<p>^^^^ I figure that’s why they call them reaches, right?</p>
<p>Just call me Pollyanna.</p>
<p>I agree S should apply to reach or super reach schools. I just don’t think that a Tech School is such a good idea, since he does not know what he wants.
Also, all of H friends are engineers (or in related fields). My kids feel that engineering is been pushed down their throats.
If only H did not take them to so many engineering events over the years. :)</p>
<p>Put me in the go for it camp as well. I actually think that the spread should be something like</p>
<p>2 Safeties (just in case there is an oops with one)
3-4 Matches
4-x reaches - where x is whatever the budget will allow. </p>
<p>Traditional wisdom (at least at my daughter’s HS) is 1 safety, 3 matches and 1 reach. I just think that is a very short sighted approach. </p>
<p>What do you guys think? What is your plan in terms of how many schools to apply to? </p>
<p>With my DS (2008) it was a very different story as he is an athlete and was chasing a scholarship - ending up applying to something like 20 schools. I should point out that at least 50% of these were “free” applications.</p>
<p>D is applying to 2 super-reaches definitely
probably 3 schools where she has a decent chance, but is not really a match
2 schools where she is a match and
1 or 2 safeties</p>
<p>Other than the reach schools, the actual schools will change based on her final SAT scores. based on her last set of SATs, some matches went into the safety category. Hopefully, we can do that again.</p>
<p>I am waiting to see (in Apr.) what the college counselor list is. His list will give me a better idea what is what.
I was thinking about one super reach, and three reach, level and safety.
I am hoping S could use the Common APP. for all.</p>
<p>D will probably be applying to quite a few super-reach and reach schools. She still has no safeties or matches selected (except for the state schools), so that will be our project for the April break.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is one correct formula. Mathson applied to 4 reaches, 2 matchy-reaches, and 2 safeties. You should have a nice mix of schools you’d be happy to attend. I agree, it’s not a bad idea to have a couple of safeties so that you have a choice come spring if things go badly. I do tend to think that you should think you have something to add to the mix if you are reaching very far above what grades and scores suggest.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, depending on SAT results (the big unknown) and how the tours go, I anticipate 7 - 10 of the following:</p>
<p>Ubers
- UVA
- W&M
- Colgate </p>
<p>Reaches
- Wake Forest
- Bucknell
- Richmond</p>
<p>Matches
- Elon
- Lafayette
- Dickinson
- Gettysburg
- Franklin and Marshall
- Loyola College of Maryland</p>
<p>Safeties
- Delaware
- Washington College </p>
<p>The must-do-for-financial-reason schools are these Maryland publics:
- UMD (financial only, it’s NOT a fit)
- St. Mary’s College of Md (match)
- Salisbury U (safety)</p>
<p>S’s list is in flux, and probably will be until the last app is sent. I tend to look at the safety-match-reach spectrum quite conservatively. We don’t consider it a match unless his scores are at or above the top of the middle 50%. And for GPA, his needs to be well above the admitted average. I also take into account the acceptance rate. Just playing it safe, I guess.</p>
<p>If he were to apply today, he would likely have 3 safeties, 4 matches, 2 reaches, and 2 high reaches. But one of his safeties was hot on his tracks this year when they mistakenly thought he was a senior, and he wil apply there EA, and should get a nice merit package if all goes well. If he gets in, he won’t apply to the other 2 safeties.</p>
<p>BengalMom:</p>
<p>That makes good sense on the safety. If they have either rolling admission or non binding EA, apply early and save the effort on the other two safeties until later (or hopefully not at all). </p>
<p>Same technique might also make sense on matches - if one of the matches is “lower” and the student could apply early, don’t bother applying to the safeties until the match decision is in.</p>
<p>My D’s GC recommends the kids apply to about 8 schools; a couple more if they have some super reaches I think. </p>
<p>D has a starting list of 24 schools that seem like they have her major and most important EC (dance), but she really needs to spend more time digging into the schools’ websites. And she’ll probably need to email the dance departments to see if she can perform as a nonmajor. I think she’ll end up applying to about 10. Like DougBetsy, we’re throwing the University of Maryland on there as a financial safety, even though it’s much bigger and closer to home than she wants.</p>
<p>My D’s GC recommends the kids apply to about 8 schools; a couple more if they have some super reaches I think. </p>
