reason for rejection?

[garibaldi]

Hi everybody!

For one school, the only communication I ever received was a rejection letter, and while they assured me in the letter that the faculty gave my application full consideration.. it doesnt really assure me! What I would love is some detai - such as how many applications did they receive, how many did they admit, and (though I dont doubt there were others who were a better fit), I would dearly love to know where I fell short.

Has anybody ever emailed a school to find out the reason for rejection? Do you recommend it? And if you have, did you meet with success, i.e. did you get a satisfactory response?

Many thanks!

Edited March 6, 2011 by garibaldi

[Strangefox]

Yes, you can ask them what are your app's weaknesses. I would not ask too many questions though, like, how many apps they received, how many people they admitted, etc. Just ask very very politely why your app was rejected. Say that you want to improve it and you would really appreciate their feedback and help.

I did that when I was rejected and received a very nice reply.

But I must say that their answer depends a lot on what kind of person they are and how much time they have. They may send you a very short reply or a long and throrough one.

Some schools say they don't explain reasons behind their decisions (I have read something about that on these boards).

If you had an interview prior to being rejected, the chance that you will recieve an explanation is higher.

To summarize: ask, there is no harm in asking; do it politely; don't expect that they will send you a thorough explanation...

Good luck!

[cookd2]

Yes, you can ask them what are your app's weaknesses. I would not ask too many questions though, like, how many apps they received, how many people they admitted, etc. Just ask very very politely why your app was rejected. Say that you want to improve it and you would really appreciate their feedback and help.

I did that when I was rejected and received a very nice reply.

But I must say that their answer depends a lot on what kind of person they are and how much time they have. They may send you a very short reply or a long and throrough one.

Some schools say they don't explain reasons behind their decisions (I have read something about that on these boards).

If you had an interview prior to being rejected, the chance that you will recieve an explanation is higher.

To summarize: ask, there is no harm in asking; do it politely; don't expect that they will send you a thorough explanation...

Good luck!

I responded to a rejection email that I got last spring stating something along these lines:

"Not that I'm challenging the decision, but could you tell me why my application was rejected? I'd like to know for my reference."

I got an email back stating that the admission comities don't release specific information, but there were "over 1000 applications for only 150 spots."

I don't think there's any harm in asking, but I wouldn't expect much.

[jaxzwolf]

I think it's best in these circumstances to wait until after the application season has passed (i.e. until after April 15th) and things have settled down a bit. Then politely email your POI (if you had one at this particular school) or admissions and inquire what you could do to make your application stronger. Phrase it in a way that shows you're not angry/desperate/disappointed (even if you are). Rather, you just want to know what you could have done to give yourself a boost above other candidates.

I did this last year, but I had a few specific labs in which I really wanted to work, so I emailed POIs directly. I think you likely have a better chance of getting details from a POI rather than an admissions person. I said something along the lines of, "Although you were not able to offer me a spot in your lab this year, I am still interested in your research, and I plan on reapplying next year. Is there anything you might suggest that would strengthen my application?" Something along those lines might work. You might receive a nice, helpful reply, you might receive something along the lines that cookd2 did, or they might blow you off. But it can't hurt to try, as long as you approach it sensibly and give them a bit of time.

[Amalia222]

Many of the schools I applied to specifically say in their guidelines not to ask. If you do, you're more likely than not going to get a canned response about general competitiveness, number of applicats, blah blah blah. You're best bet for a more honest response is to speak to grad student friends or faculty at your school, people who know you and can be more frank with you. I think the schools will never really tell you the truth, besides, they don't want to get sued if you take their answer the wrong way.

[noodles.galaznik]

My friend got rejected from her top choice program, and she emailed her POI just wondering why so she could take that into account when reapplying. About a week later, she got a really detailed and helpful response as to why she wasn't selected. It was a bummer for her to have all of the things "wrong" pointed out, but now she knows what she needs to work on. I think it really varies on the school and the program- you might hear nothing back, you might get a generic response, or something actually useful.

If you're going to ask, do it tactfully. Don't sound accusing, angry, disappointed, etc. Good luck!

[harikagirl]

I think you should ask, specially if you're considering applying for the same program next year. You might get some good advice and feedback. Nevertheless, I think that some schools -the ones that have an immense amount of applications, that is- do not review thoroughly: they just select the ones that spark their attention or the ones that, in general, are a direct match with their professors, research interests or philosophy. It is to those that, I think, they give their full consideration.