How many schools are you applying to?

[rogue]

OK, I feel better now knowing I'm not the only one who worries about location in addition to academics. Some of the programs that would be great for me academic-wise are in places that get brutally cold winters, and I hate being cold. (It would be great if I was more like glasses and loved the cold.) I guess I'll still apply to one or two of the best fits and worry about whether I can hack the weather later, if I get accepted.

As far as rumors go, apply anyways and see what happens. Rumors are rumors and you never know what you could be missing out on and what you could change at that school. It's always cool to turn down an offer later if you find out the rumor is true, but to not apply and find out the school gives tons of $...ouch.

You're probably right. At this point I'm just looking for any way to cut down my list of schools. Would it be poor form to call the DGS (or someone else at the school) and inquire about how many students they expect to fund next year? I'm leaning toward yes, but...

[littledoubty]

10-15, I am still in the process of narrowing. And these are just the universities in the US I intend to apply to, counting also the universities in Europe I will probably apply to, I should end up with 20-25 applications...

[RiverRunner]

I applied to 12 programs, with a mix of MA and PhD, and got accepted to four. My advisor always said it was a crapshoot, and the more places you apply the better shot you have at a win. That said, unless your independently wealthy, I can't imagine having the time or the money for much more than that. i agree with the sentiment that you should only pick programs you would be happy to attend if indeed you got a suitable offer.

[steiner-5]

I'm limiting myself to six. I'd sooner die than apply to 10+ schools!

[jasper.milvain]

You're probably right. At this point I'm just looking for any way to cut down my list of schools. Would it be poor form to call the DGS (or someone else at the school) and inquire about how many students they expect to fund next year? I'm leaning toward yes, but...

I would ask by e-mail and phrase it more delicately, but yes, you can ask about funding.

Hello Dr. DGS,

I am a prospective applicant for your PhD program, and have a few questions about your department. [insert one or two questions about the structure of the program and research opportunities... like buying vegetables to disguise your condoms] Also, is there any information available about the normal level of funding provided by your department? Are all grad students funded at the same level, or is funding competitive within the program?

Thank you for your time. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Student.

[johndiligent]

I've got 21 on my list right now, though I am going to wittle that down. I'm starting to contact professors/schools, and I'm sure I'll strike some off the list as I find out more about potential advisors, or look more closely at admissions requirements. I'm hoping to get it down to 15, which might be a bit excessive, but I have legitimate reasons to fear not getting in!

[joro]

I've got 21 on my list right now, though I am going to wittle that down. I'm starting to contact professors/schools, and I'm sure I'll strike some off the list as I find out more about potential advisors, or look more closely at admissions requirements. I'm hoping to get it down to 15, which might be a bit excessive, but I have legitimate reasons to fear not getting in!

I went from 36 to 15.

[atlas]

I'm going to apply to about 15-20 I think. Online applications, where an email link is sent to recommenders, makes things a lot easier for professors writing recommendations...in my opinion. I am trying to limit the amount of schools I apply to that need mailed letters of recommendations. This seems like more work for them (and me).

I am sticking to the 3-3-3 rule and then adding a few schools to each section. I am also applying to about 4 schools out of the US. I find the process of searching for schools to apply to quite time consuming!

[eastcoastdude123]

Eight or nine, all for a Master of Education.

[cheesethunder]

i think 10

a cog sci phds, 3 clincal psycs phds, 1 phil msc and the rest research psyc phds

[johndiligent]

I ultimately went from 21 to 9.

[JohnBom]

I am trying to make it 10. Yes, I am worried about not being accepted, but I also hold a full time job, and I would like to make each sop as personalized as possible.

[rainy_day]

I currently have a list of 21. I'm trying to get it down to 10-12. I'd like to finalize the list by the end of next week, so I can really dig into the FIT portion of my SoP. So far I have 6 schools I *know* I am applying to (BC, Oregon, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon (Lit), Michigan (English & WS), and Berkely (Rhetoric Program/Gender focus).

[pea-jay]

I'm probably going to apply to 3...My topnotch school, my interesting school and safety school. However I will be attending a graduate fair (the only way I can meet eastern schools while living in northern cali) and well, I wont rule out any additions to the list. Geography is key for me. Needs to be a big city and close to relatives. For me that is NYC, Chicago and DC.

[peffy1962]

Right now, I'm thinking 7 with the possibility of 2-3 more being added. I'm really trying to save my money on this, but last year I don't feel like I applied to enough schools. This year, I'm trying to incorporate safety schools, which was a dumb omission on my part last year. We shall see!

[alexis]

It's good to read that others are applying to schools based on geography. While getting a PhD is important to me, I want to stay where I am (big east coast city) for a variety of personal reasons. I'm applying to 5 programs at 3 different schools. I've heard this might be a bad idea (if one department sees you're applying to another within the school, it might hurt you), but I'm not going to let that limit my options. There was a 6th program and 4th school, a professor who seemed like he wanted to work with me, but he's leaving next year to go to another university, and no other faculty in the area of interest. So disappointed about that one, but hopefully I'll get in to at least one of the other 5. (I go back and forth from having confidence that I'll get in to thinking I'm totally screwed!)

[profound_g]

I'm trying to get my list to 8-10 schools, but it's around 14 now, which strikes me as a bit too many. Did anyone else start using somewhat arbitrary factors (like geography or rumors about funding) to whittle their lists?

I've decided that 5 is going to be the absolute maximum number for me. I'll easily use climate to whittle down my list.

But first, I'll contact potential advisers and use their responses.

I find the process of searching for schools to apply to quite time consuming!

Unbelievably! I think I deserve some kind of Master's of Grad School reasearch.

[rogue]

Unbelievably! I think I deserve some kind of Master's of Grad School reasearch.

Ditto. It's like a second full-time job... and I already have two jobs.

[acup313]

I am applying to 7. I would probably add a few more, but I can't really afford to do more. I didn't really go with the 3-3-3 rule or whatever it is, I picked 7 schools that I knew I would be happy at. Some will be harder to get in to and some will be easier. I actually had a few more "safety" schools on my list, but when it came time to apply I looked at those schools and thought that if this is the only school I get in to, I probably wouldn't go so I took them off the list.

[psycholinguist]

I applied to 8 programs (at 6 schools) last year; I was only accepted at 2, and one of them I couldn't even come close to affording. So here I am at Last Year's Safety School doing an MA that I do want, but which is in a field that I'm only somewhat excited about. Hence my return to the board for this year.

I'm not entirely sure of what to do this year. My applications are going to be MUCH stronger since a) academically speaking, my senior year of undergrad went really well, and it pulled my GPA up from 'pretty good' to 'great'; and now that I know I don't want a Ph.D. in psychology, I have a far more-specific SOP (last year I was feeling torn between psychology and linguistics). I have a very clear top choice, but I haven't decided how many other programs to apply to. I have a tentative list of 3, and am still considering a few other possibilities. The number is a lot smaller than last year's because a) I've figured out the field I'm aiming for, and there are only so many places that offer a Ph.D. in linguistics; and yeah, I probably can't afford more than that. Am hoping it'll work out all right.