What to do in year off if rejected from PhD's?

[Averroes MD]

This waiting is driving me crazy and now I'm thinking about worst case scenario. How should one best utilize a year off to maximize admission the following year? This is supposing one has already completed a relevant master's degree.

My weakness is languages, so I'm thinking about using the year to work on secondary languages, French and German. I already have my two primary languages down, although there is a third I want to work on.

Anyways, good idea?

Edited December 19, 2016 by Averroes MD

[xypathos]

That's a good question and I guess it depends on our respective fields. I'll likely brush up on my GRE to see if I fair better there (163/159/5 this round) but spend more time on my Latin and German, and obviously wonder how I might further refine my SOP.

I'll have the cushion of being an ordained Episcopal priest come next admissions round. It doesn't help my applications at all obviously but it's a Plan B since I don't see myself doing more than two application cycles. I'll likely further pursue employment as a college chaplain or campus ministry, and use that as a backdoor, at the very least, to teach intro religion courses.

[Yanaka]

I have been thinking about that too. I wonder how people get good, up-to-date LOR's with a year "off".

Edit: shoot--I'm in the wrong section again...

Edited December 20, 2016 by Yanaka

[ThousandsHardships]

It depends on your program. The number one way that you can maximize your year off is if you do something within or related to your intended discipline. If you're in a STEM field, find a 50% to full-time research assistantship at a research university or major company. If you're in the humanities, find a teaching or tutoring position (even if informal) in your field, ideally one that involves working with students high school-aged or older. Use this time to better research schools, read articles written by faculty members, and identify and narrow down your intended area of specialty. Mismatches are often cited as a top reason for rejection for otherwise very qualified candidates, so this is definitely an area you should work toward. If your GRE scores were below-average, perhaps spend some time reviewing and retake the exam. And spend loads and loads of time having faculty in your intended field help look over your statements and fit them to every school. I literally had to rewrite one of mine four times before my professor/recommender was satisfied. They're the ones who are on admissions committees and who therefore know what they'd be looking for. Take advantage of this resource.

Improving your language skills is a great way to prepare for the next round of applications...if language skills are important to your field. They certainly are for students in comparative literature or for any other foreign literature. For social scientists intending to do research in another country, it is important as well. I know a couple of PhD students studying medieval French literature who spend a gap year learning Latin and other more local Romance languages from the Middle Ages. Again, it really depends on what skills sets are valuable for your specific field.

[magicsana]

I think advancing in languages and presenting at conferences is a good idea.

[rheya19]

I would say look for a job that makes you a more well-rounded applicant. I took a few years off between my BA and MA and taught ESL in Taiwan. It had nothing to do with my graduate research in early Christian studies, but it gave me some perspective on my career goals and made me stand out as an applicant. I've been told by other people that graduate programs actually really like students with interesting life experiences and backgrounds, so don't be afraid to branch out and try something different!

[Adonalsium]

Could someone speak more to the process of getting LOR again after not having success the first go? Did you have a strategy for keeping up with recommenders? Did you ask them to write a different LOR?

Also, did you ask your POI how you could improve your application for the next attempt? If so, how long after hearing back did you wait?

[Calvin S]

I am also wondering if it's a good idea to ask POIs how to strengthen your application for next time. Or who else is appropriate to ask.

[xypathos]

It really varies from school to school. Some simply won't offer this analysis of your application, whereas if you ask the Chair (it's a safe bet that they're on the Adcom, not every faculty member is, depending on department size) for 1-2 areas for growth potential, you can sometimes get an answer. That said, their answers will almost always be 1) Personal Statement and 2) Writing Samples.

Faculty members at HYDP and second tier schools have said that LORs are increasingly becoming problematic because everyone is giving glowing reviews. So if a writer is timid in their endorsement of you, it'll raise eyebrows and get you a second look which could be a godsend or kill your app.