morifol

You know, it is actually superhelpful. Especially given that 'Northwestern University will pay for lodging and for course materials' - it's way better than any European option out there.

No, I am applying again this year, so the summer is free.

Sure! I am in Education. Higher Ed. A little problem: not a grad school student, an applicant. Currently I am working as a researcher in a think tank.

Hello, Grad Cafe folks! How do you spend your summers? I will have 1.5 months of free time that I would like to spend researching away (or, alternatively, participating in a summer school). I am looking for summer schools, and I am also looking for opportunities in different research centers. Hence the questions: 1. Say, you have connections in a research center. How do you write a letter? 'Hello, I am a researcher in... Looking for summer opportunities. Have you got any?' or should I go into specifics? Aka 'I am researching ..., and you have this professor, and I would like...' 2. Do you happen to know any not-so-expensive summer school in Europe? 3. What other opportunities are there?

So, for all the people out there who have been rejected from their programs of choice and are planning to go for it again, here is my letter (all identity revealing info erazed) to the professor who interviewed me: Dear ..., I had a pleasure to talk with you on the 26th of January. I was shortlisted for the PhD program in .... However, I was not offered a place in the program. The program at ... is still my program of choice, and I am planning to apply again next year for the 2017 cohort. I hope you don't mind me getting in touch again, but I wanted to ask whether you have any recommendations on how I can strengthen my application for the next round. To remind you of my background ... (a bit about that, and a bit about the topics we discussed during the interview). I understand that you must be very busy, so I will appreciate every bit of advice you can give me very deeply. Have a wonderful day!

Oh, I have forgotten to reply and thank you! Thank you! Especially for the first part.

I do have a Master's though... And I will have 2 years full time by the end of this year... Maybe I should stress my three years working in an education camp, too (part-time, not higher ed, but adjacent for sure)? Also, I am working as an expert/researcher now - I can maybe ask my recommender to stress the intensity of the work we do (he is my supervisor in the think-tank). Luckily, I've done so much researching for the government and so on, that I will not have to write from scratch. Or so I hope. Most importantly - thank you so much. You've definitely shed some light on this.

Well, I consider my SoP to be pretty good. And it IS long, but not longer than 1000 words they ask for. GRE scores are fine, letter of recommendation - superb. I don't think a professor who works on a similar topic will not remember me if I contact him/her through a personal network. Publications are one of the ways to prove one's worth given one is an international student who is not coming from a top-100 institution. So I would disagree with what you said - they not expecting me to have good publications does not mean I should not use this tool to carve a better image of myself.

Have you figured the wording out already? I am still toying with different options. For one: 'Dear ... I was shortlisted, but not accepted, planning to apply again as the program remains my top choice... What can I do to strengthen my application?'. Yet, I keep thinking - should I remind him of who I am - mention the key features of my profile?

Thank you! That is helpful!

Don't hide! Fight! Well, not with them. That's my approach anyway. Yes, I already have an idea for an article. I already have all the answers, so I suppose I will start e-mailing soon - to those ones where I want to reapply.

So this year hasn't been successful for me due to a whole list of reasons: lack of experience (we are talking 1 year of doing truly great things, but just one), no published work, no personal contacts with grad schools. I am not discouraged, only prepared to work harder, and it looks like I have got 9 months, which is not much if you think about it. I am sure there are people who are in the same or in a similar situation. Let's come together! I have created a to-do list, which includes working on my mistakes, building personal networks, and gaining new experience. Hence the first question: when do you think I should contact the programs I have been rejected from asking them what I can to do strengthen my application? Is now too early (+ they are all busy), or is now just right, because they might still remember me? Especially the school that interviewed me?

I am sorry to learn that! Well, looks like some great universities like you I, too, got a rejection. Closure, yes. One more year for me.

I have some questions: people who got admitted - was there an interview for each of you? people who were wait-listed - what about you? and - has anyone been rejected so far?

Every day since Monday has been the day.