I didn't get into either of my dream schools

[LongGraduatedStudent]

I got into my third choice, and probably my fourth choice too. (I applied to seven school). My preference gap between 2 and 3 is huge.

I've got a good funding offer at School 3 (good by public school standards)

How practical is it to decline my offer(s), so that I can take a gap year and apply again for my top choices?

I am very conflicted.

Edited February 26, 2011 by PhysAnthApp

[neuropsych76]

I got into my third choice, and probably my fourth choice too. (I applied to seven school). My preference gap between 2 and 3 is huge.

I've got a good funding offer at School 3 (good by public school standards)

How practical is it to decline my offer(s), so that I can take a gap year and apply again for my top choices?

I am very conflicted.

I don't think it would be very practical because you don't know if you would get into you're top choices next time. If you have funding, I'd say go there. There was a reason you applied there right?

[cranberry]

I briefly brought this up with my professors when I had been accepted into a few schools but hadn't heard anything from my top choices. They all basically told me that I would be an idiot to turn down a funded offer at a great program (top 20 vs. top 10). The more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to agree with them (okay though, I later heard back from a top choice and it was a yes), but I definitely know what's going through your head. I know there are several cases of success stories on this board where people reapplied to their dream schools later and got in, but with the level of competition rising every year, it's not wise to turn down an offer if you have one. Of course, we all want to think that if we keep trying, we'll get into our dream school eventually, and it does happen for some people, but it's a huge risk. Going to your top choice school will not guarantee you success later on, so I think it's wise to make the best of what you have now. Best of luck!

[eklavya]

yea, if there's funding, the best thing you can do is to go there. waiting out whole another year means you will have to compete with new people, some of whom you can expect to be equally or more competitive than yourself. and you might like it, even if it's your third choice. you must've applied there because you must have liked something about the program, or the people, or the place. besides, sometimes the things you want aren't necessarily the things you require to be successful... think it out and am sure you'll make the right choice.

[LongGraduatedStudent]

I might be wait listed at school 1, so I am not accepting 3 or 4 until the very end. If I get off the wait list somehow, I would accept as soon as physically possible.

[ZeeMore21]

Like everyone is saying, I don't think it would be wise to wait another year. You can't always get what you want, but you have to be grateful with what you have....and in these times, you should be very grateful to have 2 schools on your plate, that is definitely an accomplishment. I would pick the best out of these schools and get ready for the fall. You can't be too sure you would be so lucky next year.

[LongGraduatedStudent]

If I accept school 3 or 4, and I manage to get off the wait list at 1, will I be able to retract my registration at 3 or 4?

That is the reason why I am thinking to wait until April to accept anywhere.

Edited February 26, 2011 by PhysAnthApp

[cocorosie]

So I'm going to offer a piece of advice that goes against what others have said. While I definitely see the benefits of going ahead with enrolling this year, I don't think it would be that detrimental to apply again next year if these places have a really fantastic fit with your interests. Being in a program with faculty whose interests fit very well with yours could be a huge asset, both for excellent training and for getting jobs/further training & connections in the future. You might be able to tactfully inquire with the admissions committee the reasons for your not being accepted (or accepted outright, instead of wait listed). If it sounds like something minor that you could fix (i.e. your SOP, need more work experience), then waiting a year could be a good option. Of course, looking for a job for the next year could add more stress if you are currently in school, or looking to switch jobs. If you feel that you would constantly comparing your experience at schools 3 or 4 to what you may have had at schools 1 or 2, I might consider waiting a year and re-applying. if you are able to spend the year gaining more experience in your field, your application will only be stronger. That said, funding is an important factor, so if you feel the funding at school 3 or 4 is too good to pass up, that makes your decision harder..Good luck with deciding what to do!

Edited February 26, 2011 by cocorosie

[cocorosie]

If I accept school 3 or 4, and I manage to get off the wait list at 1, will I be able to retract my registration at 3 or 4?

That is the reason why I am thinking to wait until April to accept anywhere.

If your schools follow the Council for Graduate Education Agreement, you have until April 15th I believe.

http://www.cgsnet.org/?tabid=201

[a fragrant plant]

I agree. If I were you and I didn't get into my first choice this year, I'd accept the funded offer from the third choice. Graduate admission to anthropology doctoral program is extremely competitive. There is no guarantee that you'll get in your top choice next year. In the meanwhile, do some more research about your 3rd choice. You might discover that it's actually more attractive than you thought!

[LongGraduatedStudent]

I am leaving the gap year plan on the table, but I don't think I will follow through with it. I am assuming I got in at school 4, but it is not official or unofficial. Schools 5 and 7 silent rejected me. I might be in at School 6, but I've heard bad things about the program.

I am waiting until the very end to accept at any school though. Should I somehow make it off the wait list, I would accept as soon as physically possible.

[newms]

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, they say. A funded offer at a top 20 school is a pretty good offer and ultimately, you will be judged by the quality of your research not by the school you went to (or at least I like to think so), so I'd definitely suggest you go with the offers you have now, rather than wait out a year for a top 10 offer that may or may not come.

[nogone]

If you have money now, take it. Money is only getting harder to come by for the time being. Most universities are just now starting to realize massive budget cuts.

[psycholinguist]

Honestly? I can understand the arguments on both sides, but I have to agree with cocorosie here.

