What if I don't get accepted into any programs?

[alexkoch22]

I have gotten 2/4 rejections and I think the 3rd will also be a no. I know I want to go to grad school and pursue my Ph.d, but what if I never get in? I was on academic probation my freshman year and have worked my way up to teaching the course. It just heavily affected my cumulative gpa :(. I know I will reapply if not accepted but I'm very nervous.

 

I'm getting my Anthropology and German degree and applied to UTK, UofM, IU, and Rutgers.

UTK, U of M said no for Anthro

I haven't heard from any others

 

[Mostafaa]

Same! I got rejected from my safety uni. I have another 9 results to come, but I can guess the results already. 

It's super sad. My undergrad gpa is 4/4, and applied for direct phd positions. also, have some teaching experience. I will apply for the next year with better GRE scores, and maybe doing some research to add value to my cv.

It just doesn't make sense to me. 

I was too optimistic i guess.

[serpentstone]

This is also my worry but I try to remember that this forum reflects the most dedicated of us - people getting into Top 10s and Ivy Leagues like it was just a whim that they applied isn't really what the reality of all applicants looks like. We can't forget that there are also people saying "fifth application cycle and FINALLY got in somewhere!" so you never really know what your luck will be, what the circumstances of this particular cycle will be. Maybe you don't get in! It'll suck and be so heartbreaking! But you will also be among other very smart and very talented scholars with crazy good research ideas who did not get in anywhere either. It is not a reflection of you as a person, your skills, or your dedication to the field. All we can do is let the heartbreak run its course, figure out our life for the next 365 days, and then wait for the next app cycle to begin. Your applications will only get better over time.

Edited February 15, 2022 by serpentstone
Hope this helps just a smidge. I'm trying to hold onto hope while also remembering that life will go on if I don't get in!

[alexkoch22]

4 minutes ago, serpentstone said:

This is also my worry but I try to remember that this forum reflects the most dedicated of us - people getting into Top 10s and Ivy Leagues like it was just a whim that they applied isn't really what the reality of all applicants looks like. We can't forget that there are also people saying "fifth application cycle and FINALLY got in somewhere!" so you never really know what your luck will be, what the circumstances of this particular cycle will be. Maybe you don't get in! It'll suck and be so heartbreaking! But you will also be among other very smart and very talented scholars with crazy good research ideas who did not get in anywhere either. It is not a reflection of you as a person, your skills, or your dedication to the field. All we can do is let the heartbreak run its course, figure out our life for the next 365 days, and then wait for the next app cycle to begin. Your applications will only get better over time.

This was very well written and does make me feel better! Hopefully, we all don't have to do 5 cycles!

[try2survive]

On 2/15/2022 at 7:46 AM, Mostafaa said:

Same! I got rejected from my safety uni. I have another 9 results to come, but I can guess the results already. 

It's super sad. My undergrad gpa is 4/4, and applied for direct phd positions. also, have some teaching experience. I will apply for the next year with better GRE scores, and maybe doing some research to add value to my cv.

It just doesn't make sense to me. 

I was too optimistic i guess.

Similar situation, didn't get a 4/4 GPA but did have many (pretty good, I believe) research/industry experiences.

This is the second time I have applied. The first time was all rejected, this time (all schools are different but) might be the same situation (still waiting for two programs but don't think it's gonna work, since all three that came out were rejections)

My problem is that, I spent lots of time doing intern & research (and there were some bad planning, some issues) thus haven't finished my undergrad yet. Those at my age have completed their master's (some might even finish their PhDs)

It's such a stress, especially for most of the research work I did, I didn't get any pay. And I'm indeed wondering if I really want to do research or just want to earn the title of being called "Dr." at a fancy school.

I know everyone has their own pace, but...I was born in a country (culture) where you have to be quick and fast to get the most and climb the social ladder. I know I will need to take care of my parents and my family in the future, but now I'm just wasting my parents' money on super expensive tuition (I'm an international student) and some stupid applications that only wish me good luck in future endeavors. 

(honestly, I contacted those POIs before I applied for all the programs, and they all showed positive responses, which made me believe that this could work out...but it didn't and I just felt betrayed and cheated...haha it's funny, this feeling is like you love someone and believe someone loves you, but it all turns out to be your fantasy, they don't and they never like you)

[Mostafaa]

I understand everything you just said. One of my major problems is my financial situation too. I already have spent too much on uni applications without any results, and this makes me more concerned for  the next cycle. What if I make my cv more competitive and still not a chance? I would become literally broke( I am also an international student)

Another thing is you just mentioned about being in touch with your POIs has happened to me too?? 

