As many applicants to undergraduate and graduate school programs understand from firsthand experience, some admission cycles are more competitive than others. People may wish to ride out hard economic times in academia, and the increase in applications can make it more difficult to be admitted to programs and be awarded financial aid. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic consequences the pandemic has created, many people have applied to college and graduate school, and this can impact their financial aid. However, if you keep a few things in mind, applying to schools during competitive times can be easier.
Wait a Year or Two
One of the most important strategies when applying to schools during competitive times is to wait a year or two before applying to a given program. It is possible that conditions will change after a few application cycles and that a candidate will have a better chance at being admitted to a program with substantial financial aid. Applicants sometimes cannot wait to apply to school because they do not wish to waste time with other pursuits. However, people have a great deal of flexibility when deciding when to apply to graduate school and other programs.
I applied to law school during the height of the great recession, and it was extremely difficult to get admitted to top schools and to win scholarships and other financial aid. If I could do it all over again, I might have worked, gained valuable employment experiences, and applied to graduate school at a later time. A few years after I applied to law school, conditions changed and it became easier to gain admission to top schools with substantial scholarships. This could have impacted my bottom line, and anyone able to wait a few years to apply to programs should consider waiting for more favorable admissions conditions.
Apply to More Schools
Another critical tactic of applying to schools during competitive times to apply to more schools than usual. Applicants often use admissions data for previous classes of students admitted to a school to determine the programs to which they might be competitive and to which they should apply. However, during competitive times, it is possible that such statistics may not accurately predict the chances someone may have at being admitted to a school.
As a result, it is important to apply to more schools so that a candidate has additional options if they are not admitted to programs for which they believe they may be competitive. Moreover, it is possible that applying to more schools will yield more scholarship offers, which can be important when making the difficult choice between attending a high-ranked school without financial assistance or a lower-ranked school with scholarships and other aid.
Show Interest in the School
It is also important when applying to schools during competitive times to show a particular interest in the school to which you are applying. When schools have numerous applicants, they might be hesitant to admit a cookie-cutter applicant who does not have a specific interest in a given university. However, schools might be more inclined to admit a candidate who really wants to attend that given school.
As a result, applicants should note in personal statements why they want to attend a particular university. Such statements should not be generic and should be based on personal experiences and other information that is likely to persuade admissions officials. Moreover, if an applicant is waitlisted, it is important to write a letter of continued interest noting how the applicant is still interested in attending a given school and why. It is important to distinguish yourself in any way possible when applying to schools during competitive times, and showing specific interest in a program in a personal statement or letter of continued interest can have a substantial impact on admissions decisions.
Be Prepared for Employment Issues
Another important consideration to evaluate when applying to schools during competitive times is that this could impact employment outcomes and other parts of your careers. When there is more people attending graduate programs, and a higher caliber of applicant in such programs, it might be more difficult to apply for jobs after graduation. This is because there is often a limited amount of job openings in a given field regardless of the amount of people who are in academic programs to enter such fields.
This is exactly what happened during and after the Great Recession in the legal profession. Many people earned law degrees to ride out hard economic times in academia, and then these same people had issues with the employment market. Years after graduation, some lawyers still felt the impact of a competitive admissions cycle because they were disadvantaged earlier in their careers because of this situation and this left them hobbled for years in their vocational aspirations. There is not much applicants can do in order to deal with this issue concerning competitive admissions cycles, but applicants should base their decisions upon potential issues they may face long after they apply to a school and graduate.
All told, admissions cycles change just like economic conditions and everything else, and sometimes, admissions cycles are far more competitive than in prior years. With some planning, applying to school during competitive times can be easier and applicants should understand all of the consequences of applying for admission during such competitive periods.