We only applied to 3 colleges. How many is too many today?

And if I’m being honest, I’m not entirely sure we’d get into Tufts today. I know a lot of parents feel that way about their alma mater.

What’s also true is that after college, we both went on to graduate school, accumulated what felt at the time like an overwhelming amount of student loan debt, and spent years working hard to pay it all back.

Like many families today, financial realities shaped our professional decisions, geographic moves, and the flexibility we had early in our careers.

That experience ultimately became part of the reason we founded Your College Concierge. One of our core principles is that while we firmly believe that college can absolutely open extraordinary doors (and introduce you to lifelong companions), families should not have to sacrifice their financial future — or their sanity — to get there.

One of the biggest stressors AND mistakes we see today is students applying to too many schools without enough strategy behind the list.

Note that more applications do not automatically create better outcomes.

Consider, for example, this one trend that continues to puzzle us. It’s the celebration of students applying to — and getting admitted to — every Ivy League school, as though they are interchangeable.

They’re not.

Dartmouth and Columbia may both be “Ivies,” but they offer VERY different educational experiences, campus cultures, settings, sizes, and student lifestyles.

The strongest college lists are not built unilaterally around prestige alone. They are built around fit, affordability, realistic admissions objectives, and career aspirations. A good college list is comprised of colleges where a student is both wanted and likely to thrive.

That means understanding:
• which schools align academically and personally with the student
• which colleges are likely to meet your family’s financial needs with grants
• which colleges will likely offer YOUR CHILD meaningful institutional scholarships or merit aid

A thoughtful list consists of schools where your admissions odds are realistic and balanced and one that gives families both strong options and financial flexibility.

Candidly, this list is rarely more than 10-12 colleges, and it’s exactly why having the right strategy matters well before your child starts reflexively hitting the ‘submit’ buttons.

Over the years, we’ve built an extensive database of admissions and financial aid outcomes that helps us identify patterns most families simply cannot see on their own. We use that data with our private clients and Boot Camp students to help build optimized college lists designed around opportunity, affordability, and fit — not noise, rankings, or panic.

That’s exactly why we run our annual College Application Summer Boot Camp in June each year. This way, our students feel fully prepared to hit “submit” after the Common App opens on August 1 — instead of scrambling in October.

This year’s Boot Camp begins June 18. It’s designed to help rising 12th grade students build a smart college list, organize applications, develop their positioning, write their essay, and approach senior year with clarity and confidence.

Click here to learn more and to register.

NOTE: Our current clients (rising 12th graders) are invited to participate at no additional charge.

And after helping families navigate this process for nearly two decades — including sending our own children to college debt-free with institutional scholarships — we’ve learned something important:

The smartest college plan is rarely the loudest one with the widest net. It’s usually the most intentional one. If you have an 11th grader who is soon to be a 12th grader, check out the Bootcamp. As always, please feel free to reply with any questions and/or to reach out to discuss your family’s college admissions strategy.