How Many Schools to Apply To!!!

[tpad40]

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Hi Everyone! I have gotten so many very different opinions and I was hoping to find out some facts on this matter.

How many schools can one person apply to? What are the negative effects of applying to a lot?

I have my top choices (Penn, Tufts) - will it hurt my chances of being considered at either of those if I apply to a large range?

My file is a little random: Overall GPA 3.43. I did freshman year at one liberal arts college with a high GPA (3.8 I think), transferred and did Soph through Senior year at Ivy League school with not so stellar GPA (3.26) and some poor grades in important classes (genetics, orgo (although I retook it this summer), and lots of generic B's in bio classes), then graduated and did some coursework at another school (GPA 3.72 I think), and now enrolled in UCBerkeley extension trying to finish Biochem and English. I have pretty good experience, currently working two jobs (one in SA and one in Equine). My GRE was very poor for verbal (480) and great for math (780) and I am retaking it on the last possible day for some schools (Oct 1st).

Everyone I talk to has a STRONG opinion on this. Some people are *shocked* that I am applying to any more than 3 or 4. Some people think I should absolutely applyanywhere I would consider going if I were admitted.

Thank you so much!!

 

[Angelo84]

I don't know where you are planing to apply I applied to nine schools (should have only applied to six) and got accepted at Tufts and Penn so I don't think they will look down on it. I was asked at Penn interview why I applied to Penn when I was in state at Tufts. I think as long as you have good reasons for where you are applying and can afford to apply/interview at those places go for it.

 

[Barnaby]

My opinion is this:

1. you have the best statistical shot at getting into your in state school, right? So for all intents and purposes that's the "safety school" (I know it's not really a safety school, but it is the best statistical chance you've got).

2. Your in state school is the least expensive, right? That's a pretty big incentive to go there- $$$

SO, don't apply to anyplace unless you would consider choosing it over your in state school. If you like that state, if you like that school, if you like their mascot- whatever the reason is- if it intrigues you enough to consider paying more than your IS school then you should apply. If it doesn't, don't bother.

I applied to 7.

 

[chordy4]

SO, don't apply to anyplace unless you would consider choosing it over your in state school. If you like that state, if you like that school, if you like their mascot- whatever the reason is- if it intrigues you enough to consider paying more than your IS school then you should apply. If it doesn't, don't bother.

I applied to 7.

I don't know, with that advice it sounds like if you'd choose your IS over any other school, you shouldn't apply anywhere else. I disagree. Just because your in-state is your "best shot" in many scenarios, it by NO means means you'll get in. I know many current vet students who did not get into their in-state, but did get in somewhere else, even though I believe most if not all would have chosen their in state school over another school.

To the OP I would probably advise applying to 5-6 schools. Granted there is a lot of "missing" information about your other applicant attributes (experience etc), but both tufts and penn are VERY competitive, and while your GRE/GPA are average in my opinion, those factors are not going to guarantee an acceptance anywhere. And as others have said, as long as you have a good reason for applying to the schools you applied to, I wouldn't worry about applying to multiple schools.

(I applied to 5 schools last year, including IS...didn't get in anywhere).

 

[pupsforseeing]

I second chordy. I know a vet who graduated last year and she applied to 9 or 10 schools and got accepted to all of them...except her IS (even though, statistically speaking, that was her best shot). You just never know what the adcomms are looking for. I realize this i different, but when applying to undergrad, I got rejected from a school that all my stats were above and was pretty much a "safety," but got in everywhere else (all my "reach" schools). You just never know.

Last year, I applied to 5 and was happy with that number. I made sure I could explain why I had chosen each school and it was a good thing, because I was grilled about it at one of my interviews. Like has been said above, don't apply to a school unless you would seriously consider going there, but also keep your options open because you never know what schools wants in their applicants.

 

[Barnaby]

you're all right- my answer was just how i rationally limited myself.

the short answer is that it really depends on your situation. there is no right number of schools to apply to.

 

[DollyyLlama]

i'm applying to 8, based on where i satisfy the pre-req's, would be willing to live, can reasonably finish the app materials, etc. but it just occurred to me that 6 of these schools do interviews. i guess i'll cross that bridge when i come to it (at this point getting any interviews sounds like a sweet position to be in) but i'm wondering, how far in advance are students notified if they are selected to interview? how much do applicants spend on airfare/transport/etc?

 

[nyanko]

Hey pupsforseeing, are you applying anywhere other than Davis this year, since you have a deferred admission to Penn if you somehow don't get into UCD (yeah right 😉 )?

