back up plan?

[possiblyclarks]

Hello all,

I have been a lurker here since last November, but have never posted. Many of you have been accepted to programs already, so this question is directed towards those who have not. What's your back-up plan?

This winter I applied to 5 PhD programs. I have 4.0 master's GPA, a previous graduate assistanship, 160/160 GRE scores, am in 5 honors societies, have strong references, and have 1 publication with 1 more under review. I've been involved in many extracurriculars including Division 1 sports, department clubs, volunteering, and steady employment.

All of my results are back and I have been waitlisted and rejected and have no acceptances. I am trying to formulate a back up plan now. Are there any programs that with late deadlines that I could apply to? If I take a year off, what should I do with my life?

[sirio]

Hi possiblyclarks

 

I'm very sorry that you didn't get any acceptances this season. It seems like you have a very good profile, so may be you could try to email the programs you applied to and ask if they can give you some feedback on how to improve your application next year. And may be you can take some time to think about what when wrong. I think 5 programs is not a lot, I applied to 10, was accepted by 2 and waitlisted by 1 (so may be if I had only applied to 5 I would have been rejected from all of them too...).

 

The only school I know that has a late deadline is FIU, but I don't know if you're interested. I think the deadline is April 1st. And who knows, may be you'll end up getting into the program where you've been waitlisted! Good luck!

[La_Di_Da]

try to email the programs you applied to and ask if they can give you some feedback on how to improve your application next year.

 

I absolutely agree with Sirio's advice, and likewise echo that maybe you'll be pulled from the waitlist. The season is not yet over and some applicants won't receive word until after April 15th, once admits have made their final decisions.

[Darth.Vegan]

If you reapply next year, try and apply to 10 programs if possible and you obviously don't want to apply to programs you wouldn't consider going to but disperse them a bit in the rankings if you haven't already. 

[SocioEd]

Your profile looks like kidding!

European universities have late deadlines. German universities seem to have a lot of funding and more doctorate positions this year. Not sure if exactly how late these deadlines are though.

[Willows]

If you reapply next year, try and apply to 10 programs if possible and you obviously don't want to apply to programs you wouldn't consider going to but disperse them a bit in the rankings if you haven't already. 

 

Yep.. I applied to 8, and if I had to give advice, it would be to apply to 10. And honestly, sprinkle a good mix of 15-35 in because once you get to rankings 40 and below, there are very few spots at some (if not most) schools comparatively speaking. I learned that this cycle with a couple of my schools emailing that they had only two funded spots - yikes! Good luck. 

[1848ce]

According to my faculty mentor, 6-10 is pretty typical. Not sure if she was referring to a certain tier of schools, though. I applied to 8 that were fairly evenly distributed amongst the top 20. Two acceptances, two waitlists, three rejections and will probably get a fourth from NYU today.

[RabbitFood]

If I didn't get in anywhere my plan was to get in on some work/research experiences. Just to be a better candidate on the next round

[jmu]

The only school I know that has a late deadline is FIU, but I don't know if you're interested. I think the deadline is April 1st. And who knows, may be you'll end up getting into the program where you've been waitlisted! Good luck!

 

Just replying here to clarify this for anyone searching in the future (hello from the past!)

 

FIU has a late deadline but this year only had three funded offers to give initially. I have a feeling they split those up between the disciplines but I'm not sure. I applied on Jan. 14 and got one and I know the others went out around the same time I got mine (early/mid-March). Everyone else who was accepted was basically waitlisted for funding. Other schools with rolling admissions or late deadlines probably operate in a similar manner. If they get an applicant they really want and they know they are probably getting offers elsewhere they aren't going to sit around and wait.

[oilandvinegar]

If you've not heard back yet, I would echo others and say look for work/research experiences that will make you a stronger applicant in the next round. 

 

As to why you may have not been successful this cycle, you're definitely a strong applicant, so my first thought would be fit, fit, fit. 

Were there multiple faculty at each program with whom your research interests aligned? Did your application materials clearly articulate why you were a strong match for the program?

 

Next though would be weak LORs or a weak SOP.

You mentioned to us that you're involved in many extracurriculars - did you mention this in your SOP? My general understanding is that programs care very little (if any) about extracurriculars. It's fine to have them on your resume but generally should not be mentioned in your SOP. Colleges may be looking for "well-rounded" applicants but graduate programs really don't care about that stuff. Your SOP should primarily be about your scholarly development, your research interests, and why the program is a strong fit for your future studies.

