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Old 09-22-2006, 06:20 PM   #9 (permalink)
ramlau
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dunny
Thanks for the help. I started to put together a list, and I'd greatly appreciate some feedback on the schools.


Boston College
Georgetown
Rutgers
UNC Chapel Hill
George Washington
Pittsburg

Oregon (hopefully a safety)
SUNY Buffalo (Safety- I'm originally from the area)

Am I aiming too high? If I am, I'd like to bridge the gap between the top schools on the list and my safeties. I'm hoping to add a couple more, or delete those where I won't be competitive. Thanks again everyone.
I'd suggest to aim somewhat higher. Since you have your safeties chosen already, you can concentrate your effort on the top 30-50 programs, and pick a few dream schools that you really want to give a try.

What are the most important decision factors for the choices? I came up with my schools list by considering the location, the faculty, the graduate placements, and the rankings. I have to live in a big city or close to a big city, so schools like Wisconsin, Rochester, and Iowa were crossed out. Then I just looked at each school and asked myself whether I'd go to that school if admitted, provided that was my only offer. So I ended up applying to roughly half of the top 30 programs, with a few safeties like Emory and Georgetown.

Let me reiterate what many have said before: Apply to as many schools as your budget constraint allows. I was delighted to be rejected by Harvard, Yale, and Princeton! (No, I didn't apply to MIT and Chicago. And, for the record, I applied to some 30 programs in the last admissions season. Probably a few schools too many, but I'd have done that again.)

Ram, long time no post
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