reapply where rejected after interview?

[rachels]

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Sorry if this has been asked before...

My situation is I have applied and been rejected 2 rounds, my first time with zero interviews, my second with three interviews. I am deciding whether to apply again, but also whether it is advisable to reapply to schools that I was rejected from AFTER the interview or if that is a lost cause.


Applying 3 times seems desperate even to me , but I feel like I just put in too much work to give up...
(My stats are GPA- 3.92, GRE Q760 V710, senior thesis which got published, years in other labs, various volunteer/ clinical experiences)

 

[LisaLisa86]

Sorry if this has been asked before...

My situation is I have applied and been rejected 2 rounds, my first time with zero interviews, my second with three interviews. I am deciding whether to apply again, but also whether it is advisable to reapply to schools that I was rejected from AFTER the interview or if that is a lost cause.


Applying 3 times seems desperate even to me , but I feel like I just put in too much work to give up...
(My stats are GPA- 3.92, GRE Q760 V710, senior thesis which got published, years in other labs, various volunteer/ clinical experiences)

I'd contact the profs you interviewed with with a standard contact letter, tell them you interviewed with them and are considering reapplying (and mention all the fantastic things you've done since last year) and ask them if they think your future research interests align. I should hope that you should be able to judge whether you should or shouldn't based on the reply.

 

[WisNeuro]

(My stats are GPA- 3.92, GRE Q760 V710, senior thesis which got published, years in other labs, various volunteer/ clinical experiences)

Those are pretty good stats in brief. I think you need to evaluate your application in whole, there may be a red flag somewhere. Something seems off. Also, what types of programs did you apply to in the past?

 

[Terapueta24]

Were you waitlisted at this programs in the past? Do you know where you were on the waitlist. If you were the 1st or 2nd alternate then they probably wanted you and that would be a good sign.

 

[CheetahGirl]

I'd contact the profs you interviewed with with a standard contact letter, tell them you interviewed with them and are considering reapplying (and mention all the fantastic things you've done since last year) and ask them if they think your future research interests align. I should hope that you should be able to judge whether you should or shouldn't based on the reply.

I agree - then you can focus your energy on what limited you before.

Sorry if this has been asked before...

My situation is I have applied and been rejected 2 rounds, my first time with zero interviews, my second with three interviews. I am deciding whether to apply again, but also whether it is advisable to reapply to schools that I was rejected from AFTER the interview or if that is a lost cause.

Applying 3 times seems desperate even to me , but I feel like I just put in too much work to give up...
(My stats are GPA- 3.92, GRE Q760 V710, senior thesis which got published, years in other labs, various volunteer/ clinical experiences)

I'd go for it again...but I say do not eliminate the schools that rejected you unless you get a definitive "sorry, it's not worth your time" from the DOT. In fact, you can ask the graduate school admissions office to carry over transcripts and some information that has not changed (if you didn't know about doing that the second time around). But submit new personal statements and letters of recs, of course (professionally ask your recommenders to revise their letters to make them stronger) or get new recommenders if you feel your previously letters were not as forthcoming & supportive as they needed to be.

You did not ask this, but think about how your application is different from that last time and tweak your personal statement. And how do you interview? Are you mature and sensible? Are you comfortable with others in the room? Can you put people at ease and engage in conversation easily? And I'm just talking about the interviewers.

Furthermore, can you imagine sitting across from a 55-year old man who stinks of poor self-care, who has schizophrenia (no active symptoms), OCD, and is an alcoholic AND providing him with psychotherapy? Can you imagine sitting across from a 23-year old woman who is diagnosed by medical staff with anxiety and severe depression, and then she admits to only you that she is repeatedly raped by an uncle and it has been ongoing since childhood AND providing her with psychotherapy? Don't worry...once in a program, you'll be trained to work with these cases, but programs want to know that the person walking through the door is mature enough to handle such situations BEFORE admissions. These are some of experiences (and many more) that you have to imagine yourself in, and step back & think about why you want to do this ugly, smelly, scary work.

If you think you have it in you, then don't give up...just work on what makes you unique and figure out (with hopefully the help of those close-by) how you can explain it your personal statements, cover letters and later interviews. Find a good book that illustrates some clinical case studies and absorb yourself in the process of being an applicant this one last time. If it doesn't work out after this round, ask to meet with the directors to see why (just as LisaLisa86 said to do beforehand) and then, reassess. I don't know many who have given it a 4th shot...so this looks like it's going to have to be the round with the golden ticket.

Unfortunately, there's so more in this admission's game than just being smart. You have to be smart, determined, mature, sensible, relaxed, composed, personable, knowledgeable (but not a know-it-all). And that's only during interviews.

Good luck!

