<p>Just wondering how many programs is too many, and what is a good number. I am applying to engineering programs (which are competitive, but not insane like clinical psych) and was think 7-8 (2 reaches, 3 matches, and 2 safeties)</p>
<p>What do you all think</p>
<p>According to the book "Getting what you came for" it recommended you apply to 10 schools. I applied to 7 and thank goodness I did. I got denied by schools I thought I would get accepted to easily but got accepted to my number one pick. My credentials were pretty good but schools also factor in what your intended focus and the space they have. According to US news 2005 grad report UF engineering accepted only 11% or so of applicants, but in the 2007 report they accepted 55%. So you never know when they plan on taking more or less students. My gf who applied to dental school got denied by 9 out of 10 schools and on the waiting list for one. She regrets not applying to more schools because now she wasted a year. Its better be safe than sorry.</p>
<p>I have another question:</p>
<p>Did you think it would be difficult to get recommendation letters for so many schools. I feel like I have 3 Profs who would write me great letters of recommendation but I worry that if I go to them and ask them to write 10 they will shun me away. I can (and will if i have to) get other letters of recommendation but the teachers probably don't know me as well and I would rather that not happen.</p>
<p>I kind of felt that way too but none of them ever complained. Besides they just have to write one and copy and paste since most schools take electronic copies. Gone are the days of sending it in through regular mail.</p>
<p>If I apply to graduate school, I will only apply to 7 schools. I don't have the money to spend on 10+ schools. 3 reaches, 2 fits, 2 safeties. I rather apply to schools I know for sure I want to attend.</p>
<p>I'm trying to get my list up to 10 schools for fear of rejection and the fact that I want to have plenty of good options. Right now I have about four schools on my for sure list and I have several others on my maybe list as far as applying to them.</p>
<p>I applied to 13 schools and only got into 1 school. I had low GRE scores, but an otherwise great resume. In my field, programs only accept between 5 - 15 percent of applicants, out of hundreds, so there is no guarentee of anything. I'm happy at the school I got into, but it's scary to think about how I almost didn't get in anywhere. I don't know how competitive engineering is, but if you can afford to apply to more programs, I would recommend it. I hated spending the money -- it was a real sacrifice for me -- but in a super competitive field, it's what you have to do.</p>
<p>Most of my recs were online -- professors just had to go to the website, copy and paste letter, and that's it. They didn't mind doing it 13 times -- the hard part was getting them to write the letter before my first deadline. After that, it's just copy and paste, and they were happy to do it since they understand how competitive the field can be.</p>
<p>thats awful...thats exactly what I fear. I hope I get into more than one school though. My cousin applied to 25 schools (had fee waivers....was going for education) but was only accepted to five, including 2 Ivys.. She chose a state school though because it was the only one that offered her enough financial aid.</p>
<p>I stink at standardized tests and I fear I will have a similar fate as you, False Alarm, because my grades will be ok...not spectacular...the highest GPA I''ll have at the time I apply wil be 3.6ish with a few awards, 2 study abroads, and 2 summer jobs......my GREs will probably be mediocre because I never do well on standardized tests. I'll have great recs I'm sure, but all in all I think I'll be just an average applicant which is why I'll apply to at least 10 schools.</p>
<p>I consider my outcome a positive one -- you only need to get one acceptance if it's a good program for you. The program that accepted me values my research more than my numbers, and as a result it's a great fit for me. I know someone who didn't get in anywhere (out of 7 schools), and he was absolutely devastated. Watching him deal with it makes me realize that I'm very lucky to have received an offer.</p>
<p>I think the unfortunate truth is that every year, there are WAY more qualified applicants than slots -- and the decisions are made subjectively by committees, so the results appear almost random. The school I got into was better than about half the schools I applied to -- I got rejected from "safety" schools and into one of the better schools that I applied to (but not the top schools.)</p>
<p>Some people do manage to get multiple offers from great schools, but after my experience and the experience of my friend, I always recommend applying to a lot of places just to be safe.</p>
<p>False Alarm: well-said.</p>
<p>wow. I had no idea you should apply to so many. Right now I'm only at six- two reaches, one that I know I can get into but would need some scholarships to finance, one high profile good fit, and two lower profile good fits (I don't want to call them 'safeties' because I really like the programs and would be delighted to attend either one). How do you find out acceptance rates for the programs you're interested in? None of the websites I've looked at for schools I'm interested in publish them.</p>
<p>So, is the reason that people don't apply to, say, 30 grad schools just because of how expensive it is to apply?</p>
<p>Partly. Particularly art majors often have problems applying to many schools because of the cost of producing portfolios for all of them on top of the fee, and also the time involved in meeting each schools specific criteria. And some people are just a bit more specific about what they want- for instance, my list of six was derived from a basic search that included twenty or thirty schools, but most didn't appeal to me for one reason or another.</p>
<p>I'm looking only to apply to about 4 or 5, simply because that is where I care to go and I see no need to apply to 30+ schools. I'm also going to be applying to about 4-5 law schools, so that does make about 10 total applications and that is enough time and money for me to invest.</p>
<p>I would really encourage everybody to talk to his or her favorite professor about applications. They usually have a very good handle on where you have a good shot at getting in and where you don't have a prayer.</p>
<p>My favorite professor buddy gave me the crazy face when I told him I was applying to 9 schools last fall, even though I thought it was a moral necessity and applying to less than that would be criminally negligent. He was right, I was wrong. :)</p>
<p>My quasi-advisor told me to apply to 6 schools and expect to get into 3 or 4.</p>
<p>He was only surprised that I didn't get into one of the schools. Otherwise, he was on the mark, as I got into 3.</p>
<p>UCLAri, doesn't that work only for master's level programs? I doubt that would work for the PhD level unless you're an URM genius.</p>
<p>I applied to nine PhD programs and got into eight. (Well, I withdrew my applications from the three safetiest schools. But I had interviews at all nine.) And I'm a Caucasian female, which in biology does not give you any diversity points.</p>
<p>I was always interviewing with the same kids at all these places, too, meaning that the same group of about 75-100 people got accepted to all the top programs in biology. Of course, the total number of spots in all of the top five programs is probably about 250, so some people got into some programs but not others. And some people got into no programs.</p>
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UCLAri, doesn't that work only for master's level programs? I doubt that would work for the PhD level unless you're an URM genius.
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<p>It really really depends on the field. I mean, when education PhD programs in the top 10 are accepting upwards of 30-50% of applicants a year, then it's safe to say that you don't need to apply to 55 schools and a backup as long as your stats are in range.</p>
<p>UCLA, what about HISTORY PhD programs ??</p>