Teen Wants to Apply to 14 Colleges After Receiving Low Test Scores — but Her Mom Doesn’t Know How to Tell Her She Won’t Get In

A mother has turned to Reddit for advice on how to talk to her high school senior about realistic college expectations — especially for a competitive pre-med path.

In her post, the mom explains that her only daughter, now a senior, started the college process last year with big plans. The teen intended to apply early admission, stay on top of essays and recommendation letters, and keep everything organized.

As the Dec. 1 early-admission deadline approaches, however, things haven’t gone as planned. The daughter is retaking the ACT in hopes of a higher score and wants to send a “superscore” to schools that accept it.

According to the mom, her daughter has taken AP classes, holds about a 3.6 GPA, and hasn’t participated in community service. She’s only been involved in one extracurricular activity, even though both parents have encouraged her to explore more.

The teen now wants to apply to 14 colleges, with each application costing $75. The mother says the money isn’t the main issue — she’s more worried about whether her daughter is likely to be admitted to the schools on her list, especially for pre-med programs. With an ACT score currently around 20 and a history of not-strong test performance, the mom wonders if she should step in and share some hard truths about acceptance odds or let her daughter find out on her own.

She insists she doesn’t want to be cruel, but admits she feels stuck and asks the Reddit community how to handle the conversation.

Commenters offered a range of perspectives. One parent, who said they’re going through a similar process with their own daughter, suggested focusing less on the exact numbers and more on building a balanced college list. Their advice: aim for several “safety” schools where admission is very likely, a handful of “target” schools where she’s solidly in range, and a few “reach” schools that may be more of a long shot. Applying to 14 schools, they added, isn’t unreasonable as long as they’re not all reaches.

Another commenter challenged the mom’s claim that money isn’t a factor. If it truly isn’t, they argued, then there’s little harm in letting the teen apply broadly. If cost does matter, they suggested setting clear limits — for example, asking the daughter to contribute a set amount per application beyond the first few, or capping the total number of schools.

A third commenter recommended a middle ground: allow the teen to keep some ambitious options on her list, but insist that she also apply to at least two safety schools where her GPA and test scores are firmly within the typical admitted range. Their message was to encourage “shooting high” while also planning for realistic outcomes — a way to protect both her dreams and her future.