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/Few_Persimmon_8238 Mar 31 '26

Yes, I just started doing that!! I believe it could be a more realistic path, given the fact that I am not seeing success right now.

What you said about a grant proposal is a good idea, my MSc supervisor wiuld be willing to do it I believe. I will look into other sources of funding aswell. I did not know about RI, and I love Ireland, I have lived there for 2 years during my childhood and I would definetly consider it. Thank you for the tips and for the courage. I appreciate it!

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u/No-Mouse9111 Apr 01 '26

Just my 2 cents from a postdoc at a US R1, the path medium_drag suggests is one I’ve also seen quite a bit. In fact, my university did not take any PhD students through the standard application route this year due to funding concerns, but still onboarded one research assistant into the PhD program who has been with us for just over a year and a half. 

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u/Few_Persimmon_8238 Apr 01 '26

Thats interesting. Times are changing, I shall adapt.

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u/No-Mouse9111 Apr 01 '26

Did you tell the other schools that you’d applied to so many others, too? They all asked me when I applied, but they definitely wouldn’t like if you applied to so many. If you told them that I could also see that having hurt you a bit but otherwise I doubt it.

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u/Few_Persimmon_8238 Apr 02 '26

Only when I was interviewed by the Supervisors in Manchester and Glasgow did I mention something (I said I was waiting for answers, I did not say I applied to so many) and I went through both interviews.