My first rejection letter!

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I applied to PhD schools a while ago and just now heard back from the first place. They rejected me, via e-mail. Not even on some sort of waiting list. No, they just threw my app straight into the trash. I wont be surprised now if I don't get in anywhere.

I've got everything that matters. High GPA, good recommendations, research, tons of classes that go beyond my degree requirement, also tons of classes in technical fields outside of my major. I wouldn't be surprised if they just thought my essay was a complete joke, though.

I feel disappointed and nervous. But I also feel very angry. It's like this giant black box that you pour tons of work into then they just say "nope, too bad" without a reason why.

Anyone else awaiting replies from schools?

I have yet to apply to grad school but I felt the same frustration when applying to undergrad. One thing I've learned is that the admission boards really want to see sustenance of you as a person in the essay. This might be tougher for aspies as many of us find expressing ourselves difficult.

Don't worry, it seems you are doing well academically. If it really bothers you, try asking the admissions board or a counselor how you can make your application stronger. Sometimes people are so driven toward a certain school, that they completely shut out other options.

It's not the end of the world. I'm already a year behind on academics but I will try however long it takes to get into vet school. If that masters program is what you really want to do, you'll get it.

G'luck on future endeavors.

I got rejected from one graduate school about three weeks ago(I was applying to a MS program). This is a fact of life- Don't get angry about one rejected application. I am happy that I am currently employed and am waiting two or so years before I go to graduate school rather than rushing into what seems to be the subject I am interested in(I work in computer software).

I'm quite a ways away from applying to grad school, but the advice I would give is to not lose all hope from one rejection.

The personal statement is very important too. I don't know what your experience was like, but a lot of the teachers I've had so far in college, especially the English professors, would love to help students with their application essays. So maybe you could find someone to help you, if you haven't done so already.

One professor spent an entire class session on how to write a personal statement. Here's some of what he said:
-be clear
-be specific
-don't make things up
-allow time for revisions
-BE AUDIENCE-CONSCIOUS

Well update: I just got accepted to a very nice school (top of my list!) a few days ago. It must have been a clerical error, but it's too late now they're stuck with me

I take it as my right to get angry about things even if I know they're unavoidable. It's part of what keeps me motivated. Otherwise I'm a very lazy person, haha.



Well that's all fairly obvious. But the snag is that it's hard to be audience conscious when you don't know who's going to be reading your letter aside from the fact that they'll be a professor in your field. But that says little about their personality or what writing styles and values they prefer.

But oh well, I got lucky.