What Has Been Your Biggest Challenge In Applying To Grad School?

[DrKT]

When I was applying to grad school, I remember that it was kind of easy to get lost in the process. What has been the biggest challenge for you?

Finding reputable information? Getting advice from someone who's been there? Knowing *specifics* about what you need to do to strengthen your application? Knowing what to write about in your SOP? Or anything else?

What would you find helpful in going through the application process?

Air out your challenges here!

Edited April 28, 2011 by DrKT

[MoJingly]

(welcome!)

For me, it was trying to actually figure out HOW to do what I WANT to do. And then, finding an institution that had the desire to explore my path with me. It worked out in the end!

[mechengr2000]

You MUST be SHREWD. These schools are looking out for themselves, not for you. You must balance being shrewd (getting the info you need) and being respectful of them so they dont feel insulted. Look out for yourself. Follow up on everything

[Strangefox]

The biggest challenge was to start and to believe that I can do it. Then it was easier and easier every day

[neuropsych76]

For me, I was torn between clinical psych PhD programs and experimental psych PhD programs before the application season started. I decided late that I wanted to go for the experimental PhD (so glad i made this choice) but that put me back a bit because I didn't have enough time to prepare what schools I wanted to apply for and making my applications look nice.

I ended up applying to some schools that I really didn't even want to go to. So, I would have saved time and money if I was able to better prepare myself for the application process.

I spent countless hours researching the grad app process but because I was focusing on two different types of programs for a while, it still set me back.

Nonetheless, I was accepted into one of my top choices

[DrKT]

(welcome!)

For me, it was trying to actually figure out HOW to do what I WANT to do. And then, finding an institution that had the desire to explore my path with me. It worked out in the end!

Thanks for the warm welcome!

So.... do tell... how did you get to the point of figuring out how to do what you wanted to do? That's probably one of the hardest things to do - choose and commit to one path!

[DrKT]

You MUST be SHREWD. These schools are looking out for themselves, not for you. You must balance being shrewd (getting the info you need) and being respectful of them so they dont feel insulted. Look out for yourself. Follow up on everything

Nice!

Now I remember that my university didn't have a whole LOT of resources on campus as far as getting information about grad school. How did you go about finding what you needed? And where? Did you actually talk to someone in admissions or what? Spill the beans! lol

[DrKT]

The biggest challenge was to start and to believe that I can do it. Then it was easier and easier every day

Agreed. You ever wonder how many people fail to get into grad school because they don't have that "All I Do Is Win" mindset? It can be a mental trip to keep the faith and have confidence that you're doing the right thing and stay the course to follow your dreams, you know?

Now what advice, if any, would you offer to someone who is having trouble with developing that positive mindset?

Edited April 29, 2011 by DrKT

[DrKT]

For me, I was torn between clinical psych PhD programs and experimental psych PhD programs before the application season started. I decided late that I wanted to go for the experimental PhD (so glad i made this choice) but that put me back a bit because I didn't have enough time to prepare what schools I wanted to apply for and making my applications look nice.

I ended up applying to some schools that I really didn't even want to go to. So, I would have saved time and money if I was able to better prepare myself for the application process.

I spent countless hours researching the grad app process but because I was focusing on two different types of programs for a while, it still set me back.

Nonetheless, I was accepted into one of my top choices

Hurray!!!!

Part of my story is applying to grad school.... um lets just say more than a couple of times. The last time (the time I got in to a GREAT schooll) I had applied to clinical and developmental psych Ph.D. programs and it's funny.... after all those times applying to clinical programs, I did get into a couple, and ended up choosing developmental instead. All that time before I had been hell bent on getting into a clinical program. Funny how things work out sometimes.

[neuropsych76]

Hurray!!!!

