Why You Shouldn’t Apply to Too Many Colleges

Today, I want to tell you why you shouldn’t apply to too many colleges. You may have heard me say before that the sweet spot is to apply to between 5 and 10 colleges. You need at least 5 on your list so that you have options, but not more than 10 so that you have a manageable project where you can put forth your best work in applying to the colleges that really matter to you.

When you apply to colleges, you’ll see that competitive colleges and highly competitive colleges tend to have their own school-specific writing supplements, and the more competitive a college is, the more of them you may need to write. If you apply to 15 or 20 colleges, you could very easily wind up with 30, 40, or 50 essays to write. My record was a student who applied to so many schools, he had 66 essays. And let me tell you, when the project is that big, you’re focused on quantity over quality, and you’re not putting forth your best work. You’re just trying to get something done so you can move on to the next essay and the next school, and overall it reduces your chances of getting in.

The point of college applications is not to get into as many schools as you can or to get into the highest-ranked college according to some ranking list where you haven’t even done the reading to find out by what metric they’ve done their ranking. What makes that college good or great for you is the question you need to answer.

If you apply to so many colleges that, come decision time, you have 15 or 20 acceptances, I know it sounds like a great problem to have, but what are you supposed to do? Start doing your college search then? Start going on visits then? Of course not.

Aim to finish your college search by August 1st. That way, you have a manageable project that you can get done in the fall of senior year. Let the acceptance letters roll in, pick the college that you’re most excited about at the best price, and keep it moving.

If you have questions, call us at 732-556-8220. We are here to help.