Each university suggests contacting a potential supervisor before applying to a PhD programme. I was wondering how many universities people applied to? Did you have several proposals on the go, 'waiting' for the best or first acceptance? Or did you do one at a time?

Applied to 7. None with the one really good sup i wanted to work with as she wasnt taking newbies ths yr. 2 in the UK, for which I needed detailed proposal. 5 in US which just needed an SOP and an idea of fit with the dpet (Cos in US u dnt start all this til after coursework)...

but ultimately was offered supervision by that one really good sup, without submitting a proposal!!

So, LOL, it differes...in my case I never ask myself this question "u stupid idiot why did u waste all that time and energy applying to 7 places when u could have approached the one you wanted to work with staright away instead of staying happy with the decision that she wasnt taking new people anymore!" but asking myself that makes me feel really stupid, so i dont..

I didn't have much choice due to the nature of my research, but I approached 3 supervisors and applied to two universities evenutally (discounting LSE after the meeting with the potential supervisor...which was a shame).

If you can, apply for as many as possible as this will increase the opportunities of funding.

Hey, why didnt you choose LSE? Its a nice place..... :)

How many you think your referees can handle.

Thanks for all your responses.