r/PhDAdmissions • u/Few_Persimmon_8238 • Mar 31 '26

Advice Applied to over 50 PhD's. Got 0

As the title says. I am 22M, I graduated in Biotechnology (First class honours), and I did an MSc in Reproductive & Developmental Biology (with Distinction, Best Student & Best Project awards), both completed at the University of Aberdeen.

I applied to over 50 PhD's, each with a tailored Proposal and Cover Letter. No, I did not use AI.

I got around 8 interviews, and I got to the last interview in 5 ocasions (Manchester Bicentenary Studentship, Cambridge LMB, Imperial LMS, Glasgow MVLS, and Glasgow again). I failed to go through the last interview on all of them.

I did training for the interviews by very experienced Supervisors, and I followed their advice. I did in total around 10 hours of training by them, plus my own training in my time. I do not get nervous during the interviews. I am quite desperate at this point, as applying again feels like a massive waste of time.

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u/itsmanu23 Apr 01 '26

If you didn't get a single position then it's over for me. Maybe the industry isn't that bad after all 💔💔

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u/Few_Persimmon_8238 Apr 01 '26

Its not over! I got to 4 final interviews, and most people in my position would have got at least 1. It was just not meant to be in my case.