Part of my story is applying to grad school.... um lets just say more than a couple of times. The last time (the time I got in to a GREAT schooll) I had applied to clinical and developmental psych Ph.D. programs and it's funny.... after all those times applying to clinical programs, I did get into a couple, and ended up choosing developmental instead. All that time before I had been hell bent on getting into a clinical program. Funny how things work out sometimes.

haha i'm glad i'm not the only one who was torn between different psych programs! i was still considering clinical psych as late as September/October this year and started to fill some clinical applications out but then i just exclusively focused on experimental psych. congratulations on getting into a great school though

[Amalia222]

Sorry, but the whole process was a pain in the A**. Applying to grad school really, really SUCKS. The whole process is excruciating and designed to make even an IRS processor scratch his head.

First there's choosing which school to apply to. This takes HOURS. You scour websites, ranking lists, and try to sift through endless web-pages of "we are so awesome" to unearth the true situation underneath. Trying to find professors to match your area of interest at each school is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Then there's the applications themselves, with their endless forms. Isn't it fun when they want you to send ONE application to the office of graduate studies, and another to the department? Isn't it fun when they require you to send all materials to a third party, who then must forward the materials to the school, at additional cost to your pocketbook?

And don't even get me started on the SOPs. It took me months, MONTHS, to write anything decent, but even then I had to write 10 different versions, one for each school I applied to. One school wanted 1000 words. Another, 500. Another wanted TWO SOPs, one for teaching and one for everything else. Wonderful. I think I had 50 different SOPs on my hard drive by the time I was done.

Then there's the exorbitant application fees, the complicated transcript requests (one school rejected my transcript because it had been printed out more than 30 days before I sent the application. I graduated TEN YEARS AGO. Seriously?).

The worst, however---- the absolute WORST for me was the letters of recommendation. I graduated in 2002. It is 2011. My old professors had A. retired B. moved to Guam or C. did not have the faintest memory of who I was. I was forced to start over from SCRATCH, taking community college classes just to get letters. That really, really sucked.

So......I guess what I'm saying is, the whole application process is like a sadistic obstacle course from hell. But was it worth it? I'll let ya'll know in 5 years.

[beanbagchairs]

Yep...my biggest obstacle was CHASING my LOR writers around to make sure they upload their letters ON TIME. Two submitted hours before the deadline. Boy, I was sure I'd have a heart attack.

[Kitkat]

When I was applying to grad school, I remember that it was kind of easy to get lost in the process. What has been the biggest challenge for you?

Finding reputable information? Getting advice from someone who's been there? Knowing *specifics* about what you need to do to strengthen your application? Knowing what to write about in your SOP? Or anything else?

What would you find helpful in going through the application process?

Air out your challenges here!

So while I have not actually applied yet, I'm doing so this fall for next year, but I will tell you about my adventures in the process so far. When I got my BS, I still didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. Worked for a while, thought about it for a while. Now I have a better idea of what I actually DO want to do, am going back and doing post back work that is giving me more background for what I want to do. Now I have been getting ready to apply for grad school. My main concerns right now are, 1) who to get as my third recommendation letter( one is from the PI in the lab I am working in, another reason why I went for my post bacc was to get research experience, and the other is my adviser, who I am taking some grad classes with this fall as well), 2) my SoP and 3) finalizing my list of schools that I want to apply to.

Part of the reason for starting my SoP so soon is to help me focus what I specifically want to do in grad school. It's been helping alot. Right now I am doing just a general focus on what I want to do, with the plan of what I like in each school that I am applying to. Being so focused on what I want to do has been hugely helpful in figuring out what I am looking for in a program and what I want to do for future research, so I am hoping this will focus the more individual parts of the SoP, and why I wanted those programs/labs in the first place.

My biggest problem about the whole process so far has been how long it took me to figure out what I wanted to do with myself, and how little there advice there is early on in the process. How many people know that what they want to do is work in research when they are 18? If you are lucky you know in you're junior year, and you might have already built in a handicap/problem in your application that you now have to explain away, and in many cases that is if you're lucky. This is not to say that everyone is like that. Some people know when they start. Some people do very well the first time around. But then there is still the lack of advice. Unless you are lucky enough to have someone tell you to get experience in a lab or what ever it is you need to get your hands dirty and get experience, you're starting to be left behind.

