insanityensues

I would go with the supervisor whom most closely aligns with what you want to do with your career, which may be different than the one that you like the best. If they have good contacts in your specific field, they're going to be the one that gets you farther. EVERYTHING is about networking these days, and if the supervisor you really like doesn't do much outside work in the precise type of research you want to go into, then they may not be the best for your long-term goals. On the other hand, it depends largely on whether you want to go into a research career, clinical career, or teaching career (or consulting, in which case networking is a much bigger deal). In any case, it sounds like you have some good options!

I was already volunteering in the lab for one of my POI's, had fairly frequent contact, and had been in communication with another. They were both pretty encouraging that I would have a good chance at a place, but I got last-minute correspondence from them that said otherwise. Thanks for the advice on the fee waivers, though. I know I won't have that much money to drop on this again next year!

I actually reached lower since I had so many top-tier applications (read: rejections) last time. Two of my schools' POIs wanted me in their labs, but the funding wasn't there and senior faculty were getting graduate students over junior faculty. I wound up applying to MA programs as back-ups last year, and decided it was better to get the MA than to wait around for a year at a crappy customer service job in the meantime. As soon as I was accepted, I got a scholarship outside of my department and have worked as a mentor/TA/lab supervisor/tutor, etc. (any job that needed volunteers) for the last year. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that was enough. The only good part is it seems like I'll be able to get a job in my field with my MA. I'm working on that now. I wasn't able to cast as wide of a net this time due to financial reasons. Try as I might, I could't find a way to get my applications paid for, and I have unusual circumstances that make my applications more expensive than most (I have transcripts from 4 schools instead of 1-2). I just don't want to waste the money next year if no one has funding for students, since I'm trying to pay a mortgage/survive in a terrible economy.

Has anyone found that already having an MA or MS helped them get into the PhD program this time around? I'll have mine in May, and still found myself with rejection letters from all my schools this year. 4.0 GPA, conference presentations, voluntarily led workshops, independent research and teaching experience, all for nothing. I'm getting pretty frustrated here.