So you’ve received another “We are sorry to inform you” email, and now you’re wondering what went wrong with the application.
PhD applications get rejected all the time for many reasons. After so much hard work, this is not the outcome you wanted. But rejection is a part of the PhD application process. This happened to me while I was applying to PhD programmes. It happens to nearly everyone who applies to graduate school.
Even if you are accepted into a PhD programme, you will face rejection regularly. Therefore, rather than obsessing on why you were rejected and feeling bad about yourself, it’s better to learn how to deal with rejections in this early stage. As an example, journals, funding grants, various positions, course release requests, and so on: it doesn’t get any easier; you simply improve at dealing with it.
But, it is always better to understand why PhD applications get rejected in the first place. In this way, you can avoid making the same mistake twice and finally get that “Congratulations!” email you wanted. Here are the most common reasons why PhD applications get rejected.
You haven’t completely figured out your goals
People may notice in your personal statement if you haven’t sorted out your goals and don’t have a clear idea of what you want to achieve by getting a PhD. Perhaps your personal statement lacks a strong interest in or enthusiasm for study, or it is unclear what you are interested in.
Perhaps you’re discussing professional goals that don’t necessitate a PhD, or perhaps your statement focuses on aspects that don’t matter as much, such as how enthusiastic you are about PhD coursework.
Or you’re not demonstrating that you understand what research is or why someone would get a PhD in the first place.
Related articles:
Should I do a PhD? 4 Reasons Why You Should Consider Doing a PhD
5 Reasons Not to do a PhD (With an Assessment Quiz)
However, you should make sure that your statement of purpose or personal statement demonstrates that you are interested in research and know what it entails, are passionate about it, and have a specific research interest.
You are applying for the wrong program
Sometimes, PhD applications get rejected because you are applying for a program requiring a skill set that you have not, or at least you haven’t demonstrated in your documents.
It would be better if you had done your research before answering these questions,
- Does the research area that you proposed even fit into that discipline? Or the research methods or sort of type of research that you talk about in your personal statement?
- Are you applying to the right discipline?
- Are you talking about things that are happening in that department.
- Some disciplines are huge, and some departments are small and quite specialized, so are you even a fit for what’s happening in that particular department or program?
- Did you send the exact same statement to every program to which you applied?
There must be something unique about that program, and the only way to convince to the admissions committee that you understood that something is to be specific for each program in your statement.
Of course, there will be a lot of parts of your personal statements that are going to be same for each and every university, but you must ensure that there is at least some customizing.
No advisor fit
If you’re applying to a certain program, it’s critical to be familiar with the professor, department, and research field. One of the reasons that PhD applications get rejected is that the applicant does not have a clear understanding of what that particular department does.
If you look at different chemistry departments at different universities, you can find that their research focuses are very different.
This is especially true in a lab-based discipline where you’ll be working closely with a single advisor, but it’s also true in other disciplines where you might not have an advisor for a few years but still need someone to assist you.
It would be unethical to accept you as a student when there is no one to advise you if your research interests are entirely contrary to what anyone in the department is doing.
It doesn’t have to be a perfect match, but you must be able to demonstrate some sort of relationship with at least one faculty member in the department.
Some PhD programs even demand that at least two persons be available to advise any prospective student. You may need to find at least two faculty members who share your interest in such circumstances.
If you want to learn more about their current research, look into the research that their students are engaged with.
You may have the advantage of resolving these things if you contact faculty members via email before formally applying.
They may also be able to refer you to other faculty members who are working on similar projects.
Lack of research experience
Even if you don’t have much experience in the field you’re interested in, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply to a university. However, before taking any action, you should think about this properly.
This is one of the most common causes for PhD applications get rejected.
At some point in our lives, we were all students. It doesn’t matter if you have more experience or not. What matters is if you have the potential and drive to conduct a study on a particular topic.
But it certainly is less of a risk to take on a student who has a master’s degree and has already been doing research for a couple of years because supervisors know that they have a foundation in that area of research. But do not let this fact let you down.
Showing that you know your research area and have the passion for doing it shows that you are ready to take that risk, which is what really matters.
If you have any prior experience in the field you are interested in, make sure to highlight it.
Talk about the outcomes of your research and why you want to expand it to a PhD.
If you’ve worked in a lab before or written or submitted papers, make sure to mention it in your application.
Talk about how this experience made you understand your passion for research and how it led you to the particular direction you are interested in.
Even if you don’t have much research experience, write about how you know this is what you want to do, why you’re thrilled about it, and what your specific interests are in the field.
Just make sure that it’s clear that you know what it is you want to do with your degree and that you are determined to do it.