[bgreenster]

So while I have not actually applied yet, I'm doing so this fall for next year, but I will tell you about my adventures in the process so far. When I got my BS, I still didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. Worked for a while, thought about it for a while. Now I have a better idea of what I actually DO want to do, am going back and doing post back work that is giving me more background for what I want to do. Now I have been getting ready to apply for grad school. My main concerns right now are, 1) who to get as my third recommendation letter( one is from the PI in the lab I am working in, another reason why I went for my post bacc was to get research experience, and the other is my adviser, who I am taking some grad classes with this fall as well), 2) my SoP and 3) finalizing my list of schools that I want to apply to.

Part of the reason for starting my SoP so soon is to help me focus what I specifically want to do in grad school. It's been helping alot. Right now I am doing just a general focus on what I want to do, with the plan of what I like in each school that I am applying to. Being so focused on what I want to do has been hugely helpful in figuring out what I am looking for in a program and what I want to do for future research, so I am hoping this will focus the more individual parts of the SoP, and why I wanted those programs/labs in the first place.

My biggest problem about the whole process so far has been how long it took me to figure out what I wanted to do with myself, and how little there advice there is early on in the process. How many people know that what they want to do is work in research when they are 18? If you are lucky you know in you're junior year, and you might have already built in a handicap/problem in your application that you now have to explain away, and in many cases that is if you're lucky. This is not to say that everyone is like that. Some people know when they start. Some people do very well the first time around. But then there is still the lack of advice. Unless you are lucky enough to have someone tell you to get experience in a lab or what ever it is you need to get your hands dirty and get experience, you're starting to be left behind.

Agreed on quite a few counts. Having to plan my SOP has really helped me come up with EXACTLY what I want to do, instead of my earlier thought process of "I want to work for NGOs"... now I know which kinds of NGOs, in what field, and what I need from certain programs.

One thing that has been difficult for me is letting go of some schools that I had in my mind as where I wanted to go as well as the opposite. For example, I really want to go to UGA because they have a great program (MPA) my fiance and I really want to move back to Athens (I lived there briefly, and it's where we met) and I have a mental attachment to the school since it's where my sister is finishing undergrad. However, no matter how hard I'm pushing it, I can't find a good fit because they don't have much to offer on the international NGO front. On the other hand, Duke is proving to be one of the best options for me, but I don't care much for the school, partly because I went to UVA for undergrad and we're academic/athletic rivals It sounds silly, but this is something I'm having to mentally overcome.

ANYWAY, I also agree with Kitkat about the deciding what you want to do difficulty. I honestly had no idea in undergrad, and only decided after graduating. In fact, I never thought I would want to go to graduate school, so I didn't worry about sucking up to professors or having the best GPA of all time, and I only did an internship that interested me (but has no relation to anything I've ever studied). So now, I'm having to overcome an average GPA and weak academic LORs, which is frustrating because there's not much to do. I'll be taking an online course (can't take much more because I'm poor!) and my professional references are fantastic (I'm 5 years out of school) but it's stressful to think that what I did almost 10 years ago as a teenager is making my life difficult now that I'm a pseudo-responsible adult.

[Mal83]

Totally in agreement with the "sadistic obstacle course" thing. I feel that first and foremost for most of us what makes the application process, from start to finish, so difficult is that we simply want to get in...obviously, but we really want it, we're achievers, we're driven and motivated to go farther than others. Getting an acceptance holds a great deal of significance for us not only because we want to advance our education and careers, but also because it's some sort of validation of what we've done so far...not getting in doesn't define your self worth, but let's face it, we all kind of feel that way during the height and frenzy of the process. It's the significance of the outcome that makes it so emotionally arduous. If it's one of those "eh, I'll just see what happens" kind of things then of course you're not going to be so stressed out by it. But for me, it's practically everything, I hate everything about my current situation and grad school is my ticket out so I can move on with my life how and where I want to. So each step was a royal pain in the ass. I knew what I wanted to do and the location I wanted to do it in, so that wasn't really an issue. It was the uncertainty of how I stack up against everyone else, the unbelievable competitiveness...after all of this am I really going to get in? If I don't I don't know what the hell I'm going to do. So those questions, along with fantasies of being a productive happy student at my dream school, seeping into every waking thought made for a miserable 7 or so months.