 

[catdaddymft]

I had a similar experience with Masters programs to a lesser degree, however. I only applied to one program for two consecutive years - the first time to Alliant's PsyD program (I suppose that's the best rejection letter I ever got), the second year was to different program. In the second program, I received an invitation to an interview and had some outside influences that wrecked my night-before preparations. I went into the interview running on literally no sleep. I thought I presented myself decently and if nothing else as being fit to enter the program, but I received a rejection/alternate spot.

The next year I was pretty determined to get into a program, so I prepared 5 applications and took the general and psych GRE within a month or two of each other.
Even though I was bitter about being made an alternate, I still applied to the second program again and received an invitation to interview again. I happened to have an invitation to interview in a different program the week prior... well, I found out the night before the return interview that I was accepted into a program which I preferred... so I ended up staying up all night on a sportswatching binge (no booze or drugs involved, mind you) and I debated on whether I should even go to the damn interview at all. I was already "in" somewhere else, I didn't like being overlooked the year before, and weren't some of my fellow interviewees from the year before going to recognize me and think it was pathetic for me to come back again? That latter had been more of a concern before that night, but it was still somewhat on my mind.

So I basically concluded that there was no need to skip the interview the night before since I did say I'd show up. Plus, after interviewing a year prior, I knew what to expect. To be honest, another motivating factor was to have a chance to reject them back (petty I know).
I showed up late, felt absolutely no concern for anything pressure related, and really didn't care about getting in (not that I'm advocating this attitude, but it just goes to show how much knowing the territory can help) - but still presented myself in a way that I knew would fit the program - and what would you guess happened? I got an offer... then turned it down - but I was glad to have the experience.

Conversely, when I was at the interview the second time described above, I found that there were multiple people who had applied far beyond 2 times prior. One person was on her fifth attempt! And I'm pretty SURE she'd be a good counselor (I did get to do a client-therapist exercise with her). A friend had applied three times and she was in the interview I was in the week prior. She had 4 or 5 different interviews that month and was rejected from all of them. The fact that she had so many interviews convinced me that she was definitely qualified for all of the programs - she had to have a solid application to consistently get interviews...

Which brings me towards my landing of the plane... before an interview someone who worked for an online psych college talked to me about my interview the next day (the program I wanted). He stated "Don't worry too much. They already know who you are from your application and like you. They just want to make sure that you're actually 'you' in person if that makes sense."
It did to me at the time. I came to believe that if you get the interview, it's almost like the playoffs and anybody has a solid chance. You just have to make them want you. I think that's the thing my friend failed to do in her 4-5 interviews.

Another good piece of advice that I got was "Never turn down an interview".
You're going into this next round of applications with an edge. You know your application is good enough to receive an interview - so a major overhaul isn't necessary - just some tweaking as mentioned above. Most of your work for those programs should probably be in using your informed opinion of how to prepare yourself to make the right impression on the interviewers.

Things might turn out differently this time and you may find yourself getting into a new program due to the benefit of the practice gained from interviewing at these old programs that you've already applied to, and you may find yourself getting offers and having to turn some of them down this time.
So I say take advantage of as many opportunities as you can and don't have any shame in reapplying.

Good luck.

/Rant

p.s. I want to echo the advice to contact the programs that rejected you and to speak with the directors. I was given this advice before from a former professor who stated that he was rejected from interview and he contacted the director prior to the next application period and "basically interviewed her" and the response he got was that she didn't know how he slipped through the cracks and asked him to apply again, and he was accepted.

 

[Lisa44201]

I am attending a program that rejected me when I originally applied two years ago.... so it can happen 🙂

How are you a different applicant now than you were two years ago? What is different about your application that makes you a better candidate than you were?

 

[fresnel]

I agree with most of what is written above but also suggest that you find someone you trust to interview you. Videotape it. Ask the interviewer for feedback using some sort of standardized measure that allows him/her to rate you on various important dimensions. Than ask for his/her informal feedback.Do this with a couple of other people. Review the tapes yourself. How did you come across? You may be missing the mark by only chance and a bit-for example, you may be in a saturated research field so have loads of competition and you may be slightly less skilled at interviewing.

 

[rachels]

Those are pretty good stats in brief. I think you need to evaluate your application in whole, there may be a red flag somewhere. Something seems off. Also, what types of programs did you apply to in the past?

I applied to more research oriented programs. But about 10 schools both times, so some variety.

 

[rachels]

I am attending a program that rejected me when I originally applied two years ago.... so it can happen 🙂

How are you a different applicant now than you were two years ago? What is different about your application that makes you a better candidate than you were?

