In 2015, I applied to ten American universities for a PhD.
Got rejected by all ten.
Here is the reason (I think) I got rejected:
Got rejected by all ten.
Here is the reason (I think) I got rejected:
The main reason I couldn't make it was my lack of social capital.
Social capital is the network of relationships a person has at any given time.
Social capital is the network of relationships a person has at any given time.
If I have a friend who can lend me their car, I have more social capital than someone whose friend cannot because their friend doesn't own a car.
Often social capital is a function of one's social class.
The higher one's social class the more social capital they have.
Often social capital is a function of one's social class.
The higher one's social class the more social capital they have.
Universities often say they admit students on merit.
What admission committees actually judge is not merit but the social capital of a student.
The more social capital a student has the higher their chances of getting admitted.
What admission committees actually judge is not merit but the social capital of a student.
The more social capital a student has the higher their chances of getting admitted.
When I applied to various American universities in 2015, I had a decent research proposal, and a reasonable GRE score (in the top quartile).
But I was a first-gen, working-class student from a third-world country.
I had zero social capital and hence zero chances of getting in.
But I was a first-gen, working-class student from a third-world country.
I had zero social capital and hence zero chances of getting in.
Now I could've acquired social capital by going for an undergrad at an American college or even a private college within Pakistan.
That college would've provided with opportunities to build a network for myself.
That college would've provided with opportunities to build a network for myself.
But I grew up in a poor, working-class family I didn't have enough resources to go to college.
Even better option would've been to get born in a well-to-do, middle to high income family.
Even better option would've been to get born in a well-to-do, middle to high income family.
A vast majority of decision makers in American academia come from elite backgrounds and they reproduce the same eliteness.
These days American academia is big of diversity.
Gather rich kids from Black, South Asian, and Latina communities and you have a "diverse" campus.
First-gen, working-class students...well... 🤷
Gather rich kids from Black, South Asian, and Latina communities and you have a "diverse" campus.
First-gen, working-class students...well... 🤷
After reading ten rejection letters and watching my hard-earned money spent on application fees going down the drain, I applied for a Fulbright scholarship.
Got rejected from there too.
But this was totally on me.
Got rejected from there too.
But this was totally on me.
I applied again in 2016 and this time I made it. Yay!
If you hang around a barber shop long enough, you're going to get a haircut sooner or later.
If you hang around a barber shop long enough, you're going to get a haircut sooner or later.
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2. Follow me @MushtaqBilalPhD for regular threads on academic writing.
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