How many universities should I apply to?

[sarab]

I've seen some people mentioned applications to 8-12 places, and that scares me a little bit! There are 4 programs that I really really like, 3 that seem OK, but I honestly don't see myself going there, and 3 that I would go to if I had not other choice in life.

I'm also taking money and time into consideration, and since that's an issue, applying to so many seems overwhelming.

 

For reference, I'm applying to Linguistic Anthropology MA to PhD programs.

[Monochrome Spring]

Only apply to schools that you would be willing to go to AND ENJOY. (As well as you can foresee that is). Your graduate school will be your home for a very long time, so you need to feel like you fit in there and enjoy the work that you are doing.

 

(I am applying to 4, maybe 5, if I can find another school that I like enough to give my free GRE scores to.)

[Guest |||]

The number of applications people send out is often inflated.  A couple dream schools, a couple realistic schools, and a few "safety schools".

 

 

Don't apply to "safety schools", because you know that you do not want to go there.  Apply strictly to programs you like, people you want to work with, and where you can blossom.

 

Your patience, efforts and wallet will thank you.

[jmu]

Definitely only apply to places you could see yourself spending several years. Especially if they are PhD programs. Look at the schools, the scholars that are there, the resources that are available, etc. I also looked into the cities and what life would be like there. I didn't apply to a number of top programs because I couldn't imagine living there or because there was no one that I wanted to work with. I applied to five schools and was happy with that.

[fuzzylogician]

I applied to 8 schools and in hindsight there were a couple I shouldn't have applied to and a couple that I should have but didn't. I ended up doing very well in the application process but that's not something you can know in advance and the 8 schools I chose seemed like excellent to good enough choices at the time. There is no such thing as a "safety school" in grad school applications, one person's dream school is another's fallback and what decides admissions is too subjective to be able to define clear "safe" schools. Only apply to schools that you'd go to if they were your only option; if you don't see yourself attending a certain school, for whatever reason (and don't let people tell you that non-academic reasons shouldn't affect your decision), save your money and time and don't apply there. 

[zapster]

[MadtownJacket]

Heck, I'm only applying to one, because it's the only school I can see myself going to, and I don't want to take out student loans for a school that I don't like.

Edited July 14, 2013 by HopefulMHA

[thalal78]

One of my junior colleagues in the college that I am teaching right now (in Indonesia) applied to only one school last year for PhD in Anthropology. He didn't have a GRE score (never took the test) and only an expired TOEFL score from his previous Masters' study in Leiden. He applied to Harvard Graduate School and got accepted! with full funding package for 6 years. He has very strong LORs from 3 professors. Two of them are world class professors in Anthropology. Eventually the school waived the GRE and TOEFL for him after conducting interview on skype.  He will be working with a professor who is also a Graduate Director at Harvard GSAS starting this Fall.

[Arcanen]

^^^^^

 

Some people also win the lottery. Doesn't make buying a lottery ticket a sound financial decision.

[juilletmercredi]

I think this depends a lot on you and your goals.

 

If you absolutely have to get into a PhD program next year for whatever reason, and your field is moderately competitive, 8-12 places isn't so far out of bounds.  I'm in psychology and people who really want a PhD often apply to that number of schools (especially in clinical, where 10+ is common).  However, less competitive subfields (like experimental and cognitive) often seen students applying to a smaller number of programs, like 5-10.

 

I agree, though, that you should only attend programs that you really like.  Not only do you have to spend 5-10 years there depending on the length of your program, it will also stay on your CV through the rest of your life.  You need to be proud of the school you wear there.  It's not a good look to start off your academic career by selecting a place you would go to if you had no other choice in life.

 

FWIW, I only applied to one PhD program (and four MPH programs).  I'm here.  I would say if there is only one PhD program you want to go to, then only apply there.  A PhD isn't a necessary thing and if you'd rather not go to a PhD program at all than go somewhere besides that 1 (or 4, or 2) program, then don't bother applying anywhere else.

[Chai_latte]

Yes, only apply to schools that you like (or could at least make sense of).

Application process anxiety led me to apply to 9 schools.  In hindsight, I should've only applied to 5.  The other 4 were absolute no-no's for me.  The acceptance letters from the bad-fit schools were automatically ruled out. So, what was the point?  I wasted energy/time and money applying to places that I would've been miserable attending. 

Make a comprehensive assessment of all the programs.  You don't want to overlook any.  Then, narrow down.  Get rid of all bad-fits.  As things stand now, you should really only apply to 7 places (the 4 good fits and the 3 OKs).  

[phanminh91]

Quite a number of replies, here and elsewhere in the forum, second applying to schools that fit. I'm just curious: what if those schools all happen to be top-ranked, e.g. their programs are ranked among the top 20? That possibly diminishes one's chance to get into any graduate school, and nobody wants to graduate and be jobless.

[jeffster]

A lot of people seem to be discouraging applying to schools you don't love, relative to other schools.  That's not really the right way to look at it... if you apply to two schools and your top choice is Harvard and your last choice is Boston Community College, but you don't get into Harvard, it should be irrelevant to your decision just how much more you like Harvard than Boston Community College.  The only comparison that matters is Boston Community College versus not going to school at all, because those are the choices available to you.

 

So, I'll just toss out there, it's absolutely worth the effort to apply to some safe schools, even if they're far from your first choice.  It's very, very hard to accurately judge your own merits, as anyone who has gone through grad school aplications is no doubt aware.  Applying to some safe schools can literally save you an entire year, by avoiding having to reapply with lower expectations after a year of all rejections.  With every potential app, ask yourself what you would do if you got into that school and no where else.  If the answer is "go to that school" then you might just have yourself a "safe" school.  If the answer is "not go to school" or "retry applications next year" then you should skip it.

