Anyone Regret Anything? (2010-2011 Edition)

[katerific]

I thought of another regret: becoming so ridiculously attached to specific schools! Like, it's good in the sense that it made me work very hard to perfect my applications, but at the same time.... by being this emotionally invested, I run the risk of being devastated and living out the rest of the semester locked up in my room, in the fetal position, crying. While eating ice cream. With Doritos. And I would TOTALLY regret that, which might lead to other regrets, and that'd make this thirty regret pile up. Like NASCAR, except sadder.

Edited January 21, 2011 by katerific

[JSK]

I thought of another regret: becoming so ridiculously attached to specific schools!

I have had the opposite problem. My regret is applying to places somewhat randomly based on what I'd heard from professors, former students, etc... and then wasting time and money on a couple applications to places which, in retrospect, sound terrible and in the end letting some potentially better ideas slip by. Also had a statement of purpose which almost every school in the country would probably think "Driven kid, but doesn't fit into our program that well."

[MoJingly]

I thought of another regret: becoming so ridiculously attached to specific schools! Like, it's good in the sense that it made me work very hard to perfect my applications, but at the same time.... by being this emotionally invested, I run the risk of being devastated and living out the rest of the semester locked up in my room, in the fetal position, crying. While eating ice cream. With Doritos. And I would TOTALLY regret that, which might lead to other regrets, and that'd make this thirty regret pile up. Like NASCAR, except sadder.

You're hilarious.

[Alyanumbers]

You're hilarious.

Seconded!

I regret not applying to more schools, and only applying to very cold places.

[beanbagchairs]

Applying to TWO UC schools when I know their dire financial situation and my chance of acceptance is minuscule. I could redirect those hefty app fees to at least three (or four) other schools where my chance of acceptance is better (at least I'd like to think so). These two UC schools produce impressive researches, hence I cannot resist applying to them.

[NadaJ]

Applying to TWO UC schools when I know their dire financial situation and my chance of acceptance is minuscule. I could redirect those hefty app fees to at least three (or four) other schools where my chance of acceptance is better (at least I'd like to think so). These two UC schools produce impressive researches, hence I cannot resist applying to them.

It's kind of like buying a lottery ticket. You gotta play to win.

[katerific]

Why thank you Mo and Alya and the other person who +1'ed my post. I try my best to keep things light, because if I were all serious business, I would be way. too. stressed. out.

[Neaky22]

I wish I applied to more schools as well.

Also I my GRE score could have been quite a bit higher. sigh.

I'm staying hopeful though!

[BlueRose]

I wish I had started earlier. I went back and forth about applying this round, finally deciding to give it a shot in mid-November. Which was nuts, considering most schools in my field have a Dec. 1 deadline, not to mention the NSF at Nov. 22 and then flying home for Thanksgiving. I gave myself only a day to pick schools (and I'm switching fields, so I didn't already have a list in mind). I finished my last two SOPs while hiding in the bathroom at work on the day of the deadline. It got done, but with more cost to my sanity than was strictly required.

I wish I hadn't let last year's epic-fail of an application cycle mess with my head.

I wish I had chosen the advisor, instead of the project, for my undergrad research. I went to my undergrad to work with a pair of well-known professors - and I did, and I impressed them - but they were both too lazy to write a LOR. Believe me, I will be paying much closer attention to time management skills in screening potential grad school advisors. This mistake almost cost me my career, and I'm not making it twice.

I might wish that I had chosen my schools more carefully, but honestly I'm not sure my list would have changed much. Maybe I should have aimed higher, but I didn't know that at the time - I thought I was aiming high as it was. Although the reality of applying mostly West Coast is starting to sink in (I'm on the East Coast...so many planes...sigh.)

I also wish I had done more with my unemployed time. Looking for a job and freaking out does not take all one's time, even if not knowing when it will end makes it hard to plan stuff. I could have at least been reading, and maybe I would have realized sooner that I was in the wrong field.

But I'm getting interviews, and if I get in this cycle, then I regret NOTHING. I'm starting to think about my future. Maybe I'm not screwed. Maybe I can do this after all. Hope FTW!

Edited January 22, 2011 by BlueRose

[Gooner]

I wish I had contacted the professors wherever I applied.

Last year I sent emails out to potential POIs. Oddly enough, the school I go the most negative email response from was also the only school that I got anything from.

More than anything, I wish I would have been more proactive about contacting schools and professors. And by more proactive, I mean doing it at all; I just spent hours researching them and trusted my intuition.

I also wish I had re-taken my GRE (didn't have time due to procrastination; which is funny, cause my score was lower-than-it-should-have-been the first time because I didn't have time to study, though not because of procrastination) and submitted a better (read: complete) writing sample. And perhaps tailored my SOPs a little more (and written them in more persuasive form).

