@PhotographerMom Just the sheer amount of writing the applicants have to do (and parents too, some of the parent essays were quite painful) makes it very daunting for a 14yo to complete 15+ applications. Some have 3 or more essays, and they are never the same or even similar enough to recycle much without it being obvious. I still remember the battles with my kid to get him to finish his essays. There was not much time between school, sports and homework to do this even if we did interview over Skype instead of visits (which we were told were expected since they were not terribly far). I think people who apply to that many schools likely hire consultants and outsource a large chunk of the application process, very hard to pull it off for a regular family still living their work/family/school lives, particularly when there are other children in the family too.