Applying to Only One Program?

[crayolacat]

I went for three. It looks like us lower number people tend to be older and more focused on what we want. If I don't get in, I don't know if I'll apply again. This process has been far more gutwrenching than I expected, and as a nonstudent asking my professional contacts to involve themselves in the obnoxious LOR process is only something I can ask so much. I think I will be very, very, very sad if I get shut out, and I try to remember that my consolation prize will be continued $$$$ in my awesome career and living in my house which I love with my boyfriend nearby. Nonetheless, I would be crushed. My career isn't actually what I want.

[lea23]

I applied to one program MHA . I am pretty nervous because I am currently in the military (almost 6 years) and the best I could do for LORs were from my supervisors and officers so I do not know if that is enough to cut it. I am also nervous because if I am not accepted it will make changing professions much more difficult as the rate I am currently in is engineering based and I want to switch to health based.

[emmm]

1 school, multiple programs -- all pretty competitive because it's a highly-ranked school. I wish I had the freedom to apply more broadly. Now, I'm in "wait-and-see" mode.

Edited December 18, 2010 by emmm

[shepardn7]

I am also (likely) applying to one school--the one in my current city. I might add another one with an application due Jan. 15th, but I just don't know if I can bring myself to move right now. I am not older (just 26, not in my forties with a house and child), but I do feel that committing to a five year program away from my home would be bad for my relationship and possibly for my mental health at this time. I might have applied to more if I my partner and cat could come with me. I have a good shot at my one school, but, of course, this is all very competitive and I could easily be rejected, as my first choice is also one of the most competitive programs out there. I've beat worse odds before, but that of course doesn't mean I'll beat them this time. We'll see. Sometimes you just know what you want. If I don't get in this year, anyway, I will probably apply to more programs next year; I think I'd like to give myself two chances to get into my top choice anyway.

Edited December 18, 2010 by sarandipidy

[emmm]

We'll see. Sometimes you just know what you want. If I don't get in this year, anyway, I will probably apply to more programs next year; I think I'd like to give myself two chances to get into my top choice anyway.

This makes sense to me. It reminds me of my thought process when I applied to college . . . one school I applied to primarily because of a joint program it had with my first-choice school.

Anyway, I've heard that some of the programs I applied to have already started calling people about interviews -- I've heard nothing. I knew I'd be a long-shot applicant, but it still makes me sad. I will also be applying again next year, if nothing comes through this year.

[NadaJ]

I am not older (just 26, not in my forties with a house and child),

Agh...this post made me feel old! Lol....I turned 30 in October, so I don't feel old, despite the house, kid, job lifestyle I have going on. And the other persons post about college (sorry, I cant see other posts while responding via the mobile site) reminded me that I only applied to one college. Granted it was early admission, so if they rejected me I had time to apply to other schools, but they didn't and thats how I wound up in Minnesota. Maybe I'm just a one-app kinda student?

[anthropologygeek]

Every program is different. In my field I have noticed, you get into one you get into must of your schools. I wasted so much money visiting and app fees since I got into my first choice so I wish that I only applied to one. Its a personal decision that you must live with and I hope you all get into your top program

[MoJingly]

Now, I'm in "wait-and-see" mode.

Me too! It's tough. I applied to two schools - one is a great match and the other only slightly less. Hopefully it works out for all of us in the end.

[mandarin.orange]

I applied to only 2 schools. More than that seemed a bit unfocused and extraneous (my college search was like this). I had planned on only applying to the one, but drummed up some great correspondence with a potential advisor at a second who would be (at least on paper) amazing to work with. I'm 32 and would be relocating to the west coast (from the southeast), so all the planets - advisor match, funding, research, program, quality of life - need to to align for me to commit the next 4 years to a PhD. I'm at a point where living like a student again for 4 years and losing (or delaying) key income-building, home-buying years in my 30s would not be undertaken lightly.

Glad to have found this thread and other likeminded folks. Upon joining this site, I was a bit surprised with the tendency here to make "checklist" signatures with lists of schools applied, acceptances, rejections. Some have upward of a dozen schools listed! If nothing else, I made my search very focused because I didn't want to spend $700-900 in app fees!

