How Many College Applications Should Students Submit?

College bound students often wonder how many applications they should submit.  The answer is: it depends.  There’s certainly no need to submit a dozen or more applications if students are being realistic as to their qualifications and likelihood of acceptance.

Some students apply to all eight Ivy League schools, thinking it increases their chances of getting accepted to at least one. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The acceptance rate to Ivy League schools for the most recent graduating class was lower than ever, according to statistics from CBS News: Harvard 3.4%, Columbia 3.7%, Princeton 4%, Yale 4.6%, Brown 5.4%, University of Pennsylvania 5.7%, Dartmouth 6.2%, Cornell did not disclose statistics.  Even students with perfect SAT scores and a multitude of AP courses (with a perfect “5” on each exam) should consider the likelihood of acceptance to these schools a long shot.  They should apply to one Ivy “early decision,” guaranteeing that they will attend if accepted, and submit applications to other schools that offer a competitive program in their intended major.

Students can identify “best-fit” colleges by googling Big Future College Search. A series of categories appear, and students should choose responses to any that are relevant.  These include preferred geographic location, level of competiveness, choice of major, size of school, setting (urban, suburban, or rural), four or two year college, public or private. Each response will narrow down the list of recommended colleges, ultimately providing the names of schools that meet all of a student’s criteria.

Students should then consult Naviance, which is utilized by the majority of high schools.  It will reveal data indicating one’s likelihood of acceptance to any particular college by showing the history of previous students at one’s high school who had applied, including their SAT scores and GPA, and whether or not they were accepted. 

Armed with this information, students should apply to a few reach schools (which they’d love to attend but realize they are weaker than the average accepted student), a few target schools (where their grades and SAT scores are in the mid-range of accepted students), and a few safety schools. It’s also a good idea to apply to an in-state public school, such as Rutgers or The College of New Jersey, where the tuition is typically lower than that at public out-of-state or private colleges. 

If a student’s first choice college is a target or safety school, then fewer applications are likely necessary.  Also, if students are applying “early action” to several colleges, they can reduce their number of applications as they will hear back from colleges in time to submit more applications if things are not turning out the way they had hoped. 

Susan Alaimo is the founder and director of Collegebound Review that, for the past 25 years, has offered PSAT/SAT® preparation and private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362