Applying to only one geographical area?

[aves]

Hey everyone! 

Has anyone had experience applying to schools in one geographical area? My husband has a great job in Chicago, so my school options are relatively limited (but I suppose could be worse). I'll be applying to about seven or so schools. I'm just wondering if anyone has ever found themselves in the same situation. I know this limits my options and chances, but it's really the only option considering the circumstances. It'd certainly be nice to hear from someone who did this and ended up getting in somewhere. Thanks  

[cowgirlsdontcry]

I am also in the field of English. My area is contemporary American literature with a sub-genre interest in Southern lit. That, in itself is restrictive to Southern Universities. I found nine universities whose programs I liked. I was admitted to two, waitlisted at two and rejected at five. There are additional universities in the Southern region I could have applied to, but there was something about every one that I didn't believe was a good fit. One of the universities was nowhere near the realm of my area (I applied only because my daughter lives in that city and it would have been nice to be near her and her family). Needless to say I did not get accepted there for obvious reasons. Be sure you look at the backgrounds of faculty and what their publications reveals, as well as what the majority of grad students are focusing on. Course selections will also be important as to telling you what they are teaching. Look at not only the current year, but also at prior years in order to understand how course rotation works. Good luck.

[aves]

17 hours ago, cowgirlsdontcry said:

I am also in the field of English. My area is contemporary American literature with a sub-genre interest in Southern lit. That, in itself is restrictive to Southern Universities. I found nine universities whose programs I liked. I was admitted to two, waitlisted at two and rejected at five. There are additional universities in the Southern region I could have applied to, but there was something about every one that I didn't believe was a good fit. One of the universities was nowhere near the realm of my area (I applied only because my daughter lives in that city and it would have been nice to be near her and her family). Needless to say I did not get accepted there for obvious reasons. Be sure you look at the backgrounds of faculty and what their publications reveals, as well as what the majority of grad students are focusing on. Course selections will also be important as to telling you what they are teaching. Look at not only the current year, but also at prior years in order to understand how course rotation works. Good luck.

Thanks for all your helpful info, cowgirlsdontcry! I really appreciate it

[Daenerys]

I am in a similar boat-  my family situation means that I will be applying in one geographic area.  I have 5-6 schools where I can apply, but not all will be a great fit, and some are more reputable than others.   Keeping my fingers crossed that it works out well for both of us!

 

[klader]

I'm in this boat! I'm studying comp/rhet and want to stay within a 6 hour drive of my family in the Midwest. This works out for me because comp/rhet has a healthy presence in the Midwest, but there are a few programs I'd love to consider that are just too far away for me to comfortably live. 

A professor of mine told me that, when applying to PhD programs and jobs, you're allowed to be picky with one or two factors, like location and money. So you can absolutely only apply to programs in your geographical area, but you may have to sacrifice funding or prestige; you can only apply to top tier programs, but you may have limited say in where you'll geographically be. 

Not sure if this advice works for everyone and every single circumstance, but it sure has helped me think about where I'll be applying and feel better about being a little picky. 

This worked out for me during my MA (got into my top choice that's within my radius), and hopefully I'll either be able to stay at my university or get into another one that's even closer. 

Edited June 15, 2017 by klader

[a_sort_of_fractious_angel]

Hey, @aves - I'm a little late to your post and I haven't had success (yet) with applying to a particular region/area, but I'm going to be pretty geographically-oriented this application season myself so, if you ever want to vent/bounce ideas/chat about it, please send me a PM!