I decided I wanted to pursue grad school back in July and I guess I really dove into the applications in September/October. I was excited and ready for it when I first started, but as I got into the months of studying for the GRE I started to get stressed out. I don't even want to rehash that nightmare other then it was AWFULNESS like I never even imagined...that sort of thing is just not my strong suit. I generally embraced it as just something else I had to do, but I couldn't wrap my mind around relearning 4 years of high school math in a matter of months just to add some other number to the already large application package required by grad schools. But anyway, when I was satisfied with my OK score the second time around I did have a sense of relief and it was a small victory. From there I figured everything else would be easy...haha. I sort of liked working on my SOP, however like for many others, garnering LORs was scary. I had 2 professors in mind from the get-go, plus I already had one from my supervisor from the Peace Corps. Well, I just sent out those little emails to my profs assuming that they'd both be happy and ready to do them only find that while one was, the other just said "it's good to hear from you, but I'm doing enough of those already, please ask someone else." That stopped me in my tracks, here it was, am I really not going to get anyone to do this, something beyond my control will throw this whole thing off? The "I'm not in control of this aspect of my application" thing is very unnerving. I had no idea who else to ask...I had graduated back in '07 and I only spent 2 years there because I did my first half at a community college. I emailed another professor but he never got back to me...other than that one I didn't even really remember anyone else, well I did, but I hated one of them. I had taken 3 major classes with the one who said no, she wrote me a letter for the Peace Corps even...I couldn't believe it, I was beside myself. So I thought and I thought, the only thing I could come up with was to get in touch with one of my community college profs, the one with whom I took 3 classes and was head of the department...and also a ph.D. That was so long ago that I was scared he would have no idea who I was or even still accessible. Plus I was unsure of how an LOR from a cc prof would be considered. I found he was still teaching there and with no other choice I emailed him...he said yes and it was nice getting back in touch with him as he was someone that influenced me in my course of study. So after finally securing all letters, it was again a sigh of relief and a small victory.

But...the relief didn't last long as it got closer and closer to the deadlines and they weren't submitted. I was in panic mode when one of them didn't submit until I guess about 7 hours before the deadline...I was sending desperate emails to him because I wasn't getting anything from him...finally he let me know that he was struggling to get them all done but to rest assured that it would be in. It got done. So when all 3 were in I was satisfied. I guess that was generally the end of the application process for me as I submitted what I had to before hand. There was some sense of relief when it was done...but that didn't last long...

The waiting began, I thought I'd happily go about my days at work just content to know that I was all done with the application process and be happily waiting for the acceptance letters to come in...WRONG. I was that way for a few days, then I was miserable and stressed out, anxious, and obsessively searching forums like this for information. I started to get sick and tired of everything, my job, living with my parents, and also waiting, waiting to start my life. It was really bringing me down. Of course the emotional frenzy kicked into high gear in March when I knew I'd hear from my dream school...March 11th...waitlisted..was totally crushed. But the crazy thing is that I got over much quicker than I thought I would, I started to experience relief, like some weight had been lifted, it wasn't the answer I wanted, but it was a result. At the time it was like a rejection because the letter said I wouldn't know anything more until mid-May...so I put it to rest like it was a reject. But then I started getting much more obsessive about my 2nd choice and seeing post after post here about acceptances was really freaking me out. Waiting for the mail every single day like my life depended on it. That mental battle to stay sane was really hard. I tend to try to prepare myself for the worst, that's tough when you're hopeful and want something so bad.

