How do I Explain a two year gap.

[PinkandI]

Dear cafe goers,

In 2010, I accepted a scholarship to a master’s program (which I later found out is not really what I wanted to study for my grad school). I was uninspired right from the beginning, but I somehow finished the first year. I hated the program. In my second year, things got out of hand. I had no motivation, never cared about the program, had got terrible grades and I was severely depressed. I was constantly thinking of what I wanted to study instead. The depression and stress of being in a foreign country away from home (I am from Kenya) caught up with me and I decided I never wanted to write the thesis, just so I don’t put my name on something I wasn't proud of. In other words, I dropped out. Two years wasted and many lessons learnt. Now I've got my shit together and I want to apply for what I love to study, come 2013 academic year. Problem though is, how do I explain the gap in my admissions and scholarships applications and CV without coming off as a quitter? Because the truth is, I am not one, it's not like I quitted on grad school. I just quitted on a program that I hated and did not want to pursue anymore. Solid responses will be highly appreciated.

[Sigaba]

@Pinkandl--

How are your relationships with the Powers That Be and your PoIs at the program you left? Can you get anyone there to support you with a LoR?

In any case, I recommend that you focus the narrative of your SoP on where you want to go and how you want to get there in ways that draw attention away from your initial experiences as a graduate school. I recommend that when you discuss those initial experiences, you find a balance among self accountability, lessons learned, and lessons applied.

Also, I think you might benefit from accepting the possibility that, regardless of what you say, there will be those who consider you a "quitter" and that the more time you spend arguing the opposite, the more these people may dig in their heels. So, rather than arguing that you are not what you aren't, focus on developing the argument that you are what you are: a person who is determined to persevere.

HTH.

[emmm]

Also -- it won't be seen as a "gap" as you will have to disclose that you were in school during that time -- you cannot hide that fact. So you will have to explain not finishing the program and potentially explain your poor grades, but you will not have a blank chunk of mystery time to explain.

[Hank Scorpio]

In any case, I recommend that you focus the narrative of your SoP on where you want to go and how you want to get there in ways that draw attention away from your initial experiences as a graduate school.

I think this is excellent advice. Though you will have to mention that time, you don't need to put the focus on it. The more you focus on it, the more they will. Just talk about how you're moving forward, and where you want to go. Whatever you focus on, they will.

[jeffster]

I wouldn't just gloss over the two year period though. It's not like they aren't going to notice it if you simply don't say anything about it!

Instead try to spin it as a strength - you just did that a little right here, regarding the hard lessons you learned. Talk about how it led you to where you are now and what you got out of the period, while acknowledging but not focusing on the negatives. I imagine they'll be concerned about how this past experience with grad school could reflect on your potential future experience with grad school, so I think you should at least address why this isn't a valid concern for them to hold.

I had a two-year gap where I worked in a field not related to my education in order to support my wife while she finished school, and when I applied to grad school I made sure to address that gap, and talk about what I did in that time to keep myself involved in the field. It worked out well enough for me.

Good luck!

[PinkandI]

Hey guys, thank you so much. I am so grateful, you have no idea.

@Sigaba, thanks again but I have trouble understanding some of those abbreviations, like 'Pols' and 'SoP'. @ jeffster- You are absolutely right, there's no way I am glossing over it. It seems to me there's more advice you can render me about this though. Just a gut feeling.

[Dal PhDer]

Sigaba mentioned perseverance. I applied for a national grant that asked students to outline a situation in which they used perseverance. I was like, "wtf??!"...I think this is a perfect example that you could word/phase in a way that gave strength to your personality, motivation, experience and desire for graduate school. I might not focus my whole application around it, but I would certainly mention it, and not hide from it. You have clearly learned a lot from that situation, and if anything it has made you clearly see what you desire to pursue and work on for your career.

I don't think it's something you should gloss over or be ashamed of...every experience is a situation you can learn from, and what you learn and how you react to that experience determines a lot of who you are.

Write it as a strength! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

[ANDS!]

It's all going to be in that Statement of Purpose. That you simply didn't complete your grad requirements a scant few years ago is going to be quite the red flag for people reading your application. I respect that you do not feel that you are a quitter, but that is how the grad. comm. is going to see it without you successfully (and honestly) explaining what happened during your first go around. If the program was a wrong fit, explain why it was the wrong fit and why the program you are wanting to enter now is.

As for how you do this, I would steer clear of "depression" or any psychological talk, and instead couch the discussion in terms of how the lack of fit between you and the material, despite the quality of the program, lead to a disconnect and eventually you deciding to not complete the program instead of putting your name on work you didn't believe in. If any member of the faculty can speak to your talent despite you not finishing, that will be huge for you.

