For high school students eyeing a college education, there’s no ideal number of applications to submit or one-size-fits-all approach to the taxing and competitive college admissions process.
Aspiring college students must take stock of their academic records, financial needs, career aspirations, social and extracurricular interests and more when deciding how many colleges to apply to.
They’ll also need to carve out time away from schoolwork to write personal statements and supplemental essays, schedule campus visits and attend interviews, all of which can add up quickly. So can college application fees, which range on average from $45 to $100 per school, though many schools offer fee waivers based on need.
“Quality equals time on your applications. Putting too many on a list when you haven’t done the right work to whittle it down means you might also be compromising the quality of those extra applications,” said Sarah Girolami, a certified educational planner and managing partner of The Carnahan Group. “You should not need to overload your plate.”
[Read: How to Make a College List]
The College Board, which administers standardized tests like the SAT, says there’s “no magic number” and recommends students apply to between five and eight colleges. Some admissions counselors say they routinely see students apply to a dozen or more. In fact, college application submissions generally rose in the 2025-2026 academic year in the U.S., according to Common App.
This uptick makes college admissions at the top schools more competitive than ever, which in turn has inspired many prospective college students to cast a wider net.
Meanwhile, systems like the Common Application, which allows students to send similar applications to up to 20 schools, and experiments with eliminating test scores and essays from admissions requirements have made it even easier for students to lengthen their college lists, following the logic that more is more.
But more isn’t necessarily better, caution college admissions advisers from various sides of the process. According to Danny Irving, a director of college guidance at Pacific Ridge School in California, applying to too many schools in the fall can leave a student in a catch-22 when the final deadline to accept a college’s admissions offer arrives in the spring.
“Having three to five options is great; having 10 starts to feel overwhelming,” Irving says. “When we see lists get too long, students might end up having more options at the end of the day, but they also get denied and waitlisted much more, which leaves them at the end of the process with a lot more uncertainty.”
It’s typical for high school seniors to start the year with a larger list of colleges to apply to, then narrow down that list to around eight to 12, according to Brooke Daly, founder and CEO of Advantage College Planning.
But that number also depends on how you count. Many public school systems, like the University of California system or the City University of New York, allow students to submit one application for several campuses at once.
Factors to Consider When Deciding How Many College Applications to Submit
Odds of Acceptance
Daly recommends the following breakdown when making a list of colleges to apply to: four or five “target” schools, where one’s high school GPA falls at the lower end of the college’s average for incoming students; a few schools that feel like reaches based on available statistics; and a few more schools that are the safest bets on paper.
But admissions stats should be just one factor in crafting a college list, experts say.
[Read: What to Do While Waiting for College Admissions Decisions]
Personal Fit
“We usually tell students they should maximize fit, not the number of applications,” Daly says. “We’re helping a student figure out, ‘where am I going to be successful and thrive’ versus chasing prestige and selectivity.”
“When you go past, let’s say, 10 schools on a college list, you have to start asking yourself, ‘Why am I applying to this 13th or 14th or even 18th college on my list?'” Girolami says. “If you’ve done the appropriate legwork of research for 10 to 12 schools, that’s a lot of options.”
Cost
One of the top factors students should consider when making their college list is the cost of each undergraduate program and financial aid, particularly scholarship funds, that may be available.
“I think cost is the number one concern,” said Emmanuel Moses, the senior director of college access and success at The Opportunity Network, an organization that provides college counseling for high school students from low-income communities. “If a school expects you to pay $20,000 out of pocket and you don’t have it, that’s important, hands down. That is something all individuals are thinking about.”
Irving recommends students use financial aid calculation tools before sending out applications. Schools typically offer net price calculators on their websites that can help families assess what a particular program is likely to cost.
Other Factors to Weigh
There are many other factors for students to weigh when trying to find the right fit for them, like the importance of special academic programs, sports, Greek life, climate, geographic accessibility or the predominant political views on campus, according to Daly.
And these qualities may not give a complete picture for some students from diverse backgrounds about what life on campus will look like for them, Moses says. He encourages underrepresented students like racial minorities, first-generation college students and undocumented students to consider whether a school will provide the support systems they need to succeed academically.
“We try to make sure they are asking, ‘What does support look like for me in all aspects,’ whether they are first-gen, BIPOC, low-income,” he says. “‘How can you meet my needs and all the things that I am, outside of just a student?'”
Moses also recommends seeking out the perspectives of current students at prospective colleges — particularly those who can speak firsthand to relevant aspects of the student experience, like what it’s like to be a Black student or a first-generation college student on that particular campus.
“Ask those questions that aren’t Google-able,” he says.
[READ: What to Know as a First-Generation College Student]
Another good way to narrow down your list of colleges is to apply through early decision or early action admissions policies. Students who are sure they want to attend a particular school often may apply early.
Early decision and early action acceptance rates are often higher than overall admissions rates, meaning students who feel sure about their top-choice schools can improve their chances of getting in while limiting how many applications they will be able to file.
But keep in mind, early decision is usually binding at schools that offer it, such as Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Applicants who get admitted are obligated to attend.
Early acceptance is more flexible. Students aren’t necessarily required to attend a college that accepts them early and can decide whether to apply to more schools before their regular deadlines.
“I would encourage students to not worry about having dozens of applications, but really having a balanced list that they’d actually be happy to attend,” Daly says. “You don’t (put) schools on your list that you really don’t want to attend. Find the schools that are less selective but fit you really well.”
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How Many Colleges Should You Apply to? originally appeared on usnews.com
