busybeinganxious Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 I've noticed that it a great many folks have applied to an impressive number of schools. I was restricted not only by geography (I can't move...I have a kid that's a Senior next year!) but by the fact I wanted to study at a school that seemed to "fit" with my interests. The result? I applied to 2. I readily admit there were financial considerations attached as well, but now I'm now wondering if I should have applied to a couple of more, even if I had no intent of attending just to list more schools on my applications. Anybody else even kind of in this boat?
BeatrizBear Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 I applied to six schools. I'm not limited to location so they're all over the place. I've seen people apply to at least double that. I had the money saved up so I could have applied to more, but I couldn't find any more than six schools that I felt were a fit for me. I had at least four more on my list before they got cut. I decided to only pick schools that I was sure I would attend.
FinallyAccepted Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 I've noticed that it a great many folks have applied to an impressive number of schools. I was restricted not only by geography (I can't move...I have a kid that's a Senior next year!) but by the fact I wanted to study at a school that seemed to "fit" with my interests. The result? I applied to 2. I readily admit there were financial considerations attached as well, but now I'm now wondering if I should have applied to a couple of more, even if I had no intent of attending just to list more schools on my applications. Anybody else even kind of in this boat? Well I don't know that you would need to apply to more "just to list more schools" on your apps. Generally, you'd only want to apply if you would realistically go to that school. If you have family constraints, then it makes sense you would be limited geographically. That being said, you might have a better chance if you spread a wider net, which is why many people do apply to a number of different schools. I applied to 11, after being rejected from all 9 last year. My area is extremely competitive, and even a good (amazing) fit may not lead to an acceptance because there are so many applicants who may have been better fits. If it doesn't happen, next year you can apply for more when your kid is graduating.
EelPoweredHovercraft Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 I only applied to 2 when I was appyling for my master's and I applied to 4 for my PhD. I have specific things I want to work on, so I only applied to places that were doing what I wanted to do. I also didn't want to apply to places that were obviously reaches just to see if it would work. My thought was that sure, I could apply to Harvard, or I could take $100 and set it on fire. The end result would probably be the same. kurayamino, classALIBI, awash_ and 2 others 5
grad_wannabe Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 I applied to 7, but many of my coworkers who are in quantitative fields (mostly economics) applied to at least 15. They said they focused on getting perfect GRE scores and then just sent out a wave of app clones. Didn't contact any POIs, and didn't bother tailoring the SOP for each school.
-hermes- Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 What's the point of applying to schools that you have no intention of attending? I applied to one school for my master's, and luckily, that worked out for me and I got in. That approach isn't advisable for PhD programs since they're more selective, but there's not much you can do if you're geographically constrained. See how it goes and be prepared to reapply next year if need be. firewisp11 and Crucial BBQ 2
TakeruK Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 The number of schools on your application list does not really matter. Also, if you simply wanted to list more schools, you can list more schools without actually applying to them. (I changed my mind about one school in late December, so my early December applications listed a school I didn't actually end up applying to). There's no point applying to schools you don't want to attend, and the schools you did apply to are not going to base their decisions on the number of schools you listed!
eeee1923 Posted January 22, 2015 Posted January 22, 2015 I applied to 1 program for my masters (got in) and 7 for my phd which was slightly more than I planned but I only applied to places I could realistically see myself attending and living (which geographically limited my choices slightly).
ZebraFinch Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 I applied to three. My GRE was awful and I don't have much experience so I didn't want to spend money applying to a ton of schools. I barely have a shot at the three I applied to. And because my husband is an immigrant, certain areas of the country are out of the question (like DC because all jobs in his field require a clearance), so geography played a huge part too. grad_wannabe 1
PD33 Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) I only applied to 6 because they are the ones that are the best fit for what I want to study. I don't think that having a long list is necessarily better (or worse), and I couldn't see myself applying to places, even schools into which I might have been accepted, if they weren't a good fit. Edited January 23, 2015 by PD33
Guest Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 Well, I look around on this site and it seems that many have applied to more than 10 xD. I am aware that PhD programs are waaaaay more competitive though. It would have only been initially 6 schools in my case. The seventh one came up because the program waived its $65 application fee for everyone (yay). There are some other schools that I wish that I could have applied to. My horrendous Gre and financial issues play a slightly important role towards that though. I' in the boat of currently being an unemployed full-time undergrad student.
