Can a weak first application hurt you if you apply again?

[LivePoetry123]

Well, I'm definitely feeling the "O% confidence of acceptance" thread. I still have 3 applications to submit, but I wonder if it is even worth it. I've resigned myself to the high probability of having to take another year out of school, get a job that is less time-consuming than my current one (which has left me almost NO TIME to work on apps), and devote a hell of a lot more time to a second round of apps. I've been thinking that, since I do have all my application materials ready to go (even though they SUCK!) that it wouldn't hurt anything to submit this year anyway on the off-chance that I'd get in somewhere, and then re-apply if I don't. But then I thought of this: what if an admissions committee sees my second application, remembers how bad the first one was, and this hurts my chances the second time around? Does this happen? I even remember seeing a post on here saying that one of this person's schools told them, in the rejection letter, not to apply again. That's terrifying! Does anyone know how often this happens, or if there's any way to find out specific schools' policies on this? I guess I could call departments anonymously and ask, but grad secretaries might not know the psychological nuances of grad comittees, like whether they'd subconsciously look down on someone who submitted a sub-par application once and is trying again. Its just so frustrating because I feel like its mainly lack of time that has hindered me from doing a good application this time. I know I could do so much better. Or is this just the way everyone feels?

I also have a hard time getting that excited about any school that is not SUNY Buffalo (I'm into poetics, and I think their poetics program is fucking perfect for me) so its like... if I got in somewhere else this year, would I really go there? knowing my application to Buffalo could have been so much better? maybe, maybe not. God, this sucks. Any advice would be appreciated.

[hazelbite]

Don't trust me, because I'm a first-time applicant as well, but if you've got a couple hundred bucks to spend, I'd say apply anyway. I am having similar feelings even though I've been working really hard on applications. Who knows-- somebody might read your app and see something that really resonates, and that could earn you a spot this year, or at least some constructive feedback if you have to do it all over again. I seriously doubt that if your application is truly awful it will garner enough attention or focus to be remembered a year later. I expect the really bad applications just get glossed over really quickly. Only in our nightmares do ad comms sit around laughing at an application

Good luck! Who knows, right?

[cquin]

I am a second time applicant and while I greatly revised my list of schools, I am reapplying to three programs that rejected me last year. I contacted all three and explained my situation--none of them seemed judgmental or critical in the least bit, and they certainly did not dissuade me from trying again. One advisor went as far as to offer suggestions on strengthening my app and told me which professors shared my area of interest. So I wouldn't worry about it!

[ecritdansleau]

Hazelbites advice sounds right to me. But if you can actually rule out that you would seriously attend one of these programs, then maybe rethink it. Don't apply just because you feel like you have to; do it because you are open to considering the program. (That is, if there is something about the program, dept, or even location that you know is a dealbreaker for you, don't just apply there because you feel obligated to do so. On the other hand, if you feel as if you just don't know enough about the department yet--it may very well be a decent fit for you, worth a shot, and you'll figure this out as you go along.)

If you make it into some other programs and not SUNY Buffalo, you can always consider those options, and decide whether you would like to apply again. (In this scenario, contacting Buffalo, and asking them if they have any comments on your application, could help you gauge whether this would be an appropriate way to go). It's probably best to think of now as a time when you are increasing your potential options, and remember later that you are not obligated to go to a program just because they accept you. (For instance, one of the programs I applied to offers differential funding/fellowships for incoming doctoral students. Unless I receive adequate/competitive funding there, I will not accept the offer--even if it's my only one--because I am convinced that the heavy teaching duties it requires will be incompatible with my own emphasis on research goals.)

As to whether admissions committees pay attention to previous attempts, I am completely uncertain. They do *ask* on most applications, but this may very well be because certain documents like transcripts can be used from the previous application.

There are some schools that do specifically say "if you have applied three times without being admitted, please do not apply again." It says this on the Yale Graduate School website, for instance. As cynical as it comes off, such a policy suggests that even at super competitive ivy programs, there is the possibility that an applicant can be seriously successful after not one but TWO unsuccessful attempts. Considering that this is your first attempt (?), you might as well give it a shot.

[diehtc0ke]

To be quite honest, I doubt that most admissions committees would be able to remember your previous application and with the amount of applications that these programs get, I would be seriously surprised if any of them went through the trouble of going back to that application, even if you specifically indicate that you've applied to that school before. I say this as someone who sent an extremely rushed application to a top 10 school my senior year of college (and by rushed I mean I threw together a writing sample and a personal statement the night before they were due), was rejected and had similar concerns. I ended up applying to that same school with a completely new sample, a new personal statement, and radically different research interests my second go around and got in.

Edited December 22, 2011 by diehtc0ke

[truckbasket]

To be quite honest, I doubt that most admissions committees would be able to remember your previous application and with the amount of applications that these programs get, I would be seriously surprised if any of them went through the trouble of going back to that application, even if you specifically indicate that you've applied to that school before. I say this as someone who sent an extremely rushed application to a top 10 school my senior year of college (and by rushed I mean I threw together a writing sample and a personal statement the night before they were due), was rejected and had similar concerns. I ended up applying to that same school with a completely new sample, a new personal statement, and radically different research interests my second go around and got in.

Don't most of them have a "check here if you've applied before" box toward the beginning off the app? I seem to remember that being the case for the majority of my applications last year, but maybe that's changed. For whatever reason, it seems important to them.

Edited December 22, 2011 by truckbasket

[lolopixie]

It is my 2nd round applying as well, and I am reapplying to 2 programs.