...but hey, at least my GPAs are sound...

[Bonkers]

I wish my GPA from undergrad was higher... If only older, mature me could go back in time and slap the emo-black eye liner off of the past drunken me. Well, this is what I get for not studying for my History of Mental Illness and spending hours and hours of precious library time dancing on the bar at my university's pub, crawling under bathroom stalls to free my stoned friends, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day while bemoaning the injustices against me, and saying ridiculous things like, 'let's go dancing' on Mondays. I wish there is a way in which I could tell my prospective schools that between 2004 and 2008 I was possessed.

[DeathBeforeDecaf]

I just finished all my apps. It took me a long, long time to realize that I wanted to do an MPP. If I'd decided months earlier, I would've taken more risks and applied to more elite schools.

But then I remember that I have zero "real" work experience, and I feel better about my choices.

[directeur]

I wish I had not procrastinated so much, and I regret working on a project while working on applications and having a full time job. I definitely did not put the time I could have into polishing my applications. I guess this can always be a practice round!

[troy.princess]

The only thing I truly regret is somewhat lacking on the GMAT score.... I received a good score but nothing extraordinary, which is expected from business schools PhD applicants.

I regret studying way too hard for this test for way too long that resulted in a "burnout" and a lower score than i deserve

I hope that my research experience & interests, teaching experience LOR's, SOP and GPA will compensate for it. I will be very sad if I got rejected on the basis of the GMAT score because I really believe that this test is irrelevant for a PhD and does not test the competences required to be a great researcher.

Edited January 24, 2011 by troy.princess

[anxious2011]

Having a "good feeling" about a particular school you are keen on(although you recognize this is completely irrational), only to realize through the gradcafe survey that you haven't gotten an interview invite , then going on to develop a "good feeling" about another school

[a fragrant plant]

I regret at being so emotionally invested in one school. I know I'm going to be very disappointed if I don't get in. It's not good.

[barricades]

Not beginning the process sooner and being nervous about getting in touch with potential advisers and asking them straight on if they were taking anyone and if they thought we would be a good fit. I remember I had a catastrophic phone conversation with one PA at one of my top choices which still haunts me.

[katemiddleton]

1. Not editing my SOPs enough-caught 1 or 2 minor mistakes after submitting at my two top choice schools!!!

2. Not editing my writing sample enough-one prominent scholar who I wrote was Pakistani is actually Indian. EEK! (please don't let them catch this...)

3. Not contacting POIs at all 8 schools-I only contacted them at 4

4. Not writing handwritten thank you notes after my interviews at my top 2 schools-I just sent emails to school #1, and typed out my thank yous to school#2

Besides that, I regret the dreams! I'm dreaming about the process constantly!

[NadaJ]

I regret thinking I could actually be a contender this season--besides being a non-traditional student, and not having a masters in the field I want a PhD, I think the adcomm will look at my application and think I haven't proven myself yet--and they would have a point. I think next year I will be a stronger applicant. But this year, I just had to try, kwim?

[emmm]

Yes, NadaJ, I know exactly what you mean -- that was my thinking as well. And I got interviews from half the programs I applied to, so I actually don't regret applying this cycle, even though I know I am far from the ideal candidate, given my non-trad background. I just hope at least one interview turns into an acceptance, but I really had nothing to lose besides the application fees (even the time spent on applications would not be a waste if I need to reapply next year).

[greengrass2]

Yep. Of course. I regret not applying to more safety schools. I knew that I wasn't as competitive as other applicants based on my credentials, but I applied to only ONE safety school. That basically means I won't have much to choose from in the end. Funny thing is that I knew this from the get-go, as every other applicant had known. I think I was gambling. In retrospect: not worth the gambling. A night in Atlantic City would suffice. ::SIGH::

[Arcadian]

I regret thinking I could actually be a contender this season--besides being a non-traditional student, and not having a masters in the field I want a PhD, I think the adcomm will look at my application and think I haven't proven myself yet--and they would have a point. I think next year I will be a stronger applicant. But this year, I just had to try, kwim?

LOL, that's pretty much how I feel. I will be much more qualified in a year than I am now. But at the same time, I had to apply this round because I'm graduating in May. It's fairly reasonable of us to want to go straight from college to graduate school, so we really had to apply this round.

However, I almost never worry about this sort of thing. It's not worth it. Everyone should just chill, keep living your life, enjoy it, and whatever happens in the future, just know that you'll make the most of it. Unless you are on the brink of a total meltdown with no chance of recovery, and this was your last chance to get into graduate school, then you really shouldn't worry so much.