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<p>How is 2boys being “harmful to students”? It apears to me that s/he is suggesting the same thing as you are- apply to many schools to help your chances. S/he is just giving another rationale (and a better rationale IMO) for doing so.</p>
<p>Whether you think the process involves diligent adcoms scrutinizing every application for tiny nuances, or a machine that makes an initial cut then shuffles and sorts the aps into accept and reject piles, it generally makes sense to apply to a number of schools. At least up until the point of diminishing returns for your labor, where filling out more applications has an adverse effect on the quality of other applications.</p>
<p>Of course if you really think the process is inherently random, you won’t reach that point as long as you can fill out all the required boxes on the application.</p>