meowth

So from my list of 10 schools I ended up applying to 6 of them and I feel done now. Now waiting will seem even worse, but I'm hoping to hear back from a couple at the end of January or the beginning of February (just in time to ruin my birthday with a rejection letter, probably).

I'll try to get a full-time position at the public library where I currently work part-time. Not 100% how I would improve my application for next time around if I wanted to try again for similar programs. I would maybe apply to more master's level programs. At some point I would maybe also consider going for a master's in library science, especially since the library will help pay for that if I work there at least a year.

Beautiful hashtag, glad to have something else to look at on twitter now (I already follow lolmythesis). I think I'm going to have to retweet "sick of being a barista." Yesterday I met a professor from the sociology department and she was like, "I've seen you somewhere... do you work at ____?" "Yes, did I make you coffee?" "Yes, it was good! And the other day you made me a smoothie!" I mean, at least she didn't know me for BAD coffee. But those inspiring quote images in the hashtag... It's amusing that they think "truthful statement of purpose" means a "statement full of purpose and full of truth" or something like that? Not quite right.

people watching

Late reply, but: nope, the February 15th date is for a master's program. I was going to apply to their PhD program due on January 15th, but turns out they actually won't accept applications for their PhD without a master's already. But maybe they just do things a bit different. It's the only other school I'm interested in in Florida though, and the fee is pretty low, so I think I still might apply (if I'm not totally unmotivated by this time next month). And of course it's now the 14th and I'm finishing up a couple apps due the 15th. One's done but it says not to submit until the LoR's are in, and one of mine isn't, so I'm holding off. The other requires you to fulfill an assistant application with it that I still have to do, and I want to apply for their diversity scholarship but that's due all together, ugh. And working on apps makes me go, "Ah, I haven't checked gradcafe in a while."

I keep feeling like I'm done already but I still have two applications due the 15th, one on Feb 1st, and on the 15th. It's like, "Ah, isn't three enough...?" Except of course I won't find out about any of them until probably all the rest are due.

half.com (the ebay for books)

I just noticed my first mistake. I've submitted this writing sample to three places already with a statement at the beginning that says "originally written December 2013 for blah blah blah" except... I wrote it last year, 2012. I'm not even in school now, so. They might not even notice though. It's like when I had to write a summary of it for a reward once and said 19th century in my description... and later when I went to the event that included it, my mom of all people notices that it should be either 1900s or 20th century, not 19th. (Once again though, probably not something people really care about.)

magic wand

That sounds about right. They probably get a good number of people from town applying. (Still haven't gotten an e-mail back since I replied, but they're probably just out of town for break by now.) I have an application in for University of Chicago, and I'm working ones on Boston University, SUNY Albany, and University of South Florida all due in January. I also applied to one Psychology & Women's Studies program, U Michigan, and I'm considering applying to a social psychology Master's program but that's not even due until February. I also applied to my alma mater's Women's Studies Master's because the sociology profs I want to work with are all affiliated with Women's Studies too. I hope that even though I'm only applying to 6 or 7 schools, that that's enough variety to have a chance. I think Chicago and USF consider applicants for their Master's programs too when they apply to the PhD programs, so that's cool.

Zebra Finch

They might e-mail reminders about the application, but once the due date is past and your application fee isn't paid, they should stop. I've started a few applications that I never finished because I decided I was no longer interested in the program.

LesSoc & cultsoc, They invited me after I applied (they said they were pleased to see my application) so I'm not sure if it's really a "recruiting" event, but I also haven't been accepted so it's not a "visitation weekend" either. They didn't mention anything about interviews, just "meeting with" people and sitting in on seminars. It's also on a Monday and a Tuesday a week into the new semester, so I'm not sure how that'll be working out. Maybe I'll get more info soon too since I've replied to the initial e-mail. But I'll keep in mind all that you've said! Especially since I have NOT been accepted, I'm going to assume at least some sort of informal interview (even if that's just having a conversation with the professors) and do some more research into the program beforehand. First impressions and all that! Though luckily if I want to meet more with specific professors at a later time I probably can, since I live in town and hang out on campus (read: use their library computers) quite often. So it's not my only chance, but still a good opportunity. I'm definitely looking forward to it, especially since I was worried about getting to explore any programs and this one is right here.

Spider Man

Is "adenine" an anagram of one name and "monarch" an anagram of the other, or is "adenine+monarch" as a whole an anagram of both first and last names? That's all I'd want to know before making any guesses.

I waited until after I graduated to apply because I was already so busy doing an honors thesis. I also wasn't 100% on what I wanted to go to grad school for. Pros: I get to use my complete transcript, that I graduated with highest honors, and show my honors thesis. Time to gain more experience (like even my last spring semester helped a lot). More time to think about where to go to graduate school and what to go for. Time to see if I just like working or if there's anything else I'd rather do. Cons: Since I started working I actually still ended up quite pressed for time when application season rolled around again. It took me a while to actually find a job (but you'll be okay there). Might be hard to take time off work to go to interviews to visits. Student loans started collecting six months after graduating.

Nope, sorry. I'm in Florida.

I got an e-mail inviting me to visit the Sociology department mid-January at my alma mater. I'm definitely going because it's really close (I still live in the city). I don't even know the sociology department because I've only taken a couple sociology classes and I didn't major in it either, so I think this is a great opportunity. (They have not accepted me or anything, just said they received my application.) However, I was kind of wondering what I might expect, if anyone knows? The e-mail says I'll get a chance to meet with faculty, grad students, and staff, as well as have the opportunity to sit in on one or two seminars. I don't think this is an official interview or anything, but certainly I'll have to keep in mind what kind of impression I'll be making. So I'm just curious if anyone has been in a similar situation.

I did not. In psychology I was told to e-mail professors because you tended to work with just one professor once you got there, and needed to make sure they were accepting students. The one professor would basically be the one advocating for and accepting you into the program. For the one psychology program I applied to, I made sure to e-mail the professor. However, for sociology I was told by a professor that instead of working with a single professor, you tend to work with several professors within the department (even if you might have one that's your main go-to), so it wasn't the same as psychology where you needed the one professor to be accepting students. So for sociology I didn't e-mail any professors, and while for many programs I had one particular professor I liked better, I tried to make sure that there were other professors I wouldn't mind working with as well. I did not e-mail any professors before applying. Not saying it's a bad idea, I just already spent so much time writing SOPs and doing everything else that sending out e-mails seemed like one more stressful thing that I didn't want to do. (At this point it also depends on when your applications are due. December 15th? The professors might be out of town anyways at this point. January 15th? Maybe worth a try.)

midnight oil

3 schools and 4 programs so far. GRE: $80 (reduced price to test the new score scale back in 2011) GRE score reports: $25 x 2 (my alma mater already had the scores from 2011) Transcripts: $12 x 3 (my alma mater didn't need one; another program required 2 because I had to send one to myself to scan it) Application fees: $30 + $65 + $65 So, $326 so far. But I also decided not to apply to three programs due the 15th, partially because of the cost... would've been another $346 and I just had to spend $1,300 on dental work today, sigh. (But I ruled out applying for other reasons too, of course.) If I apply to the four programs due January, that should be about $388, so $714 for 8 programs (and would've been $1,060 for 11 programs on my original list). Less than the dentist at least.