How many university applications is too many?
Can there ever be too much of a good thing? Yes: a student who applies to too many universities can come across as panicked or lacking in self-reflection
I generally view limits in life to be a good thing. I have screen time limits for my own kids. I limit the number of doughnuts I can have in a week (two, in case you’re wondering) and the number of episodes of a TV show I permit myself to binge watch in a row is four.
Don’t get me wrong: the sky is full of possibility; the world is your oyster. I thought Limitless was a fantastic film, and I am a wholehearted believer in supporting ambitious career, university and future plans. But limits and boundaries are what keep us safe, focused and on task. And in the world of university guidance counselling, a limit is also a mark of intention, thoughtful research and self-reflection.
In the natural world, this behaviour is known as positive thigmotaxis, where spiders, insects and other small creatures seek out the edges and perimeters of open spaces to avoid predators and help with spatial orientation or as defensive behaviour in response to stress. Similarly, in humans, having (and feeling) clear boundaries can help with feeling safe, avoiding overwhelm and preventing burnout.
There’s no limit
I once worked in a school with no application limits, where one brazen (or bewildered) student applied to 54 university courses. Yes you read that right: 54. A line I often hear from visiting university representatives is: “You make multiple applications but you can only attend one” and I think this student had completely ignored that golden rule.
Applying to such a large volume of university courses can be read as a signal of panic, a lack of confidence and the absence of any sort of self-reflection. Naturally, our counselling team had a conversation about whether we need to impose a limit soon after this happened.
At my current school, TASIS England, we set a limit of 10 university applications. There are a number of reasons for this.
1. Identifying best fit
Limiting the number of applications encourages students to think deeply about the concept of fit and identify institutions where they recognise a synergy between their aspirations and institutional opportunities. It ensures that students are only applying to universities where they see a genuine fit and feel they stand a solid chance of admission, instead of taking a more scattergun approach.
2. Limiting workload for students
Juggling university applications in the final year of school alongside essay-writing demands, preparing for admissions tests and interviews and managing all the stress that this brings can put huge pressure on students. A curated list helps alleviate some of this burden.
3. Limiting workload for counsellors
Each application involves navigating a platform or portal (which comes with its own challenges), uploading supporting documents, reviewing essays and advising on application strategy. An application limit helps focus counsellors’ support for core tasks and improves their efficiency.
4. Indicating seriousness
Limiting the number of applications is a signal to universities that the applications they receive from our school are considered, serious and well researched. We include information about the limit on our school profile, which accompanies each application sent out. This increases institutional trust and enhances our reputation with universities.
An exercise in self-reflection
There are caveats within the “TASIS 10”: we count Ucas (five choices) as one application; students can apply to as many University of California campuses as they want (up to nine); since the California State University system uses one application portal for all 22 campuses, we count that as one application. Add another seven choices to bring their total to 10, and theoretically a student could apply to a maximum of 43 universities. But that is neither realistic nor prudent.
The point is that we encourage students to start early in their research on university courses and options, and – perhaps most importantly – reflect on the kind of person they are, defining their own personal concept of best fit along the way. Research confirms that students who engage in self-reflection and are aware of their own values perform better in school and score higher on happiness indices, so there is a well-being component to the limit too.
If you have not yet had this conversation in your school, don’t wait for that one student to apply to more than 50 institutions – start the dialogue now to see whether the idea of a limit would fit with your school’s mission and values.
It could mean that in the next application cycle, you have a cohort of students who are less stressed, more focused and more in tune with their own identity and aspirations. It could also mean that as a counsellor, you have a lot more time to binge-watch your favourite shows and eat limitless doughnuts.