How many schools is too many?

[plume]

I am working on my tentative list of schools to apply to. Due to my low GPA, I am inclined to apply to more schools, but I have read contradicting advice: that this can be a great idea or that I may be spreading my efforts too thinly if I am applying to too many schools. I am thinking of applying to as many as 10-15 three-year programs, as well as a handful of post-baccs. What do you guys think?

Also, I am worried I have too many reach schools on my list. Is the only way to determine what a "reach" school is by calculating % of applicants admitted? What is a low/high percentage?

Thanks!

Edited July 24, 2016 by plume

[DrF8]

Speech Language Pathology is a really competitive field (my sister is in this field), so applying to 10-15 schools is not out of the question.

[jpiccolo]

My first round I applied to 5 and my second round 10. My second round if I were to go back there's probably two schools I wouldn't have bothered with and they were ones I got wait listed at and I wasn't as interested in attending. My reasoning behind so many schools was to avoid applying a third time. If you've got the time and funds then it might be worth it to apply to a lot. But look seriously at whether your scores have been in the accepted range at those schools and whether you'd really consider those programs based on cost or the program itself. If not, then it's probably not worth the application. I also thought a couple schools on my list were safety schools and yet I didn't get into those. Moral of that story, there's no guarantee but hey you might get into schools you thought were a reach.