<p>D has a starting list of 24 schools that seem like they have her major and most important EC (dance), but she really needs to spend more time digging into the schools’ websites. And she’ll probably need to email the dance departments to see if she can perform as a nonmajor. I think she’ll end up applying to about 10. Like DougBetsy, we’re throwing the University of Maryland on there as a financial safety, even though it’s much bigger and closer to home than she wants.</p>
<p>That’s true, scualum. The safety I spoke of is actually a great fit for him, and I won’t be surprised if he ends up there (esp. with the possible merit aid). But one of the reaches and one of the high reaches are higher on his list. At this point the list is gradually shrinking – maybe we are getting too picky on “fit”? I don’t know how this will all shake out. I know it’s going to sneak up on us quickly, though. </p>
<p>I am glad I have all of you to help me keep S moving forward. He has so few friends here going through all this, it’s nice to have many out there in CC-land to confer with, and to share your stories with him. Now, if I can get him to write his essays this summer… THAT I am definitely not looking forward to! :)</p>
<p>S1 had ten schools on his list. Eight had acceptance rates < 30%, but the schools on his list were particularly compatible with his background. He did not submit RD apps to three after getting into his #1 and #3 EA and added one based on new FA policies announced just before RD deadlines. #2 was an RD decision and #4 was the flagship with a merit decision in late March. </p>
<p>S1 got into the four where he clearly fit best and which were at the top of the list 18 months earlier. He spent a lot of time and care on making his list, which I think helped with his results. He would have been happy to attend the flagship, too. His GC recommended no more than six schools, which everyone ignored.</p>
<p>In retrospect, S1 and I both feel he should have withdrawn a couple more apps in December, or definitely by January when other events came into play. However, we wanted to see how the money would work out.</p>
<p>S2 has seventeen on the list right now – think we will have 2-3 pie-in-the sky schools, 6-7 target schools and 2-3 likelies. I would like to keep it to ten. S’s targets are the schools he is most interested in attending, and cover a range of selectivity. I don’t begin to know what is a “match” these days. We just know that the plan is to really show the love to the targets and make those essays sing.</p>
<p>We’re having a problem figuring out the matches as well. Not sure how many schools will be on D’s list in the end. CD - you’re going to have to help me figure this out!</p>
<p>BengalMom - how wonderful that your S has a safety he can love - and one where merit money is likely! Lucky him! Lucky you, too.</p>
<p>Hi all - joining back in after a few weeks to report on a small sign of progress with S2. He’s not really that interested in talking or thinking about colleges <em>however</em> he’s agreed to take a spring break bus tour to Southern California that’s sponsored by the YMCA. The tour covers 8 colleges in 5 days, plus a swing though Magic Mountain. I have no idea how they manage this, but the tour happens every year so the Y must have the right formula. </p>
<p>The nice thing about the tour is that the colleges are a fairly wide spectrum of types - several UCs, a couple of Cal States, a couple privates. If S2 isn’t completely overwhelmed, he might come out of the trip with an idea of what size school is the best fit for him. I’m not too worried about specific programs at this point - I think a good liberal arts degree, even from a public college, would be the right direction for him to aim.</p>
<p>Next step: figure out whether S2 should retake the SAT (he’s not a test-taker, got ok but not great scores) or try the ACT instead.</p>
<p>I’m a little confused too. Especially about the merit money issue.</p>
<p>She has</p>
<p>reaches: Barnard, Binghamton
high matches: Bryn Mawr, Mt. Molyoke
Matches: Fordham, Hunter, Fairfield, Loyola of Maryland
Safety: Seton Hall, New Paltz, Wagner, Catholic, Washington College</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Wow!!! what a fabulous idea.</p>
<p>vballmom - I agree with zoosermom - a fabulous idea! </p>
<p>zoosermom - great list. What about the merit money confuses you? I think it is confusing, because every school has their own way of determining who is entitled to merit money - that requires research on your part - to figure out whether a separate application needs to be filled out, whether essays need to be written, etc.</p>
<p>I’m confused by the “who gets it” part. In other words, at Seton Hall for example, she qualifies based on the criteria posted, but how do you get from “qualified” to “recipient?”</p>