Loric

I agree with you - for 99% of applications and applicants. Creative fields (which people seem to forget have MFA's and Doctorates too) need to avoid the "My interest in blah blah blah" intro at all costs. This is the general prompt for all majors at a design/art college: "The statement should be a 500- to 750-word overview of the applicant's academic and professional accomplishments and should demonstrate a high level of interest in and a highly developed understanding of the discipline. The applicant should describe knowledge of the discipline, approach to past work, qualifications for graduate study and intended focus, as well as personal and professional goals." I'm not saying they should start with an interpetive dance (unless that's their major) but it lends itself to some flexibility. There's also enough words in the word limit to hash out a real "thing" with a flow, possible bookend statements, etc.. Usually in the arts that "highly developed understanding" and "knowledge of discipline" along with "approach" are going to fall squarely outside of data dump. It commands something other than being a robot. I do think every applicant needs to stop at the end and ask a few questions.. A) Is this boring? Do I answer all the questions asked in the prompt? C) Do I sound like a jerk? D) Do I sound like someone who's trying to sound like I'm not a jerk? E) Can I say the sentences outloud without having to take a breath? The "hook" can help overcome the boring bit and give a sense of flow . People who read applications are paid to do so.. but it doesn't mean they don't get horribly bored with their jobs and looking at nearly identicle qualifications all day.

Is there any indication of how long they want it to be? Mine had a similarly worded vague and broad description for the Statement of Purpose that threw me for a bit of a loop. I went to an event the school was hosting and asked about it from the director of admissions and learned they want 500-750 words ("2 pages") and a history of experience, what I think the degree with provide me with, and where I want to be in 10 years and how the degree will help me get there. I hadn't even really considered writing a "10 years from now.." type statement. So, can you ask anyone and get some clarification?

Is it inappropriate to say in a purpose statement that you want to transition from providing schadenfreude to instead creating gesamtkunstwerk? I think it's a "simple" and few-words-as-possible way of saying I'd like to revive my career in the arts and go on to do great things.. but I feel perhaps the intended humor would be lost on the adcom. Learned people of the cafe, what say you?

What's the worst that could happen? Seriously, answer that question. Don't be vague - really, what's the worst that could happen? Type out the thoughts in your head and you'll notice several of them are completely irrational. Then consider the more rational ones - they probably aren't nearly as bad as your anxiety is making them out to be. If X happen, what can you do..? Can you prepare for that possibility? Does it make sense to do so, or to wait and see? You have to be pragmatic. If you "fail" this test, since it's only part of your application, how can you boost the other areas? Don't tell me you've never walked into a test in udnergrad and knew you were going to fail it - but that was "ok" because you wrote a good term people and did enough homework that you were still going to pass the class. Balance things. You'll be fine.

I gotta say.. If you're applying to 10-15 schools, have you really put the time in to consider which one is the best fit and which ones most closely match your academic interests? My understanding is that being vague and expecting to get a mass-produced degree - having the mentality that they're interchangeable - is essentially a one way ticket out of getting accept into grad schools.

Both..?

Did school A award grades for the classes at school B? If so, i'm betting you'd be fine. I think it's the matter of if it was an "exchange" in the sense that the two schools are paired and thus share records and the -original- school is the one who actually assigned your grades, or if you just spent a semester at another college.. be it Burbank, BFE, or Brisbane. Then you need to get a transcript from the second school.

If the B will pull down your overall GPA, then take the pass/fail. If it's not integral to your course of study - my language was required as part of my program - they wont give two craps about it other than seeing that you may have padded out classes at the end.. senioritis so to speak. I took an extra semester after i had all my classes complete to do a study abroad. Won scholarships from the school for it even, so woot! Burned someone else's money to be in Europe studying art for a while. Most people in my industry see it as a positive (i'm arts) so it works for me.