Finding out whether LORs were weak is a bit more challenging, but it's worth considering if there are little other explanations, since if you end up reapplying, you'll want to make sure these are even stronger. I sent my SOP to my recommenders so they could expound on and highlight relevant experiences in their letters. I asked for their feedback on my letter and I also explained how I thought my work with each of them came together to make me a strong applicant (my sitch was a bit unique, I was not a soc major and had one letter from a prof in my major field, one from a soc prof I took many classes with, and one from my current employer). 

 

It's hard, but we have to remember that many, many applicants have high GPAs, high GRE scores, and research experience. Those just get us into the review pile. They don't earn us an admissions offer.

[gilbertrollins]

Semperfi101:  

 

(1) You're using a military term as a username and an American flag on a forum populated mostly by people who associate those with nationalistic conservatism, and a nasty version of it in their opinion. 

 

(2) You're vocal.  People on the internet, especially early graduate students and undergraduates who are nervous about competing for attention, generally interpret that as arrogance.  That impression will be bolstered by the stereotypes of conservatives as arrogant and loud (however strange that might be considering the arrogant anger many liberals express).  

 

(3) You're direct.  The board is very concerned with protecting people's feelings.  For better or worse, this is part of sociological ethos -- it is an effort to promote diversity of voices, even if it silences many.  

 

(4)  People often times won't agree with you on these kinds of boards and will downvote you.  That feels like a passive aggressive slight, and it potentially is.  But try not to take it personally, otherwise you'll get embroiled in conflicts in which you will make yourself look much dumber (I have; trust me) than people may have thought you did to begin with.  Getting mad just confirms people's prior that you're an asshole, for those who have such a prior (I don't, and surely many don't).  

 

By all means man (woman?), keep on keepin' on.  I'm not writing to suggest you change your approach, or to lecture you about who you are.  I'm just saying -- this is the kind of environment you're up against.  It's like a nail gun to the head at times, but there are a lot of helpful people here, for whom I can vouch and verify, will help boost your career in very large and material ways.  At the end of the day everyone here is trying to help each other, even josemore.

[Darth.Vegan]

Semperfi101:

(1) You're using a military term as a username and an American flag on a forum populated mostly by people who associate those with nationalistic conservatism, and a nasty version of it in their opinion.

(2) You're vocal. People on the internet, especially early graduate students and undergraduates who are nervous about competing for attention, generally interpret that as arrogance. That impression will be bolstered by the stereotypes of conservatives as arrogant and loud (however strange that might be considering the arrogant anger many liberals express).

(3) You're direct. The board is very concerned with protecting people's feelings. For better or worse, this is part of sociological ethos -- it is an effort to promote diversity of voices, even if it silences many.

(4) People often times won't agree with you on these kinds of boards and will downvote you. That feels like a passive aggressive slight, and it potentially is. But try not to take it personally, otherwise you'll get embroiled in conflicts in which you will make yourself look much dumber (I have; trust me) than people may have thought you did to begin with. Getting mad just confirms people's prior that you're an asshole, for those who have such a prior (I don't, and surely many don't).

By all means man (woman?), keep on keepin' on. I'm not writing to suggest you change your approach, or to lecture you about who you are. I'm just saying -- this is the kind of environment you're up against. It's like a nail gun to the head at times, but there are a lot of helpful people here, for whom I can vouch and verify, will help boost your career in very large and material ways. At the end of the day everyone here is trying to help each other, even josemore.

Uh, I don't think any of those things describe Josefmoore, he mostly just trolls the various sub forums and gets in flame wars. He's been suspended from the forum various inappropriate behaviors in the past including down voting posts for no apparent reason.

[gilbertrollins]

At first I neg rep you right away because I thought you were putting down people who love their country. I read the whole post and realized I was wrong in doing so. I cant fix the vote so I postiviley repp 2 other comments of yours. BTW, in my opinion ultra liberals are much more vocal in academia than conservatives (due to nature of the institution I assume). I have been listening to their opinions for 6 years now; however, most of their arguments I throw out the window but I am respectful. Externally I might seem very conservative but I do believe in gay marriage and I am against the death penalty and for some gun control laws and legalizing weed (although I have never done it I believe alcohol kills more people than weed). Conversely, I support water bordering potential terrorist (and yes I would gladly give my life or be water boarded myself if it meant a safer country) and I love George Bush ( I do not hate Obama but I do not like his stance on decreasing military spending).. A part of me still loves academia regardless (sorry if that offends people but those opinions are not changing).

 

No worries big bruh.  I'm glad you caught the spirit of my post.  Best luck as you move forward!