Rejected everywhere

[opuskyle]

Hi everyone,

After doing some searches in the forums, I know that some people have already asked about being rejected everywhere...but I couldn't find any specific for English programs. I haven't gotten the official letters yet from some schools, but I know I've been rejected from looking at the results board. It's been very devastating, and I'm still figuring out how to break the news to people. I don't know how I'll be able to handle the embarrassment, especially since everyone said they believed in me. I was wondering if anyone had any advice about moving forward. I think I might reapply, but the wounds are still too fresh for that right now. I'm not employed at the moment, and I don't know what kind of jobs are available for someone like me, who's just been so focused on academics and has no real-life internship/job experience. I've already starting mentally preparing myself for grad school, and now that I'm in this position, I almost feel like I'm having an existential crisis. 

[__________________________]

I'm not gonna try and "comfort" you because getting that from strangers probably won't be very helpful.  If you're just coming out of a B.A. though and have little or no work experience I really recommend Americorps though:

http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps

I know people who are doing it/have done it that it really helped out when they were in a similar situation to what you're describing.  You could find a career and a lot of opportunities, or you could just do some really fulfilling service work for a year while you reapply to graduate schools.  Best of luck to you.

[WendyWonderland]

I know how you feel, because the first time I applied I got rejected everywhere. It was brutal, and it took me 2 years to prepare to reapply. If you do not have a MA I encourage you to look for funded MAs now, you will be surprised by how much you have improved in 2 years doing graduate work. If you do have a MA I suggest you to find a part time job and do more research on different departments and reapply next year. Apply broadly and widely, and there is no safety school. It has to be a good fit. An easy way to know if you are a good fit or not is by browsing their current grad students' profiles online. It really helps. You have to do a lot of change in your application, and work and research/ try to connect with departments. It's hell but maybe it is worth it if you really have your heart settled in academia. However, I worked 2.5 years in culture management before I applied to US grad schools, I knew what I really wanted in life by that time. If you haven't worked at all, maybe you can try? You can do so much with a literature degree. Marketing, sales, all kind of managements, translation, city admin work...just try life out. 

[Tyler on The Road]

I still have 6 universities to go, but I know the feeling. I think I'll be rejected and I have to apply for fall 2017.

To skip the embarrassment part, I suggest you a white lie! If anyone asks you about the results, say I've got an admission without fund, so you figured out it's better to wait another year and give it a try. I know lying is neither ethical nor a solution, but what's the harm in this lie? Nothing!!! Just stay focused and never give up! You can do a lot as dear Wendy said, I'm planning to do the same this year. 

Good luck with future, my friend.

[blacknighterrant]

6 hours ago, opuskyle said:

Hi everyone,

After doing some searches in the forums, I know that some people have already asked about being rejected everywhere...but I couldn't find any specific for English programs. I haven't gotten the official letters yet from some schools, but I know I've been rejected from looking at the results board. It's been very devastating, and I'm still figuring out how to break the news to people. I don't know how I'll be able to handle the embarrassment, especially since everyone said they believed in me. I was wondering if anyone had any advice about moving forward. I think I might reapply, but the wounds are still too fresh for that right now. I'm not employed at the moment, and I don't know what kind of jobs are available for someone like me, who's just been so focused on academics and has no real-life internship/job experience. I've already starting mentally preparing myself for grad school, and now that I'm in this position, I almost feel like I'm having an existential crisis. 

Make plans in case you are rejected, but don't give up yet. It is true that not hearing back from certain programs after acceptances go out is usually a bad thing, but you don't know the full story yet. Maybe you haven't been notified about rejection/acceptance yet because the school does decisions multiple times. Maybe you've been wait-listed and they haven't informed you yet, or maybe the school really doesn't have a spot for you atm but is waiting to hear back from the first few people that got in before rejecting you. The school might also send decisions for funded and non-funded students at different times. You never know until you actually get the rejection, I thought I would be rejected everywhere before I heard back from schools too and I've only heard from 2 of the 11 I applied to so far. Finally, even if you don't get in, it sucks, but don't make it the end of the world. Who cares what other people think about what happened, yes it is embarrassing, but it is your life and situation, it doesn't really impact anyone else at all. Even if you are rejected to the schools you applied to it isn't too late to retake the gre and apply to other schools for the Fall Semester if you really don't want to wait. For example, I know UCR and Texas A&M still take applications for electrical engineering students (the program I was applying to) for a few more months, so I'm sure that there are good schools that still accept applications to their program this late into the game. If you applied PhD and didn't get in, maybe you should consider masters first? If you can't find any schools you are interested in that are still taking applications, you still don't need to wait a full year, you can look into the deadline for spring applications and try again for spring, some schools even have summer applications. Even if you do have to wait a year until next fall, it still isn't a big deal. It may seem horrible now, but in the long term you'll realize it was just a year.

