Schools What are my chances for math grad schools?

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The discussion centers on a senior applying to PhD programs in mathematics, expressing concern about the competitiveness of their applications. With a strong academic background, including a 3.88 overall GPA and a 3.95 math GPA from a top state school, the applicant has completed advanced coursework and achieved high GRE scores. They have notable research experience, including published papers and awards. The applicant has applied to several prestigious institutions, including Harvard and Stanford, but is contemplating whether to apply to additional safety schools to ensure a viable option. Suggestions emphasize the importance of applying to schools where the applicant would be happy to attend, even for a master's program, and the potential for transferring later. The discussion also briefly addresses a possible typo in the GRE scores.
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I am a senior who is applying to PhD programs in math. I am almost done with the applications, but should I apply to more schools?

Undergraduate Institution: One the top state schools (ranked top 10 in math)

Overall GPA: 3.88
Math GPA: 3.95

Courses: I have taken graduate level algebra, topology, commutative algebra, real/complex analysis, functional analysis, algebraic geometry, algebraic topology, algebraic number theory, analytic number theory

Math Subject GRE: 820/86%

General GRE scores: 168/156/4.0

Research/Publications:

-REU at William and Mary, which resulted in a paper that was recently published in Finite Fields and Their Applications

- REU at Williams College (SMALL), we just recently submitted a paper for publication

-Research with one of the professors in my school; we have gotten some good results but have not written a paper yet

Other awards:

- Putnam score of 50 (top 200)
- I received the annual undergrad algebra award from our math department
- IMC Third Prize
- 2nd place in the annual math competition at my school

I have applied to:
-Harvard
-Princeton
-Stanford
-MIT
-UC Berkeley
-UCLA
-Columbia
-UChicago
-Northwestern
-Brown
-Wisconsin
-Yale
-Cornell

I am a little worried now because all of the schools that I have applied to are really competitive. Should I apply to a couple of safety schools? Will I be able to transfer to one of the schools listed above if I attend some other school?
 
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keep applying places if you can afford it, check out Pitt/CMU. It's def a good to apply to some safety schools that you would care to attend -- even if it was for all of grad school, or just for a masters.
 
Are those typos in your General GRE scores?
 
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Yesterday, 9/5/2025, when I was surfing, I found an article The Schwarzschild solution contains three problems, which can be easily solved - Journal of King Saud University - Science ABUNDANCE ESTIMATION IN AN ARID ENVIRONMENT https://jksus.org/the-schwarzschild-solution-contains-three-problems-which-can-be-easily-solved/ that has the derivation of a line element as a corrected version of the Schwarzschild solution to Einstein’s field equation. This article's date received is 2022-11-15...

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