I wish I could find the page again - but digging through heaps of data on a school's website I saw a note that they expect a 290 or higher combined from the GRE. It's an "art" school. That doesn't require the GRE and yet I somehow found an old reference to it buried away in layers of web pages about admissions. So I use that as my mental baseline for "test/retest"

Told ya so

I would think so. Per the GRE FAQ: When will my official GRE revised General Test scores be reported after testing? If you take the computer-based GRE revised General Test, your official scores will be sent to the institutions you designated approximately 10–15 days after your test date. If you take the paper-based test, your official scores will be sent within six weeks after your test date.

Send out applications to schools you've researched, feel that you'd want to attend, and have perhaps established some sort of rapport with the the faculty via email or conferences or something. My understanding is that the first school is the wrong school for like 50+% of first time grad students. There's this panic to get accepted so they blanket apply and then pick what "looks like" the best option on paper. I will tell you straight up from personal experience that I didn't apply for two programs I thought I had no chance of getting into - and regret it - and picked two modest "reach" schools that I did apply to and was accepted to both. In both cases I had met with the faculty and essentially had a spot held for me before I ever even sent them my formal transcripts or paid any fees. Going further on that, when faced with the decision between the two schools I chose the one that had the best facilities, al these honors under their belt, shiny new everything to work with. Omg, it was a nightmare. I hated those people. I still hate those people. HATE HATE HATE. I have a hard time articulating my pure and utter hatred of those people and the BS from them I put up with during the 6-7 months I tolerated them. After getting there I learned that the last 3 people filling my position (in my area of study you essentially sign on to teach and work in a lab in addition to classes - so they're moreso hiring a coworker to have lunch with than a student to lecture) had all quit as well. For reasons that soon became painfully obvious. And the school I didn't go to.. with things a bit worn around the edges, a student body that was like the line to buy tickets for ComicCon.. (whereas the other school was -oh- so fashionable!).. well, I regret that decision infinitely. So.. apply to places you're genuinely interested in and if you've made even the smallest attempt to be less than just an "applicant number" you'll probably get in. If the decision resolves itself by there being only one program - then that's what you're going to do if you're going to grad school this year. If there's more options - learn from my mistake and make sure you don't hate the people first.

Honestly, I applaud you for NOT wanting to go a sort of "academia as career" route that seems all too common around these parts. Neverending research, being tested to prove my worth, having someone with the title of "professor" give my life meaning! Oh joy! Not. Anywho, the "how I got interested" bit is the cliche of the SOP. It should -maybe- (if REALLY compelling) get a passing mention somewhere in the bulk of your SOP. Do not lead with it.. the "It all started when.." and "Ever since I was a child" intro bores everyone to tears. If anything avoid that. Find creative ways around it. That in and of itself will elevated your SOP above that of dozens of others the adcom has had to look at that week. What you need to focus on and explain is your practical pragmatic approach to the subject. How you want to apply your studies actively to the field. How would your education benefit a position over learning while on the job? Really, it's cheaper for everyone if you just learn by doing, so to speak, so you have to key in on what part of the formal education is a benefit for all parties. Also, you need to show what you will bring to the table as a student. It's not a take-take-take.. well, it really is for most people, but you cant be suggesting that in your SOP. The adcom is sitting there thinking "What's in it for me?" What will you bring to the table as a student..? Think of ways you as a student can be more than a brain slug leeching out information to simply gain a better pay rate. Think of all the fluffy educational theory and "actively engaged student" stuff you can think of and what bits apply to you. Sell the comittee on yourself as a student who would be a joy to have and honor to educate.

Also - call/email whoever is in charge of your app and see what they say. Unless you did really bad i dont think scores will make/break you.

