Reapplying to schools by which you were previously rejected?

[scarvesandcardigans]

Hi friends! I am a current first-year MA student and loving my program. My program is only two years, and the current plan is to pursue a doctoral degree after graduating, starting August 2017.

Since PhD app cycles will be opening in the fall, I want to get a better start on my application process than what I did last year. (Background: I started looking lightly in March, had a set list in July and started the application process in August.) I didn't do any visits and feel as though I should have better researched programs before starting the official process of applying.

Some of the schools that I'm applying to for this upcoming cycle are schools that I applied to for my MA, and I was rejected by both of them. I am apprehensive about applying again for fear of second rejection, and one is my top choice program. I know that schools receive many applications and probably wouldn't remember me in a sea of other applicants, but I'm still nervous.

Do any seasoned applicants have any advice or helpful words? What should I do differently? Some of my regrets include not having more contact with individuals in the program, not visiting or contacting POIs, things like that. 

Anything is welcome. And if this topic has already been brought up already, please direct me to it! Thanks!

Edited December 30, 2015 by scarvesandcardigans
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[fuzzylogician]

First off, having applied before shouldn't matter, since your application now will be substantially different and stronger. If you were near the top and just didn't make it, they might even remember your name and your stronger application now will only help. If you were in the middle of the pack, they might not remember, so you will essentially have a clean slate. 

I'm not really an expert on Spanish/Hispanic linguistics, but if it's like similar programs that I know more about, then prior contact with POIs and visiting are not required at all. My program did have visitors, on rare occasions, but I didn't see any correlation between visitors and admitted students. I think it'd be much more important for you to work on aspects of your future application: think about who your three LOR writers are and establish a relationship with them now, so that they can write you strong and detailed letters next year; once you are done with your first year, spend time considering which paper should be your writing sample, and take the time to revise it according to comments you got, then get feedback on your revision. Generally, think about your goals for the PhD, so your SOP can be more detailed and targeted. Research the schools you're planning to apply to, so you can have a strong fit paragraph. Those are the things that will get you in. Contact with POIs is nice, but if your application isn't strong, it won't be enough. 

[asurachm]

19 minutes ago, fuzzylogician said:

Generally, think about your goals for the PhD, so your SOP can be more detailed and targeted. Research the schools you're planning to apply to, so you can have a strong fit paragraph. Those are the things that will get you in. Contact with POIs is nice, but if your application isn't strong, it won't be enough. 

I am 100% agree with @fuzzylogician. This year's application cycle, I applied to several schools for PhD programs that rejected me two years ago. I am weirdly grateful for going through the rejection process and I really learn from that. Two years ago, I didn't really have solid purpose of why I wanna go to grad school, what I really wanna learn in grad school, and what are my future career and professional aspirations. Then I went to master program and I acknowledge it as a process to be academically mature in terms of starting to build a solid foundation of my academic career as I really wanna be an academician in the future.

I feel grateful for having a great mentor during my master that gave me opportunities and directions to learn about what I really passionate about. She is always challenge me to maximize my potential. I did several research projects, presented in several conferences, and published during my master. I knew that I really wanna go to PhD program, thus I tried my best during my master to improve my quality. The most important outcome from my master education is that I finally know what are my area of interests. When the time was coming to apply for PhD program this year, I know what I really wanna learn in the further stage of my education and I am confident to tell the admission committee that I have abilities to be succeed in the program. Having the knowledge about my area of interests was really gave me clear directions to choose the persons that I really wanna work with during my PhD. I met and talked to most of the persons that I really wanna work with during some conferences. I agree that contact with POIs in nice, but still you have to show them your abilities (i.e. inline research interest, previous research experiences) to appeal them to recruit you. I don't know how it works, but GRE score is also important, feel grateful that you have time to improve your score and maximize your opportunity.  

Well, I haven't got any acceptance letter yet but I had one interview so far from one school that rejected me two years ago. I was surprised that the interviewer mention about my quality that my mentor mention through her reference letter. So, reference letters are important! I Agree with @fuzzylogician about building a good relationships with your prospective referees. Good luck..

