Regrets?

[Queen of Kale]

I would not have applied to a safety school but I might have substituted a highly ranked "wild card" instead.  I hedged my bets.  It turned out fine, but I could have been riskier, although it might have meant even more anxiety in the intervening months.

[misskira]

I wish I would have thought of phd school soon enough to get my 1 application in on time. Sigh.

Edited March 7, 2013 by misskira

[epsilon]

Would have applied to a school I always saw myself going to, but let a prof convince me they don't have enough research output. Looking back, the prof isn't in my subfield and went to a rival school! But in the end, very happy.

[weymiller]

I would have listed more schools on my GRE test.  I took it a year before I applied and didn't apply to any schools I sent my scores to originally.  I can't believe GRE charges $25 per school. 

[Captain Crunch]

I spent the VAST majority of my time researching individual professors and making contact with them. Probably 4 professors to every program that I actually applied to. Looking back, I wish I would have spent more time learning about the schools/departments in general and that I had applied to more "reach" schools. Also, I wish I would have considered school prestige a little more.

[Captain Crunch]

 I can't believe GRE charges $25 per school. 

 

Amen! It is outrageous. I am thankful that I can afford it, but I can imagine that for some people that it is a barrier to them going to grad school. I mean a test book + taking the gre twice + sending the info to schools is probably 450 bucks. That is an injustice if I ever saw one. 

[ion_exchanger]

I would have listed more schools on my GRE test.  I took it a year before I applied and didn't apply to any schools I sent my scores to originally.  I can't believe GRE charges $25 per school. 

 

 

Amen! It is outrageous. I am thankful that I can afford it, but I can imagine that for some people that it is a barrier to them going to grad school. I mean a test book + taking the gre twice + sending the info to schools is probably 450 bucks. That is an injustice if I ever saw one. 

 

I wish I would have been confident enough in my score to send it out on test day. I was so flustered and unsure if I scored high enough, that I walked away. I wish that GRE would still have the 4 free score option available even if you don't send your scores the same day. I went back and forth as to whether I should retake it, and ended up not retaking it. To send my score reports out cost just under the price for a retest.

[sweetpearl16]

I regret not paying more attention to funding when I applied. Now I've been accepted to a  program I really like, but doesn't offer much in the way of funding. A part of me also wishes I had gone with my original intention of taking a year off between my MA and PhD. Is it too late to do that now?

[Pinaman]

I regret not starting to think about, research and gather all relevant materials much earlier that I actually did. My first deadline was on Nov 30 and my first contact with my recommenders was Nov 1, took my GRE in the last week of Oct and on top of that spent ages fretting about how to write my SOPs instead of actually writing them. Yuck.

 

In the end (by next week end), I will see how it all worked out.

[Pretty_Penny]

I regret only applying to one professor at my undergrad institution, and not the one who would have taken me in a heartbeat (if only I had known!) I know the whole "stay away from doing your undergrad and grad studies at the same university" thing, but my biggest hesitation about grad school is moving so far away from my family, and being accepted here would have made things so much easier...

[wabisabi]

I would not have applied to a safety school but I might have substituted a highly ranked "wild card" instead.  I hedged my bets.  It turned out fine, but I could have been riskier, although it might have meant even more anxiety in the intervening months.

 

Completely agree with this. I was so worried about not getting in anywhere that I applied to more than one "safety." Even though I did end up including a wild card or two, there's one reach school in particular that I really regret not trying for. 

 

I didn't apply anywhere that I wouldn't have been excited to attend, but there are definitely places that I chose based on the fact that I thought the POIs would want me for their research . . . not because I was excited about said research.

Edited March 8, 2013 by wabisabi

[sansao]

I would have applied to Scripps or Woods Hole instead of a certain other school. That was a waste, and I knew it from the beginning, but I was too nervous and insecure about my application. That was stupid, and I've been regretting that one application since February. :/

[Biostat_Assistant_Prof]

I'm going to give my POV from a different side than what seems to be the norm here... I actually applied to a "safety" program, mostly because their application fee was free and I thought "why not, it can't hurt?" The school isn't ranked in the top 10 or anything, but it actually had a [relatively] low acceptance rate around ~25% (yea, I know not super competitive, but not a sure thing either)... Well I got a paid interview/campus visit and when I went I was blown away. The department research matched exactly what I was interested in, and something about it just clicked with me, I got that good "fit" feeling about the school that everyone talks about... I was accepted with funding and almost certain I'll take the offer. Its funny, 3 months ago it was a safety and not something I'd consider unless all other options were exhausted, but after the visit, it's now a place I want to go over many other options! I'm excited and know I'll be happy there

So, there is a different side. Sometimes you'll regret places you didn't apply, even if you dot realize it yet.

