If you want:
- Less anxiety during the application process
- More offers of admission from which to choose
- More opportunities to celebrate your college future
- More (even unsolicited) money in financial aid and scholarships
- More control over a process that's spun out of control
- More joy from a time that for many families has become joyless
Apply to plenty of the right colleges in the first place–schools that fit you, schools where you'll be happy and successful, and where you have a strong chance of admission.
If you have a dream school (or two) that are beyond your reach, by all means, take your admissions shot–you've earned that right. But don't hang all your college hopes on a short list of schools that reject most of their applicants.
Good results come from making good decisions.