Reapplying to doctorate programs

[osupsych05]

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Last year I applied to 10 doctorate programs, received interviews at 2(my top choice and my bottom choice), and was accepted by none. This pattern for the first time around, from what i've heard, is not uncommon. I've gone back and forth about whether or not I want to reapply this year, I definitely want to get into a clinical program, but in theory not much has changed about my resume, i just started a new research job at the university of new mexico , but i mean JUST started. So i've been hesitant about going through the whole process again, but i've pretty much decided I want to. So i have a few questions for anyone willing to read my rambling.

1. I used the US news and World report rankings as a starting point for the schools I chose. I realize these rankings can be fickle and are not the end all be all of a good school, but I figured, if it had a good ranking it was worth a look. What I ended up with seemed to be a list of schools skewed towards the higher end(so my advisors told me), and many of my peers who got accepted to programs were accepted to ones that weren't even in the top 115(here comes the questions part), If a school isn't even in the top 115 is it still worth looking at? I realize that every school is different and one might have a really good advisor, or a really good classes or something else, but my first time around I just assumed that if none of those things pushed it into at least the top 115 then it wasnt worth a look, am i wrong here? Because I ended up applying to 1 school in the top ten, 1 in the teens, 1 in the twenties and a few in the thirties and my low ones were 1 in the fifties and 1 in the eighties. my top choice was emory(ranked #25) and I got an interview there. Just on this time around I want to hedge my bets a little better, and if the us news and world report rankings arent my best place to start I'd like to know what might be, thanks for any help there 🙂


2. Using the same personal statement: I worked really hard on my personal statement from last year, went through a lot of revisions and was a really good snapshot of where I was academically and professionally and personally, as I said not much has changed academically or professionally(i did just start this new job) so I'm wondering if it would be bad to use the same personal statement again, that may sound lazy but it DID help get me an interview at emory so it might be a good tool. Any advice here would be great as well.

 

[cara susanna]

Er... no, it doesn't matter where it is on the ranking list. Disregard that list. What you want is someone who's top in your area, which doesn't necessarily mean they're at a top school.

 

[KillerDiller]

I agree, don't apply to schools based on rankings, apply based on a research match. It also helps to vary the competitiveness of the schools you apply to (although one shouldn't sacrifice important things such as how well the program fits your career goals, funding, etc.)

 

[Wildcat06]

When I applied, I think only one of the schools I applied to was lower than 100 on that list. I got 9 interviews off 12 apps and they were all of the top ranked schools from my list, so you really never know who's going to extend the interview.

I also didn't rank the schools until after I had interviewed (my theory was I'll go ANYWHERE that is willing to take me). But then when I did rank them, my top three were the schools at which I got offers because, quite simply, they were the best matches and both the faculty and I knew that. So I would advise if you do apply again, go in with an open mind this time.

As for the personal statement, if you're confident I would stick to it. Unless of course you are planning to reapply to any of the same schools in which case, I would write a new one.

 

[CatoftheCanals]

Meh to the rankings. For me, it was about research match.

And it can't hurt to take a look at your PS and see if something needs changing. As a multiple time applier (now in), I at least changed my intro, and eventually had to change the experience part after I accrued time in the real world.

Is this your first year out of undergrad? I know you might be set on applying now, but I found that once I had at least a year under my belt, I was a much better applicant. (That is, if the research experience thing is where you need to build your application)

 

[deleted176373]

Last year I applied to 10 doctorate programs, received interviews at 2(my top choice and my bottom choice), and was accepted by none. This pattern for the first time around, from what i've heard, is not uncommon. I've gone back and forth about whether or not I want to reapply this year, I definitely want to get into a clinical program, but in theory not much has changed about my resume, i just started a new research job at the university of new mexico , but i mean JUST started. So i've been hesitant about going through the whole process again, but i've pretty much decided I want to. So i have a few questions for anyone willing to read my rambling.

