The only question you need to ask yourself, you've already asked and answered!
I'd be happier not going to school and continuing to work down here or move somewhere else (more likely) to do further work in clinical trials in the event that I don't get in to the select group of programs I plan on applying to than applying to lots of schools and going somewhere that just doesn't feel right.
If that's true, you have NO BUSINESS applying to schools you don't want to go to. Your reasons for not wanting to go to these schools are not superficial. You need to relocate your entire life to wherever you plan to attend school. If you don't want to live there, then don't!
Only apply to the schools that you'd accept an offer from. *hugs*
I personally would apply to a few "eh" places, given that the process takes a long time, and by the time you find out, you may have different thoughts and just want to go to school. Especially if the fees and time put into the extra applications isn't too bad.
That's just me, though. I applied to Stanford, Penn, Berkeley, Brown, and Harvard, even though I knew I probably didn't want to go to Brown or Harvard. I was WLed at Stanford (1st choice), denied from Berkeley, Brown, and Harvard, and accepted to Penn (2nd or 3rd choice). Oh, and I was all ready to apply to Millersville U. if I hadn't gotten into Penn (which had rolling admissions).
I had no idea that Stanford had been your top choice! Apparently, I was a little oblivious at eleven =).
The nice thing is that there are three schools that I can apply to in Boston alone, so that's definitely a bonus right there. Adding on Georgetown and UVa brings me to five, which isn't too bad at all...though, since UVa's deadline is the last (February 1), I may decide by that point just to not apply. I've decided against Vanderbilt and Emory, but I may go back and check when their deadlines are--if they're later, I may postpone making the final decision on not applying, just 'cause I have the luxury of time.
It's funny too b/c by the time I did the Brown application, I was totally looking down my nose at them for some reason, so I half-assed it...and then didn't get in as I expected. Oops.
Oh, and you should definitely go to school in places you want to live long-term--it's really hard to find your first job out of grad school long-distance, esp. if there's any kind of state certification or licensing--trying to do that in more than one state at once is crazy-making. I know, I tried it.
ok i am so glad you posted about this because while i've been considering grad schools, my original gut instinct was to just apply to 2 schools that i really really like in locations that i'd kill to live in. but then i talked to my family and my friends and other people and they all freaked out that i was only applying to 2 schools which has sortof freaked me out in turn, so i'm freaking out about applying altogether. but when i was going through my logic of applying to grad school i was just thinking this past year i have lived in places i hate. it really sucks to live in places that you hate. and it's not worth it to go to school just because the program is good because what about the rest of your life. i mean shouldn't you have a good quality of life in general. that and grad school is far more intense than undergrad ever was and at least for myself i know that if i don't live somewhere that i like i'm not as motivated to put the effort into my work. and a large part of that is because i'm unhappy with where i'm living. so while
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I'd be happier not going to school and continuing to work down here or move somewhere else (more likely) to do further work in clinical trials in the event that I don't get in to the select group of programs I plan on applying to than applying to lots of schools and going somewhere that just doesn't feel right.
If that's true, you have NO BUSINESS applying to schools you don't want to go to. Your reasons for not wanting to go to these schools are not superficial. You need to relocate your entire life to wherever you plan to attend school. If you don't want to live there, then don't!
Only apply to the schools that you'd accept an offer from. *hugs*
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That's just me, though. I applied to Stanford, Penn, Berkeley, Brown, and Harvard, even though I knew I probably didn't want to go to Brown or Harvard. I was WLed at Stanford (1st choice), denied from Berkeley, Brown, and Harvard, and accepted to Penn (2nd or 3rd choice). Oh, and I was all ready to apply to Millersville U. if I hadn't gotten into Penn (which had rolling admissions).
That's just me though...
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The nice thing is that there are three schools that I can apply to in Boston alone, so that's definitely a bonus right there. Adding on Georgetown and UVa brings me to five, which isn't too bad at all...though, since UVa's deadline is the last (February 1), I may decide by that point just to not apply. I've decided against Vanderbilt and Emory, but I may go back and check when their deadlines are--if they're later, I may postpone making the final decision on not applying, just 'cause I have the luxury of time.
Blah blah blah.
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Oh, and you should definitely go to school in places you want to live long-term--it's really hard to find your first job out of grad school long-distance, esp. if there's any kind of state certification or licensing--trying to do that in more than one state at once is crazy-making. I know, I tried it.
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