How many colleges should I apply to?
I'm going to be attending college in the fall of 2007 and would like to attend a very selective college. I can think of 8 or 9 colleges I would like to apply to, two of them being safety schools. Now, considering the schools I'm interested in have a very low acceptance rate, is this to many? Should I apply to more than 8 or 9? How many schools did you apply to?
How many colleges did you apply to?
I'm planning to apply to four schools. Two I have a pretty good chance of getting into. The other two are "reach" schools. How many colleges did you apply to?
How many colleges should I apply to?
There is no "magic number". Six is not an unreasonable number, but I could say the same thing about any number between 3 and 10. I would suggest that you identify the schools differently. Start by thinking about the kind of school you want to go to - size (both in terms of enrollment and the campus itself), location (urban/suburban/rural as well as the size of the city or town in which it is located; also consider its geographic location), and "type" (public or private, religious-affiliated or not, specialized or comprehensive, etc.). Use http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/se... at the College Board's web site to generate a list of possible schools that match your choices. If you have some idea what you want to study, include that information in your search as well; that factor will make a big difference in how long your College Board list will be. The length and content of that list will help determine how many applications to plan for. A long list will probably mean 8-10 applications is reasonable; if you've really narrowed things down, you may be fine with 4 applications. The list will almost certainly include at least one "dream school", a number of schools that are near-perfect matches with your preferences, academic interests and high school credentials, and one or more schools that you will be satisfied to choose if they are your only choices. How many you apply to in each "category" will depend on the school names on your list. That list should also be a starting point to do MORE research. Share it with your HS counselor, check out the web sites of schools on the list that seem most interesting, watch for college fairs in your area where these schools may have representatives, etc. Also, try to visit a number of the schools that you are most interested in. Seeing a campus will often give you a completely different impression of a school. My daughter, for example, visited the Indiana University campus on a cold, rainy October day; within 30 minutes of arriving, she decided it was her first-choice school. She'll graduate from IU next May.
About how many colleges should I apply to?
Four or Five. Apply to one school that you know that you will get into. Apply to one school that is a reach -- where you have a shot of getting in, but not a great chance. Apply to two or three of the best schools that you have a good shot of getting into.
How many colleges should i apply for?
There is no right answer to this, though it is best to apply to more than one. Four schools is reasonable, so long as you are certain you can get into at least one of them. The best advice is to apply to any schools you are TRULY INTERESTED in attending. Don't apply to schools you don't want to attend, just to have more schools on your list.