{"id":47699,"date":"2019-12-26T06:00:13","date_gmt":"2019-12-26T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=47699"},"modified":"2023-10-10T05:17:51","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T12:17:51","slug":"what-to-do-if-youre-rejected-from-grad-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/what-to-do-if-youre-rejected-from-grad-school\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Do if You\u2019re Rejected from Grad School"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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By now, many of you have received answers from early application efforts \u2013 either you got in\u2026or you didn\u2019t. If you got in, congrats \u2013 you probably feel amazing! However, if you face a fistful or rejections or\u00a0waitlist notifications<\/a>, then it\u2019s normal and ok to feel disappointed and to express that disappointment. But try and move on quickly. Rejection is not a tragedy; it\u2019s not a judgment of your worth as a person. Your career goals have not been demolished. No one has told you that you\u2019ll never be a (fill in the blank \u2013 doctor\/lawyer\/teacher\/consultant\/engineer). This rejection may very well delay or modify a career dream, but the only way it can derail you completely is if you let it do that. It simply means that this particular school can\u2019t take you for this particular class.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So what\u2019s a proper response?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Think about what your goal is. Was going to grad school\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0the only path to achieving your dreams? Did grad school\u00a0need<\/em>\u00a0to happen\u00a0now<\/em>?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If grad school truly wasn\u2019t an option anymore, what would you do?\u00a0Long-term plans<\/a>\u00a0are important, but it\u2019s important to grow every day, in some way, and to avoid staking your entire future on one major event (i.e. getting into graduate school).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What are short-term goals you want to achieve at work and in your personal life \u2013 job-related, fitness, family, friends, hobbies, spirituality? Don\u2019t just give lip service to these things, think them through, in part because they may be crucial to the next strategy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If you were rejected but ALSO have acceptances, then a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush: if you applied to these schools, then you should be happy to attend. So you should probably accept one of these acceptances and stop worrying about the rejections.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If you are dealing exclusively with rejections, then you need to get to work analyzing what went wrong.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The 3 categories of rejection<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There are 3 categories in which you can usually place your cause for rejection:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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  1. You weren\u2019t competitive\/qualified at the schools you applied to.You simply shot too high.WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?<\/strong>Here you\u2019ve got two choices. You can either spend the next year improving your qualifications and reapplying to these same schools next application season, or you can lower the bar and apply to less competitive programs.More and more applicants these days are reapplicants \u2013 people who didn\u2019t give up. And guess what? Reapplicants are more likely to get in than those in the general pool. Why? Usually because reapplicants represent a more dedicated, focused, \u201cserious\u201d group. They know they want to get into a particular school, they know why, and the (usually) know what it takes and have worked hard to achieve it.So start thinking about which programs you really want to focus on next time, and start building an application that will turn a disappointing \u201cno\u201d into a triumphant \u201cyes.\u201dAlso, be willing to cast a wider net if you didn\u2019t get a least some positive results (e.g. interviews) overall.<\/li>\r\n
  2. You WERE competitive\/qualified but didn\u2019t present yourself well.In this case, you applied to the right programs based on your qualifications \u2013 that is, you had what it takes to get in \u2013 but for some reason, you didn\u2019t tell your story well in your application or made some other application error. You didn\u2019t apply effectively.WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?<\/strong>If the problem is that you failed to tell your story well, then you need to make sure that when you reapply (either to these schools or to others), that you tell a more compelling story. You still have a chance to get into competitive programs this year, but you\u2019ll need to\u00a0make sure your application is 100% awesome<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n
  3. You were a victim of sheer numbers.This can happen if you\u2019re in an overrepresented group \u2013 bio major applying to med school,\u00a0Indian IT guy applying to b-school<\/a>, Political science majors applying to law school, etc. Being in such a category makes it harder to distinguish yourself, and harder to get in, even if you\u2019re super qualified, and even if you\u2019ve done a good job on your application.WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?<\/strong>The thing here, is that if you\u2019re a victim of sheer numbers, then you can\u2019t just do a \u201cgood\u201d job on your application; you need to do a slam-dunk, smash-hit, out-of-this-world job on your application. This is probably the most frustrating result. Because of intense competition with people of your background, and the fact that schools value diversity, you\u2019re stuck. You can\u2019t change who you are, but you can change\u00a0the way you tell your distinct story<\/a>. Apply to more schools this year or to the same ones next year, and make sure that your application shows the adcom why you\u2019re different \u2013 and special \u2013 and a necessary asset to their next class.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    And yes, it is possible that you fit into more than one of these categories and have to address more than one of these issues.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Watch: Four Reasons for Rejection<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    For more insight into why applicants get rejected, check out Linda Abraham\u2019s video, \u201c4 Reasons for Rejection.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n