Rejected. Rejected. And, rejected. Now what?

When this happens, applying to a high number of schools may be your only saving grace.

Say you’re denied the thick acceptance package of your early action and early decision colleges, or flat out turned down by the school that’s been your dream since age two. You’ll need backups—an assortment of them, with a sprinkle of match schools and a trickle of safeties.

“I need my list of college choices to cover all bases: big, small, urban, rural, north, south,” said senior Allie Pivik, who will be applying to a total of 12 schools. “It would be too risky to take chances on the outcomes of a few universities.”

Then there are the financial bargains that cleave to certain colleges. Realistically, you’re not going to get the same deal from the same two institutions. Rest assured that your dollars and cents are behind a broadened list of contenders, and leave plenty of possibilities.

“The biggest reason I’m applying to 14 schools is because I need to compare financial aid packages,” said senior Sun Park. “Money is an issue, and a variety of options is a necessity.”

Think about it. There’s strategy in large numbers.

“If you get into a safety private school that’s willing to give you scholarship money, then you can use that as leverage to your first college by asking ‘can you match that offer?’” said Park.

I can’t help but analogize the admissions process to gerrymandering. Redistricting allows for politicians to choose their voters, just as the admissions committee handpicks their applicants. Don’t just let colleges pick you; you pick your colleges. With a larger list of schools in your defense, your chances of acceptances increase.

“You could be the smartest, brightest, most well-rounded candidate there is, but if that college doesn’t see in you what they want, then they’re not going to admit you,” said senior Kimiya Haghighi, who will be applying to a total of 17 schools. “You need to spread your colors in various directions. Only then can you have the satisfaction of getting into a few of your target schools and choosing from there.”

To help plow through a bundle of applications, more than 400 colleges have opted to use the Common Application. It has become almost too easy to send one application to  ountless schools in a fleeting second.

So when college talk rolls around, keep your varieties wide. The sky is the limit, but only if you let it be. Don’t settle for the mediocre, and don’t bargain with your happiness. These are the next four years of your life.

To view the opposing argument, click here.