Well my signature pretty much talks for itself. I am waiting on four more programs to hear back from, but I am pretty sure I will be rejected from them as well.
I am an international student from Greece. My stats are not that bad, I thought I would get at least on interview. My GPA is 4.00, and my GRE scores are V: 163, Q: 152, AW: 5.0. I have 3 years of research experience with the topic of my honors thesis being directly relevant to what I would like to conduct research on during a PhD program.
I have no poster presentations, or publications, because of specific circumstances that have to do with the educational system in Greece (they only happen after you graduate). I graduated in July, so I am working on a publication right now.
My back up plan is to apply to Masters programs in England and then reapply to PhD programs in the USA in one or two years. Does that sound like a solid plan? I will gain more research experience, increase my technical expertise, and I will probably get a publication or two. My main concern is whether to attend a full time one year masters program, or a part time two years masters program.
The first option means that I will start my program in September 2015 and graduate in September 2016. It also means that I will be applying to PhD programs for the Fall 2016 cycle with not a much more improved CV.
The second option means that I will graduate in September 2017 and apply to PhD programs for the Fall 2017 cycle with a somewhat improved CV.
Which option do you think is better? Do you think I will get accepted into a masters program? All input will be greatly appreciated.