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Disclosure of applications


dogbones

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Hi:

 

If I am only planning to apply to 2 schools both located in the same state for my PhD because of many reasons why those are the only schools I would apply to (at least the initial cycle), would it look favorable if I disclose on my personal statement that they are my only schools I'm applying to, would they take it the wrong way as a sign that I'm not serious (hopefully this will be dispelled by my transcripts, research) about getting a PhD (maybe not?), or would it be ambiguous how the adcoms would interpret this? I'm not terribly familiar with the general consensus of adcoms and the dos and do nots... much appreciated!

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Why would you apply to only two programs anyway? If for whatever reason (application fee, personal relationships, etc.) you can only apply to two, delay your application by one year and see if things will work out.

 

I think it is very reasonable for someone to seek to do their PhD in a specific state that they desire, cannot see anything wrong with that.

 

@dogbones I wonder the answer of your question as well. I am in a similar situation with you so I am planning on applying only one or two school (I like those schools in terms of placements anyway). I have no idea if mentioning or not mentioning at all would have any effect

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Hi:

 

If I am only planning to apply to 2 schools both located in the same state for my PhD because of many reasons why those are the only schools I would apply to (at least the initial cycle), would it look favorable if I disclose on my personal statement that they are my only schools I'm applying to, would they take it the wrong way as a sign that I'm not serious (hopefully this will be dispelled by my transcripts, research) about getting a PhD (maybe not?), or would it be ambiguous how the adcoms would interpret this? I'm not terribly familiar with the general consensus of adcoms and the dos and do nots... much appreciated!

 

It's going to work both ways.

(1) Most schools, outside the top few, care about how likely a student is to come. This works in the plus direction.

(2) Unless you have extremely important reasons (you are caring for an aging mother and are placebound), it does indicate you are not very serious.

 

On exception might be if you are remaining in the program where you have done your masters and have discussed this with the admissions committee.

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It's going to work both ways.

(1) Most schools, outside the top few, care about how likely a student is to come. This works in the plus direction.

(2) Unless you have extremely important reasons (you are caring for an aging mother and are placebound), it does indicate you are not very serious.

 

On exception might be if you are remaining in the program where you have done your masters and have discussed this with the admissions committee.

 

In that case, it's probably better to not explicitly mention it in the personal statement, and instead write something to the effect that the particular school is one of my top two choices... however, if they do find out that I'm only applying to two schools and I write that they are my top choices, could it be misinterpreted as deceptive rather than interpreted as only applying to the schools I'm most interested in?

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I think it is very reasonable for someone to seek to do their PhD in a specific state that they desire, cannot see anything wrong with that.

 

@dogbones I wonder the answer of your question as well. I am in a similar situation with you so I am planning on applying only one or two school (I like those schools in terms of placements anyway). I have no idea if mentioning or not mentioning at all would have any effect

 

Wow, what are the odds that we have this in common!

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It isn't that uncommon to write that you have geographic constraints and are only looking at a small number of schools. Probably will have no effect one way or the other, though it could help your admission chances on the margin.
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It isn't that uncommon to write that you have geographic constraints and are only looking at a small number of schools. Probably will have no effect one way or the other, though it could help your admission chances on the margin.

 

In that case, it's probably a good idea to include it in my statement (when I apply 4 years from now)... are geographic constraints seen as more favorable than geographic/cultural preferences? In other words, is the only way to make this positive going to be if I am in some way forced to have a smaller set of schools, or can I willingly create a subset that is most resonant and still have the adcoms take it positively? Thanks.

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