How to figure out what schools are attainable?

[aeiou12345]

I’m trying to figure out how to choose programs to apply to next year, but don’t really know where to start. I’ve found several programs that really interest me, but I have no clue how to gauge which programs are ‘attainable’/‘safeties’/etc. for me. I don’t want to end up applying exclusively to schools that I have no chance of getting into. How do you all figure it out?

[CochainComplex]

Google a school on this forum and you'll get an idea of what kind of people apply there and normally get accepted. Beware of survivor bias.

[bannanagamma]

As the user above said, use the profiles on this forum from previous years. This isn't always the best approach because sometimes the profiles don't reveal all of the information, but I used it when making my list. Also, I am guilty of using US News Rankings (I only applied to programs in the US) mainly to gauge how likely I can see myself getting into the school (so that I didn't just apply to top 25 schools and thereby run the risk of not getting into any school).

You should also ask your advisor/math professors where they think you should look into. A couple of my professors sent me really nice emails suggesting schools I might want to apply to and advisors I would potentially want to work with. This is also super helpful because your professors are going to know other professors are like and the research that they work on. I got a tip that you should apply to quite a few public schools, not just private ones, because public schools usually have bigger departments and therefore take more applicants.

When you are refining your list, make sure to check out how many grad students the prospective advisors you want to work with currently have, how often they are publishing, what their papers are about, etc.

[contingent]

Google a school on this forum and you'll get an idea of what kind of people apply there and normally get accepted. Beware of survivor bias.

And trolls