Rejected from everywhere. What should I do now?

[mj53]

I mean I'll be applying again for sure.

But how do I make my application better? I know one thing I'll be doing is applying for some terminal masters programs this next year because I think lack of experience was a bit of problem for PhD programs to deal with.

I'm also out of school and most schools give research volunteer positions to their current students in my experience. My GRE was a 1230 so I don't feel like I need to take it again.

I hear that sometimes people will contact the professors that rejected them and ask for advice with their application for next year. Has anyone here ever done that before? Would it be ok to ask now or should I wait for everything to calm down a bit for them?

For everyone else who has already been rejected, what are your plans for the future?

Advice from anyone in this situation, or previously in this situation is appreciated.

[LJK]

Did you get official rejections? (Not implied rejections by not getting an interview?) If so, I think it is most appropriate to email now, when it isn't that much of a stretch for them to remember reading your application sometime in the past month or two.

Also, you may want to consider taking the GRE again. Anything above 1200 is probably adequate but you would probably be on the low side for many programs. Why not take the time to improve the score? If you line up a job getting research experience and don't have time, fine, but if you don't have any other way of seriously improving your application the GRE seems like a likely target.

[psygrad81]

I mean I'll be applying again for sure.

But how do I make my application better? I know one thing I'll be doing is applying for some terminal masters programs this next year because I think lack of experience was a bit of problem for PhD programs to deal with.

I'm also out of school and most schools give research volunteer positions to their current students in my experience. My GRE was a 1230 so I don't feel like I need to take it again.

I hear that sometimes people will contact the professors that rejected them and ask for advice with their application for next year. Has anyone here ever done that before? Would it be ok to ask now or should I wait for everything to calm down a bit for them?

For everyone else who has already been rejected, what are your plans for the future?

Advice from anyone in this situation, or previously in this situation is appreciated.

Some terminal masters programs have rolling admissions right through the spring. So, it may not be too late to apply now to enroll in the fall. I think that is the best course of action, if you are looking to gain research experience. From what I have been able to gather throughout this process, research experience and fit are the most important part of your application. An MA program will give you both: research experience and the chance to really pinpoint your research interests before applying to PhD programs again. Also, it will give you the chance to establish working relationships with faculty members who can then write you great LORs.

As far as contacting professors for advice after they reject you, I'm not sure. Did you have a good contact with them before/during application? If so, a tactful email might not hurt. However, if you had no contact with these people at all, I wouldn't think it would be the best idea. How do you know your application was even forwarded to them? Plus, are any of these schools ones you plan to reapply to in the future?

Good luck with everything!

[Mr. Tea]

Also, how many schools did you apply to and which schools were they? Admissions are extremely competitive everywhere so if you only applied to four schools and they were Stanford, Harvard, NYU, and Yale, that doesn't help.

[whirlpool4]

Some terminal masters programs have rolling admissions right through the spring. So, it may not be too late to apply now to enroll in the fall. I think that is the best course of action, if you are looking to gain research experience. From what I have been able to gather throughout this process, research experience and fit are the most important part of your application. An MA program will give you both: research experience and the chance to really pinpoint your research interests before applying to PhD programs again. Also, it will give you the chance to establish working relationships with faculty members who can then write you great LORs.

I too have been officially rejected from all the PhD programs to which I applied. I want to try to catch the last train out and apply to Master's programs, which aren't due till May or June, from what I've read. I do not want to have to take the GRE again (I took it pre-2011 change and my score is >1200). Fingers crossed...

[3point14]

This happened to me last year! I would suggest looking for RA positions. If you can find any, you could work part-time and volunteer in a lab (if you can afford to do that). Even if there's not an official "volunteer position" listed, most professors are happy to have extra (free) help. Just shoot them an email. I don't know what field of psych you're into, but you could also check out the NIH Postbaccalaureate IRTA program (https://www.training...ms/postbac_irta). There are potentially positions in both NIDA and NIMH.

Edited April 24, 2012 by 3point14

[luinar]

Hi I'm a grad student in a large Midwestern university Ph.D. social psych program. This year we have 3 new incoming students and they all have master's degrees. I do think it's becoming more competitive. I'd suggest emailing the professor of a lab you're interested in and asking if you may volunteer as an RA or lab manager. After that it depends on how much work you put in.

[Smoothop1634]

What about your letters of recommendation and your personal statement and your GPA. Your GRE is not everything. Just to let you know though, don’t get down on yourself. I was rejected to all 13 schools I applied to last year. This year I was accepted to 12/13, ALL with fully funded fellowships. You just have to beef up your application and when you get in front of the professor for an interview, be confident.

[psychgurl]

I would retake the GRE. Although 1200 is usually the official cutoff, I think that you're up against many applicants with 1300+. I've heard 1350+ is competitive. I think it's fairly normal to only be accepted to 1 or 2 programs out of 10 even with a strong application, so make sure you apply to a broad range of schools to optimize your chances of admission. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if you went out of a limb and emailed profs in your area of interest, they'd give you a volunteer opportunity of some sort. Especially during summers...the work may be pretty basic, but at least you can get back into research that way.

Also- for next year, some schools (e.g., University of Chicago) allow you to apply to the PhD program, and if you don't get in, they will consider you for a master's program. This could be a way to incorporate fall-backs into next year's list of programs. It's not ideal, but at least it's an option.

Edited May 23, 2012 by psychgurl