Senior year
Your goal for the beginning of your senior year is to fine-tune your college list, removing schools that, after further study, do not match your criteria, while adding new schools. There is no magical "right" number of schools to apply to; however, it is important to apply to at least one or two schools to which we are certain that you will gain admission. We would prefer that you apply to about five schools; however, some students have applied to as many as twelve schools.
Aim high! Don't be afraid you will be denied by one or more colleges. One school of thought is that if you're accepted everywhere, you haven't aimed high enough! Although we can usually accurately predict the likelihood of gaining admission to most colleges, it is impossible to make these predictions for the most selective colleges in the nation. These schools have an abundance of qualified applicants. As a result, their admissions committees are often looking for qualities other than the purely academic, such as excellence in the arts, leadership potential, or athletics.
Major points