Reversing a rejection with an email? Sending email while waiting?

[dungheap]

Has this ever happened to anyone? I'm so curious.

 

I'm also curious if sending in additional emails to the department begging, or offering up an addendum of sorts to your personal statement via email has ever worked out to your advantage?

 

Please do share!

 

I'm about 10 seconds away from hitting send on this tear-jerking masterpiece I want to lay on the graduate coordinator of an engineering program :/

[child of 2]

you're going to regret it in the morning

[dungheap]

I guess it was more for show, but I am thinking of writing. I'm just curious what peoples experiences have been like. I saw this earlier and kind of didn't believe it.

[hwrios]

Why not?  It's worth a try!  You will be famous on here if it works!  lol

It's not the type of thing i'd expect from mechanical engineering person though.  Sounds like something one of my art friends would try.  

I say totally go for it.  It's not going to cost you any money, no one is going to get hurt.  

Just don't expect a response!  LOL

[RinseRepeat]

Personally I'd be afraid of making a bad impression and burning a bridge/opportunity to reapply. Then again, I'm too afraid to email asking for the status of some of my apps for fear of making a bad impression. So maybe I'm just too tentative.

[agej]

Don't do it. Trust me. I've had to tear myself away from doing the same....but you WILL regret it! You don't want to be *that* applicant that they mock on Twitter, at dinner parties or at the coffee machine.

[ruud9]

Though it sounds like an out of the box idea, it has a very low probability of working in favor of you. I won't tell you that it would jeopardize your admission chances, because it won't. In general the grad coordinators ignore such emails (FYI: I have no experience in this matter, I have not tried it myself). But it is just not professional.

 

Instead, I guess the best way is to try to send an email to a POI and see if he/she is interested to work with you while pursuing graduate studies. Although if ones credentials are not "good" enough, I don't think that will work either.

 

Thanks,

ruud9.

[MarkR]

Personally I'd be afraid of making a bad impression and burning a bridge/opportunity to reapply. Then again, I'm too afraid to email asking for the status of some of my apps for fear of making a bad impression. So maybe I'm just too tentative.

This is my thought too. I don't want to be seen as whiney or annoying. That said, I'm still waiting for ANY news...

[dungheap]

Is it really unprofessional or whiney? I feel like it's some part this weird academic-machoness, or masochistic stoicism.

 

Wouldn't you think that something you plan on spending the rest of your life doing is something worth it?

[child of 2]

A weird academic wha?? I thought it was just common sense.

[dat_nerd]

Yeah... I wouldn't do it. Showing disrespect for their decision won't make them want to change it. Even if it worked, wouldn't you rather reapply and be accepted based on your application?

[ArtHistoryandMuseum]

I'm also curious. What if your application for your top school doesn't totally reflect who you are? I've been coming to the conclusion as of late that I made some errors (not typos). In terms of department "fit," I believe I could have provided better examples of what I am truly capable of. Instead of listing merely what I read of the POIs, for instance I could have provided analysis between some of their publications. Also, I could have explained my reasoning for a few things in my SOP in a stronger way (my current words may be leading to an unintended outcome.) Finally, there was aspect of my application I did my best with, but ultimately realized I should have asked for some guidance from the university before submitting my application. 

 

The disappointment, and feeling absolutely terrible about myself, is one aspect hanging heavy on my heart, I feel awful that I worry that I've wasted everyone's time (my LOR writers and the adcom), ...when I truly believe the sort of person that the graduate program seeks, is here all along.

 

Given that some people have heard from the university (according to the results survey), guess this means I should be bracing myself for a rejection... and reapply next year? Extreme sad face.

[SANDIEGO]

The professors had a meeting about the applications and the decisions were made then. There's just no way that a grad coordinator even has the power alone to admit you without the blessing of at least one POI. Asking for advice on what they thought were the weaknesses in your application so you can do better next time is one thing, but asking for them to re-consider a decision they've already made.. is probably not professional. Good luck if you go ahead and do it anyway

[child of 2]

sandiego brings up a good point about asking for actual feedback. I'm thinking about doing that myself. I mean if I paid a $125 application fee, I want to get something out of it other than a dumb rejection letter.

[melissaam]

Last year I reached out to a Graduate Coordinator I had a good relationship with, she helped me organize a visit to the school in early December 2011, after receiving my rejection. My main concern was determining where my application "went wrong" and what I could do to rectify them in the future. She was very forthcoming and told me exactly what the admission committee was concerned about. She also mentioned that they had an extremely high volume of applicants and I would have likely been accepted, with the same qualifications, in a different application season.

 

A possible POI from another institution also reviewed my application from last year and offered suggestions for improvement for this application season. She told me what I would need to do to gain acceptance to her institution.

 

The point of the above "stories," ask about the weaknesses in your application and keep the connections. its unlikely and engineering program will change their mind based on your plea. As stereotypical as this sounds, they are very much about the quantitative and not so much about the qualitative.

 

Edit: I applied to Biomedical Engineering programs, so I'm not making these comments without an understanding of the field.

Edited February 20, 2013 by melissaam

[SLPjmar]

I don't think I would ever feel comfortable sending an e-mail essentially begging for another chance. I'd be too afraid that it would taint my reputation in the future (or now). 

[ak48]

Not grad school related, but here it is:

 

When I was in college (Ivy League school), one of my friends applied to a finance internship in South Korea and got rejected. He sent them a very polite email stating that while he was disappointed by the decision, he thanked them for their professional response. He also asked them if they could give him insight as to where he could improve his application because he wanted to apply there again in the future for a full-time position. All very respectful.

 

Instead of telling him where his application went wrong, they decided to accept him for the internship!

 

Maybe this particular company had a kind-hearted Human Resources person that day, but the moral of the story is that keeping windows open and bridges standing can only do you good.

 

Now, he did not "beg for admission", as you are planning to do. He merely wanted to ask where his application was weak.

 

in my opinion, begging for admission would be a terrible idea. What do you have to lose, you ask? For one thing, you will never be able to re-apply there. There's also the risk of the letter getting forwarded around, possibly black-listing you from other programs/schools. (This has happened before with angry job rejection responses).

 

And there's also your dignity. It has to be worth something.

 

Send them an email. Be polite. Don't beg for admission; rather, ask them where they think your application can improve so that if you decide to reapply next year, you have a better shot.

[rae303]

I think it depends on whether you have been formally rejected or if you are waitlisted.  You mention waiting in your title.  If you have already been formally rejected, no, begging will not change anything.  Asking for tips on where you can improve for the next application season is not frowned upon, though, and can lead to some great insight for next time. 

 

HOWEVER, if you are waitlisted, that is something else entirely.  You can absolutely sway a decision (in either direction) based on communication while you are waitlisted.  Supplying additional materials along with a well-worded, polite cover letter can launch you to the top of the waitlist or even make them reconsider acceptance.  When I was applying I was waitlisted at my first choice and one of my recommenders told me to treat it as if they were saying, "We like you, but we're not convinced.  Convince us."  I attended the visiting weekend, met with as many professors as I could, submitted another writing sample, along with a brief cover letter restating my desire to attend.  They responded by attempting to find additional funding for me, and eventual offered me admission along with full funding.  So it is definitely possible to sway a decision, as long as the decision has not actually been made yet.