[NadaJ]

Upon joining this site, I was a bit surprised with the tendency here to make "checklist" signatures with lists of schools applied, acceptances, rejections. Some have upward of a dozen schools listed! If nothing else, I made my search very focused because I didn't want to spend $700-900 in app fees!

I was surprised as well. I really researched which school/program/faculty would be the best fit for me and my research interests. I just don't see applying to several schools and trying to re-make myself with every application. This may be field specific though; I am interested in social welfare and social policy, and the top schools in this area all have different focuses. I poured all of my resources into the one school that I want to change my whole life for; I can't see doing that for second or third best, or just any PhD program.

ETA: I applied to one school and my app fee was waived, so I feel extra lucky in that regard!

Edited January 11, 2011 by NadaJ

[Scottielass]

I am only applying to one Master's program for numerous reasons. Like many of the other posters, I am a non-traditional student. My SO has an amazing & stable job, so picking up to move for grad school really isn't an option. Thankfully, there is an terrific program for my field about 1 1/2 hours away. Not an ideal commute, but worth it.

I am starting to panic, though. While my GRE and GPA definitely meet the cutoff, they aren't stellar. I am finishing my undergrad and I am making up for some deficiencies in my grades from more than a decade ago. While I have 3.996 in my last 75+ credit hours, I am still only at a 3.13 overall GPA, thanks mostly to mediocre performance in my core liberal arts classes. The GRE was just brutal for me. I have such a hard time giving up on a question and guessing. That led to serious time issues at the end.

The good news is I am triple major with 3.68-3.89 in those programs, I have six glowing LORs, a great Personal Statement and a kick-butt electronic portfolio. I'm trying to remain confident, but the little insecurities are weighing on me at the moment . If it wouldn't work this year, I would rather wait a year and re-apply than apply to a program that wasn't the ideal fit for my future goals.

Edited January 11, 2011 by Scottielass

[dynia]

I'm only applying to one program, it's such a perfect fit and I just can't imagine being anywhere else. I feel relatively confident regarding my application but if it doesn't, I'll take it from there. I'm applying to a European school with a rolling deadline so I could always scramble an application to VU in Brussels. They have a part-time program that would give me the ability to do cool internships while doing another MA but it's pretty similar to my existing degree.

[sputnik]

I applied to several schools, but in reality I only applied to 2. What I mean is, due to SO there are only 2 schools that I could really attend. I applied to the others out of curiosity, and as pipe dreams. Luckily for me, my top choice is one of the schools I could attend if I get in. But only having 2 scares me a bit. My other school isn't as highly ranked but it's a perfect fit so I'd be happy there. I just really hope I get in to one of them.

[psycholinguist]

I'm only applying to one program, it's such a perfect fit and I just can't imagine being anywhere else.

This. I only applied to three MA programs last year: one I absolutely loved the sound of in every single way (great department, perfect fit for my research interests, potential supervisor whose work I was so interested in that I was nearly feeling star-struck, city I knew I loved already, etc.), a second that sounded okay, and a third that I knew I didn't want to go to the second after I sent off the application. First I got into #3, but couldn't work up much enthusiasm for it, and decided that if I didn't get in anywhere else I'd just keep working for another year and try again. Then #2 rejected me. A few weeks of hanging around the Waiting it Out forum later, #1 put me on the waitlist. Suspense! A week later they had a place for me.

How's it been? Absolutely fantastic! Even better than I expected, and that's really saying something. Love the department, love the subfield, love supervisor, love classes, love the city. If you have a program that is far and away your first choice for multiple strong reasons, I'd say it's worth gambling on!

[PrettyVacant]

This. I only applied to three MA programs last year: one I absolutely loved the sound of in every single way (great department, perfect fit for my research interests, potential supervisor whose work I was so interested in that I was nearly feeling star-struck, city I knew I loved already, etc.), a second that sounded okay, and a third that I knew I didn't want to go to the second after I sent off the application. First I got into #3, but couldn't work up much enthusiasm for it, and decided that if I didn't get in anywhere else I'd just keep working for another year and try again. Then #2 rejected me. A few weeks of hanging around the Waiting it Out forum later, #1 put me on the waitlist. Suspense! A week later they had a place for me.