Believe it or not, for about a week or so after getting my acceptance I felt a sense of loss...like "what do I do now?" I don't have much more to obsess about, I don't have to wait and hope for a packet in the mail or dread a small regular envelope. I don't have to troll around forums and sites for information. Well I moved on to obsessing about financial aid, if I didn't get those loans I wouldn't be going anywhere...I had borrowed close to the limit as an undergrad so I was nervous, plus I was confused about tuition costs and the Grad Plus Loan due to the lack of current information on the school's website...after many emails back and forth with the financial aid office I finally got it and finally got everything that I need to go....phew. It's only been a few days that I finally have been really at ease and just flat out happier, not stressed or anxious. I'm more than ready to get the hell out of my job, but even that's more tolerable now. I'm registered for classes and my financial aid is secure...it kind of makes me tear up when I allow myself to stew in that thought...it's nice. We should be proud of ourselves just for having the perseverance to complete the application process. Months and months of effort for something that might not even pan out says a lot about us.

Edited April 30, 2011 by Mal83

[bgreenster]

<br /> I sort of liked working on my SOP, however like for many others, garnering LORs was scary. I had 2 professors in mind from the get-go, plus I already had one from my supervisor from the Peace Corps. Well, I just sent out those little emails to my profs assuming that they'd both be happy and ready to do them only find that while one was, the other just said &quot;it's good to hear from you, but I'm doing enough of those already, please ask someone else.&quot; That stopped me in my tracks, here it was, am I really not going to get anyone to do this, something beyond my control will throw this whole thing off? The &quot;I'm not in control of this aspect of my application&quot; thing is very unnerving. I had no idea who else to ask...I had graduated back in '07 and I only spent 2 years there because I did my first half at a community college. I emailed another professor but he never got back to me...other than that one I didn't even really remember anyone else, well I did, but I hated one of them. I had taken 3 major classes with the one who said no, she wrote me a letter for the Peace Corps even...I couldn't believe it, I was beside myself. So I thought and I thought, the only thing I could come up with was to get in touch with one of my community college profs, the one with whom I took 3 classes and was head of the department...and also a ph.D. That was so long ago that I was scared he would have no idea who I was or even still accessible. Plus I was unsure of how an LOR from a cc prof would be considered. I found he was still teaching there and with no other choice I emailed him...he said yes and it was nice getting back in touch with him as he was someone that influenced me in my course of study. So after finally securing all letters, it was again a sigh of relief and a small victory.<br /><br />But...the relief didn't last long as it got closer and closer to the deadlines and they weren't submitted. I was in panic mode when one of them didn't submit until I guess about 7 hours before the deadline...I was sending desperate emails to him because I wasn't getting anything from him...finally he let me know that he was struggling to get them all done but to rest assured that it would be in. It got done. So when all 3 were in I was satisfied. <br />

<br /><br /><br />

Lordy, Mal83, the similarities continue.

I am so incredibly stressed out about the LORs right now. I don't even want to contemplate what the deadline time is going to be like! In anticipation of this, I'm trying to get things taken of as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the rec forms aren't available until later this summer. One rec, also from my PC program manager is going to be great, although she needs to write it this summer because our trainees get in late September, school starts (I'm TEFL) AND my group finished up late fall. Needless to say, she won't have time at that point, so I'm messaging schools to find out when the applications will become available.

Add to that, I emailed two professors - my advisor and the woman I interned with - about possibly writing recs for me and I haven't heard a response from either of them. It's been a few weeks, and I'm torn because I don't want to bother them and it seems silly to ask again in case they read it and chose not to reply, but also I'm finding it hard to believe that I am being deliberately ignored. However, I'm not sure who else I would want to ask! I have another professional reference who would definitely write one for me, but finding another academic one is beyond difficult. My undergrad was big and most of my contact was with TAs so my options are frustratingly limited. I understand the need for reference letters but I wish they weren't so danged important. If I were in the States, I would take a class and get to know a prof, but that's not an option while I'm still in the PC. Sigh....

[DrKT]

Sorry, but the whole process was a pain in the A**. Applying to grad school really, really SUCKS. The whole process is excruciating and designed to make even an IRS processor scratch his head.

First there's choosing which school to apply to. This takes HOURS. You scour websites, ranking lists, and try to sift through endless web-pages of "we are so awesome" to unearth the true situation underneath. Trying to find professors to match your area of interest at each school is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Then there's the applications themselves, with their endless forms. Isn't it fun when they want you to send ONE application to the office of graduate studies, and another to the department? Isn't it fun when they require you to send all materials to a third party, who then must forward the materials to the school, at additional cost to your pocketbook?