Chubberubber Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 I'm in your boat busybeinganxious! I applied to only 2 programs for geographical and research interests reasons as well. I knew well ahead of time that I would only apply to those two, so I could make sure each application is the best it could be for that particular program. Maybe it's just me, but I would never go to a school I'm not 100% happy with and therefore won't apply to such school. In addition, I think it might actually look better on our applications that we only applied to 2 programs- it shows that we're focisee and serious about the programs we applied to. In my case, when it came up in an interview, I think the POI liked the fact that I only applied to two programs because it showed my dedication to that particular (very particular in fact) field of research.
ilnomedellarosa Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 I applied to 11 - like shana.teacher, I was rejected by 9 last year. So I'll second her in that it all depends on how competitive your field is. My recommenders explicitly told me I should apply to as many as possible. On the other hand, if you only applied to 2, you probably paid closer attention to each school's research. Let's hope it works out!
angel_kaye13 Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 I've noticed that it a great many folks have applied to an impressive number of schools. I was restricted not only by geography (I can't move...I have a kid that's a Senior next year!) but by the fact I wanted to study at a school that seemed to "fit" with my interests. The result? I applied to 2. I readily admit there were financial considerations attached as well, but now I'm now wondering if I should have applied to a couple of more, even if I had no intent of attending just to list more schools on my applications. Anybody else even kind of in this boat? Me!!!!! *^^* I don't have kids, but I had to be very practical in my choice of grad. schools. I only applied to three. Now, geographical consideration was not my only consideration; I still needed them to be a good fit/a good program. But I certainly had to be practical, practical, practical. As silly as it sounds, the thought didn't even occur to me that I would apply to 15 schools (which seems to be the norm here). (HOW do they pay for that, grad school is expensive enough! ) But I wouldn't worry about numbers: if you're a good fit, you'll get in, whether you applied to 2 or 20. Many people are probably just playing the "odds/numbers game," which is it's own brand of smart. Both ways are viable, though.^^ :-)
busybeinganxious Posted January 23, 2015 Author Posted January 23, 2015 Thank you so much everyone! I'm picking my choices to bits in my head right now, and this was but one of the things I started double (or quadruple) guessing myself on.
FinallyAccepted Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 I applied to 11 - like shana.teacher, I was rejected by 9 last year. So I'll second her in that it all depends on how competitive your field is. My recommenders explicitly told me I should apply to as many as possible. On the other hand, if you only applied to 2, you probably paid closer attention to each school's research. Let's hope it works out! Have you anything heard from anyone yet, doppelgänger?
ilnomedellarosa Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 shana.teacher, Nothing so far 8 of them had January deadlines, so it will probably take them a while to make up their minds. I'm trying to stay positive. I see you had one interview- congratulations, and best of luck with all of them!
elindy Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 I'm in the same boat: I live in the suburbs just outside of NYC, my husband has a good job in the city and I have two children. We love our community, it has great public schools, and I decided I wasn't willing to uproot my family in order to pursue a PhD. Luckily, because I live near New York, there are great programs to choose from in applying; not so luckily they are hugely competitive. So I've only applied to three: Columbia, NYU and CUNY. I've been taking Continuing Ed classes at Columbia and love it, so am really hoping I get in but I recognize that it's a long shot. I think you just have to apply to where you'd be willing to go and focus on what seems feasible with your current lifestyle. People who apply to many, many schools are those who are able to be anywhere in the country; if that were my case I certainly would have applied to more.
