Didn't get in--Advice for next year?

[velox]

Hey guys.  Just signed up, looking for advice.  I applied to four schools this year.  Three were outright rejections, and one didn't have the funding to take me this year.  So it looks like I've got another year to go before grad school, and I was wondering how that year would be best spent?  And what I should do differently when applying?

For reference, I'm looking for a program in animal behavior or ecology.  I did undergraduate research for all four years of undergrad (including an original research project), and I'm now a lab tech.  I have a poster presentation and a second-author publication.  Graduated with high distinction, but only a 3.26 GPA.

My main thing is, one of the two labs I'm lab tech for is the one I did undergrad research in.  I like it there, but I'm not sure if staying another year (six total) is gonna help or hurt me at this point?  On the one hand, I'm working on experiments there that I'm promised co-authorship on when they're published, plus I'm allowed to use the animals to do my own experiments.  But is my lack of diversified experience hurting my chances?  I'm scared of job hunting, especially since preliminary searches have turned up nothing.  Are there other ways of getting more experience?

I don't know, this got kinda rambley.  Point is, I didn't get in anywhere and now I'm doubting the crap out of myself so what should I do?

[kwils76]

I'm not an expert by any stretch, but I'll throw my 2 cents in in case it helps you at all.

I want to say that I don't think you should doubt yourself; it sounds like you've done everything right and that the job you've currently got is great, gives you lots of flexibility and has lots of opportunities re: coauthorship etc. 

From what I can tell, grad school admissions is kind of a crapshoot. I applied to 13 schools and got outright rejected from 10 of them. 
No rhyme or reason to the ones I did get into either; literally just from across the spectrum ranking- and specialty-wise.

I think that, if I were you, i would stay in my current position and then reapply to more than 4 schools next cycle.

Again, definitely not an expert, especially on your specific field but hopefully this is helpful at least to some extent!

[HopefulGrad555]

Definitely possible to get in places next year. I applied to 12 places last year and got rejected from all of them. I applied to 8 places this year and got in to 6 plus funding through the NSF. 

I went to the NIH and did a postbac program there for a year in a field that was not my original field, but that was tangential. Everyone I talked to during this application season was really excited that I had this different awesome experience. I don't know animal behavior/ecology research, but you should find some other field that isn't your focus in animal behavior/ecology but can be related. Even look at the NIH Postbac program, maybe you can get some good imaging/neuroscience experience in animal models that can be applied to looking at animal behavior. Idk. 

The big lesson I learned though: the gap year turned out to be the best thing that every happened to me. I had time to establish a work life balance that I didn't have in college and am recharged and so much more ready for graduate school. Having weekends with no homework is super nice, and you have time to read and look at things that you're really interested in but didn't have any time before! 

This rejection could also turn out to be a blessing in disguise for you too, so make the most of it! =D

[eternallyephemeral]

As a lab tech, are you running other people's projects (so the authorship you would get is not primary authorship), or are you completing your own projects? You said you may be able to use the animals for your own work, but how likely is that?

I would say that you should be working in a lab that will let you spend some time using your intellectual contributions towards a paper or a poster.

I wouldn't be scared of job hunting, but I also wouldn't leave this lab until you have something better (and not just better paying, but better as far as research opportunities).

Did you do the GRE? Did you do well on the GRE? Do your relevant courses have high marks? Sometimes a really good GRE score can make a poorer GPA look better.

[eternallyephemeral]

Just now, velox said:

Thanks for the input so far!  I will definitely be applying to more places this next time around.  That was a mistake on my part.

To answer your questions, while I have been aiding in other people's projects, I am actually currently doing my own.  It's not done yet, but I did submit an abstract to a conference so hopefully I'll get another poster presentation.  I may try to publish it too, depending on how it goes.  As for the GRE, I did well on verbal reasoning and writing (92nd and 80th percentile), and "eh" on quantitative reasoning.  I do think that helps, but one of the comments on my GRFP review was about my GPA and the reviewer "questioned how well she will preform outside of her streamlined research interests".  But there's nothing I can do about that now, I assume.  Except maybe think of an excuse as to why it was low.

Well, you want to make sure that you have a good fit with the research, so if only four places have that, just network and contact those profs and try to meet with them and tailor your applications really closely to each school. But I would recommend more than four. It always depends on what ranking they are, as well.

That's great! I think those things will all help you, and it's good to hear that your GREs are good (minus the quant, some people do care about this one and some people dont). It's not that you should come up with excuses per se, I just think you should be able to explain, as the reviewer said, why you will do well in the program. You can show that since your undergrad, you have been conscientious and driven about doing more than is required because you're interested in this stuff, and that resulted in a poster at a conference, good relationships with your supervisor(s), and a bunch of work you did as a lab tech.

[velox]

Thanks for the input so far!  I will definitely be applying to more places this next time around.  That was a mistake on my part.

To answer your questions, while I have been aiding in other people's projects, I am actually currently doing my own.  It's not done yet, but I did submit an abstract to a conference so hopefully I'll get another poster presentation.  I may try to publish it too, depending on how it goes.  As for the GRE, I did well on verbal reasoning and writing (92nd and 80th percentile), and "eh" on quantitative reasoning.  I do think that helps, but one of the comments on my GRFP review was about my GPA and the reviewer "questioned how well she will preform outside of her streamlined research interests".  But there's nothing I can do about that now, I assume.  Except maybe think of an excuse as to why it was low.

Edited March 31, 2016 by velox