How many times would you reapply?

[canadiana]

I'm a repeat applicant (this is my second year applying to PhD programs). I was unsuccessful last year but was encouraged to reapply after some graduate training at the Masters level.

My question is this: how many times would you, personally, reapply to a program? I subscribe to the "three tries" rule for most things, but twice is enough for me when it comes to graduate school applications. I will likely find another career after my Masters program ends.

How about you? How many tries?

[limeinthecoconut]

.

[Sonic]

Twice -- in my case, one round for entrance to a Masters program, and one round for a PhD program. Bottom line, this is the last time!

If I am not admitted I will have to abandon my field, and I'd like to know if I have to do that sooner rather than later so I can search for a job I might actually like instead of one that will pay me just enough to cover application fees and leave me just enough time to retake GREs, tweak SOP, compulsively check GradCafe, etc.

Last year I applied to 6 programs, this year to 10. That trajectory just isn't sustainable for me.

[dragynally]

Never give in. Never surrender!!! I will keep applying until I -or the school I'm applying to -give up. Of course I will still look for a career and training in other fields but this is a life dream I'm working on.

[frankdux]

this is the second year for me. last year i pompously only applied to 2 schools. although i was at least waitlisted by both, not outright rejected. so i do think both of those schools were within my academic reach. i think i just didnt present myself well enough in the application process.

this year i'm applying to 10 schools including those 2 from last year.

if i dont get in anywhere, i'm not completely sure what i'm gonna do. i think i'll try and find a real job and then apply again but probably just go back to applying to those 2 i applied to the first time and maybe just one or two others as well. if i get in then i'll go for it. if not, then i'll probably have to move on with life and accept that it isnt for me.

[gadhelyn]

I think if I don't get in this year, I will try again next year. If I don't get in then, then I'll probably stop and find a higher paying job.

[lauras]

I would definately reapply at least once. Schools often give you a slight bump up if you reapply.

I also have applied to several schools in the same "level," and I think most people do the same. If I apply to 3 top programs and then reapply and still don't get in, I'm figuring I'm just not going to get in to any of them. I would only reapply a second time if something about my application significantly changed, for example, if I got a master's degree.

[erudite crudite]

Some schools only let you apply x times. Columbia, for example, has a limit of 3 consecutive years.

[LadyL]

This is my second round of applications. Last time I got on 2 waitlists out of 7 schools I applied to. I've done what I can to improve my app. - the only thing that I haven't done yet is get on pubs due to some administrative issues with the study I work on that led to delays in recruiting. We're drafting several now, just not in time for my apps. I do have some posters including a first author poster in review.

I would apply a third time but I am not sure what else I can do to strengthen my app. at this point. I guess get more pubs. I could retake the GREs, but I really loathed that process, and mine aren't bad, just average.

So the real conundrum is, if I don't get in this time, what are my options for becoming a stronger applicant next round? I feel like I'm as ready as I'll ever be skill wise (I am doing the same level of data analysis as the post docs in our lab). In a way I feel like it would be a shame if I got passed up. Last time I was sort of marginally qualified and really enthusiastic - now I am fully qualified, more focused, and even more motivated.

But it's out of my hands anyhow .

[miratrix]

I don't think I would reapply, at least not without doing something else for a few years in the meantime. I applied to a wide enough range of programs in a small enough field (i.e. not clinical psychology or something) that if I get rejected everywhere, that's probably a sign that I shouldn't be doing this.

[Tonights]

If I get rejected this year, that's it. Mainly because my application is absolutely the best it can be and I have no prospects of improving it, so why try again? What a depressing thought.

No, it's culinary school for me if I bomb.

[Aeternalis]

If I get rejected this year, that's it. Mainly because my application is absolutely the best it can be and I have no prospects of improving it, so why try again? What a depressing thought.

Ditto! It is painful for me to even contemplate rejection at this point.

[frankdux]

although i haven't received even a single response from the 10 schools i applied to, i've already been looking at different schools that i might consider applying to next year. although like i said in my previous post in this thread, i'd only apply to maybe 4 schools total next year and really focus on doing everything i could with those schools like making strong correspondences with professors and maybe even visiting the programs.