How to ask for feedback from schools that rejected you?

[Oklash]

I applied to 5 PhD program. I was rejected from each program except for one. I’ve recently discovered that the application is still active?! 

I contacted the university to inquire about my status. They admitted that they do keep a few applications active and on reserve just for unexpected openings. The email was polite but I have no hope that those openings will appear or that they will actually lend an acceptance. This is fine as I will be going to an MA program but since I made it this far into thier application process, would it be appropriate to ask for feedback on my application?

Could I ask what they liked/disliked? May I see the notes they wrote if any? Could I ask what would make my application stronger if I were to apply again in the next few years?

Is this frowned upon? Does anyone has any experience with reaching out to schools from which they were rejected?

Edited April 7, 2018 by Oklash

[TakeruK]

It is okay to ask for feedback in your case and it won't be something that is "frowned upon". Maybe wait until May or June to ask though since this might be a very busy time as they try to fill the last few spots left.

I think the best way to ask, from your post, is "What would make my application stronger if I were to reapply in the future?" This will be something that they can answer and also something that is actually helpful to you. 

In my opinion, it is not appropriate to ask for the notes they wrote about your application (honestly, there may not be any notes, and usually these are quite confidential so they are likely destroyed ASAP). Also I think if you ask for this, they might just say no instead of providing anything useful at all. So, I think something more future-focused and positive pointing would be a better way to ask, such as what I wrote in the previous paragraph. If they choose to share additional info, they could do that too.

It's okay to ask, but be prepared for them to not provide anything. It really depends on the school and the individual you are speaking with whether or not you get lots of info or just very generic stuff. To be honest, for many schools where there are 10 times as many applicants as there are spots, a large fraction of applications are removed from consideration very early on so there are no notes or memory associated with the reason for this removal, so there really isn't any feedback to give. In addition, the role/job of the admissions committee is not to evaluate these applications the same way they might evaluate an assignment or project (i.e. with feedback intending to both evaluate accomplishment and to also teach the student). Instead, the purpose of the evaluation is to determine whether or not the application gets on to the next stage and/or is admitted to the program. So the notes taken sometimes does not really provide useful feedback and few faculty members are going to want to spend extra time with an application to provide this detailed feedback. In your situation, since it does sound like they have spent some time considering yours, you might get some useful feedback.

Finally, just from my opinion if I was going to give feedback on the applications I've evaluated (I've not been on a grad admissions committee but I have been on other committees / made hiring/selection decisions). If a candidate contacted me and I was allowed to give feedback, I would most certainly only give information that is positive and future focused because I don't think it's useful to talk about things the candidate cannot change. In addition, I am sure most evaluators/committee members will not want to get into an argument/back-and-forth with the candidate about interpretation of their evaluation. For example, if I say something like, "We did not think you adequately made a case for why your project would make good use of the archives/equipment/telescopes/labs/etc. that we have in the department", then the applicant might point out specific lines in the SOP where they made this case. Then, there might be a debate on whether we interpreted their words correctly or not. This would be an awkward and terrible position to be in, and I think part of the reason why many departments don't provide feedback at all is to avoid these scenarios specifically. Therefore, I think it's good idea to focus on your request on what can be improved for the future, rather than critique of your application, because it is less likely to signal to the department that you might be a person that will want to try to argue with them.

[megtree]

I don't have personal experience, but I know someone who reached out to a school and asked for feedback. She explained that she was very interested in attending the program and intended to reapply the following year. She asked if there was anything she could do to strengthen her application and improve her chances of being admitted in the future. They gave her some personalized tips to improve her application, and she was happily admitted the following year. 

I'm not sure if that's typical. I imagine most schools wouldn't have the resources to respond to every rejected applicant's request for feedback. However, if you keep it courteous and complimentary, I don't see the harm in requesting feedback... just anticipate that you may not receive a response, or the response you're looking for, and to leave the matter alone if that's the case. 
 

[PathoBio]

I think that it doesn’t hurt asking for feedback. There may have something specific, or just give you generic information about what makes a strong application. The worst that will happen is a lack of response. 

