I applied to 15 colleges, yes, 15. This was mainly because, while I am a top student and I was certain I would be accepted into a good college, I knew that college admissions are incredibly competitive and therefore I could not bet on any specific prestigious college to accept me. My family is relatively lower-middle-class, though not poor. Because of this, I knew that I would not have really any money to pay for college, so I only looked at colleges that met my full-need, all of which were very selective.