Reapplying next year...

[woolfie]

Hey all. It sounds like there are a few of us unfortunates that are facing the fact that we have to do this all over again. I thought I'd start a thread where we share things that we've learned this time around and things that we are going to work on for next year's round. What would you/are you doing differently? Are you reapplying to the same schools or a brand new list?

Personally, I'm retaking the GREs which I think is mostly unnecessary, but my math score is the worst you can get (long story) so I think that looks bad. I'm working on a strategic list and leaving no school unresearched. I'm sending out my writing sample to professors to critique and will start a long and arduous editing process to get it perfect, especially since I just learned that adcoms might just read the beginning, skim, and then throw you out! Gotta work on that first couple pages... Also, auditing classes to perhaps produce better writing as well as show dedication.

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

Hey all. It sounds like there are a few of us unfortunates that are facing the fact that we have to do this all over again. I thought I'd start a thread where we share things that we've learned this time around and things that we are going to work on for next year's round. What would you/are you doing differently? Are you reapplying to the same schools or a brand new list?

Personally, I'm retaking the GREs which I think is mostly unnecessary, but my math score is the worst you can get (long story) so I think that looks bad. I'm working on a strategic list and leaving no school unresearched. I'm sending out my writing sample to professors to critique and will start a long and arduous editing process to get it perfect, especially since I just learned that adcoms might just read the beginning, skim, and then throw you out! Gotta work on that first couple pages... Also, auditing classes to perhaps produce better writing as well as show dedication.

Here's mine:

1. Writing a brand new SOP (most likely a different one for each school I apply to), applying all the things I've learned about SOPs in the past two months. Will also perhaps buy that Asher book that everyone is raving about.
2. Taking an online graduate seminar this summer in medieval lit and deriving an excellent, publishable, graduate level, brand new writing sample from it (and hopefully one new LOR, as well as an SOP reader LOL).
3. I've already retaken the general GRE. Hoping to do very well on the subject test in two weeks, if not, will take it again in October.
4. Widening scope of schools I'm applying to - while still keeping one or two of the schools I applied to this year. Have a nice range of top-tier mixed in with top-fifty, and un-ranked. Still narrowing down the search and researching schools at the moment. I'll start contacting key people around May.
5. Starting to take Latin classes online and getting a head-start on my dismal language levels.
6. Perhaps taking a second graduate seminar in the fall.
7. Praying really really hard