dad made me apply. I regret applying though. Could’ve used the time to make my UT Austin essays better.
Had planned on applying to Columbia… but dropped it the SECOND it asked me to list my favorite books. In 2016, I love watching engaging educational videos, but rarely find time to finish a whole book. I felt compelled to write a bunch of scholarly or “smart” titles that I didn’t really read or enjoy, I felt like Columbia was asking me to be someone that I am not.
Worst for S was Georgia Tech-- other than reputation, ranking, location, and sports, why do you want to come to GT? Since the first two were his only reasons, it was reeeeeally hard coming up with anything else and he almost dropped it.