What's your backup plan?

[MidwesternAloha]

I always joke that if I don't make it into grad school, I'm quitting science and becoming a truck driver.

I guess I really should consider a backup plan. What's yours?

[Cheshire_Cat]

I always joked that I was going to move to Peru and start an orphanage.

[dr. t]

[scarvesandcardigans]

Stay where I am working now, travel a lot probably, or as much as I can, maybe try to get involved with local university research, and try again next year.

 

Read: Cry a lot.

[CBclone]

Well I'm only applying to one school this year, because I was going back and forth about applying this year or next and by the time I made the decision to apply it was too late to take the GRE for deadlines. So, the school I applied to doesn't require the GRE and it's one of my favorite schools on my list.

 

All of that being said, if I don't get in I'll take the GRE this summer and apply to more schools in the fall. Meanwhile, I have a great job and will continue working here  

[juiceboxrampage]

I'm going to let my partner pick a city to live in on the east coast and follow him there, then reapply in the fall! I'm sure there will also be a lot of crying and whining and ice cream eating.

[attackonthedoctor]

My back plan is going on a work holiday for a year, then reapply next year.

[happy little pill]

My backup is to become a Paralegal working in an intellectual property firm or a firm that deals with a lot of arts-based clients!

[Kleene]

I only applying to stay at my current institution. I am undecided as to what I will do when I do not get accepted. I have some specific universities in mind that I would like to apply to this year (rolling admissions), or I might take a year out for a full-blown applications round next year. Maybe, I would teach at middle and/or high school for a year, in the mean time.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Kleene

[SLPosteriorCricoarytenoid]

I will dry my tears with my FAFSA bills. 

[MidwesternAloha]

I will dry my tears with my FAFSA bills.

That's the saddest thing I've ever read lol. Awww.

[shadowclaw]

If I wasn't married, I would join the Peace Corps. This was a legitimate backup plan back when I applied 2 years ago, but I got accepted to some masters programs, so the plan was unnecessary. Seeing how I'm married now, going off for a few years to another country isn't a viable option anymore. Instead, I intend to find some seasonal bird jobs to strengthen my application for next year. I'm already applying for summer bird jobs (I need a summer job regardless of whether or not I'm accepted to a PhD program), so I'm off to a good start I guess!

[lizardclan]

If I don't get accepted, I guess I'm going to have to find a job.

 

I have been looking for a job already, but I'm distracted waiting for an admissions decision that should come this month (February).

 

If rejected, I'll have to redouble my efforts on the job front.

 

Sad, I was rejected from a job recently because I was overqualified.

[document]

I'll try to find a job where SO lives, which isn't the worst backup plan, since student loans and such.

[Guest]

Well, a job (that is somewhat in my field) is out the picture for me...I'll be fresh out of undergrad, and it seems like you can't get anywhere in my field without internship experience and a Masters.

 

The only thing I can think of is teach English abroad...or try to find a short-term research position that focuses on International Affairs. In my case, this would also include re-taking the GRE and buffing up my foreign language knowledge.Then, re-apply for Fall 2016. This would suck...but, I'm hoping for the best at the moment.

Edited February 8, 2015 by Guest

[3minutes]

Cry in the shower.

But after a few months of that, I'll retake my GRE and apply for more research positions. I may also look for a counselling job.

[Crucial BBQ]

Grad school is my backup plan and life goes on. 

[CFBrown]

Go all in on building up my marketing communications services. Maybe move with my gf to Canada once she finishes school.

[birdbird]

I want to eat donuts again. Now I'm going to lose weight.

[Demeter]

I'd probably either try to get a job, or pursue another master's degree. According to my mother, if I don't get into a PhD program, I should get a teaching certificate. I don't want to teach  K-12, but a certification is preferred for writing curriculum or working with 4H, which I could see doing at some point if a doctoral degree isn't in the cards, frankly, so I'm hoping I get in somewhere so my mother doesn't get to feel as though she was correct.

 

In truth, I'd probably try again next year and fill my time during that period trying to boost my competitiveness. I would also eat a lot of cake, and sleep sometimes. 

[Rose Tyler]

Cry.

 

Then go home for the summer. Get a job. See if I can find a research position. Retake the GRE. Reapply next cycle. My SO is applying to teach English overseas, but if she doesn't get in I might ask her to run away with me. Followed by above: job, research position, GRE, next cycle.

[statsgirl4]

Work out where my husband and I move to (he's graduating with his PhD at the end of this semester), I'll apply for jobs and internships and reapply to a smaller selection of schools next cycle if I don't magically land my dream job.

 

Life goes on, but I admit I'll be pretty sad and feel defeated if I don't make it in this round. We made a large financial sacrifice and left my job to do post-bacc studies to get in and change fields, and it would be nice if it pays off sooner rather than later.

[busybeinganxious]

So, I've written posts on this thread several times and deleted them without posting.  Grad school isn't so much a plan for me as a grab at the brass ring.  I'm a non-traditional UG student at present, and the idea of doing research and teaching at the collegiate level for a living in my area was something I didn't think possible for me personally until about a year ago. The idea didn't just interest me, it had been a dream of mine since I was quite young, I just assumed it beyond my grasp considering my age and life choices.  If grad school works out I'll be over the moon.  If it doesn't, well, there will be tears, but l will go on. (Not in a Celine Dion kind of way....)

 

The shorter version: the back up plan is a job that I don't hate.

[zadigblue]

I have some acceptances already but this application season will come down to funding offers for me, since I have student loans from UG and bills to pay in the meantime. In the short term, I would probably look for research or admin positions at my alma mater to make ends meet... I've also been trying to cultivate at least a bit of a longer-term backup plan for myself by applying to government jobs. I have decent contacts in my federal and provincial governments (worked for both during my UG) so I could probably find something for a year or two, but grad school is still my end game.