<p>I am aware that some students who, after getting rejected from a PhD program, are able to appeal and get into a school they were rejected from if they have landed a prestigious national fellowship. Can anyone verify or provide more details about how this is done?</p>
<p>You call up the school, tell them you won a fellowship and will be supported for X many years, and wait and see if they change their mind within a day or two.</p>
<p>One of my good friends from undergrad got her boyfriend in to grad school (both applied to the same program). Both of them applied, he got rejected, she got accepted. The professor she wanted to work for asked what was holding her back from accepting the offer at that school, she said her boyfriend didn’t get in. A week later her boyfriend gets a letter saying “Upon further reconsideration” he was going to be accepted.</p>
<p>Grad schools can be a bit flexible in the admissions game.</p>
<p>I would recommend writing a letter to the head of the program, and perhaps ask a connected professor/mentor to do the follow up phone call. I would say that grant is a game changer, but it’s important to handle the situation carefully.</p>