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My Experience Applying to 20 Colleges (and Should You Do the Same)
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By Aditya A on April 11, 2025
You read that right, I applied to 20 COLLEGES in the US. Was it worth it? Did I actually get into any? Let’s take a look.
Just to preface this, yes, I definitely went overboard during this college application season, and you certainly do not have to apply to these many schools. As a rule of thumb, applying to 2-3 safety schools, 3-4 target schools, and 3-4 reach schools should be more than enough, but if you feel like you can handle the workload that comes with applying to this many schools and have the time and resources to do so, by all means, go right ahead.
Time, Effort, and Cost Constraints
As you probably already know, most US schools require you to submit one 650-word personal statement and typically have 3-5 supplemental essays. Granted, applying to these many schools means you will certainly be able to recycle a few essays, you must do some research to personalize your supplemental essays to that particular institution. As a conservative estimate, if you wanted to apply to 20 schools like I did, you should be prepared to push through anywhere from 50 to 65 essays. Yeah, that’s a lot. Like I mentioned, you will definitely reuse quite a few essays, but it’s the personalization that takes the most time—I’d recommend spending at least an hour per university.
Most college applications cost around $70. Multiply this by 20 and yeah, that’s a lot of money. However, this should never be an obstacle to applying to college. Fee waivers do exist and if you feel like you may be eligible for one, reach out to the university! You’ll never know if you never try :).
A General Checklist
Maintaining a college tracker will definitely ensure you don’t miss any important aspects of your college application journey. The bullet points below will help you stay on track:
- Recommendations - make sure you know which teachers you will be asking to write you a recommendation letter before junior year ends. Please give your teachers and counselors at least a month or two to craft you a beautiful recommendation. A resume or activity sheet always helps.
- Highlight your application deadlines. This depends on which application type you choose to follow. I’ll cover the most common below:
- ED (Early Decision) - this is a binding agreement; if you get accepted, you MUST attend. Apply ED only if you know that the school is your absolute first-choice and you wouldn’t have any second-thoughts if accepted. As the name suggests, you’ll have to apply earlier (typically by November 1) and will receive a decision by mid-December. You can ED to only 1 school!
- EA (Early Action) - this is very similar to ED, but it’s not binding. So, you can EA to as many schools as you like.
- REA/SCEA (Restrictive/Single Choice Early Action) - this is very similar to EA, but you have certain restrictions placed on your application. Typically, REA/SCEA would mean you cannot EA to any private school or ED to any school. This might vary from institution to institution so I’d recommend checking out your university’s website.
- RD (Regular Decision) - this is the most common application plan. You usually apply by early January and receive a decision in March.
- Rolling Decisions - some public schools follow this admission plan. This means you will receive a decision right after your application has been reviewed; there’s no set decision date.
- Keep track of institution-specific requirements (head over to the university’s website). Some fun institution-specific requirements I came across were Princeton's graded written paper, Brown’s supplemental video (optional), or Dartmouth’s peer recommendation (optional).
- Submit your CSS/IDOC, FAFSA, or institutional aid applications before the Financial Aid deadline. These deadlines typically fall a few weeks after the application deadline, but definitely head over to the university’s website. Also, look out for emails requesting additional documents.
- Interviews - look out for emails if you opted-in for alumni conversations! These are informal conversations (not like job interviews) between you and an alumni of the school. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the institution, allow the university to learn more about who you are, and have any of your questions answered. All the interviews I had didn’t feel like interviews at all; they were all fun conversations.
Results
Considering the rising number of qualified applications universities receive, even the most talented students may not end up where they hoped. Then again, you have no idea of what goes on in the admissions committees of these schools, and you might be the person they were looking to fill in that one spot. So please don’t let these sub-10% acceptance rates deter you.
Now, my application season didn’t go as well as I would’ve hoped. I was rejected from every top school I applied to, and I considered myself a competitive applicant. I ended up committing to my state school (which, don’t get me wrong, I’m really grateful for), and all in all, I’m really happy. Looking back, it truly is the best investment for me, both in terms of the people I know there and the tuition expenses. As corny as this sounds, you truly will end up where you belong.
What helped me get through the mound of rejections I faced was that as much as I wanted to get into these “top schools”, I expected the worst as decision days drew closer. This way, any acceptances were a pleasant surprise, while rejections didn’t hit me as hard as they could’ve.
Finally, please don’t let jealousy ruin friendships. I’ve personally seen peers get into top institutions, and have also experienced the rumors spread as a result. If you have a friend who gets into your dream school, be happy for them. Sure, it stings, but what can you do? Make the best out of the situation and spread positivity.
And remember that if you do get into your dream university, YOU EARNED IT. YOU DESERVE IT. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. But remain the person you were before you made it. Where you get in does not define who you are.
Final Thoughts
To wrap this up, I’d like to share with you the following message—the regret of not applying is a lot worse than facing rejection. As much as your accomplishments play a role, college applications these days truly are a lottery. So shoot your shot; the worst that could happen is a rejection, so what? The what if’s are a billion times worse than outright denials.
The best you can do as a high schooler is to do what you love, and be the best at what you do. Then shoot your shot, and you’ll be left with a fulfilling high school experience, and the perfect stepping stone to your college journey.
Good luck, seniors—you got this!
Thank you to Luke D for editing this article!