Rejected 3 times, but encouraged by the style of rejection- unfounded?

[jordanami]

Okay, so I'm down to 2 of the 5 left to respond and so far, no bites. I have a feeling one of the remaining will be a reject, the other may accept but I am not so sure about funding. And yet, I remain encouraged! I have received two personalized emails (one a week after the form rejection letter) and a phone call telling me to reapply when I have my MPH (I'm halfway through right now and was hoping I could jump right into the DrPH). Is this a common/polite way to reject, or should I take some real encouragement from this?

[pinot noir]

I think a phone call is always a form of encouragement as it means you stood out enough for them to pick up the phone and make the call

[eat.climb.love]

Okay, so I'm down to 2 of the 5 left to respond and so far, no bites. I have a feeling one of the remaining will be a reject, the other may accept but I am not so sure about funding. And yet, I remain encouraged! I have received two personalized emails (one a week after the form rejection letter) and a phone call telling me to reapply when I have my MPH (I'm halfway through right now and was hoping I could jump right into the DrPH). Is this a common/polite way to reject, or should I take some real encouragement from this?

If this had just been part of the rejection letter, then hmm I'd be skeptical but since they took extra time out of their day, I am sure that this is not unfounded. The DrPH is very practice-oriented, perhaps they just want a year or two out of work with that MPH to see what you can do! You should be encouraged, they took extra time to let you know that you were a strong applicant. =)

[jordanami]

Thanks for the encouragement. I guess I could answer this for myself: if I want it enough, I will be persistent enough to make it happen. I think just the 3-in-a-row rejections shook my confidence a little bit. But, my GRE scores are really good, I have a 4.0 in my MPH so far, and 8 years of work experience in health education. I think if I reapply next year to 7/8 schools instead of 5, I will be fine. I just need to keep at it. Thanks for you support! I haven't really told any family or friends yet, I think they will just feel bad for me, but I don't think this result is all that bad- I am actually kind of enjoying the way my life is running right now, so one more year of the same is really okay.