Loric

It's submitted! YAY!!!!! Now i get to submit everything else and get rejected for that instead of not finishing my app! YAY!!!

I have no idea what they're talking about either. Why the heck are you applying to a program you know nothing about!?

And for the record - I'm not at all saying "Don't bother." You just need to craft your application materials to make this look good for you.. somehow. That part is up to you.

What do you mean.. take? I think you're misunderstanding transfer of credit with wanting to see your transcripts - your full transcripts. They want to see every school you've ever attended, even if you didn't get any grades from the school. They even want the paperwork saying you didn't receive grades. Seriously, I've had the "Why am I looking at a blank piece of paper for you transcript?" conversation with every grad school I've applied to and/or been accepted to - because they ask for all the paperwork. I went to an undergraduate school for all of a few weeks right after high school - it has no grades or even courses listed.. just that I attended and left. What you seem to think has no bearing, will have a bearing from everything I understand about graduate programs. " FAQ | Help Frequently Asked Questions Do I have to list all the schools and institutions I have attended in the "Academic Background" section? You must list all post-secondary institutions you have attended. You do not need to submit any information or documents related to your high school studies.

For how much they'll cost, don't bother. Apply, do all your due dilligence, make yourself look wonderful and point out how you've got an upward trajectory.. And if they don't accept you, then Plan B. Retake some classes (other classes in the field are actually a better bet.) Then reapply. If your plan is "Start - Classes - Apply - Go" and can be "Start - Apply - Go" why bother with the classes unless you have to? It's not going to put you behind schedule to retake them a few months from now as compared to trying to take them now.

Oh yes, telling the program it's "their fault" will go over well..

I'm in awe of your patience. You're practically a saint. (legit, not-snarky.)

What's your SOP prompt..? If it's asking for a recap of your academic career, then you need a line or two - but don't dwell, don't try to blame anyone or anything else for it, and DO show how you've moved beyond that.

Well, you're already over the limit and you submitted it. If it's a basis for rejection - you're rejected. And the only reason they'd do that is because it annoys them.. it has no academic bearing.

A) It's not an entrance exam. Many schools and programs don't even ask for or require a GRE score. It is not a requirement for graduate study. What college/university didn't have multiple choice scantron tests for most midterms and finals? What was it, free response interpretive dance? Did you have to tell them what you "felt" the answer was while sitting in a purity circle? Hippies. C) A drop in score that is signifigant between the practice and real test just means the practice system you were using was inadequate, not that the real GRE got harder, more difficult, or changed in any way. D) It doesn't make/break an application at any school that looks at your record wholistically. There are cutoffs at many schools, that's true, but even what most people are ranting is a "poor" score on here is above that cutoff. Some people wont get into a graduate program for reasons entirely unrelated to the GRE, GPA, letters of rec, etc.. but you can be sure that's the first place they'll place the blame. If you can't handle a basic test without a complete freakout how do you expect to handle the stress of a graduate program? I was in graduate school previously. I had a day where I didn't sleep in a few days, hadn't eaten, hadn't showered, and had a cluster headache (google it, it hurts). I went to my professor who was 20+ minutes late for class - she was in her office just chatting with another student - and told her I was going home, it was a "work" day and I'd make up my work on the project well before the deadline. She agreed, but the next day she said in an advising meeting that I had "ambushed" her and I wasn't being a good student by asking to miss a class and then going home. That I wasn't taking my responsibilities seriously. She threatened to pull my funding for my next few projects because she said I was being so irresponsible. That's the sort of real nonsense stress you'll have to deal with. This test is nothing.

Yeah.. work you did outside of class that's publication ready is misleading to mention.. Suit yourself, but if anything, ask why you're asking random people for opinions and guidance you don't want since you already have the answers.

If you want to know, call. It's either a non-issue or they're already annoyed. Either way, you can't really change it. If it's a non issue, it's a non issue. If you did annoy them, you've already annoyed them. They'll just ignore the 3rd letter if they're going to ignore it.. what are they going to do? Formally give it back to you?

Also.. you mentioned a negative side.. which is..? You didn't learn words that arent commonly used in everyday speech or new math theories while not in a class dedicated to it because those have very little to do with the real world? Who'd have thought..

They're so close i don't think it's going to matter but the higher writing score does look noticeably better - so if i had to pick only one set, it'd be that one. If you send both, it reinforces that your work in publishing increased your writing ability (per a standardized test, which i inherently don't trust... but you're going into education, so these people sort of have to.)

