Plan if got only rejection?

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
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HyperCar2022
Posts: 67
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2022 6:36 am

Plan if got only rejection?

Post by HyperCar2022 » Mon Jan 31, 2022 5:36 pm

I just got rejection from a math phd program and now I am seriously thinking about what I should do if no schools want me.
I may start work. Though I do love academica, the condition nowadays seems crazy.
The application is so unnecessarily competitive now: if I have taken 10+grad courses, published decent papers and tons of research, why do I still need to apply for a grad school? I am really confused.
One director in a grad program told me my profile is not in top 25% so even waitlist is not available for me. I fully understand how high average level of applicants in excellent programs be.

hopium
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2021 9:10 pm

Re: Plan if got only rejection?

Post by hopium » Mon Jan 31, 2022 5:58 pm

Because they need a PhD in order to pursue an academic career?
I'm in a similar situation as you. The applications do look super competitive because of the pandemic.
I'm already planning to give it one more try next year with improved mGRE scores, etc. If it doesn't work again, I guess I will find a job then.

clopensets
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2022 3:54 pm

Re: Plan if got only rejection?

Post by clopensets » Mon Jan 31, 2022 6:50 pm

I got rejected 10/10 schools last year. This year I have a couple of offers already. See if you can get a math related job in the meantime. Any quantitative industry job, post bacc research position or education related job won't hurt and can only help. Improved GRE scores could help but I think that's going by the wayside in the post-covid era. Honestly the big 6 schools are going to be painfully competitive every year. But the next 14 schools and the top 50 you have an extremely strong profile for. Way better than mine. If you don't get in, try to think about how you might shore up your statement of purpose. Another thing I did was, instead of going for perfect fit for advisors, I picked ones that were close enough who had grant money. Shameless I suppose, but the results have been very different this year.

Oh and one thing from my experience with 3 interviews this year. Admission yield protection is a big deal for these schools. Trying to apply to the right tier of school is actually very crucial. "Safeties" reject very competitive applicants because they don't believe that they will accept an offer at such a modest program.

pi31415pi
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2022 9:10 am

Re: Plan if got only rejection?

Post by pi31415pi » Tue Feb 01, 2022 4:22 am

I am more hopeless. I got GRE subject test 890 (92%) already but my general gpa is extremely low (3.4) as i thought it is not important . I dont know what to do to increase my competitiveness except publishing more papers.

(And to be honest, I am really confused and doubtful why someone with high gpa can only result in a low GRE subject test score. I think the GPA in different countries might not be compared directly and it is quite unfair)

matejxx1
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2021 12:37 pm

Re: Plan if got only rejection?

Post by matejxx1 » Tue Feb 01, 2022 7:36 am

I don't think the mGRE score matters that much. I know some people from my uni who didn't have a perfect gpa, any publications and no mGRE score and still got into ivys / top schools.

From my conversations with profs the letters of rec are going to make or break your app. Both who is writing them (are they famous / do the ppl on the committee lnow them) and how strong they are.

deviant_lime
Posts: 51
Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2020 3:39 pm

Re: Plan if got only rejection?

Post by deviant_lime » Wed Feb 09, 2022 7:33 pm

HyperCar2022 wrote:
Mon Jan 31, 2022 5:36 pm
I just got rejection from a math phd program and now I am seriously thinking about what I should do if no schools want me.
I may start work. Though I do love academica, the condition nowadays seems crazy.
The application is so unnecessarily competitive now: if I have taken 10+grad courses, published decent papers and tons of research, why do I still need to apply for a grad school? I am really confused.
One director in a grad program told me my profile is not in top 25% so even waitlist is not available for me. I fully understand how high average level of applicants in excellent programs be.
HyperCar, how are you holding up? Hoping for good news for you soon!

ms60000204
Posts: 34
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 4:03 pm

Re: Plan if got only rejection?

Post by ms60000204 » Wed Feb 09, 2022 8:10 pm

I'm plagued with the same thought recently. I'm a more serious case in my opinion. I put all Of my heart and energy into this for the past two years. The only thing is that I don't have research experience or extracuricular activity due to social anxiety but I never stopped doing math. I think I worked as hard as other people. On the other hand I would think that not getting into PhD program is just a sign that academia is not for me

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Bernkastel
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2022 8:02 pm

Re: Plan if got only rejection?

Post by Bernkastel » Wed Feb 09, 2022 8:56 pm

The key reason you got all rejections is the school you applied to are not "safe" at all... You should apply to some ranked below 30 programs.



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