Should You Reapply to a School That Rejected You?

[GeoD]

I received solicited rejections from 2 more schools this week.  This makes 6 applications and 5 rejections, and at this late date, I didn't expect to be receiving acceptances.  Though I'm pretty bummed, I want to start looking towards the next application season.  Does anyone have experience with reapplication to schools?  I suppose that technically there should be nothing wrong with it, but it also seems that a rejection implies that the program may not feel that you are a good fit.  

[GeoDUDE!]

Not necessarily: what if your POI just didn't have funding/room for a student this year?

 

You should show that you have done something in the past year though. I applied to 1 school twice and got rejected twice. The reason? the POI couldn't get funding for a new student both times. In 2012 he couldn't fund me, in 2013 he got a new student, and in 2014 he couldn't fund me. Sometimes its the luck of the draw.

 

Funding usually is the biggest reason people don't get into graduate school.

[GeoD]

That is true, and two programs stated that my rejection was due to funding.  What do you think about POIs that did take a student?

[firewitch]

I know some young professors have told me they applied to the program they wanted 2-3 times before finally getting in. When programs have 300 applicants and funding for only 6-7, some good candidates have to be left out.

 

I think the advice to do something in the meantime is good. Get an entry level job in your field...I did a stint at in a phone bank collecting data for government projects. It was barely above minimum wage, but it gave me a good idea how research gets done in the world of commerce (and some good references). You might want to study more and retake your GRE. You could take on a volunteer position or even take a couple of years and to a Peace Corps or Teach American stint.

 

Bottom line, don't take the rejections as indications of your worth. Apply again next year and/or the year after.

[GeoDUDE!]

That is true, and two programs stated that my rejection was due to funding.  What do you think about POIs that did take a student?

 

It could depend. There is a student in my dept who applied twice in a row: got beat out the first time and then reapplied and then got in. Now both those students are in the program! 

[Taeyers]

My program rejected me the first time because I was "too green" (inexperienced in research). They didn't have the funding to take me and the more qualified students, so they encouraged me to reapply. I knew it was the program for me, so I kept adding to my experience and reapplied. The year they accepted me, they also awarded me a pretty amazing fellowship and everyone was very welcoming. Don't choose to take it personally, just apply/reapply wherever you really want to be. 

Edited May 27, 2015 by Taeyers

[columbia09]

Funding was a big issue for me with many of the schools I applied to also

[idiochromatic]

 

Funding usually is the biggest reason people don't get into graduate school.

.

I don't think this is true, though. It might be the biggest reason people above a certain threshold don't get into grad school, but it's not the reason some programs have a <20% acceptance rate. From professors on admissions committees I've talked to, a large portion of applicants simply don't have the qualifications to succeed in grad school.