1. I used the US news and World report rankings as a starting point for the schools I chose. I realize these rankings can be fickle and are not the end all be all of a good school, but I figured, if it had a good ranking it was worth a look. What I ended up with seemed to be a list of schools skewed towards the higher end(so my advisors told me), and many of my peers who got accepted to programs were accepted to ones that weren't even in the top 115(here comes the questions part), If a school isn't even in the top 115 is it still worth looking at? I realize that every school is different and one might have a really good advisor, or a really good classes or something else, but my first time around I just assumed that if none of those things pushed it into at least the top 115 then it wasnt worth a look, am i wrong here? Because I ended up applying to 1 school in the top ten, 1 in the teens, 1 in the twenties and a few in the thirties and my low ones were 1 in the fifties and 1 in the eighties. my top choice was emory(ranked #25) and I got an interview there. Just on this time around I want to hedge my bets a little better, and if the us news and world report rankings arent my best place to start I'd like to know what might be, thanks for any help there 🙂


2. Using the same personal statement: I worked really hard on my personal statement from last year, went through a lot of revisions and was a really good snapshot of where I was academically and professionally and personally, as I said not much has changed academically or professionally(i did just start this new job) so I'm wondering if it would be bad to use the same personal statement again, that may sound lazy but it DID help get me an interview at emory so it might be a good tool. Any advice here would be great as well.

If you are re-applying to a school that interviewed you last year, perhaps it's good to re-use the statement. Otherwise... it's using the same fishing tackle that didn't work last time.

Think about it... my essay didn't accomplish what I wanted, so should I re-use it... they say stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

FWIW, I was in the same boat. I applied to 15 programs, got 2 interviews, and was only able to attend one - and I was accepted by NONE. I reused my essay at the school that I didn't interview at but had previously offered an interview, but for every other program I re-wrote my essay and was a bit more honest about what I wanted and where I wanted to go... I didn't tell them what I thought they wanted to hear. I opened up a bit more and was a bit more sincere. I think that made a big difference.

Like I said, I had applied to 15, shot down... the new essay (the only substantial change to my package) was VERY effective. I applied to 27 programs my second year (because I had a firm time constraint regarding military service) and had a interview offer rate of over 50%, just by changing my essay and paying closer attention to fit. I spent a fair amount of money unnecessarily (I suppose but I did get my desired outcome) and had to turn down nearly 50% of my interview offers. I widened my scope, but paid more careful attention to match. The numbers show that my strategy worked far better than I had imagined.

The end result was that I probably could have applied to 5 or 10 programs with the same end results (for the most part) but I had to get in before I got to old to be commissioned for an internship in the Military. I turned down a large number of interviews, mostly safety schools. I got accepted early at A&M which let me cull the herd very quickly as A&M was my number 5 choice. I ended up getting into USUHS, my number 1 choice in a dramatic last minute April offering after being informed that I was no longer being considered.

I am not saying do what I did, but, I would examine your strategy... critique it, and re-evaluate what you did in the past. A few other helpful things I did was go to conferences and meet the professors that I thought I would be interested in working with. This got me several interviews and the help of one professor who helped me write my admissions essay for HER program. Needless to say, I got the interview there, although I was edged out in the final competition for a slot.

One thing I did learn that you should take to heart... is don't apply to a school you don't want to go to. Forget the low ranking programs that you wouldn't be proud of attending. If you have the credentials to make it into a funded program, don't settle for less. You'll kick yourself in the ass later, or find yourself trying to justify the cost, and you likely won't be happy. The "rankings" don't much matter... My number 1 choice was ranked 92! I interviewed at schools as high as #20 (KU) on the rankings, but my personal rank for it was in the bottom half of my top 10. The best place to start ranking programs is internship match rates at APPIC and maybe add in EPPP outcomes as a tie breaker.

Mark

 

[applebottom]

I think it depends what your career goals are. If you want to be a professor, having a PhD from a top school may help you land a position after you graduate. The PI I'm working for now said that having gone to a highly ranked, very prominent research university definitely helped her land her first assistant professor position. But if the professor you're working with is top in the field, that could compensate for attending a lower-ranked school. Of course, if you want to be a practitioner, your school's rank is probably not as important.