Reapplication

[snappysorbet]

I've been perusing this site for a couple of months now, and the amount of information I've found has been amazing. This probably would have been good to find when I was applying to PhD programs over a year ago... as is evident from the title of this post, I'll be applying again this season, so you can imagine how the last round of applications turned out for me.

I know that many programs ask applicants if they have previously applied to University X, and applicants can check a box for "yes" and a box for "no" - but my question is about SOP / Personal Statements, etc. For those programs that rejected me last time, but to which I'm applying again, do I acknowledge said rejection in my SOP or do I let the checked "yes" box speak for itself? Any insight from people who have reapplied would be much appreciated.

[littlenell08]

I've been perusing this site for a couple of months now, and the amount of information I've found has been amazing. This probably would have been good to find when I was applying to PhD programs over a year ago... as is evident from the title of this post, I'll be applying again this season, so you can imagine how the last round of applications turned out for me.

I know that many programs ask applicants if they have previously applied to University X, and applicants can check a box for "yes" and a box for "no" - but my question is about SOP / Personal Statements, etc. For those programs that rejected me last time, but to which I'm applying again, do I acknowledge said rejection in my SOP or do I let the checked "yes" box speak for itself? Any insight from people who have reapplied would be much appreciated.

I'm going to be reapplying in the fall for a program because I absolutely fell in love with it throughout the application process and made it very high on their wait list though, alas, I did not eventually get in. So in a lot of ways, we're in the same situation! I dont know what will be best for you, but I will be letting the little checked "yes" speak for itself and using the limited space in my personal statement to talk about how good a fit I would be for their program. I think that they're going to make whatever assumptions they want to with or without a paragraph in your statement addressing the situation and that the space could be put to better use.

However, I think a good way of using this reapplication to your advantage would to be to (very politely) contact the director of admissions and ask him/her if they have any advice on how to make your application stronger. I've been in touch with the director at dream-school, and they've been really kind and encouraging.

Good luck!!!

[Riotbeard]

In reapplying to schools this year, I only checked the box, and I did well with results from schools I was reapplying to, but I also had a much stronger application overall. I don't see what good it would do to discuss. It just seems like taking up space in the already very limited word count of the SOP. Good Luck!

Edited for Gerunding *

Edited June 7, 2010 by Riotbeard

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

I'm probably re-applying to 3 of the 4 schools I applied to this past round (and didn't get in, obviously) - I plan to check the little "yes" box, and not address it further. I'm hoping that my revised and much strengthened app will speak for itself - and as ppl have mentioned above - why waste the space I already don't have in my SOP? I doubt I can even fit my research ideas and fit paragraphs in the space I'm allocated .

[btheblueox]

I was just thinking of the same thing yesterday!

As it stands, the first paragraph in my statement of purpose does deal explicitly with the reapplication (e.g. "upon being rejected I realized [etc]"). It's a very brief paragraph. On the one hand, I'm attracted to the "I'm going to be completely blunt with you guys" tone of it, which is true to myself -- I think last year I focused too much on trying to impress and far too little on actually forming a coherent message of who I am as a wannabe academic. On the other, I've heard that such a paragraph can serve the function of shooting oneself in the foot. So, I'm torn: it may well be that I just needed to write the paragraph for my own sake to clear the pipes.

So, just chiming in with sympathy and camaraderie, and thanking former reapplicants who have already responded and those who will ...

Edited June 7, 2010 by pinkbadger

[snappysorbet]

I was just thinking of the same thing yesterday!

As it stands, the first paragraph in my statement of purpose does deal explicitly with the reapplication (e.g. "upon being rejected I realized [etc]"). It's a very brief paragraph. On the one hand, I'm attracted to the "I'm going to be completely blunt with you guys" tone of it, which is true to myself -- I think last year I focused too much on trying to impress and far too little on actually forming a coherent message of who I am as a wannabe academic. On the other, I've heard that such a paragraph can serve the function of shooting oneself in the foot. So, I'm torn: it may well be that I just needed to write the paragraph for my own sake to clear the pipes.

So, just chiming in with sympathy and camaraderie, and thanking former reapplicants who have already responded and those who will ...

Thank you, thank you... this is exactly the dilemma I'm facing. I really like the idea of addressing my reapplication directly, and, as you say, being completely blunt; it's more in line with my personality, and I want that to come across in my sop, especially in light of my success rate (or lack thereof) during the last round of applications. On the other hand, as other commenters have said, I have limited space, and why should I use up a paragraph with some sort of explanation that could, in the end, "serve the function of shooting oneself in the foot"? I don't know... but I do know that reading these responses has helped me think a little more clearly about why I might choose to write about reapplying, and why I might not, so that's a good start.