And don't even get me started on the SOPs. It took me months, MONTHS, to write anything decent, but even then I had to write 10 different versions, one for each school I applied to. One school wanted 1000 words. Another, 500. Another wanted TWO SOPs, one for teaching and one for everything else. Wonderful. I think I had 50 different SOPs on my hard drive by the time I was done.

Then there's the exorbitant application fees, the complicated transcript requests (one school rejected my transcript because it had been printed out more than 30 days before I sent the application. I graduated TEN YEARS AGO. Seriously?).

The worst, however---- the absolute WORST for me was the letters of recommendation. I graduated in 2002. It is 2011. My old professors had A. retired B. moved to Guam or C. did not have the faintest memory of who I was. I was forced to start over from SCRATCH, taking community college classes just to get letters. That really, really sucked.

So......I guess what I'm saying is, the whole application process is like a sadistic obstacle course from hell. But was it worth it? I'll let ya'll know in 5 years.

Awww man!!!! I can definitely hear the frustration in this post. And you know what? The entire process is definitely crazy for someone fresh out of undergrad, but hell, you're right.... 9 years later God only knows what some of your old professors are doing, and I'm sure they've seen thousands of new students in the interim. I would definitely say that the process is crazy if you're returning to school.

How did you manage your time while going through this entire ordeal? I'm just going to assume that you were working at the same time as preparing all of these SOPs and ordering transcripts and chasing down people for LORs.

[DrKT]

Yep...my biggest obstacle was CHASING my LOR writers around to make sure they upload their letters ON TIME. Two submitted hours before the deadline. Boy, I was sure I'd have a heart attack.

I've been on the other side of this equation. I had a few students ask me for LORs and this may sound like high treason but sometimes there was just so much stuff going on that I forgot . I actually told my students to keep harassing me to complete them - you know, just in case. I never submitted that a letter that close to the deadline though. You MUST have been on pins and needles!!!!

[DrKT]

Yeah, I also remember there being no easy way to find out which professors at which universities were studying what I was interested in. At the end of the day I ended up going university by university and searching online.

Yeah. That whole process erased so much time off of my life.

I guess I also under-calculated how much TOTAL time it would take to make sure that *everything* was in order. If that whole research phase was killer, then the actual pulling together the entire application was a whole 'nother story!

[Kitkat]

<br /><br /><br />

Lordy, Mal83, the similarities continue.

I am so incredibly stressed out about the LORs right now. I don't even want to contemplate what the deadline time is going to be like! In anticipation of this, I'm trying to get things taken of as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the rec forms aren't available until later this summer. One rec, also from my PC program manager is going to be great, although she needs to write it this summer because our trainees get in late September, school starts (I'm TEFL) AND my group finished up late fall. Needless to say, she won't have time at that point, so I'm messaging schools to find out when the applications will become available.

Add to that, I emailed two professors - my advisor and the woman I interned with - about possibly writing recs for me and I haven't heard a response from either of them. It's been a few weeks, and I'm torn because I don't want to bother them and it seems silly to ask again in case they read it and chose not to reply, but also I'm finding it hard to believe that I am being deliberately ignored. However, I'm not sure who else I would want to ask! I have another professional reference who would definitely write one for me, but finding another academic one is beyond difficult. My undergrad was big and most of my contact was with TAs so my options are frustratingly limited. I understand the need for reference letters but I wish they weren't so danged important. If I were in the States, I would take a class and get to know a prof, but that's not an option while I'm still in the PC. Sigh....

From what I have gathered, asking for LORs around September is a good time to get them. I understand wanting to getting them done sooner, but maybe this time scale would be good for finding more people to write you and LOR? I mean I know the feeling of wanting to ask people early to see if they are willing to write you one, and if not, still have enough to find some one new to write you one. But there is also the problem is that if you ask too soon that they forget somewhere between the time that you ask and the time that it is due. A lot of schools ask that the LORs get sent straight to them and not through the student who is applying. And I completely understand not having enough contact with people who are in a good position to write you a LOR. It's always a problem at big schools and in large programs.

