gforgreat

Hi all, what do you think about reapplying to programs that had previously rejected you?

Those of you who have been accepted to your dream programs (the so-called top 10 programs, ivy league, etc.) what kind of academic experiences do you have? "Fit" to the dept is not something I can (fully) control, but experience is something I can work on over the next few months in the case of reapplying. Comparing is never a good move, but it helps me to see my weak spots - more specifically, weak spots from the perspective of the department. So I am curious, what do you think made you a strong applicant for the program(s) you got into?

I think it is because a lot of MA programs do not offer the so-called "full funding." But even without the "full funding" promises, a lot of MA programs offer scholarships. I applied some MA programs as well because I heard you can transfer your credits to PhD programs - not sure how it works, but it is a thing apparently. I already have a MA from another discipline, so getting another MA seemed unnecessary. However, if I can transfer my credits to PhD, then its worth it I think.

The most frustrating part about this cycle is that, I wasn't even able to apply to my dream programs because they paused the app process. Thankfully, I was accepted to some programs, but since they are not my top choices, I am debating whether or not I should decline the offers and retry for another year to apply to my dream schools. There is no guarantee I would be accepted to my dream schools next year, so this feels like a gamble at this point.

I didn't apply to UO, but I would be pretty upset if I was one of the applicants. They made people spend their time, energy, and money, just to give this super late notice??

For UCI and UCSC, and many other schools that conduct interviews, I know that being interviewed does not guarantee acceptance, but does NOT being interviewed mean you have zero chance of getting in?

YES! Not letting their applicants know - especially after they spent almost $100 for the application fee and countless hours on the application materials - says A LOT about the program and faculties.

Also, I wish these programs could tell us WHY we were rejected. Was my GPA too low? Were my GRE scores just not good enough? Was my SOP terrible? They always say its the "fit" and maybe they are right, but the "fit" isn't the only reason why they would accept people so it can't be the only reason they reject others. Also what do they mean by "fit"? Because when I was going through the profiles, CVs, and research works of the faculties I want to work with, I was confident that I would be a great student for those faculties. I want to know these reasons so I know which programs to reapply next year and prepare my application materials more appropriately. I'm venting, because after 7th implicit/unspoken rejection, I'm am going nuts.

What's taking these programs FOREVER to sent out rejection letters? I want them to just lmk that they don't like me lol

I was thinking of reapplying next year but damn.. I don’t think I can handle going through this again lol

I applied to 13 and only got one acceptance as well. I’m grateful but I’m disappointed. Umich is my TOP choice so this one definitely hurts a lot. I’m the one who mentioned about the discreet waitlist on this forum but it seems like Umich don’t have one since they sent out formal waitlist emails to applicants. So I really have no hope here.

I was wondering about the same thing. But in my opinion, by the time we finish with our PhD (5-7yrs), people are going to forget about the mess the pandemic caused in academia. So when we enter into the job market, the pandemic wouldn't "compensate" (for the lack of better word) the low-ranking status of the program. But I tend to think negatively, so feel free to disregard my opinion! And like the poster said, what you do during your PhD journey could help overcoming the low-rank status of your program!

The back to back red rejection bubbles on the results page is giving me an anxiety even tho I didn't apply to stanford. I just hate the word rejected/rejection at this point lol

I mean, for UW madison, they also sent out an additional email with more "details" (i.e., competitiveness, pandemic, funding, etc.) after updating their portal with application status. So maybe this is what UChicago is also referring to?

I did because the email asked me to let them know if I would like to remain on the waitlist. If the program is one of your top choices, I think you should respond and let them know that you're still interested.