atk

Hey, long time lurker, etc. @AM20128, I’ve been in a similar situation and wanted to offer another perspective. I’ve been through three application cycles now. The first one, I landed in an MA program; the second (last year), I got five rejections and one waitlist-turned-rejection; this year I’ve gotten three offers so far, two from programs with great reputations in my sub-field and the other from a top-ten. The first thing I’d say is that if you haven’t done an MA, consider doing one. Mine helped my applications immensely. If you have already, it’s up to you whether you want to go another round, but speaking as someone who almost gave up the dream last year, I’d say keep trying. If you got an interview at the IFA, that means you were a serious contender in an incredibly competitive cycle. Just because you got rejections this time around doesn’t mean that you’ll never have a place in this field, it just means this wasn’t your year.