According to CommonApp, from 2021-2022 the average applicant submitted 6.22 applications. However, for senior Paola Riestra, who submitted 24 applications, said that college has been something on her mind her whole life, which is why she decided to apply to so many different colleges. Riestra said that over the span of three months, she submitted 20 of her 24 applications through CommonApp because that was the max limit and 23 out of 24 of her applications consisted of supplemental essays.
“I only get one chance to do this right so if I do not take the chances I have, then what was the point of getting all these opportunities?” Riestra said.
While Riestra’s experience may be a little extreme, it is not that far-fetched from the annual stress of college admissions that Trinity seniors experience trying to finish college applications, book tons of meetings with college counselors and meet deadlines for supplemental essays, transcripts, and everything else that comes with the hectic process of college applications. As deadlines get closer and students await decisions, they start to feel overwhelmed. This, coupled with college acceptance rates getting more and more difficult by the year, many students feel the pressure of making sure they get into a college and feel the need to submit tons of applications.
Statistics show that many colleges have become increasingly harder to get into each year. The University of Florida’s average acceptance rate from 2012-2022 was 40.82 percent, and this year it has dropped to 30 percent. Additionally, Florida State University’s average percentage of 47.12 dropped to 37 percent this year.
“So, part of it is a fear of not getting in because of the low acceptance rates,” Riestra said. “But, on the other side, you just never know what they’re looking for, or if you fit their standards, so why not just try everything.”
According to a March 2022 CommonApp report, the number of submitted applications rose by 21.3 percent between 2019-2020 and 2021-2022. Director of College Counseling Christine Grover said that with the introduction of CommonApp, the application process has become more accessible to students. Even though the college application process has gotten less daunting, in regards to accessibility, Grover recommends that students make sure they are submitting high-quality applications to colleges that are “fit” for them.
“Ideally, I would recommend applying to three reaches, three possibles, and three likelies, and instead of focusing on the name of the colleges, focus on the best-fit college for them,” Grover said.
Another additional factor of rising college application submissions is the transition to test-optional. Grover said that the “test-optional” option for schools encourages many students to apply there.
“Test optional was a huge shift in applications because, with test scores, students used to kind of self-sort, because if a student knows that a school has higher average test scores than what they could achieve, they would not send their application there,” Grover said. But now with test-optional schools there is that feeling of well, I might as well send my application there.”
So is there a “perfect” number of schools to apply to? Grover said that there is no formula or magic number that will guarantee a student’s success in applying to colleges, but said that focusing on the schools you are really interested in will make the process a lot easier.
“I would tell students to not feel panicked and pressured because they are much better off picking the schools that are the best fit for them and really really work on those supplemental essays and just get really excited about that school,” Grover said.
