Lady Who Applied For Her PhD Program In The US, & Got Rejected By All 4 Schools, Shares How She Had To Choose Between 5 PhD Offers 3 Years After

Nigerian lady named Oluwatoyin Ajilore-Chukwuemeka has shared her career journey with few motivating words. The young lady who applied for her PhD program in the US got rejected by all 4 schools, barely 3 years after, she got 5 PhD offers and had to decide which to choose, she went further to encourage those struggling with rejection that it’s not yet their time.

Read her post below as shared on LinkedIn:

The first time I applied for PhD in the US, I got rejected by all 4 schools. It didn’t make sense. Here’s why I say so:

I had a First Class Degree and finished as the best graduating student in my department. I had 2 Masters’ Degrees, also graduating top in my classes. I had several academic awards. I had research works that I had presented at both local and international conferences.

I had 320/340 in GRE and 111/120 in TOEFL. I vividly remember that my application mentor’s response to the first draft of my statement of purpose was “Wow, Wow, Wow”. I refused to accept it was that great and sent it to 4 other persons who were PhD students/grads. Only 1 made minimal adjustments to its content. Others thought it was near perfect and only needed grammatical adjustments.

I had contacted advisors in all of the schools I applied to, except one where I was told it was not necessary. I had demonstrated leadership experience beyond school having founded, lead or being a part of different social impact projects.

So you can imagine my surprise when the rejections started rolling in. In fact, the first rejection I got was from the school that was supposed to be my safety net—my worse case scenario.

I remember a friend, also shocked, asked me “Toyin, What else did they want?”

3 years later, I had to choose between 5 PhD offers. 2 of the schools even increased their offers when they knew I was considering other places.

I remember how surreal it felt getting on calls with would-be advisors to gently break the news that I would not be coming to their school.

I just want to say to someone struggling with rejection, that sometimes it’s really not you. It’s just not time yet. As you wait, I hope you find the fortitude to stay the course and not give up. Cheering you on!

Source:Oluwatoyin Ajilore-Chukwuemeka | LinkedIn

Email: elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com