Anyone else regretting not applying to more schools?

[heymanyo]

Comfort yourself with the fact that those two schools have notoriously irritating applications to fill out. UMich took forever. My friend who applied to UT said that he'd rather have another catheter put in than apply there again.

How do you mean? I applied to UT and didn't think it was that out of the ordinary. Berkeley was 100000x more irritating, IMO

[kbupz]

I am in the EXACT same situation, also CS, applied to 7 and tried to perfect 2-3. Which schools did you apply to?

CMU, Cornell, MIT, and UPenn are the schools I'd really like to go to. If I don't get into any of those (which is certainly possible), I'll have to seriously consider whether it might not be better to get a Masters' or more work experience first (the former would probably help more). For now I'll just remain hopeful, and remember that there's a large school near me with a late deadline for their master's program if worst comes to worst.

[ErinM]

I was regretting only applying to five, but I got two acceptances yesterday (phone calls within ten minutes of each other - I worried that I was dreaming!), so it's going to turn out fine (as long as someone gives me money).

[akwok]

I only applied to one school (Masters CS at UBC), so if I don't get in I'm screwed. Regrets? I'll regret it once I get the rejection letter :shock:

[ridgey]

If I had more money, and was less concerned with being bothersome for my recommenders (and, if I'm honest, was better organised), I would have applied for 2-5 more than the 6 I managed.

[willtherebestars]

I was planning on 8 or so, but I only ended up having money for five! But really, after I decided what I really wanted to work on and with whom, it was easy to make the choices. The only problem is that they're all extremely competitive programs...! So now I'm wishing I had at least applied to some masters programs. We'll see! Good luck to everyone!

[indy4ever]

I don't think this is the right time to be talking about regrets. Wait until you're holding ten rejection letters. Wait until you're four years into a thesis at a program you hate. Keep waiting - it might never happen.

I have applied to ten schools that are a real stretch for me, in the firm knowledge that if I don't get into these ones then I would probably not want to continue down the academic path. I know also that I made my applications as good as I could make them, and that I applied to schools that seemed like the right places at the time. Whether or not my applications were in fact rubbish, or the schools were in fact not the right ones for me, is almost besides the point now. I had to take a decision, and I took it as best I could.

Even if I end up holding ten rejection letters, I know, most of all, that I would regret it more if I hadn't applied at all. If I hadn't explored this option and applied, I would still have this romanticised view of going off for further study. Especially after all the stuff I have read about what life in academia is really like - it's as hard or harder as all my other options. There are a few things I could have done better with the application (I already know that now) but regrets? Come on.

You don't really know, after all, whether these other programs or better than the ones you actually went for. Take another example - my personal statement. Could I have written it better? I had four or five people (some of them pretty good professors) go over my statement, and although they all suggested changes, the actual statement didn't change much. Nor did any of them make similar sugestions. Some of them flagged as bad things that others flagged as good. So who's to say that the statement could have been substantially better? Who's to know whether you could have got into X if only you hadn't wasted energy applying to Y? Maybe you only got rejected from X because X's DoG wasn't paying attention when they read your statement, or one of the committee members thinks you are intelligent but randomly dislikes your field.

[lilith142]

I applied to 4 schools, and I just got my first rejection. I am thinking I should have applied to atleast 25 :roll:

Freaking out now.... Really don't want to waste this year

[tshaunprice]

I applied at seven out of a list I made of appx. 15. Your wallet only goes so far!

[nyfilmfest]

Sort of... I only applied to two schools, but I am working full-time. It would be tough to leave a job that pays well to go to a school I'm less than 100% thrilled with.

If I get into either, I'll go. If I get into neither, I'll cry. If I get into both, I'll have an exceptionally hard decision to make. :mrgreen:

[ebee]

I only applied to three. I will ony regret this number if I'm not accepted to any of those three.

Really though, they're all schools I'd like to go to and I wouldn't have wanted to bother my recommenders or myself, frankly, with many more forms and statements. I also have a solid full time job, so I certainly won't be too far in the dumps if I'm not accepted anywhere.

[medianerd]

Well, there's no such thing as a safety school in PhD admissions, really. I swear they can sense if they aren't a top choice, and with most programs taking so few people these days, nowhere is safe

I felt like 10 programs was too few, but I was going broke when I got to 10.

I had applied to 9 but the last one was a panic application.

:?

[psycholinguist]

Quite the opposite for me; I've had more success than I expected. I applied to eight programs (at six schools; I'm feeling a little torn between two fields) and, having had my applications met with a lot of enthusiasm by two of my top three, I already feel as if I have a hard enough decision to make! By this point there's really only one more that I'm eager to hear from, and I don't think I'm going to care all that much if I don't get into it.

I don't think this is the right time to be talking about regrets. Wait until you're holding ten rejection letters. Wait until you're four years into a thesis at a program you hate. Keep waiting - it might never happen.

I have applied to ten schools that are a real stretch for me, in the firm knowledge that if I don't get into these ones then I would probably not want to continue down the academic path. I know also that I made my applications as good as I could make them, and that I applied to schools that seemed like the right places at the time. Whether or not my applications were in fact rubbish, or the schools were in fact not the right ones for me, is almost besides the point now. I had to take a decision, and I took it as best I could.

Wholeheartedly agreed. Sometimes you just sort of have to sit back and let things happen, then make the most of how they turn out.