Yes, test anxiety is a legit thing. On the other hand.. you're applying to grad school. You have gotten through high school which is wrought with standardized tests by getting good enough grades and scores (on standardized tests, no less) in order to get into college. Then in college you almost certainly, at the bare minimum, faced some standardized tests at the midpoint and end of every semester for 4 years. That's a lot of tests. You'd think there'd be some coping skills developed by now. You had to have done halfway decent on these tests to be realistically considering graduate school. So what's going on with this forum and the apparent mass freakout of "omg! test anxiety!!!!!!" self fullfilling prophecy? I have this feeling that if there was less emphasis on people's test anxiety as an excuse for a poor score, there'd be more focus on getting better at taking the test... so you don't have to take it for a 27th time.

What's a filmic focus..? I guess that relates to film? What an odd word.. That aside.. Ideal world, you'd fix the first and cut it down to fit the limit. My gut was to say you should be submitting something creative, not research based.. but you're going for a lit degree and not a creative degree, no? I'm not 100% on that, so my advice is equally fuzzy. What's the context of how they'll view it? What specifics did they ask for? Did they ask for a 15-20 page writing sample or a 15-20 page research paper? 15-20 pages of any sort that can be more than one thing or portions of things? Are they asking for dates and classes to know when/why/how it was written? All else fails, email and get clarification. They may just repeat the prompt to you and you'll have to really parse out what it means on your own, but it'll help alleviate some stress.

If they dont want it, dont send it. Save it for if you need an appeal or if they ask for another rec because they're on the fence about you. Imagine your stress level if that happens. Now imagine having that 4th letter handy and ready to go.

Some programs are going to weigh things differently. You dont have an inherently bad GPA. A single bad grade should not be seen as a failure - especially if you recovered in the same semester and afterward. I wouldn't worry much about it. If it was a personal problem that you can legit say "Not my fault" then mention it where they want any such mentions in the app. Not all want them in your SOP or PS or whatever. Some have various prompts in the app that ask if you have any grades that don't reflect your abilities. So don't build it into your SOP as a key component. Two lines, max, and that's pushing it.

None of the above. You need the person in the admissions office who actually handles your paperwork if you're serious about updating your CV. Is it really worth the hassle though..? It's fine to mention it in an email to the POI if you're on conversational terms. Just be like "Hey! I just found out my paper will be published if you're interested in giving it a look!" sort of thing. I think some reframing is in order.. this alone isn't going to sink/save you, it is past the deadline and no one expects your life to stop when you submit the app until they make a decision, and you should have mentioned work on something like this.. that would lead to eventual publication.. in your CV already. It may have happened sooner than you expected, but you should have been mentioning the work all along as a thing you were doing. Keep that in mind for the other apps.

Seriously, is no one ever going to explain why everyone loves Berkeley to me?

Also - this is one of those topics to push with your letter writers. They can say you have the potential beyond your grades and be taken quite seriously.

Nope, don't. SOP and PS are for touting how amazing you are unless the prompt specifically asks you to address any academic issues. Browse the application in full - click through all the bits but don't submit. Often there's a "Do you feel your grades reflect your academic ability? If not, why not?" sort of prompt.

Omg omg omg omg it's not submitted. I just left a voicemail with his secretary/the department voicemail being like "You were supposed to write me a letter!" - well, more like "This message is for so and so.." but giving all the details. I dunno, embarrassing to ramble through to a department voicemail but it's his department so in theory he's gonna get the call. It's officially the last thing in my application. *bangs head on table* Ya know? I could have been forced to have that awkward conversation. I didn't. I left a voicemail and now I hope a secretary takes the utmost pity on me.

I'm just curious - pulled up my application and noticed the day I first started the process on the checklist. I've been getting this hammered out, letters sent, transcripts processed, etc.. since 8/31 and i still have one letter of rec that's unaccounted for. How long has everyone else taken so far? I never expected it to take this long to get everything together and submitted. I thought a week or two, max, when I started.

But are you a strong writer...? If you have an application that otherwise makes you look great and competitive and then include a paper that isn't compelling/interesting/well written it can hurt you. If anything, have someone legitimately sit down and proof read it. If they dont respond that there's something wrong with it - even just a minor "I don't know if this phrasing is correct.." sort of comment, they didn't actually read it. Responses of "It's great!" or "Good job!" from people who you asked to proof something is a sure sign they didn't actually proof it and consider what it said. But if you can say you've legitimately addressed issues in your writing sample that someone else has brought up, then you can say it's ready for prime time.