How many is too many??? DS has 18 schools selected!

[JFS in IL]

Thing is, the top six he would love to attend are also the least likely to both accept him AND give enough scholarship so that he can attend. The next six he would be more likely to get in - but, again, $$$$$. Which brings us to the last six, where he would be most likely to get scholarships and not go broke if he doesn't.

Half these places have sent emails offering to waive the application fee, essays, and recommendations, which makes it much easier to apply ;-)

Still - 18!!!!!!!!!

[K-FL]

In your figuring, don't forget the $$ to have test scores sent. Personally, I'd try to get him to narrow it down some. That's just a lot of paperwork if they're not all really in the running.

[Brenda in MA]

can he narrow it down to 9 -- 3 of each type? Or if you think the chances are really good of $$$ at the bottom tier and that is important for you, then choose more of those.

K-FL is right about the test scores. We had to send ACT & SAT2 scores to each school, and that was $20 each. Add to that community college transcripts, and it was another $40 each (most wanted one with his application and another one in December showing the grades for his fall courses).

And then there is the CSS Profile financial aid form. This costs $25 for the first school and $16 for each additional school. Not all schools require this form, but most privates do.

Best wishes,
Brenda

[Gwen in VA]

Eliminate some -- he will lose his sanity keeping track of all the application parts for that many schools, and you will lose your sanity making sure that both you and he have all your ducks in order.

One thought on helping him prioritize -- make sure that at least one or more of the schools meet the parental "yes, I think my kid can actually get in AND we can actually afford it" criteria!

He should apply to at least one financial stretch -- you never know what merit aid gift might unexpectedly come your way! And he should probably apply to at least on e of his "dream" schools -- even if he can't go for financial reasons (and the money bucket doesn't open up), there is something enormously satisfying about being accepted at a dream school.

[Kareni]

I agree with all that has been said by the three previous posters. Eighteen applications would cost a lot in terms of work, time, and money. My daughter applied to ten schools and we found that to be a lot. That said though, of the eight acceptances she received, we found the financial aid offers to vary tremendously. So, since financial aid is important to you, I'd suggest he shorten his list but apply to at least six to ten schools.

Regards,
Kareni

[JFS in IL]

Ok , now down to 14 - 15....

[Sharon in MD]

There is no way you can realistically keep track of the process of even 14 or 15 apps...unless you have paid staff that is!

You can do alot of research to narrow this on line....I would shoot for a number at least below 10....

Why does he like the school on the list? Prioritize the wants versus the must haves for the schools and eliminate. For us, by way of example....ds thought a distant school would be great till we made the first weekend round trip to one and he realized just how long he had to SIT in a car to make that happen....That cut a whole lot of schools off his A list.

I would just keep pushing him to narrow the focus...

We had six at the end and actually only sent in apps to four because we dropped two at the end....one because they didn't have the specific research facilities and one because we felt the student body was too wealthy for ds to truly fit in. My point is there are lots of ways to eliminate schools.


Hang in there and CUT CUT CUT:D

[JFS in IL]

Ok, now down to 11!

Vanderbilt, University of the South (Sewanee), Illinois Wesleyan, Augustana, Gettysburg, University of the Pacific, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Montana State - Bozeman, one state campus in Illinois and a couple in Michigan.

I am kinda hoping U of P works out as that would give a toehold BACK IN CALIFORNIA. It was coming to college here that got me (stuck) in Illinois....I can see ds as a Californian!

PS I am born and bred Californian.

[Sharon in MD]

:D

[mcconnellboys]

All in all, I'm thinking that such a number might be necessary in order to find a school that is the right fit, in the right place, and that will offer the right money. My son is probably going to be applying to about the same number....

[Sharon in MD]

All in all, I'm thinking that such a number might be necessary in order to find a school that is the right fit, in the right place, and that will offer the right money. My son is probably going to be applying to about the same number....

I personally just can't imagine not being able to whittle a large list, which is great to start with, down to a manageable list through on line research, visits, informational phone calls, talking to the wonderful folks on this board and so on. The process of apply is a much larger and more time consuming effort than most can imagine, and even if several accept the common app, they often require an additional essay or two. It is also not easy to keep track of all the various deadlines and to help a child keep track of where they need to be in the writing/rewriting process for each essay.

Our original list was somewhere in the 12-15 range, but we never even visited some of those once we had done some research...

The senior year is very stressful I can't imagine trying to actually apply to that many schools and still remain sane. But perhaps you are made of stronger stuff than I...

[ChrisN in NY]

Thing is, the top six he would love to attend are also the least likely to both accept him AND give enough scholarship so that he can attend. The next six he would be more likely to get in - but, again, $$$$$. Which brings us to the last six, where he would be most likely to get scholarships and not go broke if he doesn't.

Half these places have sent emails offering to waive the application fee, essays, and recommendations, which makes it much easier to apply ;-)

Still - 18!!!!!!!!!

Is it possible to visit any of them before filling out applications? That would likely shorten the list for him.

[JFS in IL]

Is it possible to visit any of them before filling out applications? That would likely shorten the list for him.

We have visited 7 so far - and four were ruled out (and are not on the above list) - three are top contenders. Problem is except for the few state universities, all the school are very selective, and even if ds gets in, would he stand out enough to get a decent scholarship? If he gets in and gets scholarship from a few schools, then we will visit/revisit as needed.

[MSPolly]

Wow! We started with 5 and whittled it down to 3 and one is rising to the top now. (We have visited those 3. 1 of the 5 we met with a faculty member at a competition we attended)

The difference might be that my dd knows *exactly* what she wants to do and so that is already narrowing things down for her, since she needs to look more specifically.

[JFS in IL]

Wow! We started with 5 and whittled it down to 3 and one is rising to the top now. (We have visited those 3. 1 of the 5 we met with a faculty member at a competition we attended)

The difference might be that my dd knows *exactly* what she wants to do and so that is already narrowing things down for her, since she needs to look more specifically.

My ds is all over the place - so am looking for good liberal arts colleges with strong departments of history, political science, biology - he could go in any direction.

Me, I knew from age 11 what I was going to study and that made life a lot easier!!!!

[Chris in VA]

Here, I'll do it.
Go to Sewanee.
There, feel better? :D

Totally kidding.

Ds only applied to one, so I can't really relate.

How many can you actually visit? I might limit it somewhat by that.

[Nan in Mass]

when we were visiting colleges, I tried to do it by type - one big, medium, one small, one public, one private, one traditional, one alternative, etc. I think I would do the same thing for the apps, using the catagories suggested earlier in this thread. With money an issue, I would definately apply to lots, but probably not more than 8 or 10. I'm probably going to be in this boat with the youngest... Let us know how it works out!
-Nan

[AuntieM]

Your insights here have been helpful, as we have been working up our list over the past month or so. DS is only a sophomore this year. I have decided that I cannot possibly consider more than 10 and stay sane. So, our working list contains 10, and if another comes up, it will have to replace one already on the list so that no more than 10 are ever in contention at the same time.

Unless of course Cornell or Rice sends a fat scholarship offer right out of the blue. A mom can dream can't she?:D

I hope to get it down to 5 or 6 when application time actually arrives.

[Sharon in MD]

I know each family is different...but I heartily agree that you can only keep track of so many things....