To how many programs did you (or will you) apply?

[Arcadian]

I'm getting ready to apply to PhD programs this fall, and I'm still trying to narrow down my list. Originally I was going to apply to 10 or 12 programs, but the expenses for that would add up to a ridiculous amount. Also, it seems very inconvenient to have transcripts and letters of recommendation sent to 12 different places. Intuitively, the main advantage is that I would have a better chance of getting accepted, but that's not necessarily true. I could apply to 12 programs and get rejected by all of them. I would like to cut my list down to 6 programs, but it's very hard to do that. Every time I try to cut one out, I think, "What if that's the one that would have accepted me?"

[TheDude]

I am thinking of doing 8. In line with your thinking, the expenses would just be ridiculous. At some point I started to wonder is applying to that extra school something I am doing because I want to go there or am I funding an urge to be way over prepared and considering too many "what ifs."

[chak]

Try to give any of the professors in the program a call and try to get a feel of how the professors (and program) are. That should help you narrow down your choices in an inexpensive way.

[schoolpsych_hopeful]

I'm applying to 10 programs. They're all schools that I can see myself attending, which I think is important. It's obviously a bad idea to apply somewhere you wouldn't really want to go (applying because it's a "safety" or otherwise). The cost of applying will be high, but I think it's worth it. Ideally, I will apply to 10, get interviews at 5-6, and then have 3-4 programs to choose from. This might (probably) won't happen, but by applying to 10 programs I'm increasing my chances. My advice is to apply to as many programs as you can, but only to ones that you can seriously see yourself attending. Consider the faculty, location, student outcomes, etc.

[cogneuroforfun]

I did 10 programs, but none were "safety" really. The lowest ranked was probably top 25 or so. Applying to so many (and having good fortune in getting interviews) meant I had 4 very good programs to choose from when it came time to decide.

[Arcadian]

Oh, I see. Interesting. I'm not confident enough to know that I'll get any interviews, haha. All the programs on my list are really interesting to me, but I have no idea if they'll consider my application.

So for those of you who applied to 10 programs, does that mean you wrote 10 different essays, and your recommenders had to write 10 letters as well? Seems a little ridiculous.

[chak]

A personal statement is one the few ways of letting the faculty know who you really are. Everything else is just numbers/achievements/data according to them. It also shows how much extra effort that you're willing to put into your packet when they take a look at it.

But if you're looking for a format/structure, try using this link. I found it while going through another thread on this forum.

http://ls.berkeley.e...tatement-1.html

Edited August 30, 2010 by chak

[cogneuroforfun]

Oh, I see. Interesting. I'm not confident enough to know that I'll get any interviews, haha. All the programs on my list are really interesting to me, but I have no idea if they'll consider my application.

So for those of you who applied to 10 programs, does that mean you wrote 10 different essays, and your recommenders had to write 10 letters as well? Seems a little ridiculous.

Much of my ten different personal statements were identical. After all, my research experience didn't change with each new application. However, I did have a section about why each program was a good fit for me, so obviously those parts had to change. The recommendation letters probably went similarly. Most of each letter was identical, but if the letter writer had any specific connections or comments about a specific program, they would add those in.

Don't feel bad at all about asking for a lot of letters. Writing 10 letters (or 20 or whatever) is only a tiny bit more work than writing 1, as long as you're not applying to wildly different programs.

[neuropsych76]

I'm getting ready to apply to PhD programs this fall, and I'm still trying to narrow down my list. Originally I was going to apply to 10 or 12 programs, but the expenses for that would add up to a ridiculous amount. Also, it seems very inconvenient to have transcripts and letters of recommendation sent to 12 different places. Intuitively, the main advantage is that I would have a better chance of getting accepted, but that's not necessarily true. I could apply to 12 programs and get rejected by all of them. I would like to cut my list down to 6 programs, but it's very hard to do that. Every time I try to cut one out, I think, "What if that's the one that would have accepted me?"

I'm hoping to apply to 10 programs but yes I know exactly what you are going through!

