Reapplying - what are you doing differently?

[ridgey]

It is a bit of a blow to my ego to have to be reapplying - asking for rec's again etc.

I know what was wrong with my SoP and my writing sample; my GREs and GPA were fine. So I'm feeling pretty confident - overly so, in fact. Last time I was very optimistic, but not so confident. A big part of it is knowing the process, and knowing that the world won't end if I don't get the results I'm after.

At this point, there is only one school that is getting a second round.

So what about you?

[frankdux]

I'll share with you what i did my second time around:

I applied to a lot more schools! My first time i only applied to 2 schools i was really interested in. (THE classic mistake!)

The second time i applied to 10 schools. I also made sure to rework my SOP and tailor it more to each individual program i applied to, including namedropping some prospective profs i'd wanna work with.

By the grace of the admissions gods i got 1 awesome fully funded offer to a great tier 1 program! (i also got a stack of 8 rejections and 1 other supposed acceptance with zero followup communication, so maybe i didn't improve my app quite enough the second time around.)

So yeah, don't assume the odds are in your favor no matter how great your profile may be. Apply to lots of schools!

[socialcomm]

Round 2 for me as well. I'm taking what I learned from applying the first time and will hopefully be a better candidate because of it this year.

1. I'm retaking the GRE to increase my quant score. I was told my scores were so far apart that it made people question my application.

2. I learned I don't want to be in a business school -- so although I'm not able to apply to more schools because of geographic restrictions, I will be able to apply to different schools which hopefully will be more aligned with my interests.

3. Reworking my SOP. And because I'm changing my program focus, I'm also going to have to rework a writing sample I originally wrote close to ten years ago.

[snap]

talking about the classic mistake of applying to only a couple of schools, yes, i made the same mistake.

I chose schools (3 total) based on geography and didnt bother about the program too much. I do have 2 acceptances for MS but no funding (obviously).

I think this time around i will apply to a lot of schools, all PHD programs, 10 at least (there goes 1000$ down the drain). need to plan ahead,

i am already feeling like I am falling behind.

retake GRE, ask proffs i havent seen in a yr to write a reco and make 10 copies, oh yea.

and a new SOP,

[noojens]

Some random things I'm doing differently between my two rounds of PhD applications:

- refining my research interests

- researching departments and faculty who are strong in my field (last time I just applied to well-ranked schools in fun cities)

- reworking SoP to reflect my newfound goals and interests

- completing a master's at a top ranked school

- taking a year to do research at a nat'l lab

- publishing a paper or two (hopefully!), giving some presentations

- contemplating retaking the GRE (to improve my 770Q/700V/4.5W to ~ 800Q/730V/5.5W, hopefully? not sure if it's worth it)

- replacing two recommenders with professors who know my research and academic abilities better

Lack of research experience was my big handicap last time around. With a couple years' worth of research and a master's under my belt I think my applications will be a lot stronger. We shall see.

[Stories]

Some random things I'm doing differently between my two rounds of PhD applications:

- refining my research interests

- researching departments and faculty who are strong in my field (last time I just applied to well-ranked schools in fun cities)

- reworking SoP to reflect my newfound goals and interests

- completing a master's at a top ranked school

- taking a year to do research at a nat'l lab

- publishing a paper or two (hopefully!), giving some presentations

- contemplating retaking the GRE (to improve my 770Q/700V/4.5W to ~ 800Q/730V/5.5W, hopefully? not sure if it's worth it)

- replacing two recommenders with professors who know my research and academic abilities better

Lack of research experience was my big handicap last time around. With a couple years' worth of research and a master's under my belt I think my applications will be a lot stronger. We shall see.

I think you just discovered three of the most important parts of an application.

[Nikki]

To prepare for round two:

- summer research assistant (for additional research experience)

- grad class on War and Revolution (to show I can handle a grad level history class)

- new writing sample (based more on primary than secondary sources)

- rework my SOP (more specific on my research interests and to show a better fit with the departments as a whole)

- apply to more schools (7 - 10 this time instead of 5)

Hopefully I will be more sucessful this time around!

[shootingstar]

Hope all of us get through this time The rejects were certainly heartbreaking!

Will:

- rework on SOP

- have a good writing sample, a publication hopefully

- choose deptts carefully

How important is it to get in touch with the prof whom you are interested to work with? I was told that its good to get your CV or SOP read by them for their further suggestions. But how does one do that without sounding as if one is sucking up to them?

Also my GRE scores werent great esp Quant and writing. TOEFL was good enough, atleast to me 114/120

Cant think of retaking it. Quant isnt my strong area. Rather thinking of improving the rest of my application packet.

[Stories]

Hope all of us get through this time The rejects were certainly heartbreaking!

Will:

- rework on SOP

- have a good writing sample, a publication hopefully

- choose deptts carefully

How important is it to get in touch with the prof whom you are interested to work with? I was told that its good to get your CV or SOP read by them for their further suggestions. But how does one do that without sounding as if one is sucking up to them?

Also my GRE scores werent great esp Quant and writing. TOEFL was good enough, atleast to me 114/120

Cant think of retaking it. Quant isnt my strong area. Rather thinking of improving the rest of my application packet.

It's obviously important to have the 'Research Experience' area of CV as thorough and complete as possible.

[natofone]

-Working on language skills

-Redoing SOP and really putting work into it.

-Retaking GRE (old scores 720v,730q,6w) to get quant up.