[Mal83]

<br /><br /><br />

Lordy, Mal83, the similarities continue.

I am so incredibly stressed out about the LORs right now. I don't even want to contemplate what the deadline time is going to be like! In anticipation of this, I'm trying to get things taken of as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the rec forms aren't available until later this summer. One rec, also from my PC program manager is going to be great, although she needs to write it this summer because our trainees get in late September, school starts (I'm TEFL) AND my group finished up late fall. Needless to say, she won't have time at that point, so I'm messaging schools to find out when the applications will become available.

Add to that, I emailed two professors - my advisor and the woman I interned with - about possibly writing recs for me and I haven't heard a response from either of them. It's been a few weeks, and I'm torn because I don't want to bother them and it seems silly to ask again in case they read it and chose not to reply, but also I'm finding it hard to believe that I am being deliberately ignored. However, I'm not sure who else I would want to ask! I have another professional reference who would definitely write one for me, but finding another academic one is beyond difficult. My undergrad was big and most of my contact was with TAs so my options are frustratingly limited. I understand the need for reference letters but I wish they weren't so danged important. If I were in the States, I would take a class and get to know a prof, but that's not an option while I'm still in the PC. Sigh....

Ha, indeed...I too was TEFL. As soon as those form are available get them out to whoever you can. That was my mistake, made out of ignorance, I waited until November...I thought that was plenty of time. I had no idea it was going to be that painful. I was horrified when it was the day of the deadline and it still wasn't done, I mean I started freaking out a few weeks before because I just wasn't hearing from him at all, he said he had a ton of them to do and I understood, but man just keep me informed..when I email you, reassure me you haven't forgotten and you know when the deadline is...that's all I need. But if you're asking around now and the forms aren't even available yet then you are still in very good shape. See here's what I do when I don't get an email response and it's important to me...send the exact same email again after I can't take waiting anymore, because you're right, you're probably not being deliberately ignored but you've probably been forgotten, that's just the nature of email, it's really easy to put it aside and truly forget about it. When I do the resend I just put at the top, "not sure if you got my first email, but just in case, I was really hoping you'd be able to....yada yada...," something like that. They'll probably have some memory of it and then they know you mean business and will be much more likely to get back to you. If a few weeks have gone by then it's time to resend. You have nothing to loose, if they don't want to do it they'll tell you as much the second time, it's not like they'll go from wanting to do it for you and then not because you sent them another email about it weeks later.

[studentaffairsgrad]

I agree with what other people said about the LORs. The people who wrote mine were amazing and had everything in on time, but I am a bit of a control freak, and it killed me to have such a big part of my application process in the hands of someone else. It turned out ok though!

I would say it was tough in the early part of the process, b/c I had been out of school a year, and didn't know a ton of people in higher education who had gone to grad school within the last 10 years. My former supervisor who ended helping me out a ton lived on the other side of the country, so that was hard trying to navigate all the unfamiliar processes of grad school application with someone out of state. It was way easier for my friends who were still in school to have all the people they needed right there.

Lastly, the biggest headache for me, was the conflicting info one of the schools had on their website. They had 3 different addresses you were supposed to send your stuff, and every time I called to clarify, I talked to a different person who said something different. In one place it said your SOP was 2 pages, in another 5. After I sent all of my materials to my LOR writers, I found in another place on the school's website that there was a recomendation for that they needed to send in with their LORs, which wasn't mentioned in the checklist of the actual department's site. So then I had to mail out the forms, as well new addressed envelopes, which was a pain. There was a bunch of other stuff that was wrong on the website too. The worst part, was when I called in to clarify their mess, they were actually really rude to me. Some lady chewed me out for talking to fast on a message I left her. I just wanted to reach through the phone and punch her, seeing as they were the ones inconveniencing me with their poor/lazy work.

