Anybody apply to just one college?

[TwoEdgedSword]

I know you should have a reach school and a safety school. But for J, there's one school that's a perfect fit and there is no interest in any other school. Not saying it's perfect. We know there's no perfect school. But it's a great fit for J.

 

It's not an Ivy League, but a nationally well ranked liberal arts college.

Scores and grades are high and I think J's transcripts and extras look close to excellent.

 

Not being cocky, I realize J might not get in--(but I think J will), but if the heart isn't into any another place, at all...

Maybe we should just stick with this one and reevaluate J's plans if it's a no. What say the Hive?

Too crazy and risky?

[creekland]

Youngest applied to just one.  He got in with enough $$ to make it work, so all was well.

 

He had a Plan B of staying home and working for a year if it hadn't though.  No other college appealed to him at the time...  As long as he had a solid Plan B he was happy with, we let him make his decision about it.

[JanetC]

I can see three risks:

 

1. Information risk. Have you visited the school multiple times, sat in on classes, talked to students. You're sure you know everything you need to make a final decision early?

 

2. Admissions risk: If you don't get in, will you find out soon enough to send in applications to other schools?

 

3. Financial risk: Can you afford the school? Will you find out about financial aid soon enough to send in applications to other schools?

 

If the school offers early action or early decision and an early financial aid read, that helps a lot.

[regentrude]

Sort of. DS applied to his top choice and got accepted. (We made him apply to a safety afterwards, just in case something goes wrong.)

[snowbeltmom]

My senior applied to just one school, but he applied Early Decision and would have had time to apply to others had he been rejected in the ED round.

[MariaT]

Both my sons applied to just one school. The oldest applied early decision, and he had about 4 others that were distant second choices, but he hadn't really started their applications when he was accepted mid-December. If he hadn't gotten in it would have been a sad Christmas with him writing applications. He had visited the school three times and talked to several profs each time. The younger son, the senior, applied early action-- his first choice doesn't offer early decision. They were heavily recruiting him, so we knew he would get in. He had another school that he thought for a long time he wanted to apply to, but he kept dragging his heels on doing the extra essays. He knew in his heart that the other school was not a good fit for him. So it all worked out.

Maria

 

[Guest]

All three of my kids who are currently in college each applied to one and only one school. The back up plan if they weren't accepted was the local community college system. Everyone involved was okay with that. As it turned out, all three were each accepted into their schools, so it was all good.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Kinsa

[Julie of KY]

As long as you are happy with the options (financially) if accepted and happy with the options if not accepted, then it's fine to apply to one school.

[Bootsie]

DS applied to one school Early Decision.  We knew the school was financially feasible.  He also knew that if he did not get in, he would have time to apply to his backup schools.  So, he saw no point in spending time applying to backups before he heard from his first choice.  (He did get in!)

 

[klmama]

One of my dc did the same, only applying to the #1 choice.  The decision came back quickly, so no need to apply elsewhere. 

[Gwen in VA]

My third applied to just one school.  He applied ED and got in, but he had no backup colleges. His plan B was to continue continue working at the job he did part-time in high school (a cool job at a sail loft) and go from there.

 

My dd decided in June of her senior year to NOT attend the college she had accepted. (Long story with lots of tears and epiphany moments). She said that she was fine attending the local CC in the fall and transferring later, so we were okay with her decision. (The local Public Ivy re-accepted her a few days later so she was spared attending the CC, but I did admire her willingness to accept attending the CC rather than go to a school that she felt was a mistake!)

 

As long as your student is comfortable with a Plan B (job, gap year, community college, whatever), I'd say to not worry about just applying to one school.

[TwoEdgedSword]

Gwen,

That sounds like quite a story! Thanks.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Dd is, but she is already attending concurrently.  

[TwoEdgedSword]

Wow Margaret!!!

[Vida Winter]

My daughter only applied to one, and it worked out great, but at the time I wished she would have applied to a couple more. My other kids are planning on applying to a few if nothing else to keep me from being so stressed.

[Tenaj]

My three who are in (or done) with college only applied to one.  It is a special circumstance though in that my dh works there and therefore we qualify for tuition-remission at this time.  Contrary to what a lot of people think, though, the staff and faculty kids do have to go through the admission process just like everyone else and qualify for admission without regard to their parent's employment status.  There are kids every year who expect to receive the tuition-remission and then are not accepted.

 

I was worried with my first two (they applied the same year) but not as much worried about my third because his ACT scores were higher.  Probably had they not been accepted they would have gone the to the local CC for at least one year and then tried again.

[happypamama]

I only applied to one school. But I applied pretty early and got my acceptance in October of my senior year so I had time to apply to other places if I hadn't gotten in. It wasn't a huge reach school though; I was pretty likely to get in. I can't recall if I committed to going that early or not. I needed to wait until March when the honors program acceptances came out before I could fully commit because I needed that scholarship to make it affordable.

 

Really don't know what my backup plan was. Nowhere else appealed to me at all and would definitely have been seen through the second best lens. I hadn't even looked at other schools.

[Mom22ns]

I only applied to one school and so did dh.

 

Ds wanted to only apply to one school but I insisted on a financial safety which he pointed out several times was a wasted effort because the merit aid came through  :001_rolleyes: .

 

Dd applied to one school, was set to go and got some more information that changed her mind. She applied very late to her second choice and missed scholarship deadlines. I really wish I'd made her apply to both to start with, but she was sure and is a good decision maker. She is very happy at her second choice - which became her first choice, but financially it was a bad move to not make her have a backup to start with.

[BlsdMama]

I know you should have a reach school and a safety school. But for J, there's one school that's a perfect fit and there is no interest in any other school. Not saying it's perfect. We know there's no perfect school. But it's a great fit for J.

 

It's not an Ivy League, but a nationally well ranked liberal arts college.

Scores and grades are high and I think J's transcripts and extras look close to excellent.

 

Not being cocky, I realize J might not get in--(but I think J will), but if the heart isn't into any another place, at all...

Maybe we should just stick with this one and reevaluate J's plans if it's a no. What say the Hive?

Too crazy and risky?

 

 

DS says there is only one school he is considering because it's a solid school, he expects a solid financial aid package, a few friends are going there, and he can save $$ living at home.

 

THAT SAID, I am insisting he apply at the other state school that has engineering.  There is the potential that they will offer a better package and I think the application fee is worth the gamble that we might be able to "encourage" his school to offer more.  He doesn't have a perfect GPA because of many college courses but it's still pretty high- he's retaking his single C, but a good ACT, and a pretty attractive extra-curricular resume.  So if your kiddo is a contendor for financial aid, especially merit, it might be worth considering a couple that have a reputation for generous packages, kwim?

Edited January 20, 2017 by BlsdMama

[Caroline]

My oldest applied to only one, early action. So we knew he was accepted before applications were due at his safeties. He also got a full tuition scholarship, so we knew it would be a cheap option. He could live at home and go there, but he doesn't.