wait or go to backup

[erore2]

I was rejected from all the schools I wanted to attend. I got acceptance from two backup schools (physics in Kansas and UCF). I tried to write to some of the schools which rejected me to get a feedback, unfortunately, there were no replies. Now, I am deciding whether to go to one of those above or wait and try again.

 

I was also considering going to one of the above but try application in autumn anyway and if I am accepted change the school. Do you have any experience with this - take a backup school and try another round of applications?

 

Thanks a lot.

[heyo]

I am/was in a similar situation - I was accepted to only one school, which I applied to as an afterthought (well, I still haven't heard from one of my "main" schools, but I am working on the assumption I'm rejected). I was unsure that I would be content going there, and I almost wished I hadn't applied, so that I could not go without any self-guilt about not going.

 

Can you see yourself being content with going to one of those schools? If not, I would consider not going and attempting to get your acceptance deferred for a year. This is what I am attempting right now. I plan to try to get a research oriented internship or job and to expand my school list and reapply. Even if I cannot do this, I still plan to reapply.

 

If you go this route, you have to realize that you may not get anything better. If you're able to defer your acceptance, then this should not be a problem, as you'll have a backup plan. If you find that neither school is willing to defer you, then realize that by not going you are risking getting no acceptances the following year. If you're OK with that, then don't go this year.

 

In my case, I'm not fully convinced that I couldn't get a program I'd be happier at next year, and so I decided that it's not worth going right now to a program that I'm not fully excited about.

 

It's OK not to accept an offer if you aren't totally sure it's the right thing to do.

[erore2]

Thanks for the post. My problem is especially the research that I am offered, it is from the area I have experience in but I would like to move to something else. I should also mention that I am 33 and I am currently finishing masters in theoretical physics. Before even starting physics career I also got masters in economics. Do you think this played role in the decision process?

[juilletmercredi]

Personally, I don't see the point in deferring at an institution that you wouldn't be happy at just to have somewhere to go.  But that's because I am of the opinion that graduate school is a means to an end, and if the means don't get you to the end that you want, there's no purpose in attending.  I think it's better to focus on a few high-quality programs, although the definition of "few" will differ from person to person.

 

With that said, though, I agree with the general advice.  I think it all depends on whether you think you'd be happy at either of those places AND if they will get you where you want to go.  What are these programs' reputations in your field?  Where do students go work afterwards?  Do they get academic jobs (eventually) or do they languish in adjuncts or postdocs?  Or do you want to go to industry, and do they go there?  Are you excited about the research?  I think that's paramount.  If they're your last-choice programs because the research is kind of interesting but not too exciting to you - if you aren't kind of bouncing in your seat just thinking about all the cool things you can do in the lab - then I say just decline and try again next year.  You need to be excited about the work to sustain yourself for the 5-6 years it will take for you to finish your program.

 

I also would not begin attending with an eye to transfer.  I don't see the point of that.  Reapplying to PhD programs when you are already in a program is, IMO, more difficult than just applying when you're not in a PhD program.  First of all, you usually have to get the support of the program you're in before other programs will even touch you.  That means that someone at Kansas or UCF would have to write you a letter of recommendation, and no one will know you well enough.  Second of all, KU or UCF will resent you for starting their program (and taking away a fellowship from someone who really wanted to attend) when you planned to try to get out at the earliest opportunity.  If you are successful, you may have burned some bridges, and you'll find soon enough how small academia is.  If you are unsuccessful, then you have to finish your PhD at a program where everyone in your lab, and your PI, knows that you tried to ditch before you even really found out what the program was like.  Plus, the other programs you plan to apply to in the Fall 2014 will wonder about someone who decided to accept a PhD offer and yet begin the application process before they even spent a few months there.

 

So if you know you want to reapply next year, to me that signals that you are not happy enough with KU or UCF to go there and finish, so just don't go and try again next year.

 

I doubt that your prior masters' degrees or your age played a big role.  33 isn't terribly uncommon or old for people beginning PhDs.  You'd be around 38-39 when you finished.

[nugget]

I think deferring for a year is something you should consider in case you aren't sure. Apply to other schools next year and try to get a better offer. If you get something better, wonderful. If not you'll have a lot of time to give it some thought. I've heard of people having a change of heart after the second application season and being more receptive to taking their deferred offer while other people get more clarity and realize that they don't like it enough to invest their time doing it.

 

Have you also considered staying only for the master's and transferring to another school for the PhD?