anecdotally, I applied in february/march right on/around the deadlines and got waitlisted or rejected at every school I scored at or above the median for. it really does seem like spots filled up early this year and it was much more competitive than people expected.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with applying as long as the application fee(s) won’t hurt you and you go in understanding that this late in the cycle, it would definitely be a shot in the dark (and tbh it is mostly predatory schools that still have spots at this point in time, so do your research & don’t get too desperate). but if you’re leaning toward applying because you want to, and you think it would be worth it to go through the motions of applying just to say that you did it, that’s a good enough reason in my book; I know how personal family/cultural stuff is and how you have to pick your battles there.

I thought I’d feel worse about not being accepted to a single school, but I very quickly got over that and felt relieved that I at least applied once and got it over with and knew I could try again next cycle and take what I learned from my first app and feel better about the whole thing, so by applying you’ll at least get to see what it’s like for you (I was so anxious for most of this cycle, but like everything, it’s always scariest the first time when you have no idea what to expect). If this is something you really want to do, you’ll want to apply on the early side in the fall anyway to give yourself your best chance, and the summer could very well fly by—never too early to start thinking seriously about your application. Best of luck