[lucere]

I applied to 9, and I've found the 10-12 range to be normal among the students in my program. The thing is that for the top level schools, the great majority are really looking for applicants to apply to work with a specific faculty member on a common interest. If you just like the description of the school and think some of the research being done there sounds cool, that will not be sufficient for your statement-- you really need to target your particular faculty member of interest and sell yourself to them. (Or target two, but make it clear that your interests are not all over the map.) It follows that you would benefit from finding out if they are accepting students (funding is of major concern in recent years), so that you do not waste time and money applying to schools where you truly have no chances of acceptance for reasons outside your control. Some faculty members may even be planning a sabbatical and wouldn't be accepting students for that reason. My advice is therefore to apply to programs that provide clear matches between you and a faculty member of interest and that the faculty member of interest is accepting students. (Note that some might saaaaay they're not, but if you provide sufficiently awesome evidence in your statement, they will go out of their way to accept you.) This should significantly reduce your number of schools to apply to, aid in your confidence level, improve your statement of purpose, etc.

[eucalyptus]

My list last year started around 10 schools. Then I started emailing profs at all those schools, and things changed around a lot. Some profs were interested in me and my ideas, and some were not. Some had moved on to new lines of research, and some gave me suggestions of other people to contact. One prof even gave me some papers to read and set up phone calls to talk about them, and in the course of that reading I discovered another person who did really cool related work. In the end I applied to 6 programs, 4 of which had been on my original list. Your experience might not be quite as tumultuous - I'm studying something fairly unusual/new - but you'll definitely learn things from talking to profs!

[NewEmpiric]

I currently have a short list of about 12, but that changes from day to day.

I'm hoping to apply to about 8-10.

[jhmoss1812]

I applied to 10 schools. You have to consider this as an investment. Obviously, you want to be resourceful and as thrifty as possible, but you should not choose to apply to a school you really want to attend just because of application fees and the like. You really need to focus on what is important to you. The match with the mentor will be incredibly important in the process. You can apply to 20 schools but it won't matter in terms of acceptance if none of them are a good match, research-wise. Also, make sure you e-mail each faculty member you are considering working with to make sure they are even accepting students. Don't just assume they are. Lastly, make sure you would be happy to attend every school on your list. Sadly, it is quite possible you may only get in to one school. Hopefully, you are one of the lucky ones that has options, but you can't bank on it. I applied to New Mexico State last year and, before being accepted to FSU, it was my only acceptance. I was not overly thrilled and would have dreaded "having to go there". Don't make my mistake (luckily it worked out for me anyways)...good luck

[neuropsych76]

I think I'm going to end up applying to 11 schools. A couple more than I hoped so my expenses are a bit higher...

It would be stupid to apply to a school just because of the application fee right? For example, MIT is an awesome cogneuro school and I'd love to get in there. But since its so competitive I feel like I'm be wasting $75 because its so hard to get in. At the same time I would regret never knowing if I could have gotten accepted if I didn't apply.

Anyone else going through similar cognitive dissonance?

[A. sesquipedale]

I think I'm going to end up applying to 11 schools. A couple more than I hoped so my expenses are a bit higher...

It would be stupid to apply to a school just because of the application fee right? For example, MIT is an awesome cogneuro school and I'd love to get in there. But since its so competitive I feel like I'm be wasting $75 because its so hard to get in. At the same time I would regret never knowing if I could have gotten accepted if I didn't apply.

Anyone else going through similar cognitive dissonance?

The way I look at it is, the potential opportunity cost you might incur by NOT applying (i.e., if you would have gotten accepted to a top program or your dream school had you applied) is huge compared to the cost of applying. I too am cringing at expenses though. 23 dollars to send scores from ETS to each school is bonkers. Not to mention application fees. One school I am applying to has a fee of ~ $150

[TheDude]

9 and now that LORs have gone out I don't really want to go to 1 of them.

We'll see how it pans out here in a few months with everybody. I'm hoping a school I've interviewed at a few times pulls through because I'm not that crazy about half the schools on my list. The research is a match, the faculty is great, but my research interest goes in 2 directions. 1. What I want to do. 2. What I can tolerate doing as a result of being pretty interested and having my background in research match perfectly.

