How many schools are you applying to?

[litkid]

So I was wondering: for those in English and/or Humanities and/or Rhetoric, how many schools are you applying to? How many schools count as too many? How many count as not enough? What's the average number of schools we should apply to if we want to get at least a couple of acceptances (assuming our dossier is strong enough)?

[waparys]

This is discussed in a bunch of other topics, but I'd say 10 is about the average...some people apply to up to 15-20. I think I'm applying to about 8.

[thinkagain]

An even 10.

[Two Espressos]

I'm applying to 7-8 programs. I'd apply to more, but I'm hindered by finances.

[sebastiansteddy]

I have a list of 15 right now... my advisor just suggested one more though, and I think that one is a good idea. I am either going to swap one out and keep it at 15, or do 16. I know it's a lot...

[practical cat]

2 MA, about 6-8 PhD. I think you can probably get a really solid sense from looking at sig tags and the school lists thread but I would guess 8-12 is about where most people fall. But number of applications has very little to do with chance of acceptance, I think. Well, unless you don't send any at all.

[Gauche]

Although advisors, mentors, colleagues, etc. suggest that you apply to "many" (anywhere in the range between 8 and 14 or so), if you don't have time to really make each application outstanding, then it's possibly a waste of time to apply to so many. If you have the time to tailor your applications to 12+ schools and especially the money to apply, go for it! The more you apply to, the more chances you have I suppose, but it also depends on what rankings the programs you are applying to fall under. If you're applying to all top 20 programs, you're probably not going to get as good of a chance as someone who applies to a variety of programs in high tier, mid tier, and low tier.

And for the record, I'm applying to 8 PhD programs and 1 MA program. I might even knock off one PhD program depending on how the budget looks.

[antecedent]

I'm hoping to have the finances to apply to 11 PhD programs next fall. For myself, I feel that 10 +/- 2 is a sane amount. Any fewer than 8 is a bit risky, but with any more than 12 you risk spreading yourself a bit thin/applying to programs that aren't right for you but are amazing/having to sell the family farm to afford grad apps.

[ETA]: I think it ultimately comes down to how many strong, well-tailored applications can you produce in one cycle. Of course there will be some over lap, but considering you should probably be tailoring your SOP to each school, potentially tailoring your writing sample if one or more program has a very specific requirement, plus all the work involved in the GRE, chasing down LORs, transcripts etc., there may be a limit on the amount of competitive applications one can produce in a season.

Sorry, now I'm just thinking aloud. YMMV, for sure.

Edited October 20, 2012 by antecedant

[skybythelight]

I'm applying to nine total: five PhDs and four MAs. I was originally aiming for ten, but I knocked a few from my list because of fit/location/financial factors.

[mostlytoasty]

14. I applied to 11 last year and was waitlisted at three.

[NowMoreSerious]

I'm applying to 13. I may add another though. I mean once you finish your Writing Sample, and Statement of Purpose it's mostly a matter of the fit paragraphs, right? I don't see the big difference between 10, and lets say 15. More fit paragraphs are tough, but probably worth the time and the risk.

[sebastiansteddy]

I'm applying to 13. I may add another though. I mean once you finish your Writing Sample, and Statement of Purpose it's mostly a matter of the fit paragraphs, right? I don't see the big difference between 10, and lets say 15. More fit paragraphs are tough, but probably worth the time and the risk.

Between my 15-16 different schools, I have about 5 different "versions" of the statement, emphasizing things differently based on the emphases of different programs. For example, for one program I may emphasize theoretical methodology while for another I may emphasize something like the pure literary aspects of my research. That is sort of a crude example, but my statements do vary more than just the fit paragraph.

[NowMoreSerious]

Between my 15-16 different schools, I have about 5 different "versions" of the statement, emphasizing things differently based on the emphases of different programs. For example, for one program I may emphasize theoretical methodology while for another I may emphasize something like the pure literary aspects of my research. That is sort of a crude example, but my statements do vary more than just the fit paragraph.

That makes sense and is perfectly understandable. My statements only vary in the fit paragraph because most all of the schools I'm applying to emphasize theory or interdisciplinary type work and my statement reflects this.