College applications are a majorly stressful aspect of high school for any college bound student. It is normal to apply to safety, targets and reach schools. However, when considering “how many is too many?” students should not over apply to schools they won’t attend.
Finding the right college is always a challenge due to the number of things students have to consider when it comes to their application and education needs. While students should apply to schools slightly below, on and above their level, they need to consider whether or not they would enjoy attending the schools they applied to.
According to BestColleges, more than 60 percent of California students enroll in a college post-high school. This makes the applicant pool very competitive, especially in prestigious universities such as the University of California.
University of California Los Angeles had a drastic drop in acceptance rates, going from 23 percent to nine percent between the years 2011 and 2022. UC Irvine and UC Santa Cruz experienced similar drastic drops in acceptance rates during that period as well.
For this reason, it is a very wise decision for students to consider backup or “safe” schools when picking which college to apply to. However, the fear of not being admitted should not make students apply for safe schools they do not genuinely consider.
The reason for this, is that it’s simply a waste of time, money and effort on the students behalf. The application itself costs a large amount of money and the time needed to complete college applications takes away from other important factors of senior year such as school, extracurriculars and sports.
Also, applying to a school without the intent to attend could take away the spot of a student who is willing to attend said school.
Community college is a very real option for students who were not admitted into their top choices. It is a popular, cost effective method to get students to the schools they want while also having the benefit of saving money.
Senior, Fran McVerry, says “I chose community college because I don’t have a competitive high school GPA. I also don’t have the money needed for a four-year year. I’d still love to attend any UC with a good english program, and am looking forward to transferring.”
There is an underlying pressure on students to appear to look good for their peers, parents and themselves during application season, so it’s understandable that some students would consider applying to more schools than they are interested in attending because they like seeing the confetti and “congratulations” messages in their emails.
While it’s very satisfying news to receive, is it worth the 70-100 dollars spent on the application fee?
This, however, should not discourage students from applying to safety schools entirely, but rather urge them to choose the safeties they apply to wisely and consider whether or not they would be willing to attend in the fall if all else fails.
There is a good amount of Aliso Niguel students who are planning to attend their safety schools, such as Eli Gunn (12).
“I’m considering the University of Oregon, the University of Portland and Sonoma State. These are all the general areas and sizes I’m looking for in schools and after touring them, I loved the student culture there!” says Gunn.
Now that all schools have communicated their decision, it’s exciting to see where the class of 2024 will be attending for the next four years.
As for the class of 2025, which and how many schools students choose to apply to is entirely up to them, and it’ll be just as exciting and rewarding to see what students have achieved next spring.
