Dealing with Rejection Letters :(

[snbrown82]

Hi guys. I am currently a Political Science major/Economics minor at a prestigious Texas private university. I applied to 4 grad schools for IR (specialization in development) and so far,my first letter back has been a rejection (Seton Hall's Whitehead). I am soooo devastated and feel like my life is over and that the other schools will do the same. I'm older (28) and so I feel like I do not have time on my side.

Here's some of my stats:

Cumulative GPA: 2.8 (Major GPA is A LOT higher-3.7 because I switched majors. Used to be a Cell Biology major and it killed my GPA.)

Foreign Language: Spanish-Intermediate (Born and raised in Texas and so I picked up Spanish from school and being surrounded by my best friends family)

Other: I will be doing a study abroad trip this semester to Canada to study Monetary policy, I'm the treasurer of my school's chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon (international economics honors society)

I applied to the LBJ School, GW Elliott School, and American's SIS. I don't understand why they rejected me. They didn't even ask for a resume AND they only took 3 weeks to send me a rejection notice. What are the chances of the other schools rejecting me?

[s33]

With the improvement in your grades over the course of your bachelor's degree , I would bet that a good program would admit you at some point. You didn't mention GRE scores, but this is one area that is still in your control. In the event that things don't pan out with your current applications, It may be worth it to retake the GRE.

You are still young, and public affairs programs admit individuals of all ages. in fact, many of them prefer to have older students, to help provide a mature perspective to the class. I speak from experience here. A few years ago, I was admitted (with a full tuition scholarship) to a top-10 MPP program, and I was a lot older then than you are now.

Keep up your spirits. No matter what happens this admissions cycle, you have plenty of time, and I am confident that an opportunity will arise if you keep trying.

Good luck.

[ringo2009]

Hi guys. I am currently a Political Science major/Economics minor at a prestigious Texas private university. I applied to 4 grad schools for IR (specialization in development) and so far,my first letter back has been a rejection (Seton Hall's Whitehead). I am soooo devastated and feel like my life is over and that the other schools will do the same. I'm older (28) and so I feel like I do not have time on my side.

Here's some of my stats:

Cumulative GPA: 2.8 (Major GPA is A LOT higher-3.7 because I switched majors. Used to be a Cell Biology major and it killed my GPA.)

Foreign Language: Spanish-Intermediate (Born and raised in Texas and so I picked up Spanish from school and being surrounded by my best friends family)

Other: I will be doing a study abroad trip this semester to Canada to study Monetary policy, I'm the treasurer of my school's chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon (international economics honors society)

I applied to the LBJ School, GW Elliott School, and American's SIS. I don't understand why they rejected me. They didn't even ask for a resume AND they only took 3 weeks to send me a rejection notice. What are the chances of the other schools rejecting me?

First, I wont to start off by saying, your life is definitely not over. While it may sting like crazy now and the ugency of going after what you want may seem pressing, trust me your life will go on. There are tons of people who have not gotten all the responses that they want this round (check the results page). That being said 28 is not old at all. No you are not a fresh out of undergrad student, but that can be appealing to some adcomms and programs. You probably have a lot of other personal life experience that you could spin in your favor that a lot of younger applicants may not have. Who knows, you still get into some of these other schools, so just wait it out. And if in the event it doesnt give you the outcome you want, then devise a plan to make it happen next year. After the application fever dies down, most Grad Directors are usually willing to give you some direct feedback about your application. Particularly if you have been in contact with them via phone or email or in person prior to the application season. Also, I would recommend that you always just send in your CV with your grad applications, especially if you are a little older and want to use your life/professional experience as a boosting point. I hope this helps and I wish you the best. Whatever the outcome.

[snbrown82]

Oh thanks you @s33 and ringo2009 for such an uplifting posts Yea, my GREs weren't strong either: 480V/520Q/4.0 .

With my GPA, it really was the Cell Biology that killed me. My devastating grades were when I took classes like Physics, Organic Chemistry and Microbiology in the same semester for like 3 semesters. Then I realized natural science was not for me.

[s33]

Oh thanks you @s33 and ringo2009 for such an uplifting posts Yea, my GREs weren't strong either: 480V/520Q/4.0 .

With my GPA, it really was the Cell Biology that killed me. My devastating grades were when I took classes like Physics, Organic Chemistry and Microbiology in the same semester for like 3 semesters. Then I realized natural science was not for me.

Thank you for your nice acknowledgement. While an admission this year is still possible, the GRE is probably the main challenge, given that your recent academic performance is strong. You can definitely raise the GRE scores through additional study. The GRE is particularly important to ad-coms when there are other issues with an application (in your case, a relatively low cumulative GPA). By the way, I know a fellow student at my program who had a similarly rough start in undergraduate, but ended up at the same excellent program as did I, and is now at a top-tier law school.

The best of luck to you. Your strong recent academic performance tells me it is simply a matter of time, if you continue to apply yourself.

[lmvg123]

Hi all,

I also applied to LBJ and another similar program in Texas.

Here are some of my stats:

GPA: 3.86 (cumulative) going to graduate magna cum laude from a competitive liberal arts school in texas (in 3 years) with a double major in political science and french, minor in spanish.

i speak french and spanish fluently. My major GPA is a 4.0.

GRE: (weak point of my apps) 520V/580Q 4.6 writing

Work experience: one internship in a translation agency, one current internship at the texas capitol. 3 years or french tutoring for the french department

I studied abroad for a semester and am graduating a year early.

I am concerned about my lack of work experience and pretty low GRE scores. im just not a good standardized test taker.

Any one can help me about my chances, especially at LBJ?

[PoliticallyAff]

I'm being rejected by many schools too and I'm tripping... What do we do?

[snbrown82]

@ PoliticallyAff: OMG, me too! It's one rejection after another and SIS is my last chance. I'm just expecting a rejection from them also.