Number of applications

[Brandt]

I have read several posts and it seems that many people are applying only to a few schools. I applied to 15. I ended up, so far, with 3 acceptances and two waitlists (one waitlist became a rejection).

Is it normal for people to apply to less than 5 schools?

[wtncffts]

I dunno, from what I see here as many people have applied to more than 10 schools than have applied to less than 5. I think the average is probably around 7 or 8. Just my impression.

[waddle]

Is it normal for people to apply to less than 5 schools?

I think (just a hand-waving guesstimate) that the upper & lower quartiles for the number of graduate programs people apply to are ~8 and ~3, respectively (i.e., most people apply to somewhere between 3-8 schools). This obviously depends on numerous factors, e.g., cost of applying, location, significant others, ranking, domestic/international status, field of study, intended final degree (Master's vs. Ph.D.).

That said, 15 is probably on the high end, though I know people who have applied to 20 programs. Keep in mind that it gets increasingly harder to produce an application tailored to particular schools as the number of applications increase (you gotta spend time on each, and quality suffers if you're aiming for quantity). It's a trade-off, but I think 3-8 is good.

[neuropsych76]

I have read several posts and it seems that many people are applying only to a few schools. I applied to 15. I ended up, so far, with 3 acceptances and two waitlists (one waitlist became a rejection).

Is it normal for people to apply to less than 5 schools?

Like the other posters said it depends on a variety of factors.

I applied to 12, but looking back i didn't need to apply to so many. i just wanted to get in SOMEWHERE (and i did )

i know someone who only applied to five schools. she worked for one POI already and knew that she was virtually accepted there already but wanted to check out some other options.

[GutLogic]

I only applied to 5 schools... I knew very specifically what I wanted in a program, and because of outside factors my location was somewhat limited. It was more important for me to get in somewhere that fit my requirements, than just to get in. If I hadn't gotten in this year, I would have tried again next year.

[eco_env]

according to the poll I posted below () the most common number of applications is 4.

[frenzydude]

I applied to 11 schools. Accepted at 1 and rejected at all others. I am happy I applied to so many schools.

[Neuronista]

I applied to 4, got rejected by 2, and was interviewed by the other 2. Sometimes I think I should have applied to more, but I was restricted by location. I needed to apply to schools only in a particular state. So I'm praying that I get accepted in one of the two left!

Good luck all

[lasgirl]

I applied to 9, was accepted at 7, waitlisted at 1, rejected at 1. Obviously had I known I would've been accepted at certain schools I wouldn't have applied to my safeties (three of them were definitely safeties for me) but I wouldn't have done it any other way.

[ZeeMore21]

I won't worry about it too much Brandt...I think you were being smart in your application process. I applied to 14 schools. Given how competitive it is to get into PhD programs, and that there really isn't any such thing as having a "safety school", it only makes sense to increase your odds by applying to a lot more programs. And although I did have top choices when it came to my list, I do feel like I honestly would have been happy at any of the schools I applied to.

Also, the quality of your applications do not really have to decrease because one is applying to 10+ schools...it only means you have to start your applications way earlier than other folks. It definitely is possible.

[Brandt]

Getting 15 applications together (correctly) and getting the materials sent to the right places was almost like having another class that semester. I am not sure if I would recommend that approach but it certainly helped. I did pretty good considering the outcome.

[Golden Monkey]

I applied to 4, but in retrospect, I wish I had applied to more like 7. I think it was a very different situation from applying for my master's, where I only applied to 3 (all three were in the area, so I didn't have to relocate,) and was pretty sure I'd get into all 3, which I did. When applying for a PhD, I wish I had applied to more programs, even ones that seemed geographically unfeasible.

[ksin11]

I applied to 8 schools, though regretted applying to 2 of them like 2 weeks after sending all my paperwork in and those 2 of course were 2 of the 3 I was denied at. Ended up with 3 acceptances and 2 wait-lists.

I was originally going to apply to like 10 or 11, and my dad suggested something like 15. Probably would have just applied to 6 schools if I could do it again, but since my undergrad was in something different than what I was applying for, I wanted to be absolutely sure that I would get into atleast 1 school.

[michpc]

I applied to 8 and I regret it. I probably wouldn't have had to spend the past month agonizing over my decision, and would have saved myself some cash! oh well; live and learn!

[Owlie]

I applied to 3 PhD programs and one MS. I couldn't afford more, once you add up the GRE score reports, the transcripts and the fees! I wound up being rejected by all three PhD programs, though I was interviewed by two. I think I know where the deficiencies in my application were, so next time I'm going to apply to more (and a bigger variety) of places. I'm probably not going to apply for more than ten, as that gets rather expensive!

[Brandt]

It was expensive but I only had to do it once. I guess each person, program, and goal is different. More is never worse expect of course for the cost.