Having target universities in your basket is crucial before submitting formal applications. Many students and applicants waste money on application fees by applying blindly or incorrectly to numerous universities. Your AI academic assistant, Applyindex, will help you select the target universities for your applications. This decision is based on several factors, including your a-index, the type of positions, university and departmental minimum requirements, your budget for application fees, the responses you receive from research supervisors (if you’ve contacted them), your budget for officially sending your language test results, and the availability and willingness of your recommenders to provide letters of recommendation.
The Factors Affecting Your Target Universities
For Undergraduate and Course-Based Master’s Applicants
While you cannot use our tools and features in step 1: evaluate your CV strength, step 2: see your funding chances, and step 5: contact supervisors, we can still assist you in choosing target universities. Factors such as the number of recommenders, recommendation letter frequency, university minimum requirements, and your budget play crucial roles in determining how many and which universities to apply to. A face-to-face consultation with us can help you select the best options for your application.
Postdoc Applicants and Target Universities
The application process for postdoc applicants differs slightly. While language test results and application fees are generally not required, strong recommendation letters remain crucial. Beyond the applicant’s research background and relevance to a postdoc position, recommendation letters can significantly influence the application outcome.
Unlike for undergraduate, master’s, or PhD level, university rankings hold less importance for postdoc applications. If your background and track record are relevant to a position, you can apply to any university. A face-to-face consultation with us can help you select the best options for your application.
Face-to-Face Consultation
While Applyindex is developing your AI-powered talking consultant, you won’t need to go anywhere else for guidance. We have a full-stack consultant, who is also the founder of Applyindex, with over 12 years of experience in applying to overseas universities in the USA, Australia, Turkey, and Germany.
He holds a PhD degree in chemical engineering from the University of Melbourne, Australia. He was also a postdoc researcher at the University of Melbourne (Australia) and the Technical University of Darmstadt (Germany). You can book your consulting session either in English or Farsi.
For Research-Based Master’s and PhD Applicants
a-index
Among the factors mentioned above, the most important is your a-Index, a quantitative representation of your CV strength. The a-index measures how well your profile aligns with the difficulty level of universities offering fully funded research-based and PhD positions. We strongly recommend focusing on the university ranking range (based on the a-index World University Rankings system) where your minimum chance of securing funded positions is at least 60%.
Recommendation Letter
Scenario 1: Suppose you plan to apply to North American universities, which typically require 3 recommendation letters for PhD applications. However, your recommenders have told you they are willing to provide letters of reference only for 3 applications. This means that even if you have the financial resources to apply to multiple universities, you’re restricted to only 3 applications because of the recommendation letter limit.
Scenario 2: You want to apply to North American universities, but you only have 2 people who are available to write your recommendation letters. Since most North American institutions require 3 letters, you would not meet their minimum criteria. As a result, you’ll need to focus your efforts on applying to European universities, which generally require only 2 recommendation letters for PhD applications.
Budget
Depending on how much you can spend on universities’ application fees and language tests (e.g., IELTS, TOEFL iBT, and GRE General) results sending fees, you are limited to the number of positions you apply to, especially in the USA and Canada.
Imagine a scenario where you have enough recommendation letters but face budget constraints for application fees and formal language test scores. North American universities often charge high application fees (averaging 80 USD) and require official test scores, which can increase costs. Given these financial limitations, you may (i) limit your applications to North American universities, potentially reducing your chances of admission offers, or (ii) find it more practical to apply to European universities, as many of them do not charge application fees or require formal test results during PhD application processes.
Feedback from Contacting Research Supervisors
Our “Find a Supervisor” article provides detailed guidance on whether contacting supervisors is necessary for your application process, depending on your specific situation. The feedback and responses you receive from supervisors can significantly shape your application strategy and influence which target universities you should ultimately consider. By establishing early contact with potential supervisors, you can gain valuable insights into available research opportunities, funding possibilities, and whether your research interests align with theirs, which can help you make informed decisions when finalizing your university applications.
Choose Your Target Universities via Applyindex
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