You've done the college road-trip thing, battled it out with your mom over the map, gone on more walking tours than you ever thought possible, and now it's time to submit applications. But how many colleges do you apply to? Compile a list. If it's too long, consider how many essays, fees and recommendation forms each application entails.

Applying to too many schools will cost more in fees and can make your final decision more difficult. Jerry Seen, director of guidance at Darien (Conn.) High School, has noticed an increase in the number of colleges that students have been applying to in the past few years. "Technology has made it a lot easier for students to apply to multiple schools," he notes. "They simply complete and submit their applications online."

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Rosita Fernandez-Rojo, director of colleges at the Choate Rosemary Hall School in Wallingford, Conn., recommends high school seniors apply to a maximum of six to eight schools: two safety, two they are likely to get into, two "reach" schools and a couple extra if they want. "Six to eight provides students with a range of options covering different geographic locations and gives financial-aid applicants a sufficient number."

Since it is harder to get into some colleges when you need aid, you may have a better chance of being accepted by a college you can afford. And keep in mind that if you are armed with acceptance letters from several colleges, your bargaining position improves when the time comes to negotiate your financial-aid package.

Colleges today are measuring students by their interest, says Joyce Slayton Mitchell, director of college advising at the Nightingale-Bamford School in Manhattan. She suggests eight applications "because students can't show interest in more than eight colleges."

Above all, apply only to schools where you think you'll be happy. You don't have to attend the most prestigious college that accepts you; choose the one where you'll make the most of the opportunity. If you're realistic and choose wisely, you'll end up being accepted somewhere that's both affordable and enjoyable.

Source: TIME/The Princeton Review's The Best College For You 2001