Avoid Sending Too Many Applications
Focus Your College List
Colleges and universities across the country have reported record-breaking numbers of applicants over the last few years. One of the reasons for the application increase is that a small percentage of high school seniors are applying to many more colleges than the rest of their peers.
As a general rule, school counselors recommend that students apply to five to eight colleges. That number allows for a range of colleges, giving you the likelihood of being accepted by at least one of your top choices.
And in fact, almost 79 percent of students are accepted by their first-choice college, according to a recent study, The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2010, published by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California: Los Angeles.
Still, 10 to 15 percent of students apply to more than eight colleges; some send applications to as many as 20. Before you join that statistic, sit down and figure out if that is best for you.
Why Students Apply to Lots of Colleges
There are several reasons why a small percentage of students is applying to a larger number of colleges than is recommended.
One reason is that most colleges are offering online applications, which make applying faster and easier. Another reason is that many institutions — more than 450 — are accepting the Common Application; this makes it easy to send an application to multiple colleges for almost the same effort that it takes to send a single application.
An additional reason is that more colleges are using aggressive strategies to attract desirable applicants. Students who have high PSAT/NMSQT® scores may receive ”fast track” or “snap” applications that they didn’t request from certain colleges. There are roughly 100 colleges that send these easy-to-complete applications to students considered highly qualified. These colleges hope that simplifying their application process will encourage strong students to consider attending — students who otherwise would not be interested.
The current economic climate is also contributing to the increase. Students are sending out a larger number of applications to be sure they have more options when it comes to finding a college that’s a good fit and that they can afford. Many students that were considering only private colleges are increasingly sending applications to more affordable state colleges as well.
Why You Shouldn’t Overapply
The college search process can be challenging: researching colleges, creating a list of suitable choices and then narrowing it down. For the best chance of success in college, it’s important that you find a good fit academically, geographically and socially.
If you are applying to 10 or more schools, you probably don’t have a deep-rooted interest in all of them. Admission officers want students who really want to attend their college, not those who are unlikely to attend if they are accepted. Some colleges try to make their applications challenging enough to weed out insincere applicants. If you’re not interested enough in a particular college to spend the necessary time on the application, that will be clear.
Applying to many colleges may also be costly. Most colleges charge an application fee. If you aren’t serious about a college, think about whether you want to spend the extra funds. Making thoughtful choices about the colleges you are considering is more cost-effective.
If you’re unsure about how many applications to fill out, talk to your counselor.