Yes, I am still bitter about it

[Herbie]

Deciding between reputation and research correlations. I feel bad for turning down UNC, but what I realized during the application season is that I don't even have my feet wet, don't understand much about office bureaucracy, national program discourse, etc. Undergrad made it easy to just go to class. Now I have to understand the institution, research directives while juggling the expectations of professors and myself. What I need is a great advisor, who realizes I'm a piece of work. Part of the difficulty was impassively suggesting my n00bishness in e-mails with faculty and grads.

[OleMissRebGoinNorth]

I definitely agree with what all the previous posters have said and have felt frustration for all the things listed. For me, there were 2 things that nearly pushed me to the point of insanity. The first, as mentioned previously, was LORs. I graduated from my undergrad in May of 2010 and moved to another state for a job. It was a HUGE hassle trying to track down the professors I wanted to write my LORs, when I could have just walked in their offices when I lived in the area. I asked and got my LORS 3 months in advance of the due date at my applying schools and one of my 3 LORs never even had the decency to respond to countless emails/calls/calls to peers to relay messages. This was a guy I had worked with in writing new curriculum for the department and had actually recommended for tenure, and like studentaffairsgrad, I am absolutely still bitter. Luckily, I was able to barely get the LORs in on time by using a backup I had kept. The next frustration was simply accepting schools that were out of geographical "comfort area." I did my undergrad at Ole Miss, a 16,000 person school in a tiny town in Mississippi, and the school that was best suited for my research experience was in the middle of downtown Philadelphia. I've never lived in a big city and have grown up in the South my entire life. Finally accepting that this was the place I belonged and actually trying to not be petrified to move has been a challenge for me.

[nimo6211]

Sorry, but the whole process was a pain in the A**. Applying to grad school really, really SUCKS. The whole process is excruciating and designed to make even an IRS processor scratch his head.

First there's choosing which school to apply to. This takes HOURS. You scour websites, ranking lists, and try to sift through endless web-pages of "we are so awesome" to unearth the true situation underneath. Trying to find professors to match your area of interest at each school is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Then there's the applications themselves, with their endless forms. Isn't it fun when they want you to send ONE application to the office of graduate studies, and another to the department? Isn't it fun when they require you to send all materials to a third party, who then must forward the materials to the school, at additional cost to your pocketbook?

And don't even get me started on the SOPs. It took me months, MONTHS, to write anything decent, but even then I had to write 10 different versions, one for each school I applied to. One school wanted 1000 words. Another, 500. Another wanted TWO SOPs, one for teaching and one for everything else. Wonderful. I think I had 50 different SOPs on my hard drive by the time I was done.

Then there's the exorbitant application fees, the complicated transcript requests (one school rejected my transcript because it had been printed out more than 30 days before I sent the application. I graduated TEN YEARS AGO. Seriously?).

The worst, however---- the absolute WORST for me was the letters of recommendation. I graduated in 2002. It is 2011. My old professors had A. retired B. moved to Guam or C. did not have the faintest memory of who I was. I was forced to start over from SCRATCH, taking community college classes just to get letters. That really, really sucked.

So......I guess what I'm saying is, the whole application process is like a sadistic obstacle course from hell. But was it worth it? I'll let ya'll know in 5 years.

I sooo hear you! One of my referees (professor) was really upset at the "non-traditional questionnaire" he had to fill out and told me so.

[annieca]

I've been doing research on grad schools for about six months now, on and off, and my biggest frustration has to be the websites. I feel like universities' websites cater to undergrad so to find the one piece of information you need (average GRE scores has been the hardest for me to find), you have to click about 60 freakin' times to find it. It reminds me of JSTOR that if your search words aren't perfect it won't know what you're talking about.

Another thing I am extremely annoyed with is the information on dual degree programs. My plan is to get my Masters in Library and Masters in History/Public History. However, when I go to websites that have these programs they say "Oh, well here's information about the Library Science program, now go to the History page for that part of it." It's a never-ending cycle!

I swear, grad schools make their websites vague on purpose. If everyone knew what the average funding was (which they definitely publish for undergrad), how the hell dual programs work (can I be enrolled in both programs at once? Or is it like 1.5 years of one, 1.5 years of another?) and what they REALLY want as to applications, the world would be a whole lot easier.