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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!

For how much I've heard that admissions can be affected by letter writers leveraging connections with colleagues on adcoms, I have no idea how this works in practice, or if there is a role in all this for the applicant. I suspect other applicants find the process similarly opaque. An example on context, in this wonderful thread I lurked ( http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/157874-admissions-process.html ), @startz and @Kaysa offer some very useful, candid opinions on the admissions process, and cite the importance of adcom members knowing an applicant's reference. I have two questions on this process, hoping to get some first- or second-hand accounts: (1) Where in the process does the whole personal connection thing tend to factor in? @Kaysa suggests profs on adcoms may call letter writers they know. Is it common for writers to directly ring up a friend on an adcom? (2) Does the applicant need to play a role in any of this? For example, if writers do tend to ring up their colleagues, is it the applicant's job to nudge the writer in that direction and/or signal clearly which program(s) the applicant really would love the help with? What time in the application/admissions process makes most sense to do this? Thanks!