kokocoffee

This is my first Ph.D. application round and got into 1 of 6 schools I applied to. I'm very pleased I even got an offer this time however, I am considering the pros and cons of reapplying in the next two years to be a more competitive applicant. The only reason why I'm leaning this route is that FIT's funding is not guaranteed; I'm still crunching numbers to see if taking out student loans are a plausible option for me. Question is for anyone who reapplied, what are some things that you did to improve your resume/transcript to be a more competitive candidate? Feel free to DM me, I'd be happy to share my credentials for reference.

I've yet to hear from ODU or PSU. I've seen that a few people have inquired about their admission status directly. I'm a little nervous to do this thinking that it might (for some silly reason) hurt my chances if I just don't wait like everyone else. If you've sent an email to a POI inquiring about admission status, and don't mind sharing, what exactly did you say in the email?