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Application Remorse


CAPoliSciPhD

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So now that all of the applications are in and we have nothing to do but wait (well, I'm sure we all have something we SHOULD be doing)...is anyone having application remorse?

There are seriously 4 schools that I regret applying to (watch, the only program I get into will be one of those) - I was stoked about them until I went through the application process for those 4 and now I just have a bad feeling about them all... for different reasons, some it's the people involved, some it was the more I went through the process the less I felt like I would even fit into the program (but I was already 3/4 finished so I felt too invested to just not apply)...

anyone else feel like this?

or am I just a mental case?

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Oh hell yeah. That's me for sure.

I think there are three programs I could just as easily have left off my list. But oh well. The apps are all in now. I definitely have the same fear as you: that I'll only get into one of those three. Yikes.

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After reconsidering things, I think I would have added one school to my list. It would have been a backup, but since they admitted me last year, it would have been a relatively secure backup. Instead I left them off because I already had 14 schools on my list, all of which I would prefer to attend (with maybe one exception). Hopefully I'll get into at least one of the fourteen, and this will be a non-issue.

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I think this is really the kind of thing that will have a totally different answer in hindsight, when results are in. There are one or two schools I had trouble even convincing myself to apply to, due to less than inspiring conversations with faculty, and the fact that they're stretches, but applied to anyway because they are such "good schools." If I get into them with funding, and not into the places I'm more thrilled about, perhaps I'll change my mind. If I don't, I'll definitely regret it.

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Last year, I did not do enough research in the beginning and applied to 4 schools but only really wanted to go to one of them (all eggs in one basket = bad idea).

This time, my plan at the beginning was to pick 9 schools and allow myself to drop up to 3 of them as I was doing applications if I found that they weren't worth it anymore.

I ended up picking 10 schools that were all much more exciting and much better fits than I thought I would find. Even with the wide range of prestige between my schools, I could honestly go to any one of them, if accepted. So as of now: no regrets. :D

But we'll see how I feel when I start hearing back.

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I would have loved to have applied to more. The money train ran out.

LOL very true...

I wish I'd applied to more and maybe tried to find a few more IR focused programs as I've gone pretty PolSci while still planning to specialise in IR. That came more out of what the schools I wanted to go to were offering and the decision that 5yrs in Washington now would be too hectic a start if that's where I ended up, similar thinking with NYC. I've applied to 5 schools, and had planned on applying to 6 but due to one of my recommenders being completely useless and money running out I didn't have time to start applying to more.

I think the combination of doing final year undergrad, the GRE, getting out of a bad break-up and extra-curricular commitments meant I was juggling too much to be one of the 15+ application people. I still hate the feeling that I've applied in a slightly half-cocked way though, but keeping my average up was a pressing concern at the time, and I'm hoping it won't have damaged my chances too much. I'm hoping this is just post-app blues, but seeing some of the rejections on Applycorner was very sobering.

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