Reapplying to Grad School
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Reapplying to Grad School
September 2003
I applied to graduate school at Berkeley last year and was
not accepted. Now I am planning my reapplication, and I
am looking for some advice from current and former grad
students, faculty and staff about what kinds of things make
for a good application. I am applying to a social sciences
department, have good GRE scores (98th percent for
everything but quantitative,) and have had a member of the
faculty review my statement of purpose. I have also sat in
on classes and am starting to get to know a few faculty
members. I graduated with a 3.5 GPA, but from a state
school, not an Ivy League, and my undergrad was in Liberal
Studies. What can I do to make myself a more viable
candidate? What is most important for these applications?
I know that Berkeley is so competitive, but I also feel it is the
most appropriate place for me to work on my research.
Thanks in advance!
hopeful applicant
Begin by talking to faculty on the admissions committee. They
may have very specific concerns about your application. When I
talked to the admissions committee (while my application was
under consideration), I learned that they were mis-reading my
transcript, and was able to clear up a misperception and get
admitted. Depending on the information you get, you may decide
to take another course or two, better prepare for the relevant
portion of the GRE, or do whatever else is suggested might make
you more attractive as an applicant. Remember, too, that grad
programs at Berkeley get more good applicants than they have
room for, so there is some randomness in the selection process
even for those who are ''good enough.'' Simply letting the
committee know that Berkeley is your top choice (and giving
persuasive reasons why), may be enough to sway them next time.
In short, don't ask us, ask them! If that fails, do investigate
and consider other institutions. There are other excellent
programs, and you may be surprised to discover that another one
better suits you. Perhaps you should post your field of
interest and other criteria so that we could suggest good
alternatives that you may not have considered.
Anon, because I nagged my way in!
It sounds like you are doing everything right. It should not
matter where you did your undergrad, as long as you did well
and you have good recommendations from your teachers there. If
you suspect your recommendations are luke-warm, it might be
helpful to get recommendations from work supervisors or others
who will be more complementary. Have you done any paid work
that relates to your intended major? Make sure to work that
information into your personal statement. If you meet faculty
in the department of your interest, be sure to ask them their
research interests. Many times, qualified applicants are
denied because none of the faculty in the department have
similar research interests and if they can't use your research
assistance while you are a student, it's not worth their while
to have you there (though they may not tell you this straight
out). Feel free to contact me via email if you want any other
unsolicited advice.
hilmonst
Hi,
My advice is: get to know a faculty member. That person,
who might be your advisor, will also act as a sponsor and
patron during the application process. If you are still rejected
then you were probably not a good personal fit for the faculty.
It's often a very individual sort of draft at the admissions
meetings -- ''I want her to work with me'' and so forth. This is
especially true in the humanities and social sciences where
fields are specialized and you would be ''indentured'' to a
particular professor.
Good luck,
A Berkeley Prof.
I also applied once to a UC Graduate program and was not
accepted. I then followed advice to take a class in the
department through UC Extension's Concurrent Enrollment Program
(for credit, applied toward graduate requirements once
admitted). I chose a small size class where I would get the
opportunity for the professor to become well acquainted with my
work. I then asked this professor to write me a recommendation.
I reapplied and was accepted. You can take most regular
university classes through concurrent enrollment if the
instructor approves it. Good luck
Try try again
I know only what makes for a successful application in the department I
have worked in. Although good GRE scores and college grades are
important (more as a screening tool than anything else), they are by no
means the determining factor. The two things that seem to count the
most are the focus and specificity of your statement of purpose (does it
seem like this person knows what she wants well enough that she will
finish grad school in a reasonable length of time), and the match
between your research interests and those of at least one tenured
faculty member in the program. Talking to faculty in your program of
interest would probably be the most helpful step you could take right
now.
It may be too late for you to use this advice for Fall 04, but
here's what I did: I enrolled in three classes in the
department I wanted to get into through UC Extension. This is
better than auditing, because you actually do the work and get a
grade. I sat in the front, asked lots of questions, went to
office hours, and worked my a$$ off. I made sure the professors
knew who I was and how much I wanted to do graduate work in
their department. I then asked the two professors of the
classes I did best in for letters of recommendation. If you can
establish a relationship with one particular faculty member --
the one in your field of interest who you will most likely be
working closely with, that will help. You need someone with
influence in the department to say ''I want this student.''
anonymous this time
Having done graduate admissions at a Berkeley social science
dept., a few things come to my mind. First, if you have the
time, try to take some courses with some of the dept. faculty
through the Extension program -- and be impressive in those
courses. The profs. may well be willing to serve as
reccommenders, and their views will of course be taken very
seriously. (I wouldn't bother with work references -- in my
experience, those are rarely paid attention to.)
Second, you should try to talk with the faculty in your field,
and prepare well in advance, ideally with a firm idea of what
sort of work in particular you'd like to do.
Third, keep in mind that Berkeley grad school is very, very
competitive, with 3.9 GPA students from hard programs being
turned down all the time. Your application as you describe it
sounds plausible but far from a sure thing (a lot would depend
on how well ''Liberal Studies'' courses mesh with the grad
program). So you should think about applying elsewhere as well,
either to MA programs from which you might be able to jump to
Berkeley if you do well, or -- better -- full doctoral programs
at good schools not quite as competitive as Berkeley.
Berkeley professor
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