Except when it is your application

A Dear Dissertation Coach article

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Dear Dissertation Coach,

I was not accepted into my top school’s graduate program. What is wrong with me that they didn’t accept me?

Heartbroken graduate student

Dear Heartbroken graduate student,

The last Substack Dear Dissertation Coach article I wrote focused on reasons that it wasn’t about you when you were not accepted to your preferred graduate program. However, sometimes it is about the student’s application, and this post will give you some insight into those problems.

First, did you provide everything the program asked for? Did you decide they didn’t really need a writing sample, even though they asked for it, because you didn’t have one? Faculty do not take it well when an application packet is incomplete. It can be interpreted as an indication that the student doesn’t finish things. A suspicion that a student is flaky will move them down several notches in the acceptance pool.

How is the grammar in your application? Did you or someone else proofread your statement of purpose or personal essay? Often, your application packet is your initial introduction to these faculty members and the only way they can get an inkling of whether they want to work with you.

The personal essay is about you. However, it can also indicate whether your English is proficient enough for the department or whether you care enough to make it as perfect as you can. It is not cheating to have someone else read it and find any incorrect words or grammatical errors that have crept in. It happens to the best of us, so have someone else review your application to catch any errors.

If the department you are applying to requests test scores, do you know the range they are looking for? Do your scores fall within that range? If not, that could be a problem. Yes, I know all the arguments against test scores predicting success in graduate school. While I agree with many of those arguments, if the department is asking for them, they likely use them. If you have a reason to believe your scores should be disregarded, let the faculty members on the admissions committee know by including an additional letter in your admissions packet. It might influence their decision, it might not, but at least you’ve done everything you can.

Did the people you asked to write reference letters for you submit them on time? Now that admission packets are usually online, you can check whether the letters are there. If not, ask your letter writer what is going on. Hopefully, they’ve already written a letter and can send it quickly. If they say they cannot get it done, have a backup letter writer ready.

Have you visited the department and spoken with faculty members and graduate students? Were you interested in what they had to say, and did you listen politely? I met a graduate student at a conference party who managed to insult every person of color, every woman, and every graduate student in the room, because this person seemed to imply that the only important people were white, male faculty members. You better believe everyone remembered this person’s name. We expected their application to look really good, and we wanted to not admit them.

In sum, Heartbroken Graduate Student, you do have some control over what the admissions committee sees. Be sure it is the best you can produce. After that, let it go.

Warmly,

Your Dissertation Coach