What would u do if.... Getting prepared for the worst situation

[WendyWonderland]

What would u do if u did not get into your dream school or achieve multiple rejections?

I think I will email the applied schools and require for true reasons why being rejected , improve and try again next year.

I am not thrilled about that, it means money and dream delay, but maybe better late than never.

I guess after this year, even unsuccessful I would gain much more experience and can do better next time.

Well, the first thing is maybe retaken my GRE. My verbal is only 147, because I have not been in touch with math for 8 years, so I spent my weekends and after work time on GRE math and gained 161. No

Time for verbal left. That's quite unwise since most graduate literature program value the verbal section more. Also Chinese applicants focus on toefl and GRE and especially by contacting the faculty. But I guess after reading this forum I believe the most important thing is if u fit into the program. So I would do much more research on that and try to rewrite my WS. I might be send different WS to different schools depends on the program. And I would reply to a broader range which I stupidly did not do this year. My interest lies in cross culture studies and transnational Identity studies in the field of comparative literature. Any recommendations? I'm in the midst of what I think is the biggest depression of my life. I guess it is better to be prepared for the worst and reset myself earlier for the next year. Anybody in the same boat? Maybe we can work together?

Even this seems like a not so positive post I wish everybody here good luck!

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

I think we all have to be prepared for the worst situation.

My second-least competitive school only, historically, funds about 12% of applicants. You have a higher math GRE than I do so you probably don't need me to tell you that because they only fund 12% then 88% are left rejected.

So the odds are against us.

Best of luck in managing the stress - it's the only thing we can control at this point.

[peachypie]

I think the best thing you can do is not let it deter you, which it hasn't.  Then talk to a few schools if they give you the option to communicate and say what could I do to be a more competitive applicant to your program?  Then depending on what it is, try your best to improve that or show progress or evidence why that is an anomaly to your otherwise very nice profile.  Good luck and let me know if you have any specific questions.

[Academicat]

Last year, I didn't get into one program, which was a huge blow to my ego. After dusting myself off, I regrouped, and it seems to have made a difference this season. Here's what I did:

 

1. Over the summer, I started a writing group. I invited widely, so we ended up with compositionists, TT librarians, and literature scholars, both faculty and graduate student. We used the Wendy Laura Belcher book "Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks: A Guide to Academic Success" as a guide. The value of the group was twofold: I got some feedback on my writing sample, allowing me to revise, but I also got to see my colleagues' writing processes. Seeing what they write and how they write helped me refine my approach. Helping people with their writing helps me write better.

 

2. I collected Statements of Purpose from my friends who had successfully gotten into fully funded graduate programs, spread them all out on the table, and looked for patterns. This is a strategy that has worked well for me when writing cover letters, and it helped me take a completely new approach to my SOP.

 

3. I reconsidered my recommendation writers and swapped out one very busy colleague for a former professor from my MA program. This particular colleague had forgotten about writing my letter last year, and though we worked closely, she showed me that the letter she eventually did submit was just a form letter, so I knew I needed someone else. Even though I had been out of graduate school and working for four years, my former professor was happy to write me a letter, and moreover, he has been a great resource for advice this application season. To make it easier on him, I sent him the papers I'd written for his class, my current CV, and a link to my website.

 

4. I built a professional website. The advice of one of my mentors was, "give them as many opportunities to see you as possible," so even though the website is fairly simple (my CV, a statement of research interest, a teaching statement, and a blog), I didn't think it would hurt my chances.

 

5. I felt a little silly about this one. Last year, when I submitted my applications, I treated my SOP as a cover letter, and I didn't use letterhead. When I was at the CWPA conference in Savannah, I had a conversation with some colleagues about what they look for in an applicant, and they both talked about both the cover letter and the SOP. For some reason, I had assumed that they could be the same document. This year, I wrote a separate cover letter that discusses my work experience and what I would bring to the department as a TA. I put it on department letterhead, which gives it some gravitas. If you are currently a graduate student, you should have access to departmental letterhead. Just ask.

 

6. I asked lots of people lots of questions, and I took their advice. We are all resources to one another, and people who are further ahead in the field may be busy, but they also want to help you succeed because, chances are, they are successful due in part to the support of their mentors.

 

If you don't get in, it's not the end of the world, and it's not a reflection on you as a person. It's just that your application packet didn't showcase you as well as it could, and you can work with that. Spend your year out of grad school developing yourself professionally in whatever ways make sense to you. One option is to pick up a course adjuncting at a university that offers free classes to their part-timers. With your free class credit, take a course that would allow you to create a new writing sample, and then throw yourself into making it as awesome as possible. Take advantage of all the resources you have available to you on campus to revise the rest of your packet.

 

Go out for lots of coffee dates with people who have succeeded. Ask their advice. It's worth the investment.

