I am applying to 5 universities. I don’t know if 5 is enough

Answered

12 is a really big number. Keeping track of the emails, info sessions, college tours, and interviews would be REALLY time-consuming and frustrating. You'd have to write additional supplemental essays for each university too.

I'd say apply for at least 6 or 7. Ideally, you should have 60% targets, 20% high reach, 20% safeties (It's different for everyone but I find this the most ideal).

What's the difference between unc, unc, and uncg? Are they all UNC and just different campuses?

It appears that all your schools are in NC so that must be a given. Have you also considered, Elon, Davidson, and Wake Forest? These are all excellent schools? How about Duke?

If there is any lesson to be learned from the last admissions cycle in the US, the main takeaway is more and more students are applying to the better schools, and admission rates are falling. So if your top school is UNC-Chapel Hill, for instance, I would apply to more schools in that caliber of academics to better your odds of getting in somewhere good that you want to be.

To be honest 5 is not very many in the 2021-22 admissions cycle. As you go up the food chain, and apply to harder and harder colleges, you will find that those applying to the Dukes for instance are applying to 12 to 25 schools. A couple of cycles ago, 20 would seem really a high number but these days since the admit rates are single-digit at top colleges, many applicants really don't want to go to their safeties. So if you apply to 20 schools the mix might look like 12 reaches, 6 targets, and 2 safeties. The higher one can stack the "reach" probabilities in their favor, the greater the chances one will get into one of them. I don't know about you but it's very very common these days for high achievers to apply to all 8 Ivys, not just 1 or 2. Why? They'd rather get into 1 (even if it is Cornell) than settle for a target.

If you planing on only staying in-state, then my only advice is to consider the other excellent private colleges in NC that offer excellent Financial Aid.

Good Luck.

I would only apply to colleges you actually would go to. My oldest sister applied to four. My other older sister applied to two. I am planning on applying to three. Look at how likely you are to get into those colleges. Look at how much financial aid you need and cost of attendance. After investigating those numbers, decide how many you feel like you should apply to. Also, I think it costs money to apply to a college, so...

Hope that helps!!! Good luck with your applications!!!

Hi there!

To answer your question, it honestly depends on what major you're going for. For example, my sister is currently looking to become a prosthetics engineer, and she's planning to apply to about 5 or 6 schools. On the other hand, I'm looking to get my Bachelor in Fine Arts for Musical Theatre, and I'm planning to apply to upwards of 20 schools.

It all depends on what you're looking to get a degree in, how many different hoops you have to jump through to get accepted (i.e. is there an audition process or other sort of preliminary cut made?), and how comfortable you feel in the application process. If you feel good about your chances, then maybe don't apply to as many schools. If you're not feeling confident or you don't meet every single standard of your dream schools, then it doesn't hurt to apply to a backup school just in case. Do what your gut is telling you to do, but at the same time don't apply to too many schools just because all your friends are. Follow your instincts, but don't be shy of exploring other options either. You just might like what you see.

Best of luck in the application process!

Hi @Delina

In the end, it's your call because 12 is the maximum number. You can apply to how many colleges you want but like @unior said just keep track of those colleges unless you apply in ED because usually you are committed to that college if accepted. I plan on applying to 4 for now. I would say apply to the colleges that fit your requirements and ones that you really want to go to and believe has all the things you want in a college. Also, check your Chancing on CollegeVine for help. Good Luck!!!