How Many Schools Are You Applying To?

[cbx2v]

I'm looking at MA programs in international relations/public policy. I've whittled my schools down to eight programs (and two fellowships). I'm a bit worried that's too many... But how many is too many? I am (probably irrationally) terrified that I won't get in anywhere, so I want to apply to as many programs as I can, but if I apply to too many programs the quality of my applications may go down. What is everyone else doing?

 
 

[sleeplesswithcoffee]

I don't think that's too many! I'm applying to eight right now but that could go up to 10 potentially. I think the average might be around 7 but to me, being careful with the selectivity of the schools you apply to and the amount of effort you can put into each application is more important. Good luck!

[pubpol101]

I'd also recommend contacting every school you're thinking about and asking them about their financial aid--i.e. what percentage of admitted students get aid and what is the typical range of aid in terms of percentage of tuition covered. Very few (if any) policy schools are transparent enough on this so you have to seek the information out yourself, beyond whatever the website might say.

 

[cbx2v]

Gotcha. Good tips! Thanks! 

[Quickmick]

Something I read here made a lot of sense to me: applying to more programs won't increase the chance of success, but will decrease statistical variance. I was between 5 and 12 and ended up sending out 8. When I got in to my current program, I sent 3 MS apps and about 7 law school apps.

[saranyc234]

Does anyone have a list of the top 20 policy programs? I am looking for more career focused schools that are strong in development econ. I have HKS, SAIS and SIPA on my list, but wanted to possibly research a few more programs that could be a possibility. I am not trying to just apply to the top 5 programs, but figured the top 20 list would be a good place to research additional programs.  I listed the programs that are most frequently mentioned on this forum, feel free to add:

- HKS

- SAIS

- SIPA

- Yale Jackson

- Chicago Harris

- Carnegie Mellon Heinz

- Berkeley Goldman

- Syracuse Maxwell

- GWU

- American 

 

[chocolatecheesecake]

I would highly suggest whittling down the list of schools you're applying to for a number of reasons.

1) There's  a good chance you're not actually interested in all of them. Schools are quite different from each other, not simply geographically or in terms of name and prestige, but in their focuses, faculty specializations, program structure, cohort size, school culture, likely career trajectories, and the sorts of student they attract. If you truly have a good sense of what you want to get out of your graduate education, then you should be able to narrow your list down to the schools that are actually going to offer that to you.

2) If you don't get into any of those schools, you can always wait a year or two, brush up your credentials, and try again. More work experience is a plus when it comes to the fields of graduate education we're interested in, and will give you an even better shot for funding. This is not like applying to undergraduate programs. 

3) You're wasting money on application fees not to mention your recommenders' time applying to schools that you are not really interested in. Admissions committees can really tell if you are a good fit, and if you've put in the time to get to know their program. They are looking for people who are passionate about their program, and if you're not, it will come through loud and clear in your application. 

4) The worst case scenario: if you add more schools to your list just because you want to make sure you get in somewhere, you might end up wasting a lot more money and 2 years of your life just to attend a school that isn't going to get you where you want to be.

Practically speaking, I think a good range is between 3-6 schools. For me, I researched a lot of school sites, emailed professors, and ended up applying to 4, which felt like a bit of a risk, but it made me happy to know I was choosing all four for the right reasons. Finding that sort of confidence in what you're doing is, in my opinion, the perfect antidote for the irrational fear of being denied from all your schools. 

[SenNoodles]

On 10/14/2016 at 10:42 AM, saranyc234 said:

Does anyone have a list of the top 20 policy programs? I am looking for more career focused schools that are strong in development econ. I have HKS, SAIS and SIPA on my list, but wanted to possibly research a few more programs that could be a possibility. I am not trying to just apply to the top 5 programs, but figured the top 20 list would be a good place to research additional programs.  I listed the programs that are most frequently mentioned on this forum, feel free to add:

- HKS

- SAIS

- SIPA

- Yale Jackson

- Chicago Harris

- Carnegie Mellon Heinz

- Berkeley Goldman

- Syracuse Maxwell

- GWU

- American 

 

 

I'd also suggest looking into Georgetown's Masters in International Development Policy (within the school of public policy) for a more quantitative curriculum or the Masters in Global Human Development (SFS) for a more qualitative curriculum. Both have amazing connections within DC that virtually no schools on your list (besides GW and American) really have. In particular, being in DC means you can be interning at the World Bank or US Government during the school year, which is essential for building up connections.

[saranyc234]

Just to clarify - I was not stating that I was planning to apply to the long list of schools I gave above. I more meant to compile a list that would serve as a starting point to research programs  

 

Thanks for the suggestions on the DC school. The SFS program looks great, unfortunately I do not fulfill the language requirement

[FatimaM]

NYU Wagner, Syracuse Maxwell, American University, and University of Albany Rockefeller. 

[Surfbordt]

On 10/6/2016 at 3:08 AM, cbx2v said:

I'm looking at MA programs in international relations/public policy. I've whittled my schools down to eight programs (and two fellowships). I'm a bit worried that's too many... But how many is too many? I am (probably irrationally) terrified that I won't get in anywhere, so I want to apply to as many programs as I can, but if I apply to too many programs the quality of my applications may go down. What is everyone else doing?

 
 

I applied to 5  schools (SAIS, SIPA, Fletcher, Georgetown MSFS, and Jackson) and Pickering. I also think that I won't get anywhere, but I'm kind of OK with waiting another year, which is why I only applied to schools that I'm sure I would attend if offered admission. 

[Ingo93]

I'm applying to five or six. Texas A&M (MPA and IR), Kentucky, Florida State, and Penn State. I may or may not apply to Pittsburgh and/or Georgia Tech, it all depends on how confident I feel.

[pedropabloerr]

From the very first moment, I knew I wanted to move to Berlin so I actually had only to options: Hertie's MPP and Postdam's MPM. I already applied and was accepted to the first one, so that's it. Applying to undergraduate schools is very exhausting! I don't know how you guys do it, applying to so many different places. Congratulations anyways!