The Hidden Risk of Applying to Too Many Colleges
- Posted by Your college concierge
- on
- in College Pete
If it feels like students are applying to more colleges than ever before, it’s because they are.
The question is whether it’s actually helping their chances?
And the answer… well that might surprise you:
What if I said that the students who applied to the most colleges were also the most likely to end up on waitlists?
It’s true (confirmed by a study conducted by Niche)
Applying to more colleges (to produce more options) actually produces more uncertainty. In fact, students who apply to 16 colleges or more (sadly, fairly common now) have more than a 70% chance of being waitlisted at least once.
It may be counterintuitive to you; but to us, not really.
For nearly 20 years, we’ve been helping families navigate college admissions and affordability, and we’ve watched this trend develop in real time.
When admissions feels uncertain, families naturally respond by adding more colleges to the list. What’s a ‘few more clicks on the Common App’? A few more ‘just in case, no supplement’ options (Hello, Northeastern and Tulane and others)?
The problem is that literally millions of other families are doing exactly the same thing.
Trust me I get that it feels like the safest thing to do. I’m also a dad who put two of my own through college (they each applied to fewer than 10 schools – and had multiple options with money on the table).
The fact is colleges understand the anxiety, and they actively cultivate your interest (they waive application fees, they drop their supplements, etc.). And the result is, the colleges receive more applications.
Their acceptance rates fall. Waitlists grow. AND, you, the applicants (and parents who love them) become even more uncertain.
What starts as an effort to create more options often leads to more essays, more deadlines, more stress, and increasingly, more waitlists.
I’ve watched and argued against this perpetuating cycle for years. It’s why I’ve always encouraged families to focus on a different question.
Not: “How many colleges should my student apply to?”
But: “Which colleges belong on the list in the first place?”
The strongest outcomes usually come from thoughtful planning, a balanced college list, and applications that are intentional and well executed.
The takeaway(s): the best college list is a strategic one. It’s comprised of colleges that are not only a good academic and personal fit, but also a realistic financial fit.
More applications are not necessarily better, they often mean…
• More supplemental essays
• More deadlines
• Less time spent researching fit
• Less opportunity to personalize each application
• More stress throughout senior year
When you’re discussing college with your child, let them know that the strongest applicants don’t simply cast a wider net, they build a smarter one.
If your student is a rising senior and you’re still building a college list, our Summer Application Bootcamp is designed to help students not only identify colleges that fit their goals, profile, and family budget, but we also help them write an excellent essay before they return to school for 12th grade. Students leave with a completed Common Application designed to make them stand out in a crowded applicant pool.
