lostandconfused Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 I got my last rejection from my top choice so I am officially 0-7/. This sucks and I just wanna crawl in a hole and disappear now. Anyone else with a similar fate?
frankdux Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 i know how you feel. out of ten schools i have 4 official rejections and am really not expecting acceptances on the other 6 considering they have all made first round offers and some second round offers and have had their invitation weekends already at this point. an acceptance at any of those schools would basically be a miracle. what are your plans for next year? i'm gonna try and take some independent study classes over the summer at the very least. hopefully i can parlay that into some low paying research gig during the school year, but thats probably wishful thinking. regardless, i need to have something to add to my apps for next year. honestly i dont think i'll be applying to 10 schools again. maybe just 5 or 6 and probably only 2 of those will be schools i've already applied to this year. and i'm gonna try and see if i can get some sort of communication with professors at those universities prior to applying. i also think i'll completely scrap my current SOP and rewrite it more as a loose research proposal of sorts.
fortiesgirl Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 I got my last rejection from my top choice so I am officially 0-7/. This sucks and I just wanna crawl in a hole and disappear now. Anyone else with a similar fate? I'm so sorry to hear that. I know how you feel because I was in your shoes not too long ago. I was rejected by all the programs to which I applied (was admitted to one with no funding, so that was a no-go), so I decided to wait two years, take an honest reassessment of my application, and reapply with a stronger application. I retook the GRE and earned a much higher score, reworked my SOP, got stronger letters of recomendation, have more work experience in my field, and worked on other areas of my application. I know this is a rough time, but it will pass. Best of luck in next year's process. I'm sure it will turn out better next time around.
blue Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 I am in the same situation, I know how you feel. Not only that but I will be laid off in the summer. I'm reapplying this year and I did everything I could - I raised my GPA, GRE, research experience, I re-wrote my SOPs... They interviewed me everywhere and I have 0 offers!
BKNY11215 Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 I was rejected twice by TC-Columbia!!! I appealed their rejection and they wrote back: "...the additional information you submitted did not change the original decision made on March 9, 2009." I'm waiting for my last response which was rolling admission, so who knows when they'll respond. I've lost all hope. :x :x :!: :!: This in my second attempt at a PhD, last time was in 2004. It's painful!
zoberg Posted March 30, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 4/5. Waiting on my fifth. I feel you. This is devastating. And it also means I won't have health insurance starting in June.
flit Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 oh, man ...that just sucks so bad... I'm sorry for everyone in this position
LadyL Posted March 31, 2009 Posted March 31, 2009 Last round I made it onto 2 wait lists but didn't get in. This time I applied to a more select group of schools...and one of the schools that wait listed me last time, did so again! I also got rejected from a school that rejected me last time, except that now I'm working for 2 faculty members at that school, doing the same type of work that their grad students and post docs do. And not even an interview. I am not as bitter as I sound, really . I'm mostly impressed by how ridiculous and random this process is.
mtlve Posted April 6, 2009 Posted April 6, 2009 Hi guys. Sorry about your bad luck this time around. As you guys all have heard before, I recommend applying VERY broadly and to tons of schools next time around (10+). I know several people that did not get in any where, but they applied to all Boston and S cal schools. Checkout places in the south and the midwest too. There are a lot of excellent schools in those regions and they do not get as many applications. I did not have much luck on the coasts, but I got into some excellent programs in the south and midwest. Best of luck to all of you! Next year will be your year!
Stories Posted April 7, 2009 Posted April 7, 2009 You're bound to get in somewhere! I did 17 schools this past application cycle
sparkle456 Posted April 7, 2009 Posted April 7, 2009 I have no idea what everyone's specific story is, so I don't want to generalize. This has to feel awful...but DO NOT feel defeated. You're obviously bright and put forth a lot of effort in the application process. It's draining! It's all about fit. Not to be mean, but you seriously have to evaluate programs based on what fits your research interests, what your UG rsch is based off of, etc. And if not straight up PhD's, apply to MA's and work from there. And of course apply to some "reach" schools and realize there are no "safe" schools. You will see the results once you find places that are for you. for real!
frankdux Posted April 7, 2009 Posted April 7, 2009 if it makes you feel any better, i just received my 5th straight rejection. 5 more apps to go and not even a glimmer of hope in sight.
