Reapplying for 2015?

[gradbio2015]

Hi all! I applied to biostatistics programs last year, and got into a few.  I ended up enrolling at a PhD program that gave me funding and turned down other offers.  However, since starting, I feel like going to this specific program was a mistake, as the department is not a good fit for me socially, and the city is also not a good fit, and I cannot imagine being here for two years let alone five.  Does anyone have any stories about being in this predicament?

Also, I was thinking of applying to 1 or 2 masters' programs this fall.  Do you think I should completely re-tool my application?  I was admitted to the programs I would like to reapply for last application season--could I get two of my professors to send in the exact same letter of recommendation they did last year?

[cyberwulf]

There's no need to "re-tool", per se, though you will certainly want to explain why you are leaving a PhD program after one year. If you know your letter writers well enough to discuss this with them, I would suggest that you ask them to add a sentence or two mentioning that your desire to switch doesn't reflect "flakiness" or lack of focus, and that they think you will be successful/happy in the right environment. Other than that, recycling the same letter content should be fine.

[Igotnothin]

Sorry to hear the first year isn't going very well. It's definitely better to find a place you like rather than spend 5 years being miserable. That said, you've only been there for a month or two. A lot of people have trouble adjusting to a completely new environment. Maybe if you have an open mind for the next couple of months things will get better.

 

I think it will be hard to articulate your reasons for transferring to a different program. Saying it wasn't a good fit is pretty vague. If you had the opportunity to visit the department prior to enrolling, you were in a good position to gauge whether it was right for you. And you also had a chance to see the city, if for only a day or two. So they might not be 100% confident that you will like it at their department either.

 

I am sure the faculty will be disappointed that you are leaving, and you can expect some awkward conversations. I know a lot of second-tier departments only take in 5-10 PhD students per year, and it's not good for the department to have funded students come for a year and then leave without a degree.

[sabq]

It is not uncommon for people to leave one program to another, I have seen this multiple times.  In one instance, a student at the end of the second year (after passing the qualifying exams!) decided that the department wasn't good enough for him and so he contacted a professor at another school and he was admitted there with very little effort.  I don't know if he had to redo the qualifying exams again or not.

[Igotnothin]

Seems a bit dishonest to me - enrolling in a program, accepting two years worth of funding, and then upgrading to a higher ranked school.

[cyberwulf]

Seems a bit dishonest to me - enrolling in a program, accepting two years worth of funding, and then upgrading to a higher ranked school.

 

It's only dishonest if you enroll with no intention of sticking around. It sounds like that's not the case for the OP.