Round Two

And so it begins. Again.

The 2011-2012 application season is here. "Now wait," you might be thinking. "Applications won't even be accepted by most schools until September, at the earliest! What do you mean the application season is here?"

Ah, but you're forgetting, aren't you? Applying to graduate school in the sciences isn't quite like the process for other fields. I have to find an adviser willing to take me on as a student before I even think about applying to a school. This is a tedious process, and one I'm not enjoying any more this year than I did last year.

Last year I contacted a total of 35 individuals via email, expressing interest in their research and inquiring whether they were in a position to accept new graduate students.  Of those, I received positive responses from roughly 10 people.  These professors were suitably pleased with my research experiences and academic background, had or expected to receive funding for upcoming projects, and were interested in taking on a new student.  I continued to correspond with each of these ten individuals on and off throughout autumn.  When it came time for me to apply to schools proper, I selected the most promising of those ten people, and applied to the institutions at which they work, for a total (ultimately) of 7 applications.

You see, several of those initial responses turned out to have come from people who, after continued correspondence, seemed less than an ideal match over time. The more I communicated with those three particular individuals, the more I realized that our research interests didn't particularly overlap as well as I'd imagined, or that our personalities didn't mesh well and would likely lead to problems over time.

Regardless, I applied to 7 schools. And was summarily rejected from each.

So now the process begins anew. I would love for the process to be as easy as re-contacting those 35 individuals from last year and asking, again, if they're in a position to accept students. But it's not quite that simple. Some of these individuals I've contacted again (6). Some I haven't, because of some slight shifting in my research interests and intended foci. In these cases, my research interests and those of my first-round contacts no longer overlap (12).

Of the ten individuals I corresponded with in a positive fashion last year: The three I decided not to pursue in applications were already crossed off my list (15). One of the seven I applied to work with never communicated with me again, despite repeated efforts. He's nixed, too (16). One is no longer accepting new students (17). One I met in person at the ASM conference and found out was a total asshat (18). One works at a school which has, I've decided, a more evolutionary-based focus (as opposed to an applied ecological focus) than I'd like (19). Three I've kept in contact with and will re-apply to work with this year (22).

The others? Of my 35 original, first-round contacts, six never responded to my inquiries, despite several well-spaced, polite, repeated requests (28). Three will not accept students without a master's degree, and although I appreciate the benefits of getting an MSc first, I'd really like to go straight to PhD (31). Three were at or nearing retirement (34), and one had recently moved from a domestic institution to a small, obscure school in the far reaches of a foreign country (35).

So that leaves, in total, 9 individuals I can contact again about graduate school opportunities, which isn't anywhere near enough. I've already heard back from four that aren't accepting new students. That leaves most of my available free time to scouring the internet, reading recent research papers and digging through departmental websites, trying to find and make additional contacts with potential advisers.

It's a pain, and I really wish I'd open up my inbox one of these days to bright shafts of lights and angel choirs to find a message saying, "Yes, I'll absolutely take you on as a student next year. You're perfect for my lab!" instead of the all-too-brief and somewhat depressing, "not enough funding", "not accepting students", "going on sabbatical", or "Thanks for your interest, but..." phrases that typically catch my eye.

Hopefully, in the end, this whole process will be worth the effort, and I'll end up with a wonderful, interactive, and supportive graduate adviser.