MayaC Posted April 7, 2009 Posted April 7, 2009 Yup, I'm in the same exact boat. I applied to 7 clinical psych PhD programs and was accepted to 0. Not even an interview. And I already have a MA and 3.5 years of relevant work experiece. The worst part of my application was my GRE, so I'm retaking that. I wish someone would have told me a year ago that schools don't even look at your application if your GRE is below their cut-off...live and learn.
peppermintgal Posted April 7, 2009 Posted April 7, 2009 I am in the same boat, plus I just got laid off at work! One waitlist, but otherwise across the board rejections. If nothing pans out, I am planning to take this year and improve my applications for next Fall - retake the GRE, submit papers to conferences and journals and keep myself involved in the field. School is not everything people! There are numerous ways of finding meaningful, intellectually stimulating, creative lives outside the realm of academia. It involves more effort to create these kinds of opportunities outside of school, but it is certainly possible. I also know a lot of people who say that not getting into school was the best thing to happen them. They were able to re-evaluate their reasons for wanting to go to school and often found more meaningful pursuits through their unexpected year of exploration. Just keep doing what you enjoy doing and do not get discouraged!
phr6984 Posted April 8, 2009 Posted April 8, 2009 I'm 0 for 6 currently and am waitlisted but not really hopeful for the 7th. As others have said, evaluate each part of your application. I'm taking additional classes in areas that I didn't concentrate on for undergraduate but are touched on in graduate school, like economics classes to try to improve my gpa. I am looking at taking my GRE again, because I feel I can do better on my verbal section and am concentrating on that, since most schools will take the best score in each section. I will probably try to write some type of paper to use as my writing sample and take time to sit down and evaluate my recommenders to see if they really were the strongest possible people. I also made the mistake of applying to a lot of top schools during a time when applications increased everywhere and was competing against people who I couldn't beat. I am going to spread out my apps and focus not just on what schools have the best program but other factors like location and proximity to friends and family. Hopefully things go better next year.
Summit_Bid Posted August 7, 2009 Posted August 7, 2009 I agree with the above poster. When I applid to Grad programs I got 2-36 for acceptances. Npw I'm applying to Ph.D's for the third year in a row since across the board it's been 0-12. I've studies admissions, testing etc. so much that I that not only will I get in this year, but I might as well become an admin consultant! I've learned one main thing about admissions and that is that a lot of it is out of your control. In fact the whole world is going out of control in a way. Everyone is losing jobs, going broke etc. There is one thing to live for...the possibilty of something good happening. Best of luck to you and everyone applying again.
LateAntique Posted November 9, 2009 Posted November 9, 2009 A lot of people get rejected from graduate studies. I was considering applying to Duke's Religion (not the Div school) program before I committed myself to being a Classicist and they have something on the order of a 3-5% acceptance rate. That's 95-97% rejection. That's a lot of people (considering hundreds apply). I think the unfortunate reality of it is: most people don't get into prestigious graduate programs. Such is life.
Amanda Posted December 3, 2009 Posted December 3, 2009 you guys are totally scaring me. I know! *panic, panic*
twocosmicfish Posted December 14, 2009 Posted December 14, 2009 If you get rejected everywhere, it basically means you either had a bad admissions strategy (like the guy who only applies to MIT) and/or miscalculated your competitiveness. It can happen to anyone, so try to learn from the experience and try again next year...
Timothy Vallier Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 Or you were equally matched with others but there were just not enough spots for you and you were unlucky.
LateAntique Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 Or you were equally matched with others but there were just not enough spots for you and you were unlucky. I don't think any two people can actually be 'equally matched'. The reasons for choosing between two people may be arbitrary (they liked someone's font more than another's), but I imagine it's more than just a coin toss.
piccgeek Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 I don't think any two people can actually be 'equally matched'. The reasons for choosing between two people may be arbitrary (they liked someone's font more than another's), but I imagine it's more than just a coin toss. I don't know...a prof from my program told me that in the adcom for admits to the American Lit part of the Lit phds, they make lists of ten who are about equal, and at some point they get to the middle list and just kind of....pick. As he kept reminding me as I hyperventilated through application season, the adcoms aren't losing any sleep over this. So if you don't get in anywhere, there's not necessarily anything you could have done better (or maybe there was a LOT you could have done better...who knows?). Aaaaaand now I'm depressing myself.
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