[Oklash]

On 4/9/2018 at 3:03 PM, TakeruK said:

It is okay to ask for feedback in your case and it won't be something that is "frowned upon". Maybe wait until May or June to ask though since this might be a very busy time as they try to fill the last few spots left.

I think the best way to ask, from your post, is "What would make my application stronger if I were to reapply in the future?" This will be something that they can answer and also something that is actually helpful to you. 

In my opinion, it is not appropriate to ask for the notes they wrote about your application (honestly, there may not be any notes, and usually these are quite confidential so they are likely destroyed ASAP). Also I think if you ask for this, they might just say no instead of providing anything useful at all. So, I think something more future-focused and positive pointing would be a better way to ask, such as what I wrote in the previous paragraph. If they choose to share additional info, they could do that too.

It's okay to ask, but be prepared for them to not provide anything. It really depends on the school and the individual you are speaking with whether or not you get lots of info or just very generic stuff. To be honest, for many schools where there are 10 times as many applicants as there are spots, a large fraction of applications are removed from consideration very early on so there are no notes or memory associated with the reason for this removal, so there really isn't any feedback to give. In addition, the role/job of the admissions committee is not to evaluate these applications the same way they might evaluate an assignment or project (i.e. with feedback intending to both evaluate accomplishment and to also teach the student). Instead, the purpose of the evaluation is to determine whether or not the application gets on to the next stage and/or is admitted to the program. So the notes taken sometimes does not really provide useful feedback and few faculty members are going to want to spend extra time with an application to provide this detailed feedback. In your situation, since it does sound like they have spent some time considering yours, you might get some useful feedback.

Finally, just from my opinion if I was going to give feedback on the applications I've evaluated (I've not been on a grad admissions committee but I have been on other committees / made hiring/selection decisions). If a candidate contacted me and I was allowed to give feedback, I would most certainly only give information that is positive and future focused because I don't think it's useful to talk about things the candidate cannot change. In addition, I am sure most evaluators/committee members will not want to get into an argument/back-and-forth with the candidate about interpretation of their evaluation. For example, if I say something like, "We did not think you adequately made a case for why your project would make good use of the archives/equipment/telescopes/labs/etc. that we have in the department", then the applicant might point out specific lines in the SOP where they made this case. Then, there might be a debate on whether we interpreted their words correctly or not. This would be an awkward and terrible position to be in, and I think part of the reason why many departments don't provide feedback at all is to avoid these scenarios specifically. Therefore, I think it's good idea to focus on your request on what can be improved for the future, rather than critique of your application, because it is less likely to signal to the department that you might be a person that will want to try to argue with them.

Thank you!

i will contact them in June and I hope they will not have forgotten about me in that time! However there is also the chance that my rejection wasn’t “personal” but they just didn’t have enough space and I wasn’t the best fit. If that were the case, I don’t think that there would be much to “improve” upon. Especially since I’ll be getting an MA and will have a stronger application anyway. There’s always room for improvement but I can’t help but wonder why they held on to my application all they way till the 2nd week of April?

Thanks for the advice 

[TakeruK]

5 minutes ago, Oklash said:

However there is also the chance that my rejection wasn’t “personal” but they just didn’t have enough space and I wasn’t the best fit. If that were the case, I don’t think that there would be much to “improve” upon.

Indeed. There is a high chance that you will get a generic, "We don't have any individual notes, but there were a large number of qualified candidates this year with only a small number of spots available." 

7 minutes ago, Oklash said:

I can’t help but wonder why they held on to my application all they way till the 2nd week of April?

Many schools don't reject anyone until they have their admitted class fully confirmed. So, they might actually just hold onto everyone's application. Or you were indeed in the "middle ground" pool. From my experience evaluating academic profiles (proposals, applications, etc.) the general procedure is to first review all of the applications. There should be some number that are very clearly "must accept". And there is likely another set that is clearly going to be rejected. The hard part is then ranking the ones in the middle and deciding where the cutoff line is. It might be the case that this school decides to hang onto everyone who is in the middle category, no matter if you are near the cutoff or very far away. It's easier to just hang onto an application than to decide whether or not to cut it.