Once you start searching for universities it can suddenly dawn on you that there are several universities to which you can apply. Along with shortlisting universities for your profile, you must also decide how many universities to apply to simultaneously for better planning. However, there is no fixed number that suits all the aspirants. The number depends on personal choices and factors considered. Two main factors which would be common to all are - budget and timing.

Timing - Depending on the intake, the university deadlines vary. To start applying you should have the exam scores ready. In case, you don’t you should be aiming for round two of admissions. Few students even plan to apply to universities in various rounds. For example, you can apply to the dream schools in the early rounds, and depending on the responses you will have to apply to universities having round 2 or 3. This would be a gamble as there is no definitive timeline by which the universities send accepts or rejects. Furthermore, if you decide to pursue a master's degree only a few months before the start dates, your options for universities will be limited.

Budget - Different countries have different application fees. Most USA universities have application fees but many UK and Canadian universities do not have application fees. The average application fee would be $75 (INR 6000) and it could even go up to $100 (INR 8000). Given that applicants aim to apply for 5 to 10 universities the cost of applications could go up to INR 50,000. The budget would also include the cost of other requirements like exam scores, WES evaluations, etc.

After you have selected a number it is quite important for you to categorize the universities into ambitious, target, and safe. To categorize the colleges, look at the profiles of previously admitted students as well as the average scores or requirements set by each university. A highly selective university with a low acceptance rate would be considered ambitious and your profile could fall into the bottom 30% of the admits. Your chances of admission to these universities would be roughly 20%. The target or moderate universities are the ones that have a reasonable acceptance rate and you stand a fifty percent chance of getting into the university. Finally, a safety school is the one that you are likely to get an admit from. Your profile should place you in the top 25% of admitted students, giving you an 80% possibility of admission.

Generally, many apply to 6-8 universities having at least one university in each category. Handling several applications can be time-consuming, and you must be prepared to keep track of all requirements and deadlines. Here’s a breakdown of the division of the number of universities to apply for.

– 12 universities: 5 safe, 4 moderate, 3 ambitious
– 10 universities: 4 safe, 3 moderate, 3 ambitious
– 8 universities: 3 safe, 3 moderate, 2 ambitious
– 7 universities: 3 safe, 2 moderate, 2 ambitious
– 6 universities: 2 safe, 2 moderate, 2 ambitious
– 5 universities: 2 safe, 2 moderate, 1 ambitious