[Tyler on The Road]

2 hours ago, blacknighterrant said:

Make plans in case you are rejected, but don't give up yet. It is true that not hearing back from certain programs after acceptances go out is usually a bad thing, but you don't know the full story yet. Maybe you haven't been notified about rejection/acceptance yet because the school does decisions multiple times. Maybe you've been wait-listed and they haven't informed you yet, or maybe the school really doesn't have a spot for you atm but is waiting to hear back from the first few people that got in before rejecting you. The school might also send decisions for funded and non-funded students at different times. You never know until you actually get the rejection, I thought I would be rejected everywhere before I heard back from schools too and I've only heard from 2 of the 11 I applied to so far. Finally, even if you don't get in, it sucks, but don't make it the end of the world. Who cares what other people think about what happened, yes it is embarrassing, but it is your life and situation, it doesn't really impact anyone else at all. Even if you are rejected to the schools you applied to it isn't too late to retake the gre and apply to other schools for the Fall Semester if you really don't want to wait. For example, I know UCR and Texas A&M still take applications for electrical engineering students (the program I was applying to) for a few more months, so I'm sure that there are good schools that still accept applications to their program this late into the game. If you applied PhD and didn't get in, maybe you should consider masters first? If you can't find any schools you are interested in that are still taking applications, you still don't need to wait a full year, you can look into the deadline for spring applications and try again for spring, some schools even have summer applications. Even if you do have to wait a year until next fall, it still isn't a big deal. It may seem horrible now, but in the long term you'll realize it was just a year.

Good one bro, that's like the answer to my concerns too.

[Tybalt]

While February IS a bit too early to give up hope entirely, the key to approaching this is perspective.  Your programs did not reject you, your personality, your intellect, or your potential.  They rejected your application.  As such, the key is to take a bit of time away from it (a couple of months) and then go back to the application.  Find people to send it out to for feedback.  Figure out what the problematic part of it was.  Maybe you'll discover that you were looking at programs that weren't a great fit?  Maybe you approached the SoP in a way that didn't fit?  Maybe your writing sample was too vague?  All of these things happen.  In the last five years on here, I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone get rejected everywhere one year and, by doing the above, end up with multiple acceptances to top programs a year or two later.  I also second the advice of looking at a funded MA if you do not already have one.  Those app deadlines tend to be later and you could possibly still get in under the wire there.  My old MA program has a very strong track record of placing its graduates into good PhD programs.  It's small, but you get a lot of personalized attention.  I've copied the link to their website below.  Feel free to ask me any questions about it as well.  Regardless though--never forget that it wasn't YOU that was rejected.  Just your application.  And that can be fixed.

 

http://www.sbu.edu/academics/schools/arts-and-sciences/graduate-degrees/master-of-arts-in-english

[EmmaJava]

To be totally fair to you, opuskyle, I'm not sure we have enough information about your situation to really weigh in just yet, and these very well-intentioned posts are frankly making me a little uncomfortable on your behalf. There's some talk about how to move forward, as you solicited, but there are also some underlying assumptions bound up in this talk that, if they were directed toward me (and my situation), would probably be more depressing than helpful. For example, the advice about pursuing an MA could be good, sure...unless you already have an MA. In which case you probably want to light something on fire or punch a hole in a wall. The advice about retooling your application could be good, sure...unless you've already done so and you're in some cycle other than your first one already. In which case you probably want to scream into a pillow. There are comments pertaining to embarrassment as well, which are dicey to say the least. Granted, you solicited it, but let's get some further info so that we don't unwittingly and in good faith drive you out of your hopes and dreams forever.