[strokeofmidnight]

Thank you, thank you... this is exactly the dilemma I'm facing. I really like the idea of addressing my reapplication directly, and, as you say, being completely blunt; it's more in line with my personality, and I want that to come across in my sop, especially in light of my success rate (or lack thereof) during the last round of applications. On the other hand, as other commenters have said, I have limited space, and why should I use up a paragraph with some sort of explanation that could, in the end, "serve the function of shooting oneself in the foot"? I don't know... but I do know that reading these responses has helped me think a little more clearly about why I might choose to write about reapplying, and why I might not, so that's a good start.

I think it would not be wise. One common (if entirely understandable) mistake that many applicants seem to commit on their SoP's--in various forms--is to see a space for working out their emotions. I'm not quite stating this very well. I suppose what I'm trying to say that applying--and reapplying, which I did twice--is an emotionally exhaustive process, and it's all too easy to let that exhaustion leak onto the page. With very rare exceptions, I don't think most ad-comms respond well to that emotion vulnerability in an SoP (the PS is another matter altogether) unless it's *explicitly* called for your research project...which doesn't seem to be the case here. Ad-comms do look for a certain level of professionalism in your writing, which entails knowing what to filter out...and how *fully* to think through the very relevant growths, insights, revelations that you've gained since your last application...without drawing explicit (and generally inappropriate) attention to them. In short, *show* them what you've gained through the sophistication of your thoughts and your project, the nuances of your writing, etc...but don't *state* it. Tugging on their heartstrings, I suspect, will backfire.

When I showed a draft of my SoP to 6 professors (at two very different schools), every single one of them x'ed out my introduction. I had a single sentence that (looking back, rather mildly and gently) was somewhat personal, as it alluded to my rather unusual status. My profs told me that the very use of that sentence broke the otherwise appropriate tone of my SoP and did not reflect well on me as the writer.

Remember: professors read through the SoP for much more than just your research proposal. They're also gauging the tone to see if you understand what approach is appropriate...gauging your approach to get a sense of your personality, etc. An opening sentence, as you suggested, risk inadvertently sending the message that you are egocentric or theatrical.

In this case, it isn't so much a matter of bluntness...it's also a question of exactly what that blunt revelation would reveal. A prof might ask, for example, if such a blunt declaration is covering up for your insecurity from the previous round (since drawing attention to this issue is unusual). They might wonder why you're grandstanding this particularly moment. If you do craft a sufficiently compelling narrative to back your use of opening line, they might be impatient that it's taking so long to get to "the meat." It is possible to pull off this opening line...but you've got to be the Picasso of SoP's. That is, you have to master the "traditional" approach--understand exactly why each element/"rule" does or doesn't work (and how they function in combination) before you can begin to tweak it successfully. Otherwise, you risk being perceived as immature or unfamiliar with the usual protocols.

Edited June 12, 2010 by strokeofmidnight

[mudlark]

That was beautiful, strokeofmidnight! I couldn't agree more.

[btheblueox]

This is sorely belated, but I did just want to say thank you, strokeofmidnight -- many of the things you pointed out hadn't occurred to me.

For example, the emotional grandstanding/heartstring-tugging/theatricality: I don't at ALL want to do those things (not even the heartstring-tugging: eesh; it'd really bug me if I struck that tone).

Same thing with the possible whiff of egocentrism you mention: the reason I emphasized that I was attracted to the bluntness of mentioning the prior rejection is that I feared that not mentioning it could seem egocentric, as though I thought I was flawless or something -- oops. I think I had it backwards.

Thanks for mentioning all of those things and spelling it out so clearly: all of the possible tonal implications do make a lot of sense after you pointed them out, though I completely failed to sense them before!

In any case, all that aside, I also quite like your use of the "show, don't tell" mantra.

Much appreciated.

[intextrovert]

Just agreeing with the above - I struggled with the same question this past season, as I was reapplying to six programs I'd been rejected from in the first round (and added a few more). I'll be attending one of those six in the fall. Ultimately I just let the box speak for itself - and some didn't even ask. I would say very strongly that you really should not mention your previous season unless specifically asked. You get a fresh start and have the right to be treated like any other applicant. They really don't care what their previous decisions were on your previous applications - this is a new one, and bringing up the past is just letting it weigh you down more than necessary. Other than answering direct questions honestly, treat yourself like a new applicant, because you are.

There's an element of feeling very vulnerable in all this as a reapplicant, but you have to remember that's just your feeling and thus is your business, not something that's part of the application process itself and certainly not something that's coming from their end. It's business, it's professional, so approach it that way - reapplying is not making up for past mistakes and you have nothing to apologize for or explain away. That's so not at all on their radar. Just be the applicant you want to be/are this time around! Good luck!