Is it normal to apply to 16 different colleges?

totally normal. I applied to 15 myself. My schools spread out over 3 countries as well. The thing is many of the schools I applied to were reach schools and then there were many that were backups but I didn't know if I would change my mind about different schools.

So you got into a private college and earned a 3.95 gpa? Did you graduate w/ that gpa & are now looking @ masters programs, or are you looking to transfer & continue your undergrad? If you already graduated, you ged won't matter too much.

What really matters is the cost-effectiveness of the school. Why pay $90k a year when you can earn the same job after school as if you go to the $19k a year school? There has been some very interesting research lately, employers looking for a well-educated student look at those from ivy league colleges on an equal basis to other colleges, so the name you graduate from isn't really that important anymore.

So I would honestly recommend, if your current college is accredited or experienced in whatever field you're in, to stick with it there, since you seem to thrive there. Oh, and your financial aid & resources will be the real limiting factor, not the acceptance letters. (If you get accepted but can't afford it, still can't go.)

Yeah, you're right. And it's not technically graduating if you get a GED. It's a certificate stating that you got the equivalent of a general education, but it's not held in the same regard as a high school diploma. It often looks bad to colleges and employers alike, and it DOES make it difficult to get into a good school so it is a wise idea for you to apply to as many colleges as possible.

If anything I would recommend that you start off at a community college and transfer to a University. It will be cheaper and you will be more likely to get accepted into a transfer program than to be straight-forwardly accepted to a University.

Applying to college? Well here's a transcript of the GREATEST COLLEGE ESSAY EVER WRITTEN!

"I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me. I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college."