For the Rejects: What did your Potential Advisers say?

[africanhistoryphd]

Just got my first response, first rejection.

I was a bit surprised by the total formality/non-individuality of it because my potential adviser, whom I contacted prior to application, said she'd be "very much interested" in working with me, and "hoped I would apply".

Did you contact potential advisers prior to application? Were you also surprised to get a rejection?

Am I mistaking boilerplate interest responses for actual encouragement?

[katalytik]

Just got my first response, first rejection.

I was a bit surprised by the total formality/non-individuality of it because my potential adviser, whom I contacted prior to application, said she'd be "very much interested" in working with me, and "hoped I would apply".

Did you contact potential advisers prior to application? Were you also surprised to get a rejection?

Am I mistaking boilerplate interest responses for actual encouragement?

You know, after hearing this story from others, I have stopped putting hope into things until I see an acceptance letter. The director of the program was very excited and said I was "competitive" etc. But when I write her a followup email (after several she replied to fast) asking about interviews, it was complete silence. I know it really does suck, but its best not to assume anything until you have that letter of acceptance.

Good luck with the rest of the apps.

[peppermint.beatnik]

I agree with above. There are too many factors, in this process, that I don't put much stock in anything until I receive an acceptance.

I'm sure others will disagree, but it's usually based on their experience. This is an exaggeration, but "I contacted a POI, got a great response, got in, so that means a great response=acceptance."

[BlueandBuff]

One thing I've tried to keep in mind with one particular school where the DGS contacted me and asked me to apply, and where the POI was very encouraging is that back in November and December they didn't know what other applications they were going to get. They may be absolutely earnest at the time that they say it and then have someone come along with our subfield but perfect stats, tons of publications, independent funding and a pony or two. I know in hiring people there have been times where an early application was 'the one' until one came in on the last day that blew it out of the water.

[Kai210]

One thing I've tried to keep in mind with one particular school where the DGS contacted me and asked me to apply, and where the POI was very encouraging is that back in November and December they didn't know what other applications they were going to get. They may be absolutely earnest at the time that they say it and then have someone come along with our subfield but perfect stats, tons of publications, independent funding and a pony or two. I know in hiring people there have been times where an early application was 'the one' until one came in on the last day that blew it out of the water.

Good point and perspective.

[africanhistoryphd]

Great points and ideas, all. Thanks for the thoughts and encouragement. Best of luck to you all, as well.

Good point and perspective.

[BlueandBuff]

africanhistory,

I just realized that my post may have come off as a little cruel. I certainly didn't mean to imply that you weren't a top-notch candidate - only that the UDub admit probably bribed them with ponies I've been doing some hiring these past couple of weeks, and it's helping me keep perspective. I had someone I liked and was lobbying for, and then someone else came in at the end who'd worked in the industry, in the same job, for four years. I lost the vote to my other two co-workers who were on the hiring committee. That's another scenario - your POI did really like you, and lost out to the committee. And it's probably just as likely.

[Gigsed]

I'm not sure how it works in history but in anthropology most departments have more faculty than places. So a faculty member might indeed have gone to bat for you but seniority, access to grant money and just plain simple 'it's my turn this year' will probably also come into play.

[JerryLandis]

Well, if that so happens to be the case with me, then I'd like my application fee back please.

The whole point of contacting professors before applying is to find out whether or not they will be accepting new students that year. So when someone responds to my email saying, "Yes, I will be taking on new grad students in the coming year," that had better be the case, or else they're wasting my time convincing me to apply. Now, I did appreciate the email I got from one guy which said that he should be accepting new students, but that the department had lost a huge amount of money and would be taking fewer students than usual. That made me really sad, but also has given me reasonable expectations, and also gave me the chance to reconsider making the application.

I think that in most cases, it's just not that easy to tell from an email correspondence how strong an applicant someone is. Just because they say that your ideas sound interesting does not mean that they will definitely want to admit you once they read your entire application. As BlueandBluff said, they can't be sure of anything until all the applications have been submitted and read (hopefully read - again, if they don't actually read my application I'd like my money back please), because there may be a large number of great applicants for a small number of spots.

Lastly, I don't mean to make it sound like I'm implying you're not qualified, since I obviously haven't seen your applications. The "you" is just a colloquialism or whatever. I know that I personally received some very encouraging, and some less encouraging, emails from professors I contacted, but I'm not really expecting that to predict how my results come out because of all the heavy competition.

Best of luck in the rest of your applications! I need to get the hell off this website if I want to be sane when I do start a program next year.

[cm125]

None of the professors I contacted gave me an assurance or hint towards admission, and I think that is a good sign. Most of the people went out of the way to emphasize the competitiveness of the applicant pool and the obvious constraints in offering admission-- funding, only taking on one advisee, ect. And I think that is because the people I contacted were high caliber academics, because honestly it is irresponsible for any professor to hint to an applicant that they have a really good chance. How can they intimate such a thing when, as mentioned before, they have yet to see every application?

On a visit to one school the professor I met with spoke to me for over an hour about the program, his research, and so on, but he took care to mention that admittance was hyper-competative and that the field I was applying to would take one person at most, but very possibly zero.

Not encouraging, but I'd much rather receive an honest appraisal from a professor than nice, but misleading, encouragement. If I'm accepted to a program then all the better, if I am rejected...well at least I was conscious of the odds.

I would be wary of a person that took that kind of irresponsible approach--unless your admission is certain and forthcoming, they should not be getting anyone's hopes up.

[eponymous]

The whole point of contacting professors before applying is to find out whether or not they will be accepting new students that year. So when someone responds to my email saying, "Yes, I will be taking on new grad students in the coming year," that had better be the case, or else they're wasting my time convincing me to apply.

Except, these decisions aren't made solely by those professors. It's a committee and, just like any other committee, there are decisions that are made based not on what is best for one person, but what is perceived to be best for the department. Not to mention, as was my case last year, that admissions holds the purse strings and can deny students that the professors have agreed upon. The committee aspect can promote vote exchanges (e.g. "I voted for your choice last year, you owe me") which, despite you being perfect for the department, means you lose out to someone else for reasons entirely out of your control.

We should always take what professors say in September/October with a big grain of salt. They may tell you what you want to hear with the purest of intentions, but the realities of balancing money and departmental politics may very well tie their hands.

[StrangeLight]

i did this whole process last year and contacted all PAs at each school i was interested in.

some of those conversations were so engaging, lengthy, and encouraging that i thought i'd be swimming in offers. i did all right and ultimately ended up at one of my top choices (depending on my mood it ranked anywhere from #1 to #3 on my list), but there were a lot of rejection letters from schools where my potential advisor had told me i was "extremely competitive."

it happens. expect many more form letters of rejection and hope for a few acceptances on the way. don't overanalyze it and don't take it personally either. a lot of schools are getting 200-400 applications for only 10 spots. there are probably another 40 or 50 people they considered competitive that are also getting rejections.

editing: [not to the OP specifically, but to people applying this year in general]

seriously, don't take it personally when you get rejected. someone telling you that you're competitive, or that they'd like to take on ONE advisee next year, is in no ways a guarantee of your admission to their program. if this is too harsh for you and you want your fee back, then maybe getting out of academia is the way to go. it's competitive and cutthroat, which means there are many qualified people for very few positions. can't take the heat, get out the kitchen and all that.

Edited February 7, 2010 by StrangeLight