-Applying to schools not in the top-10.

[ridgey]

-Working on language skills

-Redoing SOP and really putting work into it.

-Retaking GRE (old scores 720v,730q,6w) to get quant up.

-Applying to schools not in the top-10.

I don't know much about your field, but it seems to me that outside of engineering and the like, your GRE should be fine.

Of course, I'm going to be a re-applicant, so my insight may be completely off :wink:

[Stories]

-Working on language skills

-Redoing SOP and really putting work into it.

-Retaking GRE (old scores 720v,730q,6w) to get quant up.

-Applying to schools not in the top-10.

Wow, that is an impressive GRE... you really shouldn't need to take them over. I had way lower scores (520V/730Q/5W).

[sankd]

-Working on language skills

-Redoing SOP and really putting work into it.

-Retaking GRE (old scores 720v,730q,6w) to get quant up.

-Applying to schools not in the top-10.

Yeah, I think you need to work on non-GRE stuff. Don't waste your time and effort. Anything above a 1400 is money.

[natofone]

Actually, I've received differing info from a huge name in the field. He thinks that I can improve my chances by upgrading my GRE math score. A 730 is only in the 78th percentile, which isn't very impressive for my discipline at the schools that I'm trying to target. Looking at all of the candidates that got into the very good schools, nearly all of them had very high GRE math scores.

[noojens]

Yep. For engineering/physics/math, the median GRE quantitative score at most top schools is 800. What field are you in, nato?

[sankd]

Profile said poli sci, hence my comment.

So, SAIS would be: The average GRE Quantitative score is 710, with the middle 50% ranging from 650 to 750.

[natofone]

SAIS is the public policy program at Johns Hopkins, so not poli sci. Poli sci phd programs are far more competitive than MPP programs. As an example of a target program, UCSD's average for the past three years has been 739-754-753. I'm definitely in that range, but could certainly benefit by jumping a standard deviation above the mean.

If you look at the successful candidates here (viewtopic.php?f=48&t=16751), most of them are well above my 730.

[sankd]

SAIS is the public policy program at Johns Hopkins, so not poli sci. Poli sci phd programs are far more competitive than MPP programs. As an example of a target program, UCSD's average for the past three years has been 739-754-753. I'm definitely in that range, but could certainly benefit by jumping a standard deviation above the mean.

If you look at the successful candidates here (viewtopic.php?f=48&t=16751), most of them are well above my 730.

I think my point was (and I was digging for a PhD program that likes to style themselves as more economics oriented and hence, greater emphasis on quant, but point taken) do you really think that your GRE score was the dealbreaker? You already admit to being within the range, except you were rejected. Trying to get blood from stone seems like wasted effort and $.

[Minnesotan]

GRE scores are rarely used as anything more than: A) an initial cutoff to weed out the weak first rounders, or a small part of a holistic application evaluation. While a 730 might not be impressive for your field, I doubt it is damaging. I would worry more about the SoP and writing sample.

[InUtero1994]

1. Taking the GRE again,thus studying my ass off this summer

2. Co-Authoring on a article with my advisor soon to be published

3. Contacting professors

.. hopefully this will work!!!

[Ferrero]

Going to be a bit more aggressive about talking to professors with my research interests (more emails, phone calls, etc.).

[Minnesotan]

Going to be a bit more aggressive about talking to professors with my research interests (more emails, phone calls, etc.).

Better yet, talk about theirs. It is an invariable rule that people, especially career academics, love talking about themselves. The best way to make a connection is to listen to their schpiel, then chime in if what you are doing dovetails.

[Tritonetelephone]

I just had a very successful round 2, after a very disappointing round 1. Here's what I did differently...

-Picked schools VERY carefully based on fit and picked more of them (10 vs. last year's 4). Tried for a range of rankings (safety, middle tier, top tier). I only picked schools that I would seriously consider attending (including the safeties).

-Tried to study more for the GRE, but ended up only having time to focus on controlling my environment during the test (only used the PowerPrep software), which really made all the difference. Last year, I got a 550V 690Q 4.5W. This year, I got a 660V 650Q 5.0W.

-Got a research job (in addition to my regular administrative university job) that involved quantitative and qualitative work, when I had no real research experience last year. Also TA'd for an online course this Spring.

-Took the most difficult grad courses possible to combat my UG's extremely low rank. Cultural Theory on the master's level and Advanced Mutivariate Analysis on the doctoral level, and got an A in both. From those classes, I also generated a good paper to use as a writing sample.

-For community experience: I had been an officer of a campus group relevant to my main research interests before, so I became an officer of a group relevant to my secondary interests. This turned out to not be as marketable as I had hoped for some schools that didn't really offer my secondary interests, but it at least gave me a good distraction/support group.

So, if you're keeping track, this means that throughout the fall, I was working two jobs, enrolled in a course way above my level of study, an officer of an active campus group, and preparing 10 applications & SOP's. Not to mention my bf and band and whatever else needed attention in my personal life. It was exhausting.

After all that, two of the five schools I got into were only my safeties. I didn't get into a school that rejected me last year, but I got into the school that waitlisted me last year. I'm really happy with how things turned out! Good luck everybody.

[sankd]

Ditto to all of that, other than retaking the GRE. I didn't need to do that.

[caballar1]

Many of you have mentioned revising your SOP. What are you going to do differently with your SOP this time?