This also worries me, I couldn't get a job as a lab manager or anything in a clinical/couseling setting and so I ended up taking a job teaching english abroad. Now I am back and again am having trouble getting a job despite hundreds of applications. I'm afraid this will make me look like I'm not serious, but I really just cannot find work. I think it is because most of my experiences in the past were geared towards getting into grad school rather than being employable. I worked in lots of labs and volunteered with community programs.

 

[Lisa44201]

This also worries me, I couldn't get a job as a lab manager or anything in a clinical/couseling setting and so I ended up taking a job teaching english abroad. Now I am back and again am having trouble getting a job despite hundreds of applications. I'm afraid this will make me look like I'm not serious, but I really just cannot find work. I think it is because most of my experiences in the past were geared towards getting into grad school rather than being employable. I worked in lots of labs and volunteered with community programs.

Hmmm... Something's off somewhere. Have you had a professor look at your SOP?

Also, have you applied to Master's programs as well, or only PhD programs?

 

[rachels]

Hmmm... Something's off somewhere. Have you had a professor look at your SOP?

Also, have you applied to Master's programs as well, or only PhD programs?

Yes, I had my senior project advisor and some grad students and the writing center at my university look it over. I didn't apply to masters programs bc from most phd programs I heard it wouldn't take off any years, there aren't masters in clinical psychology for a reason.

 

[Lisa44201]

Yes, I had my senior project advisor and some grad students and the writing center at my university look it over. I didn't apply to masters programs bc from most phd programs I heard it wouldn't take off any years, there aren't masters in clinical psychology for a reason.

There are Masters programs in Clinical Psychology.

A Masters can give you a chance to build your skillset and give you research experience, which will help, especially if you haven't been able to get a job working in a lab. Some PhD programs will transfer in a Master's degree earned elsewhere, and some will transfer in at least some of the classes.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

There are Masters programs in Clinical Psychology.

Yep. There just generally aren't terminal masters programs in clinical psych, at least as far as most states are concerned.

 

[InNae]

Yes, I had my senior project advisor and some grad students and the writing center at my university look it over. I didn't apply to masters programs bc from most phd programs I heard it wouldn't take off any years, there aren't masters in clinical psychology for a reason.

Rachels, was your senior project advisor a clinical PhD? I ask because many (most?) people outside the field and below a certain level of training might not actually be aware of what clinical grad programs look for in a statement. Writing centers are great for helping with general readability and "essay" structure, but there's much more to a strong SOP. Grad students know what apparently worked for them, but that's n=1.

Similarly, an LOR from outside the field (including many MDs), or from a grad student or postdoc can be fine, but they often are not good/helpful in the sense that they don't speak to the applicant's ability to do the many things necessary in a clinical grad student. Someone who hasn't himself or herself been completely through the doctoral process understandably usually can't speak to those elements.

Please don't mistake this as some sort of elitist PhD comment 🙂, as the reverse is also somewhat true - I also occasionally give feedback on SOPs and write rec letters for students applying to med school and law school, but I'm guessing MD/JD feedback and letters are more helpful. I will say that I think PhDs can better speak to the skills necessary for med or law school than vice versa, though.

What do others who have now read/written many letters and given lots of feedback think?

Also edited to add: you mention having worked in "lots of labs". Do you mean single semester or several month experiences rather than longer experiences within a single lab? This sometimes is a red flag.

 

[rachels]

Yep. There just generally aren't terminal masters programs in clinical psych, at least as far as most states are concerned.

This is why I was hoping not to have to go through the Masters route. What would I do with that masters if again I was not accepted to a PhD program. It would be a lot of money to invest in a perhaps fruitless attempt to get into a PhD program.

 

[rachels]

Rachels, was your senior project advisor a clinical PhD? I ask because many (most?) people outside the field and below a certain level of training might not actually be aware of what clinical grad programs look for in a statement. Writing centers are great for helping with general readability and "essay" structure, but there's much more to a strong SOP. Grad students know what apparently worked for them, but that's n=1.


What do others who have now read/written many letters and given lots of feedback think?

Also edited to add: you mention having worked in "lots of labs". Do you mean single semester or several month experiences rather than longer experiences within a single lab? This sometimes is a red flag.

My senior project advisor was a PhD in the psychology department and focused on developmental/ social psychology. All my letter writers were PhDs. One from a school/ clinical psychology project I worked on for a year. Another from a social psychology project I worked on a year and a quarter and lastly my senior project advisor. I also worked on some shorter term 6 month projects, but didn't ask these people for letters- one in an autism research center and one in cognitive psychology (from my freshman year).

I put a lot of work into my statement of purpose and took the advice of others. I could send it to you, if it wouldn't be too much trouble.

 

[InNae]

I'll pm you. For the general record (i.e., other and future readers of this thread), for practical reasons I don't provide feedback to SDN forumites on written material.