If you still have time to get that relevant experience, get it before applying to graduate school. As an example, reach out to faculty and see if you can help them on a project.
If you’re really worried about your PhD applications for this reason but are passionate about doing research, you might also consider applying for some master’s programs.
Because if PhD applications get rejected, particularly if this is the reason, then getting that experience with a master’s degree is the best way to do it.
This is, for example, the path I’ve taken. Despite my interest in some particular areas of chemistry, I completed my undergraduate studies in the field of “Materials Science and Engineering.”
Therefore, I applied for a chemistry master’s degree. After a year, you can convert your master’s degree into a PhD. (Does not apply for all the countries)
You also have the freedom to learn more about a field before pursuing a PhD with this approach.
Weak letters of recommendation
You might not pay much attention to this, yet it is one of, if not the most crucial, components of your application package. PhD applications get rejected all the time owing to insufficient recommendation letters.
If all of your recommendation letters only state that you excelled in a class and received all A’s, you may not have a greater chance of getting into a graduate program. That is just not enough.
Make certain that anyone writing a recommendation letter for you, does so in a powerful manner. Be very, very picky when choosing the people to write recommendation letters for you. It should be someone you know well, ideally someone with whom you’ve done research or who may have taught a class in which you completed a really excellent project.
Your recommendation letters are quite important in your application, especially if you are applying from a university with a lower-ranking (Ranking should not be an issue in such cases, but unfortunately, they are).
If you’re still early in the process, try to get to know several professors because it will be quite beneficial in the long run.
Low grades or test scores
This is a more straightforward problem than the other causes to why PhD applications get rejected. The whole goal of discussing this is to figure out how to apply even if your grades aren’t great.
First, don’t let this discourage you from applying to graduate school.
GRE scores are increasingly less important for PhD applications as most universities are now exempting GRE scores from their application requirements.
Therefore, if you have low scores, you might consider applying to programs where GRE scores are not accepted or optional.
But your grades still do matter.
Grades can be both an indicator of your work ethic and subject matter expertise.
However, it is not a straightforward assessment because there are many other ways to estimate your subject area’s competence. For example, even if your grades are low, but you have a lot of publications in your field of interest, you can easily get into a graduate program.
Professors usually look at your transcripts to see your trajectory. Having lower marks at the beginning of your undergraduate degree does not bother them much if you have good progress over time.
For example, was this one bad semester that just tanked your entire GPA? In which case that suggests that there was probably something going on with you, and then it’s not a broader indication of your work ethic.
You can mention in your statement that you overcame whatever obstacle you had, and you did better in the following semesters. In such cases, you can make it an advantage if you have good grades in the following semesters. But you also have to be more careful when talking about such things because you do not want to sell yourself short in your personal statement.
Mistakes in the application
When you are ready to apply for a graduate program, your grades are already established, and you can not change them. The same rules apply to any research experience you have. The only thing you can control at this stage is not to make mistakes in your application.
But, you will be surprised that only a handful of students submit their application packages without any mistakes.
As an example:
- In your personal statement, did you mention the correct name of the university and the correct program at the university?
- Dis you mention faculty that are actually in that university and in that particular department?
- Did you provide everything they ask for the application and don’t leave things out?
- Did you hit the deadline?
Some of these things do suggest a lack of attention to detail.
This doesn’t mean that if you accidentally send in the personal statement for the wrong school that there is a 100 percent chance that you’re going to get rejected, but it certainly doesn’t look good in your application. Therefore, it would be better to double-check everything before you send out your applications.
Bad timing
Rejections are always not your fault. The graduate application process is always non-linear. It depends on a lot of different factors that are completely outside your control.
This means that you can do everything right, and if you had applied last year or next year, you might have been selected, but it’s a rejection this year.
Among many reasons for this kind of thing could happen, the capacity of the faculty is most likely be the top reason.
And it could even be the capacity of an individual advisor.
Perhaps the only faculty member with whom you would be able to collaborate has too many PhD students or is completely out of financing options.
Maybe the entire department has a capacity issue and can only have a few students at a time.
Maybe you are actually the better applicant, but the other person’s research interests are much closer to a research funding already approved.
The point of knowing all these possibilities is that they are out of your control, and you shouldn’t give up.
This is the reason why you should apply for multiple programs. You should not put all of your eggs in one basket.
Conclusion
The PhD application process is unquestionably one of those things that will keep you on your toes. Having a clear idea of what could go wrong will save you a lot of time and effort.
PhD applications get rejected for many reasons, and there are some things that you cannot control. But if you are aware of all the possibilities, there is a better chance to avoid them.
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