It just makes me crazy, I had 4 zoom meeting with my PoIs in 4 different universities before even applying, and they all looked positive about me( at least I thought so). What i think is that at least in my major( psychology) emailing PoIs is not that essential since admissions are highly commitee-centered, and a single professor can not do much for us.

HOwever, i still want to reapply for the next cycle, i just can't stop.

Hope you hear some good news,

Love?

 

[Mostafaa]

On 2/24/2022 at 6:48 PM, try2survive said:

Similar situation, didn't get a 4/4 GPA but did have many (pretty good, I believe) research/industry experiences.

This is the second time I have applied. The first time was all rejected, this time (all schools are different but) might be the same situation (still waiting for two programs but don't think it's gonna work, since all three that came out were rejections)

My problem is that, I spent lots of time doing intern & research (and there were some bad planning, some issues) thus haven't finished my undergrad yet. Those at my age have completed their master's (some might even finish their PhDs)

It's such a stress, especially for most of the research work I did, I didn't get any pay. And I'm indeed wondering if I really want to do research or just want to earn the title of being called "Dr." at a fancy school.

I know everyone has their own pace, but...I was born in a country (culture) where you have to be quick and fast to get the most and climb the social ladder. I know I will need to take care of my parents and my family in the future, but now I'm just wasting my parents' money on super expensive tuition (I'm an international student) and some stupid applications that only wish me good luck in future endeavors. 

(honestly, I contacted those POIs before I applied for all the programs, and they all showed positive responses, which made me believe that this could work out...but it didn't and I just felt betrayed and cheated...haha it's funny, this feeling is like you love someone and believe someone loves you, but it all turns out to be your fantasy, they don't and they never like you)

I understand everything you just said. One of my major problems is my financial situation too. I already have spent too much on uni applications without any results, and this makes me more concerned for the next cycle. What if I make my cv more competitive and still not a chance? I would become literally broke( I am also an international student)

 

Another thing is you just mentioned about being in touch with your POIs has happened to me too?? 

 

It just makes me crazy, I had 4 zoom meeting with my PoIs in 4 different universities before even applying, and they all looked positive about me( at least I thought so). What i think is that at least in my major( psychology) emailing PoIs is not that essential since admissions are highly commitee-centered, and a single professor can not do much for us.

 

HOwever, i still want to reapply for the next cycle, i just can't stop.

 

Hope you hear some good news,

 

Love?

 

 

 

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[try2survive]

On 2/25/2022 at 11:44 AM, Mostafaa said:

I understand everything you just said. One of my major problems is my financial situation too. I already have spent too much on uni applications without any results, and this makes me more concerned for  the next cycle. What if I make my cv more competitive and still not a chance? I would become literally broke( I am also an international student)

Another thing is you just mentioned about being in touch with your POIs has happened to me too?? 

It just makes me crazy, I had 4 zoom meeting with my PoIs in 4 different universities before even applying, and they all looked positive about me( at least I thought so). What i think is that at least in my major( psychology) emailing PoIs is not that essential since admissions are highly commitee-centered, and a single professor can not do much for us.

HOwever, i still want to reapply for the next cycle, i just can't stop.

Hope you hear some good news,

Love?

 

Yeah exactly. It's like, there is no standard (no end) for that, and you don't know how good is good enough...

Oh...yeah, same, had Zoom calls with them before applying, and yeah, same, felt positive. Now I think those POIs were clever, super clever. There was ZERO cost for them to say: hey, I don't like you, don't waste application money on me. And I will be totally okay with that. But they all act so cunningly because obviously, the more people apply, the larger pool they can select from. 

*Well they probably didn't want to break our faith & feelings (which they already did anyway)

Yeah, you are right. For some schools, the committee played the biggest role. I'm not from psychology (I'm from Computer Science), but I did have one school that the Prof never even saw my application and said it was rejected by the committee and never got passed to them.

But I feel that if you really care about me, you would be really worried when you didn't see my application and would talk to the committee to see what happened instead of waiting for me to ask you how my application is going (and tells me: sorry I can't control, I don't know, I never see it). It only means you don't really want to accept me in the first place. All those lovely words were simply you pretending to be nice. ? (this is probably a bit mean but, I was really really upset & a bit angry by some POIs)

Haha, thanks, hope you hear some good news too. Yeah...I guess I will re-apply as well, but honestly, there is only one summer left for the next application. I don't think it can make much difference? But my case is probably worse than yours since I've applied twice, and some schools only allows you to apply three times in your lifetime, so I need to use the last chance wisely.