Two years ago I applied to a bunch of programs; I got a few interviews and acceptances, but funding problems and department politics and all sorts of things intervened in every single case except for one...my last choice. I was not especially encouraged by this, but I figured some grad-school was better than none, right?

Not necessarily right, actually. I went, and while I wasn't miserable, right away I wasn't at all happy either. They gave me nearly nothing to do, and what I did have to do was not of interest to me; there were several personality-clashes with department-members; I didn't like the town much; and the only place to live I'd been able to find had been an expensive apartment in the middle of nowhere, forcing me to rely on a terrible transit-system. I got restless and bored and - for the first time in my adult life - homesick. It was not worth it. Come December, I cut it short and quit the program, returned to my hometown and moved back in with my parents, and took up a menial office-job. I actually liked the menial office-job a heck of a lot more than the graduate-department that simply was not a good place for me personally. Reapplied to grad-schools (including my dream program) with a much better SOP and some more up-to-date statistics.

Third choice accepted me, second choice rejected me, and at the first choice, I was...

...waitlisted...

...accepted!

Now, of course I was hugely thrilled by this second chance at my favourite program; and it turned out that I'd had exactly the right idea. I absolutely love it here. Research is immensely exciting, classes are neat, classmates are awesome, supervisor is truly special, and the city is great. Anyway, if it's tough to get in one year, it may well be just as tough - or more so - to get in the next year. However, if a) you have an extremely good sense of Schools 1 and 2 being very, very good matches; and there's a chance that you'll be able to strengthen your application and/or refine your research-interests, I'd say (barring good results from the potential waitlisting at School 1) decline everyone else and give it another shot, especially given that you have not just one but two dream-programs in mind.

[SimilarlyDifferent]

First off, I think you should visit school 3 and speak with the faculty there just to make sure that you have a correct impression of the program and that you don't change your mind. Sometimes you might feel one way, but after you visit and meet people excited to work with you, you change your mind. There must be some reason why you applied to this program in the first place, right?

After you have done this, if your impression of the school is the same and you don't think you would be happy there you have two choices - you attend or you don't. There is nothing stopping you from going for a year, trying out the program and then leaving if it doesn't work out for you there. If you don't even think you can survive a year, then politely turn down the offer and work on getting your application improved for next go round. Contact your POI at schools 1 and 2 and ask what you were lacking and how you can improve.

But mostly, don't go to a school where you aren't happy. Your grades, social life, and perhaps even future career will suffer if you are miserable where you are. The point is not just to get a PhD at any school that will accept you, the point is to study something you love with mentors and faculty that you respect.

[LongGraduatedStudent]

Schools 4 and 6 gave me a rejection today (wasn't expecting it at all...) (and I got a bad midterm score back today), so today is bad day.

It is either School 3 or Plan B. I haven't heard from school 1 about wait-list details.

Really don't know what to do. Going leave all both options on the table. I am going to start looking for DNA sequencing biotech companies in the Bay Area and in LA who are hiring and I am going to email school 3 about when their recruiting weekend is. I need to talk to one of my LOR professors and get some advice.

(also an FYI for those who do not know LA > Bay Area)

[jprufrock]

I just don't understand why you would apply to 3rd or 4th choice schools unless you would attend them if accepted.

This question doesn't really help with your current situation, I realize, but there must be some redeeming qualities of these institutions if you decided to apply to them in the first place, right?

If so, follow through with your initial strategy and go to the schools.

If you plan to wait and reapply next year, make sure you compile a list of schools which you would definitely attend if accepted.

Edited March 1, 2011 by jprufrock

[LongGraduatedStudent]

I just don't understand why you would apply to 3rd or 4th choice schools unless you would attend them if accepted.

This question doesn't really help with your current situation, I realize, but there must be some redeeming qualities of these institutions if you decided to apply to them in the first place, right?

If so, follow through with your initial strategy and go to the schools.

If you plan to wait and reapply next year, make sure you compile a list of schools which you would definitely attend if accepted.

I like the schools I applied to. It is just that I really like the program at School 1 to the extent that I feel like I need to consider reapplying. When I did my applications, I thought I had no chance at School 1. Since I got at least interviewed there this time, it means if I reapply with more experience I might just get in next time.

Anyways, I can't make a decision until I visit.

[beanbagchairs]

This is a complicated decision. I dont know what to say. I am just replying your porst for the moral support. Although if it were me, I'd accept school #3.

[ZeeMore21]

PhysAnthsApp, not to be harsh, but what if you don't get into either of those dream schools again next year? Will you just keep applying year after year?

[Gunner24]

(also an FYI for those who do not know LA > Bay Area)

Ooo.....FIGHT! *secretly hoping this post is hijacked by a heated debate between Californians*

[hupr]

Take the best offer you have. Worst-case scenario, you can transfer later on if you don't like it .

[LongGraduatedStudent]

Right now it is a coin flip between taking my offer and not. (I only got in one place, so it is go or don't go)

I am going to visit the school before I make a final decision. How I like the visit and whether my POIs will be accepting graduate students for Fall 2012 are the two major variables.

[LongGraduatedStudent]

I have decided to go. I have the acceptance form signed. On Friday I will send it out by priority mail so it gets across the country in time.