[MedievalMadness]

Last year, I didn't get into one program, which was a huge blow to my ego. After dusting myself off, I regrouped, and it seems to have made a difference this season. Here's what I did:

 

1. Over the summer, I started a writing group. I invited widely, so we ended up with compositionists, TT librarians, and literature scholars, both faculty and graduate student. We used the Wendy Laura Belcher book "Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks: A Guide to Academic Success" as a guide. The value of the group was twofold: I got some feedback on my writing sample, allowing me to revise, but I also got to see my colleagues' writing processes. Seeing what they write and how they write helped me refine my approach. Helping people with their writing helps me write better.

 

2. I collected Statements of Purpose from my friends who had successfully gotten into fully funded graduate programs, spread them all out on the table, and looked for patterns. This is a strategy that has worked well for me when writing cover letters, and it helped me take a completely new approach to my SOP.

 

3. I reconsidered my recommendation writers and swapped out one very busy colleague for a former professor from my MA program. This particular colleague had forgotten about writing my letter last year, and though we worked closely, she showed me that the letter she eventually did submit was just a form letter, so I knew I needed someone else. Even though I had been out of graduate school and working for four years, my former professor was happy to write me a letter, and moreover, he has been a great resource for advice this application season. To make it easier on him, I sent him the papers I'd written for his class, my current CV, and a link to my website.

 

4. I built a professional website. The advice of one of my mentors was, "give them as many opportunities to see you as possible," so even though the website is fairly simple (my CV, a statement of research interest, a teaching statement, and a blog), I didn't think it would hurt my chances.

 

5. I felt a little silly about this one. Last year, when I submitted my applications, I treated my SOP as a cover letter, and I didn't use letterhead. When I was at the CWPA conference in Savannah, I had a conversation with some colleagues about what they look for in an applicant, and they both talked about both the cover letter and the SOP. For some reason, I had assumed that they could be the same document. This year, I wrote a separate cover letter that discusses my work experience and what I would bring to the department as a TA. I put it on department letterhead, which gives it some gravitas. If you are currently a graduate student, you should have access to departmental letterhead. Just ask.

 

6. I asked lots of people lots of questions, and I took their advice. We are all resources to one another, and people who are further ahead in the field may be busy, but they also want to help you succeed because, chances are, they are successful due in part to the support of their mentors.

 

If you don't get in, it's not the end of the world, and it's not a reflection on you as a person. It's just that your application packet didn't showcase you as well as it could, and you can work with that. Spend your year out of grad school developing yourself professionally in whatever ways make sense to you. One option is to pick up a course adjuncting at a university that offers free classes to their part-timers. With your free class credit, take a course that would allow you to create a new writing sample, and then throw yourself into making it as awesome as possible. Take advantage of all the resources you have available to you on campus to revise the rest of your packet.

 

Go out for lots of coffee dates with people who have succeeded. Ask their advice. It's worth the investment.

 

This is really great! If I don't get into any of my programs, I will definitely be following your advice.

[WendyWonderland]

I think we all have to be prepared for the worst situation.

My second-least competitive school only, historically, funds about 12% of applicants. You have a higher math GRE than I do so you probably don't need me to tell you that because they only fund 12% then 88% are left rejected.

So the odds are against us.

Best of luck in managing the stress - it's the only thing we can control at this point.

Thanks for replying! I guess in order to make the chances bigger, we have to be better. Just confused about how. I was busy studying English German and French, publish papers and working. I actually don't know how much working experience count in literature studies. My interest is cross culture studies and my work is very much related. My writing sample is the revised version of what I published. Except for my GRE verbal I don't know what to improve actually....I guess I should change schools and programs....

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

Thanks for replying! I guess in order to make the chances bigger, we have to be better. Just confused about how. I was busy studying English German and French, publish papers and working. I actually don't know how much working experience count in literature studies. My interest is cross culture studies and my work is very much related. My writing sample is the revised version of what I published. Except for my GRE verbal I don't know what to improve actually....I guess I should change schools and programs....

No need for that.

See Academicat's advice. It is brilliant.

[Strong Flat White]

Cool thread - I am torn between gearing up to try another application cycle vs. moving on and going another direction. The dreamer in me would want to reapply, but since I'm already gearing up for a massive cycle and have tons of time to dedicate to it, it is hard to imagine recovering from so many rejections and then somehow doing better the following cycle. But then again, it's just as hard to imagine not pursuing the life of literature.  Hm. Will be a very interesting spot to be in if that's what it comes to...the entrepreneur in me would be excited to explore something totally new = open up a restaurant or something equally insane. By the way, I don't see this as a negative post at all. It's good to go through the scenarios and besides, as disappointing as getting shut out must be, this kind of discussion should serve as healthy reminder that the world is big and life is good. There are worse fates than having to go a new direction. New directions can be exciting.