[abeilles]

I wish that GRE would still have the 4 free score option available even if you don't send your scores the same day.

YES

[sweetpearl16]

I really wish I had taken the time to more thoroughly consider what I want to study, how I want to study it, and which programs would best enable me to carry out my investigations while obtaining the training I need to make it in my field. The more I consider the two schools I have gotten into, the more I realize that neither is exactly a good match for my interests and I become increasingly disenchanted with both. A part of me wants to go through a new application season just to take the time to more clearly figure out what I want to do with my life and apply to the best places for me. 

[aucinema]

I wish I had applied to one or two more schools than I did. The last time I applied to graduate school I was still in undergrad and my parents helped me pay for my application fees and GREs. This time, I was on my own in that regard and so finances were a huge barrier. Not to mention, my GREs were from 2010 so I had to pay to send them to every single school I applied to, which as you guys mentioned, adds up pretty quickly.

 

Oh, well, I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to apply. I just wish I had had a few more options.

[AnonymousAcademic]

I regret wasting 50$ on my Memorial Application - what a crock!

 

I don't like their application process for the Interdisciplinary Studies PhD. 

[wpc]

I should have applied to two or three more PhD programs. Not only five!

[DarlingNikki]

Well, we all know what they say about hindsight...right?

 

Having completed a MS last year and going through this process now, I wish I would have applied to MS/PhD programs last year rather than did a terminal program last year. I think I would have saved myself alot of hassle this year. Also, I am quite sure I will have reevaluated the schools I applied to.

 

But, life's a lesson.

[eaboo316]

I wish I would have applied to 2-3 more "reach" programs.  Because of my mediocre GRE/GPA, I thought I would not be able to get in any high-ranking, competitive program, but my applications went pretty well this season.  I got into the only reach program I applied to, and I will always wonder if I would have been able to be accepted into others.  I also wish I would have worked a little bit harder on framing the "school-specific" paragraph of the SOP (I really just wanted to get the SOP done with at the time, haha), AND worked a bit harder in undergrad so I would not have that mediocore GPA.  

[toby42]

1) I wish I would have discovered this site sooner in the process.

 

2) Wish I would've left a little time at the end of my GRE essays for better proofreading.

 

3) Should have paid the $55 to have the essays re-evaluated (4.5)

[eponine997]

I wish I would have had someone PDF my SoPs after editing them, I changed things around at the last minute and managed to make silly mistakes AFTER most editing was done = stupid, at least I caught this before some of the later deadlines, but seriously, been kicking myself for months now... 

 

I wish I hadn't applied to schools that, in reality, it would be unwise to attend.  The concept of a safety school is great for undergrad (or for degrees with extremely high demand) because going somewhere is (almost) always better than going no where, but the job market for academic PhDs is WAY too competitive.  And I'd have felt better going through another application cycle in the hopes of getting into a program that might allow me to achieve my desired ends rather than potentially let me waste 5-7 years of my life at the end of which I'd have little chance at the job I want (I know this varies by discipline, and academic v. non-academic jobs, different people have different goals, etc. etc.).  

 

I wish I wouldn't have waited so long to start the process (trying to finish up applications WHILE writing term papers, etc is a pain).  One of my recommendations was actually submitted AFTER they'd sent out their acceptance notifications - a month later I got a wait-list notice :/  

 

That said, I am actually glad I "threw away money" on schools where I was told I had no chance.  I ended up getting on a waitlist at a program ranked well above what my adviser told me was a "reasonable stretch/reach" - I wouldn't have applied there if I'd listened to him, and I will never have to wonder "what if..." about the next best program.  

[NightGallery]

I'd have applied to more reach programs. Maybe would've undertaken safer coursework to have boosted my 3.83 GPA higher.

[pears]

I'd have applied to more reach programs. Maybe would've undertaken safer coursework to have boosted my 3.83 GPA higher.

 

i wish i had your problems.

[sansao]

i wish i had your problems.

^^^ This. But I also wish I would have started at University instead of the community college. I graduated cum laude, and I would have been magna if my lower div coursework had counted.