Edited February 27, 2022 by try2survive

[Mostafaa]

17 hours ago, try2survive said:

Yeah exactly. It's like, there is no standard (no end) for that, and you don't know how good is good enough...

Oh...yeah, same, had Zoom calls with them before applying, and yeah, same, felt positive. Now I think those POIs were clever, super clever. There was ZERO cost for them to say: hey, I don't like you, don't waste application money on me. And I will be totally okay with that. But they all act so cunningly because obviously, the more people apply, the larger pool they can select from. 

*Well they probably didn't want to break our faith & feelings (which they already did anyway)

Yeah, you are right. For some schools, the committee played the biggest role. I'm not from psychology (I'm from Computer Science), but I did have one school that the Prof never even saw my application and said it was rejected by the committee and never got passed to them.

But I feel that if you really care about me, you would be really worried when you didn't see my application and would talk to the committee to see what happened instead of waiting for me to ask you how my application is going (and tells me: sorry I can't control, I don't know, I never see it). It only means you don't really want to accept me in the first place. All those lovely words were simply you pretending to be nice. ? (this is probably a bit mean but, I was really really upset & a bit angry by some POIs)

Haha, thanks, hope you hear some good news too. Yeah...I guess I will re-apply as well, but honestly, there is only one summer left for the next application. I don't think it can make much difference? But my case is probably worse than yours since I've applied twice, and some schools only allows you to apply three times in your lifetime, so I need to use the last chance wisely.

Edited 17 hours ago by try2survive

I see. How about retaking GRE and spend your time on preparing for that until let's say September-october? I think in computer science they really care about GRE scores, especially the quant. ( Keep in mind that GRE plays huge role for us as international applicants, as they may not know our universities, and the education system).

So, by looking at our scores they can compare applicants much better and with less bias. (BTW, I hate GRE?)

The same goes with psychology majors, so I have plans to retake it.

 

[try2survive]

41 minutes ago, Mostafaa said:

I see. How about retaking GRE and spend your time on preparing for that until let's say September-october? I think in computer science they really care about GRE scores, especially the quant. ( Keep in mind that GRE plays huge role for us as international applicants, as they may not know our universities, and the education system).

So, by looking at our scores they can compare applicants much better and with less bias. (BTW, I hate GRE?)

The same goes with psychology majors, so I have plans to retake it.

 

Wow, thanks for the advice on GRE. I agree. But honestly, I've never taken GRE for both last year and this year's applications. Since those that I applied don't require GRE, and as you said, "I hate GRE" ? 

But now I feel maybe next year will be different? Many schools might require GRE again? Yeah, I guess I would need to prepare that as well (I actually did prepare that last year but gave up halfway...)

Maybe that's not the case in Psychology? Didn't they waive GRE?

[Mostafaa]

50 minutes ago, try2survive said:

Wow, thanks for the advice on GRE. I agree. But honestly, I've never taken GRE for both last year and this year's applications. Since those that I applied don't require GRE, and as you said, "I hate GRE" ? 

But now I feel maybe next year will be different? Many schools might require GRE again? Yeah, I guess I would need to prepare that as well (I actually did prepare that last year but gave up halfway...)

Maybe that's not the case in Psychology? Didn't they waive GRE?

Actually most programs didn't waive, but they made it optional for psychology majors ( at least for my program which is industrial-organizational psychology). This is why I didn't take it seriously, and I regret it. I know many applicants have sent their scores this year, and the only reason i can find for my rejection would be definitely the GRE.

It just surprised me that every program that GRE was optional for, has accepted students with GRE as far as I know. That actually makes sense though as if it was me, i would rather admit students with great scores than those who have not taken the exam or not submitted their results. The competition is real bro!?

And yes I believe next year GRE is so likely to be required, and even if it isn't, I would say many will send their scores.

 

[cs99]

I know this question was posted a few weeks ago, but for what it’s worth, I wasn’t accepted into any PhD programs when I applied last year (fall 21 admissions cycle) during my final year of undergrad (graduated 6/21). I ended up doing a research project with a faculty member from my school after graduation and reapplying for fall 22. This year I’ve gotten accepted to 2 programs so far, with more decisions to come. I don’t know exactly what made the difference but here are some things I did differently 1) my gpa improved in my last semester of undergrad 2) I now have more research experience from my current project 3) I submitted four rec letters when applications let me (research advisors + academic advisor) and 4) I got more people to look over my SOP. If grad school is something you really want to do, don’t be afraid to apply again next year. It may work out :). 

The specific names of the programs I applied to varied a lot, but were all something along the lines of applied math/computational science/computational mathematics. 
 

Best of luck in any future endeavors!