 

Short story: once upon a time my wife applied to med school at a top program and got waitlisted.  It was a months-long waitlist and the uncertainty was very stressful. In the meantime, I thought, perhaps we can devise a Plan B to rival Plan A...and that's just what we did - we applied to other degrees overseas and cleaned house on acceptances.  This became so exciting to us that we spent our first married years getting masters degrees in New Zealand.  Plan B became Plan A, and we wouldn't trade it for the world. And now look at us?  We're back Stateside and the whole reason that I have so much time on my hands is that I'm now waiting for my wife to complete a PA program.  So, after a stint abroad, then nearly a decade of gainful career experience, she's back in medicine and loving it.  And Plan B allowed me to discover my true passion. 

 

Sometimes it's good to be forced into certain situations that you wouldn't have chosen for yourself, so long as you can adjust and keep some perspective and not get too depressed or tunnel-visioned.  Ain't no negativity in that!

[WendyWonderland]

I think the best thing you can do is not let it deter you, which it hasn't.  Then talk to a few schools if they give you the option to communicate and say what could I do to be a more competitive applicant to your program?  Then depending on what it is, try your best to improve that or show progress or evidence why that is an anomaly to your otherwise very nice profile.  Good luck and let me know if you have any specific questions.

Thank you very much, that was kind of u.

Well, I am still waiting for 6 schools, but the hope is not big since I applied to competitive schools only and I know that I would be rejected from 2 schools which are less competitive. I feel distracted at work because of the torture of waiting.

It would be great if you know which school is easy on international students when it comes to GRE verbal and pay more attention on culture studies. For example I know Cornell does not require international applicants to take Gre. I did not take the sub test, it's not required. Would it be a plus if I do so?

Thanks!

[WendyWonderland]

Last year, I didn't get into one program, which was a huge blow to my ego. After dusting myself off, I regrouped, and it seems to have made a difference this season. Here's what I did:

 

1. Over the summer, I started a writing group. I invited widely, so we ended up with compositionists, TT librarians, and literature scholars, both faculty and graduate student. We used the Wendy Laura Belcher book "Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks: A Guide to Academic Success" as a guide. The value of the group was twofold: I got some feedback on my writing sample, allowing me to revise, but I also got to see my colleagues' writing processes. Seeing what they write and how they write helped me refine my approach. Helping people with their writing helps me write better.

 

2. I collected Statements of Purpose from my friends who had successfully gotten into fully funded graduate programs, spread them all out on the table, and looked for patterns. This is a strategy that has worked well for me when writing cover letters, and it helped me take a completely new approach to my SOP.

 

3. I reconsidered my recommendation writers and swapped out one very busy colleague for a former professor from my MA program. This particular colleague had forgotten about writing my letter last year, and though we worked closely, she showed me that the letter she eventually did submit was just a form letter, so I knew I needed someone else. Even though I had been out of graduate school and working for four years, my former professor was happy to write me a letter, and moreover, he has been a great resource for advice this application season. To make it easier on him, I sent him the papers I'd written for his class, my current CV, and a link to my website.

 

4. I built a professional website. The advice of one of my mentors was, "give them as many opportunities to see you as possible," so even though the website is fairly simple (my CV, a statement of research interest, a teaching statement, and a blog), I didn't think it would hurt my chances.

 

5. I felt a little silly about this one. Last year, when I submitted my applications, I treated my SOP as a cover letter, and I didn't use letterhead. When I was at the CWPA conference in Savannah, I had a conversation with some colleagues about what they look for in an applicant, and they both talked about both the cover letter and the SOP. For some reason, I had assumed that they could be the same document. This year, I wrote a separate cover letter that discusses my work experience and what I would bring to the department as a TA. I put it on department letterhead, which gives it some gravitas. If you are currently a graduate student, you should have access to departmental letterhead. Just ask.

 

6. I asked lots of people lots of questions, and I took their advice. We are all resources to one another, and people who are further ahead in the field may be busy, but they also want to help you succeed because, chances are, they are successful due in part to the support of their mentors.

 

If you don't get in, it's not the end of the world, and it's not a reflection on you as a person. It's just that your application packet didn't showcase you as well as it could, and you can work with that. Spend your year out of grad school developing yourself professionally in whatever ways make sense to you. One option is to pick up a course adjuncting at a university that offers free classes to their part-timers. With your free class credit, take a course that would allow you to create a new writing sample, and then throw yourself into making it as awesome as possible. Take advantage of all the resources you have available to you on campus to revise the rest of your packet.

 

Go out for lots of coffee dates with people who have succeeded. Ask their advice. It's worth the investment.

Dear academicat, thanks for sharing, it's really great! I am impressed!

The only thing is that I might not be able to have so much time to follow all of your advise because I work a lot. But gathering a writing group to help each other on essays is definitely a good idea! I see u have gain acceptances already, congrats! Hard work pays off!

I would think about your suggestions thoroughly and I appreciate your help!