How's it been? Absolutely fantastic! Even better than I expected, and that's really saying something. Love the department, love the subfield, love supervisor, love classes, love the city. If you have a program that is far and away your first choice for multiple strong reasons, I'd say it's worth gambling on!

Psycholinguist, which university are you currently attending? The department sounds wonderful! I'm curious because I'm also from Toronto, and I applied to do my M.A in Applied Linguistics.

I also applied to only one program. In retrospect, I think I should have applied to more schools, but I didn't have the money at the time ($90CAD per application is a lot for an unemployed college grad). I was also limited by the fact that I can't relocate to another city, so there is really no point in applying to places I can't get to. I fell in love with the program I applied to, so I'm quite happy with my choice.

Edited January 19, 2011 by PrettyVacant

[psycholinguist]

Psycholinguist, which university are you currently attending? The department sounds wonderful! I'm curious because I'm also from Toronto, and I applied to do my M.A in Applied Linguistics.

I also applied to only one program. In retrospect, I think I should have applied to more schools, but I didn't have the money at the time ($90CAD per application is a lot for an unemployed college grad). I was also limited by the fact that I can't relocate to another city, so there is really no point in applying to places I can't get to. I fell in love with the program I applied to, so I'm quite happy with my choice.

Nifty! I'm at the U of T, doing regular unapplied linguistics. * laughs * (And not psycholinguistics, either; my name is out-of-date.) Not sure if there're applied programs here, though there might be something offered by OISE that comes close. (As for some of the rest of the city: I know absolutely nothing about linguistics at Ryerson, but I've heard good things about York. There's a fair bit of contact between their linguists and ours, actually; people from here go on to there and vice versa, and there's at least one mailing-list about guest-lectures that goes out to people at both places.)

[PrettyVacant]

Nifty! I'm at the U of T, doing regular unapplied linguistics. * laughs * (And not psycholinguistics, either; my name is out-of-date.) Not sure if there're applied programs here, though there might be something offered by OISE that comes close. (As for some of the rest of the city: I know absolutely nothing about linguistics at Ryerson, but I've heard good things about York. There's a fair bit of contact between their linguists and ours, actually; people from here go on to there and vice versa, and there's at least one mailing-list about guest-lectures that goes out to people at both places.)

Nice. I applied to York a few months ago. The program deadline is Feb 1st, so I probably won't hear back from them in a while. I figured there would be quite a lot of contact between both universities. It's a small circle, after all.

I'm pretty sure Ryerson doesn't even offer linguistics. As for OISE, they offer an M. ED/M.A in Second Language Education which is close to applied linguistics, but with a focus on education. I've already got a TESL diploma, so pursuing an M.ed in SLE seemed kinda pointless. York University is my only option. Let's hope I get in!

It's always nice to find a fellow torontonian (and a linguist for that matter!) in here, so thank you for sharing your story.

[Lola80]

I've also only applied to one program. I have my MA and after graduation I never found work in my field (art history). I worked in finance and for the past four years have been a public school teacher. I have decided I am ready and serious about going into a PhD program and my husband and I just bought a house less than a year ago. The program in my city seems perfect and thus have only applied there as at least this year it wouldn't be reasonable to move and not sure I'd want to go to another school more besides an Ivy. Now that I am waiting, I am going absolutely mad in my own mind wondering what they will think of my application, if I stand a chance, why wouldn't they want me...etc...it's torment.

[psycholinguist]

Nice. I applied to York a few months ago. The program deadline is Feb 1st, so I probably won't hear back from them in a while. I figured there would be quite a lot of contact between both universities. It's a small circle, after all.

I'm pretty sure Ryerson doesn't even offer linguistics. As for OISE, they offer an M. ED/M.A in Second Language Education which is close to applied linguistics, but with a focus on education. I've already got a TESL diploma, so pursuing an M.ed in SLE seemed kinda pointless. York University is my only option. Let's hope I get in!

It's always nice to find a fellow torontonian (and a linguist for that matter!) in here, so thank you for sharing your story.

Ah, that would explain why I hadn't heard anything about any programs of theirs in linguistics. * laughs *

Likewise! Best of luck!