At the end of the day these people (and really anyone who ever "hires" you in the future) is going to want to know: Does this person know what they are doing and is in it for the long haul?

Edited May 28, 2012 by ANDS!

[jeffster]

Is the program you want to apply to in your home country? You mentioned that being far from home was causing you problems, so if you're now applying for a school at home, or at least much closer to home, you might talk about that as an issue that you had the first time around that you wont have if they accept you to their program. On the other hand, if you're applying to another school far away from home, I wouldn't mention that as a problem you had before. Also, you might ask yourself why you'll be able to handle it better this time, if you are indeed going to be far away again.

You might also talk about what exactly led you to figure out your interest in this new program. Was it an elective you took, or a professor who introduced you to it? It may be a hard sell if your new major is very similar to your old major, but if it's a big change then maybe you could draw attention to the positive things that led you TO this program, rather than the negative things that led you OUT of your old program. For example, I started out majoring in a different area of the social sciences, then I had a superb professor in an intro econ course that led me to change my focus and add a double-major. Later when I applied for an econ PhD program, I talked briefly about that professor as a way of explaining my earlier work and the subsequent switch.

The last thing that comes to mind is the down time between your quitting the old program and the start of the 2013 academic year. What are you doing in this space that applies to your new desired major? You might be able to use some good relevant activities in this time period to frame everything as a transition from your old major to your new, rather than a flat-out quitting of the old major.

Those are just a few ideas that come to mind.

[avicus]

I had terrible grades for the whole of my sophomore year and the first semester of my junior year. (I had decent grades in freshman year and senior year). But as Hank Scorpio mentioned, I did not focus on those poor grades in my SoP. Rather, I mentioned that I was having some trouble focusing in class, due to having to take many required courses that I had little to no interest in, which caused stress and consequently health problems.

That there were other personal problems at play doesn't matter; the adcomm does NOT need to know that. What I think they were looking for, in my case, was

i. Why was there a change in the trend of my GPA

ii. What I did to overcome it

iii. Evidence of ii. - e.g. an upward trend in your junior/senior year.

Of course, in your case (as well as mine), I suppose reference letters will matter a lot. If your referees can attest to your research potential, then you should be home-free.

If you're wondering, I did get accepted to my program (top 20% in my field). And with funding.

So, hope this helps, and don't give up hope!

Edited June 2, 2012 by avicus

[PinkandI]

Thanks guys. I need a lot of help on this. Very nervous about my statement of purpose.

[Hank Scorpio]

I hear you. There's often a lot of pressure to write a good statement of purpose because, apart from the writing sample (if you have to submit one), it is your chance to show who you are NOW, and what you're capable of. Reference letters are also obviously important, but the statement of purpose is not just a representation of you, but one that is in your own words.

Anyway, when I wrote my statement, I also considered explaining a huge cap in my education. In the middle of my degree, I dropped out for 3 years to pursue a music career. The grades in the my first two years were horrible, with a GPA of 1.4. After my break, I came back and worked my ass off. In the end, when I finished my degree my overall GPA was something like 2.1..but I knew they would just look at the final two years and see my GPA for those two years was 3.9. I thought about explaining all of this in my statement, but decided against it. Rather, I just focused on what my interests are and how I planned on contributing to the field. I figured the rest would explain itself. As most people have mentioned above in some way or another, the key is that you show you are forward-thinking. The past is behind you, the future is bright, etc., etc..

[PinkandI]

I hear you. There's often a lot of pressure to write a good statement of purpose because, apart from the writing sample (if you have to submit one), it is your chance to show who you are NOW, and what you're capable of. Reference letters are also obviously important, but the statement of purpose is not just a representation of you, but one that is in your own words.

Anyway, when I wrote my statement, I also considered explaining a huge cap in my education. In the middle of my degree, I dropped out for 3 years to pursue a music career. The grades in the my first two years were horrible, with a GPA of 1.4. After my break, I came back and worked my ass off. In the end, when I finished my degree my overall GPA was something like 2.1..but I knew they would just look at the final two years and see my GPA for those two years was 3.9. I thought about explaining all of this in my statement, but decided against it. Rather, I just focused on what my interests are and how I planned on contributing to the field. I figured the rest would explain itself. As most people have mentioned above in some way or another, the key is that you show you are forward-thinking. The past is behind you, the future is bright, etc., etc..

Thank you very much...

Edited June 13, 2012 by PinkandI