A lot of the problem with college admissions is that so many students apply to as many as 50 schools -- online makes it easy, and costs less. When my son was at a prospective student group meeting at a good university, we overheard another prospect say, "I don't get it -- I was accepted to Harvard, but I couldn't get into Wake Forest."
When we went on the tour of another good university, our guide was a foreign student whose SATs were more than 100 points lower than my kid's -- but mine didn't get in. Mine got waitlisted at his choice, even though his creds were outstanding; but then went in and asked for a personal interview, and that did the trick -- he got in. Did it help that the interviewer was a young woman and he is an attractive guy? Who knows.
In my opinion, too much of it is a pure crapshoot. So, if your kid is going through it, just keep it in prayer.
And let me add that when I participated in a panel discussion for prospective students as an alumna of my small undergrad school, which had eleven majors, eight of us out of the eleven on the panel had migrated from our major to another field; and several had gone on to get unrelated masters'. So take it as it comes. It's often easier to transfer into a coveted school in soph year after doing well in freshman year somewhere else.
I’ve heard of kids applying to as many as 20 schools, but not 50. Our older son applied to eight, and in hindsight, I think that was too few. Our younger son will likely apply to around 15 next year.
There certainly is an element of luck and seeming randomness in the process. But as things have evolved, it’s gotta be. Harvard’s announcement day was last Thursday. Out of over 35,000 applicants, ultimately, a little over 2,000 were accepted, or about 5.8%. The other top schools are trending in that direction. Less than a decade ago, Harvard admitted 10% of applicants, and THAT was considered extremely selective! You’re right that part of the driver is the ability to apply on-line.
But great grades and test scores are still required. It's just that at this point, they’re just the prerequisites.
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