Officially Declined

[summerecho]

Well, it looks like I was officially rejected from all the PhD programs I applied for. I e-mailed an assistant and they told me that my stats were slightly lower than the average admitted applicant. I didn't exactly plan for this, so for those of you in similar positions, what are you planning to do?

[phigirl]

I was advised by my former advisers (I'm nearly 2 years out of UG) to apply for Master's programs as a backup ( I was applying for MA/PhD programs) so I've talked to departments and begun looking into that. Some depts. have deadlines that haven't passed yet so that's potentially an option!

 

I had also been advised (I knew prior to submitting apps that my field was incredibly competitive) to consider moving to a place where I (& my soon to be husband) wanted to be and if I was not accepted to do work in the field in the area of that school and apply again the following year.

 

hope that helps!

[raptureonfire]

Well, it looks like I was officially rejected from all the PhD programs I applied for. I e-mailed an assistant and they told me that my stats were slightly lower than the average admitted applicant. I didn't exactly plan for this, so for those of you in similar positions, what are you planning to do?

 

1. Are you determined to enter a PhD program?  What do you want to do with the degree?  Are you looking to teach, or to join policy?
2. What are your stats (GPA/GRE/experience).  Perhaps an MA would be helpful in strengthening your credentials.
3. Which programs did you apply to, and how many?  If you applied to top schools, then you may be in good shape for a second go-around at mid-level schools next year.
4. What is your existing degree in?  Can you pursue work experience in a related field?

It may be worth moving to a city with a related field (DC/NYC) and trying your hand in the professional world.

 

If you are determined to be a PhD, and you want to pursue academia, then I recommend trying to get into a competitive MA program (with the understanding that you will likely fund it yourself), and just do as much as you possibly can to put yourself in a strong position for your next cycle.  That also includes the GRE.  The new GRE is definitely better to study for, so put a good 6 months into it and really knock it out of the park.

 

If you are sort of unsure about whether you want to be a PhD, then I'd recommend a few years of career building.  See whether it's for you.  And make some money (and connections) while you're at it!

[brandnewtothis]

Well it looks like I may be joining you all soon. Would love some advice.

[eponine997]

Also facing that particular impending doom... I'm wondering if it's too soon to start a "Welcome to the 2013-2014 Cycle" thread... 

[summerecho]

Does it matter where I go for my Master's? I'm planning to attend a CSU college in California to earn my Master's before applying to the PhD program again.

[eponine997]

Does it matter where I go for my Master's? I'm planning to attend a CSU college in California to earn my Master's before applying to the PhD program again.

Yes, Sort of like it matters where you go for undergrad (Ivy league > etc > directional school).  However, having a professor interested in your research, funding(read: usually teaching/grading), opportunity to RA and attend conferences, can make a difference to sort of overcome the pedigree factor... and lacking these things can exacerbate it.  If you do it, pick a program that is designed at least partially for people who have the intention of continuing on into a PhD program and that has had recent graduates accepted into decent (however you define it) PhD programs upon completion.  Basically, I wouldn't pick a program based on which deadlines haven't passed yet.  I am coming out of a similar situation, feel free to PM for me detail.  

 

If you have to pay for it, it might be better to take a year off to work/research/volunteer/retake the GRE.  OR try enrolling as a post-bacc/grad-student-at-large at a major university and take the intro grad seminars - This will help define your interests, "prove yourself" at the grad level, get letters of rec, new/better writing samples, etc.  

It is still possible to get an MA and completely waste those two years (leaving with little more than a potentially higher GPA and some 500-level courses no one cares about), plus you are out cost of attendance (or the lost opportunity of money you could have earned working).

[PhDhopeful2013]

Does it matter where I go for my Master's? I'm planning to attend a CSU college in California to earn my Master's before applying to the PhD program again.

 

a good sign would be if the MA program has placed recent graduates in PhD programs that you would be interested in.  Otherwise, in my view it's not necessarily the prestige of the MA that will matter, but how you use it to improve your PhD application.  If it's a 2-yr program, you need to be focused on your PhD app from Day 1!  Year 1 will fly, and by your Summer/Fall of Year 2 you will be actually doing your applications.  Therefore in Year 1, you need to start narrowing down your interests and get your research questions situated in the literature.  Use your seminar papers to get you to this point.  From Day 1 make sure that the grad director knows that you want to move on to the doctoral level.  Make sure you can take a class or two with profs that you would like to recommend you.  Make sure to have a solid relationship with at least three profs in the dept that know your goals and research interests.  Of course you will learn a lot and have a great intellectual experience too, but really to be blunt the MA will be more instrumental at this point.... Good luck!!

[PoliSwede]

Does it matter where I go for my Master's? I'm planning to attend a CSU college in California to earn my Master's before applying to the PhD program again.

I can't place enough emphasis on how important it is that you carefully research and select the MA programs that you're interested in. Some programs will be structured similarly to a PhD program and provide a great deal of help for improving your PhD application. Not only that, but some MA programs will also be willing to send/take students to conferences so that they get to see what academia is like. For example, in my MA program we visited a conference during my first year, and in my second year I presented a research paper at the same conference.

 

Best of luck!

[hawkeye78]

I can't place enough emphasis on how important it is that you carefully research and select the MA programs that you're interested in. Some programs will be structured similarly to a PhD program and provide a great deal of help for improving your PhD application. Not only that, but some MA programs will also be willing to send/take students to conferences so that they get to see what academia is like. For example, in my MA program we visited a conference during my first year, and in my second year I presented a research paper at the same conference.

 

Best of luck!

Cosign this.

 

Lemeard and I did our Masters at the same place so we had a similar experience. I will say that my Masters degree helped me understand what to expect in a PhD program. I didn't get near the methods sequence that I'm getting now but the substantive classes have been very similar and I knew what to expect for both reading and writing loads. 

 

Researching the Masters programs you're interested in is vital. If they allow for conference attendance or presentations, then those are valuable experiences which should be highly considered. I was able to meet with numerous schools I was interested in at the conferences I attended and had the luxury of having my adviser there to introduce me to other faculty they knew. In fact, Iowa basically got a leg up for me after meetings with them at a conference.

[ValarDohaeris]

I got rejected for all of my PhD applications right out of undergrad. It turned out to be for the best, since I went into a depression/crisis my last semester over being unsure if I really wanted to study IR.  I graduated from college fairly young, and minds can change and doubt themselves rather easily! I had barely taken any science classes despite loving it my whole life, so I took a year to take some extra undergrad classes in it and I looked into master's programs to combine my interests. I just got into GWU's International Science & Technology Policy MA and I'm hoping to build up more research experience there and refine my interests before trying to go for the PhD again. It's not the end of the world and I think a master's is a very good idea to strengthen your credentials!