 

[rising_star]

There's nothing wrong with reapplying to the same schools, especially if that includes your top choice. I would not recommend spending money to visit the program before applying. Save your time and money for visiting after you've been admitted. That's what I did as a master's student and it totally paid off in terms of saving me time and money. If you do, keep in mind that the spring of your second year will be busy with visits and plan accordingly by getting a full draft of your master's thesis done as early as possible (before mid-February if at all possible). That will ensure you have time to visit programs while remaining on track for graduation.

It may be worth contacting POIs though, just to share your interests and see if they are accepting students. One easy way to do this might be to reach out to them at a conference sometime in 2016. If you see that they are presenting and you're already attending, send them an email inquiring about meeting for coffee and explaining that you intend to apply to the PhD program in their department. This would get you the face-to-face time you seem to want but without a huge expense. That said, I think emailing POIs and perhaps talking to them by phone if that's what they want is all you really need to do.

The rest is really about making yourself a more compelling applicant, as @fuzzylogician has already pointed out. You want to write a strong master's thesis, present at a conference (ideally national but regional is fine too), and be thinking about which of your seminar papers could be developed into a more complete research project or publication in the future. You'll want to make strong connections with the faculty in your MA program and solicit their advice about where to apply, how to present yourself in your materials, etc.

Good luck!

[scarvesandcardigans]

3 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

I'm not really an expert on Spanish/Hispanic linguistics, but if it's like similar programs that I know more about, then prior contact with POIs and visiting are not required at all. My program did have visitors, on rare occasions, but I didn't see any correlation between visitors and admitted students. I think it'd be much more important for you to work on aspects of your future application: think about who your three LOR writers are and establish a relationship with them now, so that they can write you strong and detailed letters next year; once you are done with your first year, spend time considering which paper should be your writing sample...

This is awesome. My current understanding is that visiting is not required or as common as with other fields. Contact with a current POI in my program was (in my opinion) not beneficial for acceptance, but I'd like to think it was helpful in funding decisions. I'll definitely consider furthering the relationships that I have with my professors. Thank you! 

2 hours ago, asurachm said:

...

Very true. I agree with you as well. Having gone through the rejection process has given me more motivation to better myself. I'm definitely feeling out more specific research interests at this point, and I like it. I think my time during this MA program will be oriented toward consuming and producing in line with my areas of interest - and improving those research techniques. I'm not decided yet on retaking the GRE, but that might be something to sit down and discuss, among other things, with a faculty member or potential LOR writer. Thank you!

1 hour ago, rising_star said:

...I would not recommend spending money to visit the program before applying. Save your time and money for visiting after you've been admitted. That's what I did as a master's student and it totally paid off in terms of saving me time and money. If you do, keep in mind that the spring of your second year will be busy with visits and plan accordingly by getting a full draft of your master's thesis done as early as possible (before mid-February if at all possible). That will ensure you have time to visit programs while remaining on track for graduation.

It may be worth contacting POIs though, just to share your interests and see if they are accepting students. One easy way to do this might be to reach out to them at a conference sometime in 2016. If you see that they are presenting and you're already attending, send them an email inquiring about meeting for coffee and explaining that you intend to apply to the PhD program in their department. This would get you the face-to-face time you seem to want but without a huge expense. That said, I think emailing POIs and perhaps talking to them by phone if that's what they want is all you really need to do.

The rest is really about making yourself a more compelling applicant, as @fuzzylogician has already pointed out. You want to write a strong master's thesis, present at a conference (ideally national but regional is fine too), and be thinking about which of your seminar papers could be developed into a more complete research project or publication in the future. You'll want to make strong connections with the faculty in your MA program and solicit their advice about where to apply, how to present yourself in your materials, etc.

Good luck!

Thank you! All of this was excellent. I would like to be able to save money on visits for sure. Your suggestions about looking for opportunities to speak with potential POIs at conferences, etc. is something that I wouldn't have thought about otherwise. One reason for being rejected from my program of choice was due to the fact that they weren't accepting as many students during that cycle, which I found out afterward. One of my professors now (and one from undergrad, actually) is a graduate of my top program, so I think that discussing contact via these professors would be great, if possible. The grand takeaway here is that I will absolutely be seeking out the advice of my professors on more than just potential programs. I think their advice on application strength and improvements would carry immense benefits.

I feel a lot better and feel more directed in making decisions and moves toward applying again soon. Thanks everyone!