My heart is in option 1 and only 2 of my programs go in that direction.

[neuropsych76]

The way I look at it is, the potential opportunity cost you might incur by NOT applying (i.e., if you would have gotten accepted to a top program or your dream school had you applied) is huge compared to the cost of applying. I too am cringing at expenses though. 23 dollars to send scores from ETS to each school is bonkers. Not to mention application fees. One school I am applying to has a fee of ~ $150

Yeah that's a good way to look at it. Even if its one-in-a-million chance, never knowing what could have been will always bug me. I try not to pay attention to my other bills as I add up the application cost but sometimes the immediate supersedes thinking about the future. A few hundred dollars is worth a chance at a dream school and no regrets.

ETS absolutely drives me up the wall. $23 for scores.... when you just dropped 160 per test, it's completely asinine.

[babyology]

I currently have a short list of about 12, but that changes from day to day.

I'm hoping to apply to about 8-10.

My list is 3 schools. I know that's crazy. And I'll be kicking myself in April if I don't get into any of them, but those were the only three programs I really fell in love with. And the last several months of my life have been incredibly hectic and it's only going to get worse between now and January, so instead of sending out 9 terrible applications, I'm trying to do 3 awesome ones. Hopefully it will work out.

[LJK]

My final list is 9. I was at one point as low as 6, partly out of expense, partly out of wanting to make sure that I was in love/had a great fit with each of the programs I was applying to. My current advisor and a good friend who went through two rounds of applications before coming to my current school (she's phd track, I'm terminal masters) both told me I was crazy not to be applying to more just for better overall odds. At the time I didn't know if I would get funded for the Spring so I thought that I might be using my rent money on applications. That isn't a concern any longer but even before finding out, I had decided to add back in all of my cusp schools except for the $125 app fee one, which I added back in once I learned I would be funded. Some of the cusp schools have a slightly more strained fit and I am probably going to end up spending more time on them than the schools that are my core choices to draw fit connections and be sure that I am sounding intelligent about things that are not currently my specialty.

[lewin]

Applied to 11 programs, social psychology/social neuroscience. Four offers.

[bluedaisy]

Applied to 11 programs, social psychology/social neuroscience. Four offers.

Where did you apply?

[lewin]

On 11/13/2010 at 9:27 AM, bluedaisy said:

Where did you apply?

Columbia

Dartmouth

Harvard

Northwestern

NYU

Ohio State

U of British Columbia

U of Toronto

U of Waterloo

U of Waterloo

WashU

[tauren]

I applied to 6 phds(3 social, 1 biobehavioral health, 2 developmental) and a masters. I got 3 acceptances from the phd programs(both developmental and a social) and withdrew from the masters.

Edited November 15, 2010 by tauren

[TheDude]

Tauren,

I am curious. Since you were so successful with applications would you mine sharing your stats and background in research at the time? If you are not comfortable with that I understand.

I applied to 6 phds(3 social, 1 biobehavioral health, 2 developmental) and a masters. I got 3 acceptances from the phd programs(both developmental and a social) and withdrew from the masters.

[tauren]

Tauren,

I am curious. Since you were so successful with applications would you mine sharing your stats and background in research at the time? If you are not comfortable with that I understand.

I had about a year's worth of research experience and worked in 2 very different labs. I, also, completed an honor's thesis on data I collected and presented a poster at a conference on preliminary results. My GPA at the time of application was a 3.2 (bad freshman year) but my major gpa was a 3.8 or 3.9 I think. I took the GRE twice because I boomed it the first time (combined ~700) and took a second time and received a 1110.

My stats are not particularly impressive which probably got my app thrown out at some schools that use GPA and GRE scores strictly to weed people out. I got into 2 very good developmental programs , one of which I considered a very big reach (Cornell) and an up and coming Social psych program. The schools I did get into I had wonderful research fits and career goal fits and I believe those that looked at my CV and personal statement accepted me. I am a big proponent of fit, always make sure there is fit.