Months 4 to 1 — submit, then decide

Submit in waves, earliest deadline first, and keep a one-line log of what went where. Then the hard part: waiting without applying to nine more courses out of anxiety.

When offers arrive, compare on the four things that matter — course content, department strength in the field, total cost of attendance, and graduate outcomes. Accept one. Decline the others properly; someone else is on that waitlist.