PhD program rejection.

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Well my prime school for my PhD in histroy rejected me. I'm military history and they have neither the money or the room. I'm a bit bummed but have already started looking for a new set of schools to apply to for 2014. Anyone have and good dieas?

Do research into something useful

What about the other schools you applied to...or did you just apply to the one school?

Don't get discouraged. It's hard to get into a PhD program the first time you apply. I know I didn't, but I'm in a PhD program that I really like now. In my experience learning from your mistakes is key.

Getting in is a perfect alignment of timing, hitting it off with someone in the department, and only after that come your qualifications.

My best friend is also in grad school for military history and has told me how competitive it can be. I wish you all the best there.

I applied to three schools, all three rejected my application. I'm disappointed but i'll just have to try again eh?

Applying to three schools is not very many, and often people apply to about 8 schools in order to be sure to get in.

Have you ever thought about what you want to do with a PhD in military history?

Frankly, consider the rejection a blessing.

I presume you are financing your education (USA perspective). Go out and work...put your education to some kind of use. Keep applying for PhD programs. You might find your true calling and decide the PhD isn't worth it. You might find your experience helps you get into a PhD program and enhances your ability to do well at it.

Have you checked into any military colleges? I don't know if any of these have a doctoral program, but here are their names:

University of North Georgia; Dahlonega, Georgia
Norwich University; Northfield, Vermont
Texas A&M University; College Station, Texas
The Citadel; Charleston, South Carolina
Virginia Military Institute; Lexington, Virginia
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech); Blacksburg, Virginia

It's worth a try!

I disagree with this. I am in PhD program (USA) and they are paying me to be here. I pay only my student fees and live off a stipend. I am in a research-based program. As an Aspie, I am concerned about finding a job in which I can excel. By completing my PhD I will have the ability to be in a field I enjoy and have a career that is quite Aspie friendly. Education is an opportunity and a blessing. Graduate school is certainly not for everyone, but if it is something you want, my advice is always go for it. It opens a huge number of doors. I will be putting my 9 years of college education to extremely good use at the end of all of this. I did work for two years before applying and that definitely helped me get in. If possible, try to work in a field related to what you want to be studying.

Best of luck!

I will be starting my junior year of college and I'm feeling the overwhelming pressure already for PhD programs. I'm a math major and hopefully will be graduating with honors in pure mathematics from a state school. I want to apply to top tier graduate programs in the field, which only take maybe a few hundred students, so this is the year I have to start talking to professors for recommendations and interviewing for REUs. I have the worst social anxiety and just the thought of this makes me want to die...I was the laziest person ever in high school and was unable to go out of state for college due to my social anxiety, so I'm at a disadvantage coming from a "non elite" college. I feel like graduate school is the opportunity for me to finally prove my intelligence and make my existence worth something, so if I don't get into my programs of choice, my life will be crushed.

Not sure if you'll read this, but let me make a couple of points here:
- For god's sake, enjoy your junior year and discover old and new interests of yours. Yeah, having a basic career plan is helpful. But chances of "failing" (in terms of getting into an elite PhD programme afterwards) will be incredibly high if your primary motivation for your undergrad degree is to get into a PhD programme. Enjoy learning many new things - not just maths. Enjoy yourself. And challenge yourself: socialise, train public speaking (diverse societies, toastmasters or wherever), go to parties and try to not stand in a corner all night. Talk to others. No worries, after the third beer people will not even realise what you're saying. Smile and laugh and they will, too.

- What makes you think that you will not be the "laziest person ever" in college as well?

- Last but not least, what's your ultimate purpose of a PhD in mathematics? A former flatmate of mine was enrolled for his PhD at Cambridge (UK) with a Fields Medal holder as a supervisor. He aborted the PhD after two years when he realised that he wasn't a genius. Yeah, it sounds funny. But from what I've understood and what makes much sense to me, there's really just two options for you if you want to stay in academia: a) having a flash of genius and having a huge break-through in the field which will provide you with a lifetime's reputation. You stay at a top-tier university and can do whatever you want for the rest of your life without anyone questioning you. Sounds perfect, right? The problem is, the following is much more likely to happen: you basically become a teacher and teach undergrad (and, if lucky, postgrad) students for the rest of your life.

My question is: would the latter "make your existence worth something"?

tl;dr: Don't start your Bachelor with thinking about a top-tier PhD only. Use the first one or two years of your studies to get to know yourself, to discover new subjects of interest to you and challenge yourself to succeed in social situations. If mathematics remains being your passion, go for the PhD by any means.

tbg299, I see you are starting your junior year of college. And congrats on your first two years.

One method to request recommendations is a straightforward, matter-of-fact, relatively brief email, and then following up with a phone call or visit. And yes, I find this kind of thing stressful, too, and often end up putting off. I tell myself, series of medium steps, but often that's easier said than done.

I remember years ago the Ed Psyc department at the University of Houston had a $150 'nonrefundable application fee' ? ! ?

I can see how people just can't apply to that many programs, or can't comfortably do so.