The number of colleges you apply to depends on what you intend to study and your budget for college tuition. In most cases, by applying to between 5-10 schools, you should be able to get accepted into a school you are happy with. Some students will apply to a mix of schools they define as “safety”, “likely” and “reach” schools.
Safety schools are schools you are pretty sure you will get accepted at. Likely schools are schools with a strong probability of accepting you. Reach schools are just that, a reach, you apply to them knowing the probability of acceptance is low. It’s good to have 1-2 reach schools (as long as you can afford them) because you never know – you just might get accepted.
It’s best to only apply to schools you sincerely want to attend though, as application fees can quickly add up. The average college application fee is around $50, applying to 10 schools is already $500 in applications fees. But keep in mind, you may want to check out the school’s website to see if they offer application fee waivers and the criteria to qualify.