[riss287]

My field is a little limited (Disability history), so I only applied to 5. I'm not really regretting not applying anywhere else because the other few that had disability programs focused on rehab, not history, so I did what I could with a new program. It is killer waiting though. My worst fear is not getting in anywhere. I don't know what I'd do...

[Sonic]

I only wish I'd applied to more schools when the massive wave of panic hits. Other than those fleeting moments, I'm comfortable with the 10 schools I chose.

[Tonights]

I'm trying to talk myself out of applying to a not-good program in a place I don't want to live - but which has an admissions deadline of 2/15. It's so tempting to apply there even though I know I wouldn't want to go if I got in (which I probably would).

[sfbbgurl]

I applied to five schools, and now Im not too confident I'll get into any of them. We shall see though. If there were more schools that offered a program in the field Im interested in (environmental psychology) or something close, then I would have applied to more.

*Sigh*

[Victory]

I feel like I may have over estimated my chances at admission. I'm sweating bullets, and really wish I had applied to some more "target" and/or "safety" schools. Then again, I would have no problem attending any school that I applied to, so maybe that's key also.

[8in2009]

On the one hand, I'm sure that I want to go to graduate school, so I regret anything that I left undone that might have given me a better chance.

On the other hand, waiting for graduate schools to tell me what is going to happen with my life is awful. At least I only have to wait eight schools (well, seven now).

[workerparasite]

akwok, I'm in the same boat. I only applied to one (MA - US History at Simon Fraser) and I'm really, really wishing I had applied to more. I didn't want to go through the hassle of moving back to the US just yet and there aren't many suitable advisers for this topic in Canada, but I'm going to be sweating bullets until I hear from SFU.

[golonghorns]

Yes! I wish I applied to more in the the top ten...I applied to two that are ranked number ten...but I do wish I applied to some ranked higher like some ivys....i kind of just read the requirements and saw if i matched and then applied...i didnt apply to any where i was lower than the requirements and i should have. but it is ok because if i get into my top choice then it wont matter anyway since i would have chosen that over the ivys.

sorry if it sounds like i'm rambling. i am antsy.

[GirlattheHelm]

I'm really upset. I applied to schools that looked good - but I'm worried I sincerely don't have a reasonable chance at any of the universities I applied to and I now feel like I needed at least 4 low ball schools to shoot for. I mean, I have a lot of good things going for me: a 3.9 GPA in my major, an overall GPA of 3.7, anthropological field work experience for a month in a hole in Alaska*; a stellar statement checked over by 3 other department heads and the graduate committee for a program at my current school. I have in field experience with Historic Preservation, working with a guru in the federal government - who is my boss, professor, and friend (and one of my referees!). Plus, I have stellar recommendations from people I've worked closely with. But, sincerely, I can keep telling myself that it's going to work out by my GRE's were awful and they have doomed me. And they probably have, which sucks even more.

I only applied to 6 schools - three of which are obviously out of my range. And even the other three don't seem that appetizing. But I'm at my quota and I can't spend anymore money.

Life sucks sometimes. But, I suppose you can't say you've ever really lived life without having a little regret, right? :wink:

* Note: It doesn't really mean anything for a road hog like me who daydreams about truck driving, but I drove 12,000 miles, across the US and Canada and back, for my field school - but I did do some cultural work in part of the Northwest Territories just because I love NWT - calling out to anyone from Fort Simpson and Yellowknife!

[Victory]

Girlatthehelm are you applying to PhD programs? Historic preservation (MA) programs aren't too competetive on the whole. This is an odd year (huge increase in applicants), but in 2007 even Cornell's acceptance rate was somewhere near 60% (you can find the official numbers on the APA website). Again, I'm referring to MA programs, but it sounds like you have some solid stats.

[GirlattheHelm]

Girlatthehelm are you applying to PhD programs? Historic preservation (MA) programs aren't too competetive on the whole. This is an odd year (huge increase in applicants), but in 2007 even Cornell's acceptance rate was somewhere near 60% (you can find the official numbers on the APA website). Again, I'm referring to MA programs, but it sounds like you have some solid stats.

I only applied to the PhD programs in Anthropology. And so, yeah, I applied for the Masters at Cornell and the University of Vermont. Granted, I have a lot of friends at Cornell and, although it has a great name, it never really impressed me that much... even less when I had to spend $70 bucks on the application. But it's a good name on a resume so if I could squeeze in, I'd definately be interested...

However, I want to go to the University of Vermont for all I'm worth. I don't know if it's a poor compulsion or what, but I love Vermont and need to get out of New York State and it's like this weird pull - and somewhat not of my own doing. UVM has a fantastic relationship with their State Historic Preservation Office, where I wanna work, and it's in the perfect location. Hell! The perfect situation. But I also have this itch that they'll look at my GRE's, laugh, slap the rejection on it and send it at me via pigeon.

Worse yet? I've psyched myself out and can't tell the difference between a 3.0 and a 3.7 let alone a Masters or Ph.D. program and admissions difficulty...

... But thank you for making me feel better for saying I have a chance.

[hornedfrogmeg]

I only applied to 4 school. Way risky I know, but because I couldn't take the GRE in time I only applied to the film/media studies programs that did not require the GRE. I feel very sure I won't get into any of the programs I applied which it's really scary for me being that I can't find work right now either. I am hoping that if I don't get into any of the programs I applied to I can get into Academy of Art University since they have continuous enrollment.