This is my second year applying. Last time I applied to 9 schools, and I received one interview (from my last choice), and 9 rejections. This year I understood better what I wanted to research, and added many accomplishments to my CV, as well as earned a strong LOR from someone noteworthy in the field (not to mention that this time around I sent emails to POIs at 9 of those schools, both asking whether they are taking students, as well as demonstrating a knowledge of their research). However because of my fear for rejection I still applied to 10 schools. So far I have three official interviews, plus a probable two unofficial ones, and I believe I have a good chance of hearing back from at least 2 or 3 more schools. Of all the schools I applied to three are my top schools, and to date I have an interview offer from one of them (plus one that isn't one of my top three is still an institution that I would be 100% happy to attend. I also don't think that the other two programs have sent out invites yet), so I am pretty thrilled . Since I really like so many of the institutions I think that when I actually visit and meet people I may even change my mind about where I want to go. All in all what a difference a year can make!