Is it too late to add more schools?

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Gorilla-san

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I'd like to add more schools. My application is fully complete and I received a few interviews and rejections as well, but Im thinking to add four more (already completed 24)

Vandy
CaseWestern
Emory
Duke

Would it be late and a waste of my time and money?

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I'd like to add more schools. My application is fully complete and I received a few interviews and rejections as well, but Im thinking to add four more (already completed 24)

Vandy
CaseWestern
Emory
Duke

Would it be late and a waste of my time and money?
This would not be a waste
I'd like to add more schools. My application is fully complete and I received a few interviews and rejections as well, but Im thinking to add four more (already completed 24)

Vandy
CaseWestern
Emory
Duke

Would it be late and a waste of my time and money?
I do not see this as being a waste, with the possible exception of Duke. Given you already have interviews at Stonybrook, UTSW, NYU and Michigan, it is not a stretch to think that you can be competitive at Vandy, Case, and Emory. These schools are within the same neighborhood as the schools that have offered you an interview (perhapson a nicer street in the neighborhood), and you should be competitive for an invitation at these places. Duke would be less likely, so I would probably let that one go. It is not too late for you to apply. As Fencer pointed out, we have only receive about 2/3 of the applications we anticipate receiving. You have a 3-day weekend ahead, and you can put it to good use by applying to these schools. Good luck!
 
I added about 5 schools to my application around Labor Day weekend the year I applied as well. I'm currently at one of those five.
 
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Definitely not too late! In fact, this is why I recommend applying as early as possible -- around this time, you can gauge how things are going and see if you want to add on any more schools. If it's financially within your capabilities, go for it!

In terms of the schools you add, you'll just want to make sure you are strategic. If your goal for adding more schools is to get more interviews and increase your chances, I'd definitely suggest adding some programs that are lower-ranked and also looking into some of the non-MSTPs that are bigger-sized, funded, and have a good track record (I wish I had done this earlier on when I wasn't getting as many interviews as I hoped. Always good to have more invites/offers than to not have enough!). If you are doing even better than you anticipated though and you figure "why not?", then adding top-tier schools is fine! :)

You can also look at those schools specifically to see if interview invites have gone out yet and how soon their first interviews are. If there were a school for example that had let's say 2 out of their 4 interview dates super early and had already given out invites, I'd probably advise against applying there. But I think you are still in good shape pretty much all around and shouldn't be super late. I'd recommend looking up the secondary questions and pre-writing those, even though you'll probably get the secondaries within a few days anyway. The sooner you can submit, the better!

Good luck!
 
@Maebea @phonyreal98 @starfun1 thanks for the advice. i was on the fence earlier but now i am definitely going to spend the weekend working on applications for these. I really appreciate your help guys!!
 
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