One-itis during application season

[danisj]

I'm trying hard not to get fixated on one specific school.

 

I know I shouldn't be so focused on one...I'm not a stellar applicant by any means. I would thank my lucky stars if I got into any school. For goodness sakes, I'm applying to 8 fantastic MS programs that would fit me!

 

I don't want to be disappointed, but I can't seem to shake this obsession with one school. Has anyone (Masters/PhD) overcome a similar fixation during application season?

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I'm pretty much in your same exact boat. I'm applying to the 8 schools in the country that offer an MS in my rare field. That being said, there's only one I want to go to. The only way I would even consider the other 7 is if I don't get into this one. The good news for me and you is, it's much easier to get into MS programs than PhDs, so you kinda can get fixated on you. Best of luck. 

[juilletmercredi]

I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with a fixation on one school at this stage.  I think it's completely fine to have a very clear first choice, and furthermore, I think it's okay not to be excited (or very excited) about multiple programs.  Unlike undergrad, grad school isn't a necessity, so I think it's totally okay to have the mindset "I would only go to Schools B through E if I don't get into School A" or even "If I don't get into School A or B, I won't go to grad school.  I'll try again next year." (Unless, of course, you are being unreasonable about your chances and/or you really need the degree to do what you want to do.)

 

For my part, when I was applying to programs (1 PhD and 4 MPH) the PhD was the dream school; one of my MPHs was a great second choice, and another MPH was an okay third.  The other two programs I really didn't want to attend, and wasn't very excited about, and honestly the last choice I would have only considered attending if I didn't get into any of my top schools (which is ironic because it's the #1 program in my field, lol!  But I didn't want to go there).