 

I think most people would be surprised just how much you can make of an opportunity though, even at a "safe" school that isn't a perfect fit.

[sarab]

So, I'll just toss out there, it's absolutely worth the effort to apply to some safe schools, even if they're far from your first choice.  It's very, very hard to accurately judge your own merits, as anyone who has gone through grad school aplications is no doubt aware.  Applying to some safe schools can literally save you an entire year, by avoiding having to reapply with lower expectations after a year of all rejections.  With every potential app, ask yourself what you would do if you got into that school and no where else.  If the answer is "go to that school" then you might just have yourself a "safe" school.  If the answer is "not go to school" or "retry applications next year" then you should skip it.

 

Yeah, I just really don't even see myself going to the "safe places". I think I would prefer not to go and wait, so that definitely helps make a decision.

[fuzzylogician]

A lot of people seem to be discouraging applying to schools you don't love, relative to other schools. 

No, I think the relevant measure that posters are suggesting is not "don't like as much as other schools" but "would not go there if it was the only place I was admitted into." The suggestion is to think carefully about the places that for whatever reason are not as high on your radar as other schools and ask yourself whether they should be on the list at all: you might get in there (hence, you might consider them safety schools) but would you really want to go, if you were admitted? If the answer in 'no', whatever the reasons for it might be, then save yourself the time and money and don't apply there at all.

[Sigaba]

@ the OP.

 

In addition to thinking about schools you'd like to attend, think about programs in which you'd be a good fit. And by good fit, I don't mean just for yourself but also for the department. Examples of what I mean include:

• If you're a person who needs professors who are going to be "hands on," then Happyland University may not be the place for you if they make it clear that you're going to be on your own.
• If you want to develop a professional presence that is highly collegial, SuperDooper State may be a bad fit if its faculty members habitually write combative essays, papers, books, and book reviews.
• If you want teaching to be the priority in your career, Ray of Sunshine Tech may not be for you if most of the undergraduate teaching is done by TAs and GSIs while the professors focus on getting published. (Getting thrown into the deep end is not the same as getting taught how to teach by professors who love to teach.)

When you assess these types of issues, the schools that are #1, #2, and #3 on your list initially may end up as #9, #10, and #screwit. Finally, if you do expand your due dilligence to include these types of considerations, it can really show up in your SoP, campus visit, and interviews. In turn, you could have a competitive advantage over applicants who, by the numbers, look better on paper.

[sarab]

@ the OP.

 

In addition to thinking about schools you'd like to attend, think about programs in which you'd be a good fit. And by good fit, I don't mean just for yourself but also for the department. Examples of what I mean include:

• If you're a person who needs professors who are going to be "hands on," then Happyland University may not be the place for you if they make it clear that you're going to be on your own.
• If you want to develop a professional presence that is highly collegial, SuperDooper State may be a bad fit if its faculty members habitually write combative essays, papers, books, and book reviews.
• If you want teaching to be the priority in your career, Ray of Sunshine Tech may not be for you if most of the undergraduate teaching is done by TAs and GSIs while the professors focus on getting published. (Getting thrown into the deep end is not the same as getting taught how to teach by professors who love to teach.)

When you assess these types of issues, the schools that are #1, #2, and #3 on your list initially may end up as #9, #10, and #screwit. Finally, if you do expand your due dilligence to include these types of considerations, it can really show up in your SoP, campus visit, and interviews. In turn, you could have a competitive advantage over applicants who, by the numbers, look better on paper.

 

Thank you for this. I've approached this by emailing grad students at the universities, and that's actually really helped me confirm my decisions.

[Sigaba]

Thank you for this. I've approached this by emailing grad students at the universities, and that's actually really helped me confirm my decisions.

 

Sarab--

 

I would be very careful about accepting the guidance of grad students in a program you want to attend. Relationships between graduate students and faculty members can be profoundly fluid for the least of reasons. Also, a professor can have a terrible reputation among graduate students because everyone is going on hearsay and scuttlebutt rather than what they actually know.  And also, the professor that actually cares the most for graduate students could be resented because she pushes students the hardest.

 

Instead, I suggest that you rely more on the research you do on professors themselves. If a professor is a jerk, it will show in her book reviews. If a professor is a rock upon whom others find shelter from an indifferent world, it will show in the acknowledgements. If a professor thinks teaching is more important than publishing, it will show in the trajectory of her career.

 

Circling back to the views of graduate students, if you do continue on that path, do what you can to talk to ABDs. They will have had more time to lick their wounds, figure out what was really going on that semester when Professor Happenstance appeared to go bonkers, and, most of all, they will have had more time to develop relationships in which they're being treated as and behaving like peers of the professors. (If you look around the Grad Cafe, you will find a number of threads in which newer graduate students express alarm/anger/discontent over a professor's actions or attitude. In those same threads, graduate students who have been around the block a couple of times will often shrug and ask "So why is this a problem?")

[sarab]

Well, luckily, I have only heard positive things about the professors and programs, so talking to grad students has confirmed my choices in that sense.

I've also talked to my thesis advisor who did his PhD at one of my choices, worked at another, and his wife (same field), who did her M.A at one of my choices and her PhD at another one (that covers all four!). So while I understand and appreciate what you're saying, I really do think that talking to other students has been helpful.

I have my own research, of course, but this is something else that has helped.