Three buckets, not one long wishlist
Split your list into ambitious (a stretch on your profile), target (a realistic match), and safe (you'd very likely be admitted). Two or three in each bucket is usually enough — six to eight applications total. Beyond that, quality drops.
Be honest about which bucket each university belongs in. The most common planning error is treating a target school as a safety.
What matters more than global rank
For most students, programme fit beats brand: which courses are taught, who's teaching them, whether there's an industry placement, the city's job market, and the real cost after scholarships. A 'lower-ranked' university with a funded assistantship in your exact subfield can be the better decision.
Subject-level rankings are far more useful than overall ones. So is talking to one current student per shortlisted programme.
When to stop adding universities
When you can write a genuinely specific 'why this programme' paragraph for every school on the list. If you can't, that school doesn't belong there yet — research it more or drop it.
Ready to act on this?
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