 

[tpad40]

Thank you for the replies! I think I have decided on 8, and I feel a lot better about that now! There will still be the critics that say I am over-doing it, but I want to have the best possible chance of being accepted (<-- I also will need lots of these) 8 is one of my lucky numbers... Maybe I'll hit submit on 9/28 at 8:28 and then run around the block 8 times...that will surely make the difference.

I agree with above that my numbers are kind of average, and it is not clear how they might look at me... hopefully one school will say YES! or at least MAYBE!

The final list:

Penn
Tufts
Virginia (IS)
Ohio
Colorado
UC Davis
Wisconsin
PEI

 

[pupsforseeing]

Hey pupsforseeing, are you applying anywhere other than Davis this year, since you have a deferred admission to Penn if you somehow don't get into UCD (yeah right 😉 )?

Nope, just Davis. Davis is by far my first pick, but if that doesn't work out, Penn's my next choice, so there wasn't any point for me to apply anywhere else.

Only requesting transcripts/GREs for one school (that doesn't require a supplemental!) was SO much less stress than last year, such a refreshment!

Nyanko, you're not applying this year, right? You're finishing up your master's before applying again?

 

[charismarl]

i'm applying to 8, based on where i satisfy the pre-req's, would be willing to live, can reasonably finish the app materials, etc. but it just occurred to me that 6 of these schools do interviews. i guess i'll cross that bridge when i come to it (at this point getting any interviews sounds like a sweet position to be in) but i'm wondering, how far in advance are students notified if they are selected to interview? how much do applicants spend on airfare/transport/etc?

This is a very reasonable way to choose schools to apply to. I applied to 6 schools pretty much solely based on the pre-reqs I had that satisfied the school requirements and the percentage of OOS people they admitted compared to the qualified applicants (obviously I applied to my IS school too). At first I disregarded the location of the school, money, etc...later on I interviewed and I found that there were some schools that I had applied to (and were accepted to) that I either couldn't see myself living there or I just simply couldn't afford.

When you decide where you want to apply, be reasonable, weigh what's really important to you as far as location, weather, if you have a specific interest (exotics, marine, raptors, equine, etc. you should seek that out and apply to programs that focus on that), etc... There's no magic number, apply to as many as you can REASONABLY...

When you are deciding how many to apply to, remember that it's EXPENSIVE to simply apply to all those schools and it's even more expensive to go interviews! (I spent about $300-$500 for each interview trip which included airfare/gas, hotel (some schools will find students to put you up for a night or 2), rental car, food, etc.)
Add in all the money you spend sending out additional GREs, transcripts, VMCAS fees, etc. it gets pricey...I think I spent about $2K+ applying/interviewing, etc.

To answer the other question, I had at least a month of notice before my interviews.

 

[nyanko]

Nyanko, you're not applying this year, right? You're finishing up your master's before applying again?

Yup, gonna take a break this year from application anxiety and just have grad school anxiety instead. 🙄

I only applied here last year. I have to tell you all, applying to only one school, while a risky proposition, was way easier than trying to apply to a bunch. Even though I gambled and lost with it, I still think it was worth it for that little amount of effort.

I'm SURE you'll get in here, pups! Any school would be crazy to not accept you. Good luck!

 

[cateyes]

Ohio gave me two weeks notice for my interview, Kansas and Va-MD gave me about a month and a half.

Good luck everyone!

 

[Electrophile]

I only applied here last year. I have to tell you all, applying to only one school, while a risky proposition, was way easier than trying to apply to a bunch. Even though I gambled and lost with it, I still think it was worth it for that little amount of effort.

Yup, that's what I did! Fortunately it paid off (literally and figuratively, as in state Missouri people don't have to do the VMCAS and all that jazz, so saved $$). I had a couple of highly stressful moments (like two of my LORs not getting there until the day they were due!!), but in the end, I think it came down to where I could realistically go without doing the moving thing to get in state tuition. I'm getting rather tired of this school, but at the same time, I don't want an extra 100K of debt either. I'll deal! 😀 And I'll go some place fun for a preceptorship. 😎

 

[BlistexWorks]

My list:

UF
Cornell
Oregon State
Washington State
Massey University, NZ
Auburn
Purdue
Missouri
Iowa
Colorado

 

[nyanko]

Aww, I thought you were gonna apply here! I was looking forward to rooting for you to get into UC Davis! Oh well!