You're right, when your app is done, they tie it up in a pretty little bow and email it to all the being on your comittee and they all go "yes" or "no" or "maybe, blah blah blah." Then the person in admissions takes all those votes/scores (some schools use rubrics) and come up with a yes/no/maybe response. The idea being that your "Full" app is seen and evaluated as a whole. Some schools do break things - especially scores - off into their own worlds to simply be a "good enough, not good enough, good enough plus possible scholarship" evaluation, but those are simple number crunching. It'll happen when the app is complete/submitted. So.. long story short.. if your app completes they'll look at whatever is on file at that time.

And quick reminder.. "What you want to do.." "Why you want to do it.." (without your life story) "How you're prepared/poised to do the learning"

You need to know enough about the topic to talk intelligently about it. Think of it in "non-laymen's terms." You don't want to be killing them with abbreviations and other mumbo jumbo, but you want to talk about the aspects of the science that interest you and how you're poised to succeed in learning about it. It is still "School" - you're not expected to show up knowing everything. What would be the point? Via this sort of dialogue you'll indicate a proficiency in the subject matter that is above that of someone with a passing interest, but below that of a current master. I'm on the line with if you should mention you're willing to take lower-level courses and be admitted conditionally to make up for the lack of undergraduate study or if that's something for the adcom to decide on their own. One part of me says it shows a wilingness to learn and a realistic expectation and goal setting mindset. On the other hand, there's probably people who dont need to make up for deficiencies.

Well, as a grad student, do they teach any classes at the school? If so, they're pretty much immediately faculty/staff. There's always ways to reframe things.

One prof in my undergrad was the main go-to for academics - that being because my degree is in theater, thus the profs are mostly art/design/etc.. focused - so he got the bulk of reccomendation requests. He asked those he was willing to write a letter for to provide a summar of accomplishments, notable work he would have seen, and goals, etc.. to be worked into his letter. This seems totally reasonable. Having you write it..? Pretty awful.. if you can find someone with a general interest in you for any other reason - go for that one instead. If anything, because it's a letter and that's just a hurdle and NOT a defining part of who you are - heck, he's willing to sign off on whatever you write - have a friend write it for you and then give it to him. That way you'll avoid your distinct "voice" from showing up in your on reccomendation. Also, sometimes they have questions.. and will call. I was in my prof's office once when they called to ask something about me. Awkward to say the least. Luckily for me, I had been honest with my involvement in the project - long story short they called because they questioned if I had actually done what I said I did for a particular show in my portfolio because it was something out of the norm for a student at the undergrad level.

My general understanding is that if you don't complete the file - transcripts, letters, etc.. that no one reviews it until it's finished. For the school i was looking at, i emailed my admissions counselor and was told, once complete, it goes to him, department head, grad studies head, and a few other people who were assigned to me for review. They see everything at once - so if there's something I feel needs context or wouldn't want to be missed, if it's in there.. it's in there. This was because I was asking about where to put certain items (published works, etc..) in the portfolio versus CV/resume. I would think that's a pretty common way to do it. I remember reading once about admissions folks, their training, and how they view files. I'm pretty sure it's standard to see the whole thing at once.

Well, some folks insist going for a PhD, etc.. over others is the best move. I think those people are incredibly closed minded and bought into the academic institution far too fully and are going to have a very odd wake up call in the real world.. Someone who can write intelligently and convincingly about your strengths in a manner that makes you look good, if not great, is the person who should be writing your letter.

Side note: Don't be afraid of admissions people and picking their brains for how to go through the process.

If it's an MFA (master of fine arts - terminal degree of arts programs) you get to upload or send a portfolio which can essentially have anything you want in it But for most other programs I'm going to assume it's on a case-by-case basis and probably would be discussed with the admisions rep handling your file.

Interesting - i've known schools to accept unofficials, for faculty you're interviewing with to see, for example.. or if you had some reason a real one wasn't immediately available (seriously, it's like someone's job is to make up reasons for Holds). That's actually quite generous.

To my knowledge most schools only accept transcripts if mailed/transmitted directly from another school itself. Signed, sealed, and never in "your" possesion. This is the first time I've ever heard of "uploading" them.