awash_ Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 My field is Planning - there aren't a ton of PAB-accredited programs out there. I'm not constrained geographically or financially, but the school that was the best fit for me happened to be in my home state! I looked at UWashington and UT Austin, but their POIs weren't responsive at all and it's difficult to find any meaningful student work. And when I talked to a couple of my undergrad professors about my goals, many of them recommended the in-state option as opposed to my other choices due to availability of funding, cost of living, and relative brand name. It also helps that my goal school has a Planner-in-Residence. Prestige doesn't mean much in planning (unless you're pursuing PhD status), so I wasn't too worried about big names like Harvard or Columbia... especially because their programs are reputed to be not so great. Although it'd be cool if I had the requisites to get into MIT. Whomp. Plus, I like holding on to whatever money I can. There's no way I was paying 10-15 schools to review my materials and possibly reject me. And even if they accepted me, I'd have to decide which app fees to let go down the toilet. I'm too cheap for all of that. tl;dr: I only applied to one school because it's a perfect fit in terms of research, practicum, and financing.
niffler Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 I'm in a similar situation in that I am unable to relocate for school, so I ended up only applying to one school. My husband and I are both from the area and he has a good job that he likes, we own a home here, and we have 5 kids who are in excellent schools that we don't want to move. Also, since we have custody of my stepdaughter we would have to get a court order to move from the county, which would be a long, difficult process with no guaranteed results. Luckily I'm not applying to anything extremely competitive like a PhD program, but having my options so limited makes this process pretty nerve-wracking.
WhatAmIDoingNow Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) I only applied to three for my master program and it worked out for the best. I only applied to schools that had courses and opportunities I valued, were in locations that I was willing to move to, and had the potential for low cost through affordable pricing or funding. There was the dream, safety, and whim. I was rejected from my safety school, wait listed for my dream school, and accepted at my whim school. The deadline to accept the whim school was before the wait list acceptances were to be announced, so I went with the whim. My whim actually ended up having far more opportunity for my field and research opportunities than the other two. It also ended up being cheaper than my in-state safety school with the funding I received. I am doing the same route with my PhD applications. If I don't get into the three schools that I have thoroughly researched for fit, then I would rather not do a PhD. I have met and worked with too many PhD students over the years that went to programs that do not fit with what they want to do and they were/are miserable. Quite a few never completed their dissertation. It is too big of a commitment to not fit with the program and there are other career opportunities out there. Edited January 23, 2015 by WhatAmIDoingNow awash_ 1
Rose Tyler Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 I applied to five, which the expectation to apply to four more that are masters. I had a whole bunch more that I wanted to apply to, but that's all I could afford. Plus I had to drop a couple top choices because of GRE cut-offs. There's no point in applying to schools that you have no intention of attending just to "have more." Way too much time, money, and effort for absolutely no reward. If I have to go another cycle, my intention is to apply to a much larger range of schools, from all over the country rather than limiting myself geographically (even though my limit was just "East") as long as there's a potential fit.
FoggyAnhinga Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 When I applied for master's I only applied to 4 schools, and luckily it worked out - perhaps it was luck, perhaps it was my qualifications (though they were minimal at the time since I was finishing up my undergrad). It completely depends on the field. I applied to more schools for PhD since getting into a PhD program in ecology has so many random factors, hence it's best not to rely on only a handful number of schools for a guaranteed admission.
HistoryMystery Posted January 23, 2015 Posted January 23, 2015 I was going to apply to 5 but upped it to 7 at the last minute. TBH at some point you're not improving your chances, just spending money. The problem is that that number differs for everyone. whosthat 1
busybeinganxious Posted January 23, 2015 Author Posted January 23, 2015 I was debating a 3rd school, but it would be at least a 90 minute drive one way (more with traffic) and I just wasn't excited about the program. It seemed silly to apply in the end. My current thinking is that if I don't get in anywhere I may do a master's just to keep a toe in the door. Course, if I don't get funded that means a job..which in turn means school will be part time....which in turn means I could potentially become a grandmother before becoming a PhD. Now where did I leave that corkscrew......
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now