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Hi Marie-Luise, What did you write in your statement of purpose about your interest in pursuing a second PhD? I imagine it would be fairly challenging to make an argument that both demonstrates that you will make a substantial contribution to the field AND somehow manages to explain why, in your first PhD, you didn't accomplish enough to make a postdoctoral fellowship or professorship your obvious next step. If you didn't accomplish enough in your first PhD, then why should Harvard believe that you will in your second? And if you did have impressive accomplishments in your first PhD, then why do you need a second one? I see your explanation about the UK/Irish system working differently, but to be honest it doesn't come across as a very compelling argument. You write that you were "not particularly encouraged to present/publish until well into the PhD" and you felt you were expected to wait until you had "something to say"... This is understandable, but aren't you now "well into the PhD" and haven't you discovered that you have something to say? I don't think top-tier American universities "just want everyone to conform to their system" -- I think they want to see concrete proof that you've already made a significant contribution to research/academia. And if you DID provide impressive examples of your work in your application, then it's hard to understand why you're essentially starting over instead of moving on up. Maybe it would be easier to make an outstanding impression as a first-time PhD applicant, if the bulk of your application shows that you demonstrate great promise. But if you've spent several years in a PhD program already, and you still only show great promise without any evidence that you went above and beyond what was expected of you, that's a red flag. Also, there's this explanation on the Harvard GSAS admissions site: "Persons holding a PhD or its equivalent, or who have completed most of the work required to earn the PhD elsewhere, may apply to a PhD program in the Graduate School only if it is an unrelated field of study. In view of the large number of excellent applicants for the limited number of places in the Graduate School, preference for admission and financial aid will be given to those who have not already had an opportunity to receive a doctoral degree here or elsewhere." So even if you put aside the tricky task of explaining why a second PhD will be useful to you and a good investment for the department, it looks like Harvard takes a firm stance against the second doctoral degree, if only because the university wants to offer their limited spots to applicants who haven't otherwise been able to pursue doctoral degrees. Again, I think one subtext of this argument is that if you've successfully completed a PhD in this field or a closely related field, or if you've come close to earning a PhD but haven't successfully completed it...then why do you need this degree? What will a second PhD give you that a first PhD didn't or that a postdoctoral position wouldn't?

Hi NKH, I got an email last week saying the decisions (for MSW only) will be emailed March 18-22. It looks like you're applying to the concurrent MSW/MPH program...maybe MPH notifies earlier? It's also possible that they were hoping to notify earlier but are taking longer than expected.

Hi Twoone, Could you describe your experience at CSUEB? I've pretty much decided not to apply but I'm still a little unsure... I moved to the Bay Area recently and definitely want to stay here, so I'm trying to keep my options open but I just haven't heard anything great about it. I'd love to hear what you didn't like because I think that would convince me not to bother applying!

I never got confirmation that my supplemental docs (personal statement and recommendations) were received. They did confirm they'd received the first half of them when I asked (I sent things one by one over a couple months), but then when I sent the last couple things I emailed asking them to confirm that my app was complete and they never replied. Frustrating, but I'm sure they are overloaded.

Well, of course!

Hmm. Since the prompt says, "Describe the strengths and weaknesses of your preparation for graduate study," then yes, you do actually need to mention a weakness (and probably more than one). I wouldn't spend a huge chunk of the essay on weaknesses, but don't outright ignore it. (Just like, in a job interview, if you're asked about strengths and weaknesses...you can't say you have no weaknesses!) I don't know what field you're going into so it's hard for me to comment specifically... One thing that helped me was looking at a list of qualities the program expected its students to have, and then choosing one or two of those attributes to highlight as things I'm still working on. As for the "gaps in your academic career" part...to me taking a year between undergrad and grad school isn't a gap that needs real explaining; I'd imagine they're talking about, say, leaving college after two years and finishing the degree five years later, or other unusual academic gaps. If you want you can throw in a sentence about having had time to evaluate the type of grad program you want, because it certainly can't hurt and will set your mind at ease about following the directions, but I wouldn't worry much about it.

It really depends on when the deadlines are... Has the prof already missed all of the deadlines? If so, did you contact the admissions offices to let them know and ask if any of them would allow a late letter? When are the deadlines for the other schools you didn't apply to but are considering now? If you still have some time and are willing to put in the work, go for it. You still want to give all of your professors plenty of notice, though, so I wouldn't just spring a bunch of new applications on them unless the deadlines are far off.

To be honest I'm dragging on the East Bay app...I'm not excited about writing another personal statement!

Yes, the questionnaire is only for CA applicants. I qualify as a resident but based on the info in the app they "can't determine" if I qualify or not, so there's this added questionnaire. Good luck with UW! That's great that you made the early deadline. I used to live in Portland and I love the Pacific Northwest. I'm happy here and UC Berkeley is my first choice, but if I get into UW I will be SURE to take a trip!

Hi Deepa, I'm in the Bay Area! I applied to Berkeley and SFSU and I'm working on CSU East Bay and SJSU. Good luck!

Speaking of frustrating, I just got an email warning me that my app is incomplete! The only thing showing up is the residency questionnaire due in July... I'll send it ASAP so they don't keep emailing me (this is the 3rd or 4th email they've sent) but it seems odd that the residency Q is not even due by the regular deadline and it's still making my app "incomplete"...Argh! I heard (friend of a friend -- not sure how accurate) that SFSU has a really small program, 20-25 people per class, which is what makes it competitive relative to the number of people who apply. By the way, I'm in the Bay Area but also applying to UW -- I see you're in Seattle...did you apply there? I haven't visited but have I feeling I'd like it!

I completely agree about their application process. I applied for the Title IV-E stipend which was another ordeal -- separate mailed application (the formatting was a MESS with headers randomly in the middle of each page), extra reference letter with additional questions, etc -- and I got different answers from different people about the instructions. In that case I did get quick responses (by email) but the fact that two people immediately gave me two different answers made me feel like they were both just responding in order to respond, without actually knowing the right answer...

Good luck! I bet it'll be okay.

I know this is is probably too late to be helpful, but for SFSU you actually do have to send TWO copies of your official transcript, one to graduate admissions and one to the social work department. I emailed the department to confirm because it was confusing... Since you got everything else in, I'm thinking they might still accept that extra transcript after the deadline. It wouldn't hurt to try! If you log in at sfsu.edu/admit there's a "to do" list, which will probably include that extra transcript copy. The graduate admissions mailing address is there.