Let It All Go: Application Palooza 1/13/25

The Common App put out application trends for the time the application opened until December 1, 2024. One of the items to note was that applications from the same time in 2023 were up 5%. And, students had submitted an average of 5 applications each. During this time, kids are applying to schools early, hoping to get answers back before March.

I guess some kids just keep cruising at this pace and end up at 20 or 30 or even 40 applications!

I don’t know who gets the message that applying to 40 schools is the way to go. We’ve all heard the story of the girl who had Ivy qualifications* and was denied by all of them and had to go to Arizona State (GO DEVILS)! The truth is that there are multiple parts of the application and even if you are stellar in some aspects, you may botch others. So, some exceptional students (and/or parents) are scared that they won’t get in anywhere and decide to cast the widest net they can. Other exceptional students think it fun to see how many schools they can get accepted to.

Are there 40 colleges that you would honestly be happy at, have your major, and cost what you can afford? Luckily the girl in the article did her research and made sure she applied to schools with good business programs. Can you make sure of that? Were you able to visit half? A third? A quarter? Were you able to run the net price calculators for each? Also, if you’re pulling from the top 40 for any discipline, of course, you are applying to most ivies and ivy pluses, and some of the top state schools. The maximum number of applications you can submit on the Common App is 20. To get to 40, you either have to create another account or apply to schools with their own applications. Or both, I assume. I get you like the challenge.

I want to say don’t do it for the sake of the other kids that are dying to get into these schools you’ll deny when you get into an ivy, but that doesn’t happen. Yield takes into account that you won’t attend. 

Maybe this…instead of applying to 40 schools, you pick 15 schools you really love. And you’ll be thrilled when any or all of them say yes. And make it a balanced list - maybe even include ASU. 

* Sorry for this link. The original article is in the Wall Street Journal, and requires subscription access.