The Common Application, or Common App, makes it easy for teens to apply to multiple colleges at the same time, but how many is too many? Or too few? Some sources say between 4 and 8 should be adequate; others go as high as 12-15. I think the best answer lies in the middle-- at least 8, and as high as 10 to 12 depending on a variety of circumstances. 

Let’s look at some of those circumstances and understand the pros and cons to applying to more colleges.

Application Strategy

Before starting applications, teens and parents should review the teen's list of good or great fit colleges and ensure all three of these buckets are represented:

Target Schools

Schools your teen has researched, visited virtually or in-person, and appear to be in-line academically and financially. In other words, your teen has a better than 50/50 chance of admittance. Minimum of 3; max of 8.

Important Strategy Note

Another strategy to keep in mind relates to applying to 2-3 of the same type of school within the mixes above. For example, if your teen is very interested in liberal arts colleges within 300 miles of home, be sure to apply to at least 3 which fit that category even if one of those colleges is a first choice guaranteed or almost guaranteed admission. If your teen is accepted to all 3, but each have different financial aid awards, you can ethically (and that’s a must) appeal, or ask the first choice school to match the award of a lower choice school.

The same rule applies to categories such as technical colleges, large public universities, research universities, and others. To maximize financial aid awards, ideally your teen will have 3-4 offers in hand of target or reach schools to research more thoroughly, attend admitted student visit days, and obtain the best financial aid available.

Numbers vs. Time/Stress/Money

With more than 3,000 4-year institutions in the U.S., the Common App and other grouped application processes, e.g., California, Texas, the Coalition Application, and others, a legitimate case can be made for applying to 15 to 20 or more colleges.

Here are some Pros, Cons, and Considerations for keeping the number of applications to 8-12 in most cases:

Pros to applying to 8-12 colleges and universities

• If in-person visit opportunities have been limited for your teen, applying to more colleges will buy time to visit before a enrollment decision is made.

Visiting the campus, meeting current students, and sitting in on a class if possible, are critical to helping your teen determine if a school is a good fit, let alone a great fit. A lack of an in-person visit should not be a deal-breaker (but close), but is one reason to apply to more than 4-6 schools. Your teen should continue to research the schools they applied to and plan on attending admitted student visits in the spring.

• Applying to 8-12 schools in the mix mentioned above potentially creates financial aid award comparisons from similar schools, which could lead to award appeals and better aid offers. 

In addition to the earlier example, if your teen has been accepted to Michigan Tech, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Georgia Tech, and the latter is your teen’s first choice but has promised the least amount of aid, you may have a strong case to appeal Georgia Tech’s award by sending the award letters of the other two technical-oriented colleges. If your teen attempts the same strategy with award letters from Northeastern, a reach school, and the University of North Carolina, your family's in-state university, Georgia Tech can understandably decline the appeal because those universities generally are not competing for the same bucket of kids.

• Further research will come to light during or after applications are submitted. 

Research doesn’t stop once the applications are in, though it can and should be narrowed, and parents can help by guiding teens to look more deeply into hidden costs, graduation rates, housing availability and financial aid across all four years, academic departments, special programs, and more. Often when there is a bit more time to breathe is when additional information comes to light that will move a college up or down, or even off, a preferred list.

• You don’t know what hooks schools, especially selective ones, are looking for in any given year.

For example, geographic diversity may be a factor in a college’s admissions decisions, which could work for or against your teen. A more selective school in the New England area with a robust number of qualified applicants to choose from may pick a student from Nebraska over an equally qualified one from New York, where a significant proportion of current students already hail from. Conversely, a selective college may be unlikely to select more than one student from the same high school, so if your teen is highly qualified but happens to be the 2nd or 3rd most qualified applicant from her high school applying to the same selective university, they may not be accepted solely due to the college’s desire for geographic diversity.

Every year there are potential hooks the general public will not be aware of, e.g., a college’s nationally recognized debate program might have a large number of recent graduates, or the marching band’s drum line might need an influx of freshmen, or a new academic building is opening soon and the college wants to bring in a large class of freshmen with demonstrated interest in the programs which will be housed in that building.

Cons to applying to 8-12 colleges and universities

• Application costs add up, including the costs of additional SAT or ACT score reports and in-person visits for each college applied or accepted to.

Applications usually range between $40-80 per school, which relative to the cost of attendance is low, but does add up for families on a tight budget. A more expensive concern with each application is the cost of an in-person visit if the school is out of state, but don’t make that a limiting factor. While highly recommended, the lack of an in-person visit can be worked around through virtual tours and dedicated, thorough online research and calls with current students, admissions reps, and/or professors. 

Many colleges and universities offer a period of time, generally earlier in the process, where application fees are waived or reduced, particularly for in-state applicants, and fee waivers are also possible in other circumstances, so it is worthwhile for your student to research and/or ask before applying. The National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) offers a fee waiver form that some, but not all, colleges accept.

• More applications = more supplemental essays = more time to personalize.

Don’t let your teen fall into the trap of haphazardly applying to more than a dozen schools “just in case” or just because they can easily with the Common App. The majority of colleges and universities, or certainly ones considered selective or highly selective, ask for supplemental essays, which add to the time and stress required for applications.

For information about supplemental essay requirements for specific colleges, simply do an internet search on the college plus supplemental essay and the current school year, or use the Supplemental Essay Guide from the site College Essay Advisors to obtain a recent compiled list or see samples. The best and most accurate information will always come from an individual college's website. 

• Too many options may lead to significant analysis paralysis, indecision, or high anxiety for some kids.

This is where a parent’s role is critical. By understanding your kid, listening, paying attention, and providing guidance throughout the search and application process a parent can guide the teen towards the best number of applications, whether that’s 8, 12, or even 6, depending on the situation. The operative word is guide, however, not manipulate or push. 

Parents should demonstrate a mindset of knowing there are dozens of great fit schools for every kid, and there will be pros and cons to accepting or declining any school. Even if your teen is not admitted to their “dream” school, allow the disappointment but help them know there are other great options.

And if your teen regularly battles anxiety, talk early and often about possible scenarios and decision-making criteria, so when the acceptances, wait-lists, or rejections start coming in there is a solid plan in place for dealing with the mental and emotional sides to the college decision.

Best actions parents can take…

3- Keep an open mind, and foster that same sense within your teen. There is no such thing as a perfect school. Think in terms of great fit, and there will always be lots of those.

4- Allow yourself to be surprised with what you learn about your teen during the process. Always listen more than you speak, and ask open-ended questions.

5- Help your teen dig beyond surface level attraction, particularly with respect to financial need and aid available for all four years, plus services available and a school’s record for graduation and employment after graduation.

6- Be open about your family’s financial situation and what your teen can expect for help. How that translates into what they will be on the hook for may help winnow the list before applying, or after applying, but before committing.

Your teen should always lead their college admissions process. But as a parent, helping with research, discussion, mindset, and application strategy is more important than ever. Applying to 8-12 schools should maximize options and financial aid possibilities without an overwhelming amount of additional work, time, cost, or analysis paralysis.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

https://blog.collegevine.com/how-many-colleges-should-i-apply-to

https://study.com/blog/how-many-college-applications-is-too-many.html

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-many-colleges-should-i-apply-to