Has anyone here been unable to join a lab and had to reapply to other grad schools?

[Midwest_newbie]

I am going into my fourth rotation (and of course it's not guaranteed that I will be accepted into the lab) and my other rotations didn't work out either:

First: bad fit (I don't like PI or the way he manages his lab, lab is very small and no one is around. I was told by rotations committee that he doesn't have funding for a student even though he says otherwise). This lab was not my first choice anyway, but the PI I was interested in was full and waiting on grants so I opted not to rotate with him. 

Second: bad fit (per PI, I like PI and the work, but the lab culture is not for me. It's a very large lab and about half the members are really catty towards the other half of the lab. I don't think the PI actually realizes this). 

Third: PI didn't get a grant she was counting on, so she is (now) not taking any students. 

Fourth: I have meetings set up and I have to decide between 2 labs, but of course neither is a guarantee and there's a chance I will have to leave and find a new grad school. 

I'm really bummed about this because I really love my grad school but if I can't find a lab I don't really have an option. I moved across the country for this opportunity, don't really have money to move anywhere else, I'm 27 and not getting any younger, etc. This is a college town, so not many job options for the next year either  

I feel like I'm quickly running out of options. Has anyone else been in my shoes or had a similar experience? 

Thanks!

[rising_star]

A friend of mine was in a somewhat similar situation. What he did was ask and get permission to do an additional rotation. I can't remember whether he split one rotation into two or if he just spent an extra X weeks doing another rotation but, it worked ended up that one of those last two worked out and he was able to stay in the program. If you're trying to decide between two labs for your fourth rotation, you may want to see if it's possible to do an "extra" rotation so you can have another option, especially since two of the ones you were in don't have funding, which isn't really your fault.

[St Andrews Lynx]

I know several people who were in a similar position to you. A lot of them had transferred to different programs by next Fall. Sometimes its just bad luck (I know of PIs who have told prospective students that they had funding/positions, only for the Dept admin to say that actually they didn't) or the person shouldn't have been in a PhD program.   

While you are waiting, try to gather as much info as you can about the 2 labs. Sit in on their group meetings, ask more senior PhDs for advice about the profs and their groups, etc. The more information, the better a choice you can make about rotations. 

[Taeyers]

On 3/14/2016 at 6:17 PM, rising_star said:

A friend of mine was in a somewhat similar situation. What he did was ask and get permission to do an additional rotation. I can't remember whether he split one rotation into two or if he just spent an extra X weeks doing another rotation but, it worked ended up that one of those last two worked out and he was able to stay in the program. If you're trying to decide between two labs for your fourth rotation, you may want to see if it's possible to do an "extra" rotation so you can have another option, especially since two of the ones you were in don't have funding, which isn't really your fault.

This would be my recommendation too. I know this option exists in my program, although it's not officially publicized. When a friend in my cohort was having a similar issue, she discovered that the program would be willing to cover her stipend for more than just the first year (which is our official timeframe for rotations) so she could continue to rotate to find a lab. 

[Butterfly_effect]

On 3/18/2016 at 2:22 PM, Taeyers said:

This would be my recommendation too. I know this option exists in my program, although it's not officially publicized. When a friend in my cohort was having a similar issue, she discovered that the program would be willing to cover her stipend for more than just the first year (which is our official timeframe for rotations) so she could continue to rotate to find a lab. 

Yes, my program is similar and I know of someone who did 5 rotations. He asked the program to get an extension beyond the normal deadline for picking a lab and had a very short fifth rotation before joining that lab. I get the sense that many programs are willing to make accommodations. 

[ShogunT]

My wife was in your situation. She needed to do 4th lab rotation before striking a deal with 2 PIs who agree to co-advise and share her study/research cost.

Some programs have the emergency funding that can be used to cover the expense up to a year for exceptional PhD students who could not finalize the funding with potential PI after 3 or 4 lab rotations.

Best of luck!

[Midwest_newbie]

Thanks for all the comments. 

Just to update: I found a lab to rotate in and it is going great!! It's a lot of awesome signaling heavy stuff which is exactly what I wanted! 

[fuzzylogician]

5 hours ago, Midwest_newbie said:

Thanks for all the comments. 

Just to update: I found a lab to rotate in and it is going great!! It's a lot of awesome signaling heavy stuff which is exactly what I wanted! 

That's great news, thank you for coming back and giving us this update! 

[Midwest_newbie]

Another update: joined the lab!!! 

[Lisa_McCoy]

On 6/18/2016 at 5:56 AM, Midwest_newbie said:

Another update: joined the lab!!! 

All the best! May this rotation work out for you