What's a good number of colleges to apply to?

Every year, prospective college students wonder, "How many colleges should I apply to?" As a general rule of thumb, some admissions experts recommend submitting applications to 4-12 schools.

Is 20 colleges too many to apply to?

While there's no cap on the number of schools you can apply to, some students, especially those from affluent backgrounds who want to go to a selective college, can go overboard, applying to more than 20 or 30 colleges. Personally, I would strongly discourage any student from applying to more than 15 colleges.

What is a good number of colleges to apply to?

How Many Colleges Does the Average Student Apply to? In general, most students apply to between 8 and 12 colleges. This is a good range to aim for, provided that the applications you submit represent a broad variety of colleges. Ideally, you want to apply to at least two safety, four target, and two reach schools.

Is it OK to apply to 6 colleges?

If you're not sure where you stand academically (maybe you earn good grades but attend a large high school where it's difficult to figure out where you truly rank), applying to six or seven colleges with varying entrance criteria and different student body numbers may give you multiple options to determine best fit, ...

Is applying to 8 colleges too much?

The College Board recommends that high school seniors narrow down their application list to five to eight schools. It's okay to stray a little outside this range, but as a general rule of thumb you should aim to reach those numbers because sending more than ten applications can have drastic consequences.

Applying to the right number of colleges

Is it OK to apply to 10 colleges?

Narrowing the List. By the end of junior year, students should have five to 10 colleges under consideration. This allows for some flexibility in choice of major, career plans, and potential financial aid or scholarship options.

Is it OK to apply to 5 colleges?

In general, it's a good idea to apply to a minimum of five schools. Submitting more applications increases the likelihood of an acceptance and the odds of receiving financial aid offers. Before putting colleges on your list, consider key factors like your budget, financial aid opportunities, and personal preferences.

Is applying to 12 colleges too much?

Most students should apply to somewhere between 12 to 15 colleges. There are no guarantees that you will be accepted to your desired school, but you should have a rough idea about your chances of admission to each school.

Is 9 colleges enough to apply to?

Nine is a good mid-range: Three Reach colleges. For example Harvard, MIT, Stanford are a reach for Every applicant.

Is 14 colleges too many?

Experts disagree on a specific number of schools applicants should aim for, with recommendations ranging anywhere from four to 15. The College Board suggests students apply to between four and eight colleges.

Is applying to 15 colleges enough?

We recommend applying to anywhere from 8 to 12 schools. If you are applying to the UC system then you might be able to increase this number, but the total number of individual applications shouldn't be anywhere above 15 applications.

What is the top 10 rule when applying for college?

Top 10% Rule

To meet the requirements, you must graduate in the top 10% of your class at a recognized public or private high school in Texas or a high school operated by the U.S. Department of Defense and be a Texas resident or eligible to pay resident tuition.

Can I go to Harvard?

To be considered for admission to Harvard, you must earn top grades in high school. According to College Data, 76% of the admitted freshmen in the class of 2026 had a GPA of 4.0 or above, and 18% had GPAs from 3.78 to 3.99.

Can I apply to 50 colleges?

On the one hand, applying to 50 colleges can increase your chances of getting accepted into at least one college. However, it is important to note that applying to 50 colleges can be time-consuming and expensive.

Why can I only apply to 20 colleges on Common App?

Has anyone been in this spot before? How do you manage or get around this limit if you're looking at more than 20 places? The Common Application does indeed have a limit of 20 colleges, and that's intentional to encourage students to focus on applying to schools they're truly interested in attending.

Is 13 colleges too many?

Students and those who support them often ask how many colleges they should apply for. As with nearly everything in college admission the unsatisfying answer is, “it depends:” the answer could range between 5 to as high as 15. However, some students will only apply to one school.

Should I apply to 17 colleges?

It all depends on the student and their needs. At IvyWise, we advise that students apply to about 10-15 best-fit colleges, with as close to an even distribution of target, reach, and likely colleges as possible. For some students, one is all they needed to apply to because they were accepted Early Decision.

How many colleges should I apply to UK?

Although experts often recommend applying to four to eight schools, there is no strict limit to the number of colleges you can apply to.

Can you apply to more than 5 colleges in UK?

Technically, the official limit is five. You can apply to five different universities within a single UCAS application. However, there are a few things to consider with that. First of all, you're not trying to apply to five different universities with an equal chance of getting into all of them.

Is applying to college too stressful?

If working on your apps is stressing you out, take a break and do something that reduces anxiety. According to the National Institutes of Health, going outdoors, getting more sleep, doing activities you enjoy, exercising for 30 minutes, journaling, and seeing friends all alleviate stress.

Is it bad to apply to a college more than once?

If your question is about applying in different application intake years, then yes you can absolutely apply again and again. In this case you would want to provide them an update on what has changed (improved grades, test scores, taking on new leadership roles, extracurricular, etc.) compared to your last application.

What is the average number of college applications per student?

The Cappex College Admissions Counseling Survey asked counselors about the number of college admissions applications they recommend students submit and the actual number of applications submitted. The average recommended number of applications was 5.9, about the same as the actual number of applications submitted, 5.8.

Can you only apply to 20 colleges?

Many will publish their applicant pool profile and acceptance rates from the previous admission cycle. After all of the necessary information has been collected to create a sensible college list, Common Application allows each student to apply to a maximum of 20 colleges under one created profile.

Can you apply to the same college twice after being rejected?

Yes. While students certainly can ask a university to reconsider, these are rarely, if ever, successful in changing an admission decision. Many counselors only recommend that students appeal their decision if an important piece of information was missing from their application.

How many colleges can you apply to in the UK?

You can apply to five different universities for the same course or five different courses at the same university – it's up to you. You only write one personal statement for all five choices.