Applying to uni's for PhD when they turned you down last year????

S

What is everyones opinion on applying to unis again when you didnt get accepted the year before? Has anyone reapplied and been successful?

I applied for PhDs when i was in my fourth/final year of my undergrad but didnt get anywhere (although I came close at one place). I am now doing a MSc and will be applying to unis again Dec/Jan time... but is it worth reapplying to ones where:

I didnt get an interview last time
I got an interview last time but no luck

Will they mentally reject me because i didnt get anywhere last year? Especially those when i didnt even get an interview. Or should i try my hand at new unis?

P

if you have gained extra skills or msc there is no reason not to apply, that was likely to be the main reason you didnt get through last time.

K

You should definitely reapply! I am about to enter into my 2nd year of PhD at a university I was previously rejected from. Although when I first applied I had experience of my field outside my degree, it wasn't enough to get me the place. And I had applied and was interviewed for several other projects around the same time, so I was juggling too many balls. After graduation I managed to get even more experience and 6 months later I applied again and got it. I think once you've graduated you have a better idea of what you want from a project and where your interests lie, and I think that comes across in the interview. Don't worry about prejudice, you will simply have to tick a box on the form saying you've applied previously in 200x and they'll see that with additional experience you are now even more determined to undertake the project. Good luck!

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