On Applying to 20+ Colleges
I completed 24 college applications, submitted 17 (to Princeton, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Rice, Amherst, Georgetown, Emory, UCLA, UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, UNC-Chapel Hill, UVA, University of Pittsburgh, Williams, Washington University in St. Louis, Harvard and Yale) and received admission to all except the last four.
N.B. Some of this info may be dated/inaccurate and 100% of it is tinged w/ my own bias.
Why do you want to apply to so many colleges?
If it’s hubris (i.e. “I want to collect admissions offers like trophies”) or fear (i.e. “If I submit more applications, I’m less likely to be shut out from every school I apply to"), stop and reevaluate. I applied to Vanderbilt even though I knew I’d never want to head south. The reason? It traditionally takes a lot of kids from my HS. Yeah, don’t be like me.
Do you really want to spend all that money?
I ended up wasting $2500 (and that’s a conservative estimate) on 17 schools. I’ll only be attending one college in the fall.
That said…it can be done.
The “Why Us” essay isn’t asking “why would you choose our college?” so much as “why should our college choose you?” Emphasize how you’ll contribute to the college—inside the classroom and out—by referencing specific programs, classes, and extracurriculars.
Creating a template is a major time-saver. Once you have an effective “skeleton,” all you have to do is insert school-specific details.
Create a spreadsheet. These were my columns: College Name, Application Type, Application & Aid Deadline, Standardized Test Report, Transcript & SS Form, Recommendation Letter Deadline, Creative Writing Supplement (Y/N), Interview (Y/N), Merit Scholarship (Y/N), CSS Profile, FAFSA, Sticker Price, Response Date.
If you use Google Drive, create a folder for each college.
Consider making a CV/resume. Keep it short (~1 page). Possible uses: upload as a part of your application; hand it to alumni interviewer.
Don’t apply to Georgetown unless you really really like it. There’s a separate application (not Common App) that’s cumbersome to fill out, and you can’t access it until you pay the application fee (which also happens to be p expensive)
Optional essays are NEVER optional. Hopefully, this is obvious.
The more selective publics (UC Berkeley, UCLA, UVA, UNC, UMich) are more holistic than you think. They reject high stats kids on the reg (anecdote: a dude from my school who got into Caltech didn’t get into Berkeley; another who got into Cornell didn’t get into UMich) so PAY ATTENTION to the essays.
Alumni interviews don’t matter AT ALL unless you make a terrible impression—or possibly if you’re a borderline applicant.
N.B. Applying to colleges based on the perceived difficulty of the application isn’t the greatest idea. That said, for your reference:
Easy College Applications
Very easy. Only a 100-word extracurricular essay, I believe. Unless you want to fill out a scholarship application.
Washington University in St. Louis
Also very easy. No supplement unless you fill out scholarship app.
Zero work if you have a graded school essay you’re proud of (can upload in lieu of a college supplement)
I think there’s just one supplement and you can write about whatever you want.
University of Pennsylvania
One “Why Us” Essay, unless you’re applying to Engineering or a special program like Wharton, M&T, etc.
Moderate College Applications
Three supplements, I think. All fairly straightforward. There’s a diversity essay that’s optional (refer to the Miscellaneous section)
A lot of short, lighthearted questions (favorite keepsake, favorite movie, etc.) and an essay (they give you three prompts to choose between)
Three fairly straightforward, 150-word essays. There’s a letter to your roommate, an intellectual interest essay, and something else.
Easy, short supplements, but there are three of them.
There’s one UC application for all the UC schools (Berkeley, LA, Irvine, etc.) so same essays and everything, but you have to pay an application fee for each school you apply to. There are a lot of questions (called Personal Insight Questions) so it’s not quick, but once you’re done you’ve covered multiple schools. Also, if you are applying, ask your counselor about the UC GPA.
Three short essays, one of which is “Why Major.” Another is an extracurricular essay. Don’t remember the third.
I don’t really remember the supplements, but they weren’t that bad.
Difficult/Thought-Provoking College Applications
This is hard because there are a ton of questions with 35, 100, and 150- word limits. “Why Yale” essay. Hard to come up with insightful answers/make an impression with so little space.
I personally wasn’t a fan of the cutesy/philosophical prompts, and the essays that I wrote (but ultimately never submitted) reflected my utter lack of interest. If you enjoy them, UChicago may just be the school for you :P
Only three short i.e. 150 word essays, but one of them referenced Sesame Street. Something along the lines of ‘It’s not easy being green. Discuss.” There was another one on describing a time when you said YES to something. Anyway, I disliked them and never completed my application.
I think there are three short essays, but they require a decent amount of thought. Although UVA is a public school, craft your essays well. The admission officers care a lot about them.
There’s only one short supplement, but it’s a real pain. Hard not to veer into cliche territory.
Tedious College Applications
So many (five?) supplements. Some are generic though. “Why Columbia,” a list of books you’ve read/media you’ve consumed.
Also a lot of supplements. “Why Rice,” “Why Major,” Diversity essay, the famous box (where you can upload any image you want).