I may be a little extra sensitive, here, because I've been tempted to post something similar and have had some pretty severe ups and downs the last few weeks/months - which is to say, I can relate - goodness, more than relate - and I could have well been the one posting what you posted. Verbatim. Those could have been my words, and had I received the comments you did - and even understanding how well-intentioned they are - I'd either go completely bonkers or else set the record straight pretty quick. I invite you to do the same.

Now, even if you are getting comments that accurately reflect your situation (a decent possibility, sure), I have more to say. I need to go ahead and disagree with the notion that a stranger can't or won't or shouldn't comfort you on an anonymous board. For all the talk about support and encouragement and all the warm fuzzies that I constantly see spouted around here, and the rhetoric about this website having the potential of a supportive and helpful community, fairness demands that it goes both ways, and you don't have to be intimate with anyone to commiserate. Period. And so, opuskyle, I commiserate! The plain fact is that this is a brutal process, and I say that if you want to wallow in self-pity for however long, you're well within your rights to do so. I may even join you! Just understand that it will only be productive to the extent that it's a function of how you process things, and to keep it within those parameters. Me? I need a good bout of letting it all out in order to move forward. It's not rational, but it is productive. Be safe, but yeah - throw on some Tom Waits or Beck or whatever and get drunk if you need to. Go on a hard run. Find a punching bag. Have a root beer float and a cue up a movie marathon. Etc. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that these might be good ideas even for those of us hoping that it's not yet over. What the hell?  What's it gonna hurt to go on some comfort bender only to get accepted sometime in April? I say, let it rip!

The other academic fields have spawned various incarnations of "venting" threads, and perhaps you'll find some good info or an outlet or material to help process on one or more of those. Or maybe you want to create one for this field (or bump a past one, surely there are any number of dormant ones full of heart-wrenching stories...). Or maybe all of this is in itself presumptuous and unwelcome/unhelpful, but that just brings me back to my point - I am nervous about the commentary you've received given what we know of your story, and I hope you'll appreciate my humble gesture of solidarity in recognizing the relative unknown of your personal situation. I know that for myself, a total shut-out this round would be it for me, for a lot of reasons, and as excellent points are being made about how this doesn't have to be the case for everyone, it does have to be the case for me. Whether it is the case for you, or not, I think depends on a lot of stuff that we have no idea about, based on your post.

Anyway. Best of luck, here's genuinely hoping that something comes through for you!

[firstsummerinthesierras]

This has happened to me before—twice, actually. I applied right out of undergrad the first time, and my work just wasn't sophisticated/developed enough for me to get in to the schools to which I applied. I am actually really glad that I didn't get in that time. I wanted to do Film Studies, which is something I know I am not interested in anymore. I did get in to a summer research fellowship, applied to two MA programs, worked at a bookstore for a while, then enrolled in a Media Studies program on scholarship. I realized that it wasn't really the kind of thing I wanted to do and ended up transferring to a different MA program. I was not offered as big a scholarship, but the program ended up being a way better fit for me and my work and writing really developed. It also gave me the opportunity to teach, publish, present at conferences, and develop my research under advisors who were able to give close attention to my work. I applied to a total of five Comp Lit and interdisciplinary programs and didn't get in anywhere, which was very crushing to me. However I applied only to very competitive top-tier programs, and the feedback I got was generally that I either was a) not the best fit for the program or b) was a good fit and people were interested in my research, but I just wasn't who the department needed at that time.

In the mean time, I am just living my life on a day-to-day basis, working on my writing, trying to travel, reading (for pleasure), working a job that isn't really what I want to do but isn't terrible either. I applied again to programs that seemed like possible better fits and/or less competitive. I am wait-listed at one quite competitive program that is a great fit, rejected from two less competitive programs (which in retrospect were not the best fits), and waiting to hear back from two more. If I am shut out again, it will suck, but it isn't the end of the world. 

I think it is fairly common these days for very intelligent, talented people not to be accepted into Phd programs—for a whole slough of reasons. I wouldn't be embarrassed by it. Both the graduate school application and job markets are very competitive, and way more people are applying than there were, say, 20 years ago, because way more people go to liberal arts colleges and think academia seems like a great idea, and the economy is shit so our generation's options for careers are not so open. Graduate school offers a very appealing oasis from these problems for a lot of people. I have tried a number of careers and worked very hard to get where I am today, and I don't see myself applying to PhD programs for the same reasons I did a number of years ago. And am not saying this is how you engage with the process—just that the pool is a lot bigger, so it is easier for an application to be overlooked and a lot rides on your applying to the right place at the right time with the right idea of what you want to be doing there.

Sure, not getting in may be a hit to your ego, but so what? You will be rejected by plenty of jobs/fellowships/publishers/opportunities, and it sucks, but it is what it is. Your job or where you go to school isn't your whole life or identity. It's just an aspect of it. The best advice I can give is to take a good hard look at yourself and what you want from your life.

For instance, I want to be an educator, to have the kind of job that helps people see and think critically about their surroundings. I want to have enough flexibility with my schedule to be able to travel. I want to live somewhere with access to nature. I want to maintain my relationship with my partner and continue to support each other as our lives progress. I want to maintain my other strong relationships, to have good friends and be one. I don't ever want to stop thinking or learning. Going into academia will help me achieve a lot of my career/life goals, but if it doesn't work out, there are other ways to get there. 

[opuskyle]

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. The support and love here is incredible. Hearing about your stories, thoughts, and advice, is both inspiring and humbling. It puts my situation into perspective, and I feel that there's never such a thing as hopeless. Reading your posts made me rethink my self-pitying, woe-is-me attitude, and I feel that I needed this. I'm going to take some time off and rethink my life goals and desires, and maybe some day I'll look back on this and say - as cliche as it is - it's for the best. I appreciate every single reply, and my heart sincerely goes out to those who are in the same boat as me. Thank you all for your compassion and wisdom. 

[klader]

I'm very sorry that you're going through this right now. Putting yourself out there for grad schools is an incredible risk and we all make so many efforts since we have to gather letters of rec and the like, so it's horrible when things turn out this way (but still, it's not over until it's over! Your schools may come through!).

You've already gotten some really great advice, but I just wanted to add my sympathy and remind you again that regardless of whether you get into grad school this round or not, you're still a bright, awesome human being. A couple of my letters (one rejection and one acceptance) said this has been an exceptionally competitive application season for them, so I'm sure that extends to other programs as well.

As for how to tell people, just be honest. Say that you gave it a shot but you apparently just weren't what the schools were looking for this year. Your professors should understand since that's the way it works sometimes, and even if your friends and family might not understand it the way academics do, I'm sure they'll still be understanding and supportive.

You said that people believe in you, so that's true - they'll believe in you even if things didn't work out this time. 

Obviously you should take all the time you need to process everything and come to terms with it, but I'd encourage you to take some kind of trip or otherwise mental vacation from all of this soon. Go on a road trip, go hiking, go lay out on a beach, go joyriding with your favorite music blaring, veg out on the couch and read some books you've wanting to get to - go do something to help ease your mind and then get you ready for the next stage.

Are you planning on reapplying next year? If so, maybe you could ask schools how you can better prepare your applications or something? Or maybe you could work with your current advisers? If you can add any other cv-worthy activities to your applications, that would be a good use of your time as well. Maybe you could tutor writing, tutor high school students, do some kind of editing work, etc. I think there are a lot of threads on this site that give great advice on this subject.

I'm sorry this became a bit long-winded, but I just wanted to let you know that I feel for you, am thinking about you, and wish you all the best! *virtual hugs*

Edited February 27, 2016 by klader

[JYlev]

Opuskyle—I’m in the exact same position right now. (Still hoping one of our schools might pull through at the last moment though!) Thanks for posting your story, and thanks to everyone else for responding with such encouraging and helpful messages. It’s hard to wrap my mind around all of this right now…I’ve been dreaming about and attempting to prepare for grad school admission since  before I even started as an undergraduate, and now I feel at a total loss. Nonetheless, these responses have reminded me that many strong candidates are in the same position, and it is unfortunately just part of the game sometimes.

Thanks again for everyone’s advice thus far, and I was hoping to ask a few follow-up questions. The only MA program I’ve been accepted into is one I cannot afford, so I am applying for a job with AmeriCorps and will put in some other job apps as well. My questions are:  If I am not in an MA program, how can I continue to stay up-to-date in the field? Someone mentioned calling a department to ask for feedback on their application…Has anyone done this, and if so, could you talk a little more about how to do so without sounding pushy?  

Thank you again so much!