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Hey Beth, I'll be attending CU Boulder in the fall as well! I'm going to be starting my Masters in Spanish Literature, and am also relocating from the east coast (NC/VA). How are you going about apartment hunting? I'm lucky to have a friend in the Denver area who will scout for me if need be, but I've mostly been searching craigslist and CU's search engine too.

Acabo de recibir lo mio, y voy a llamar al ultimo programa que me queda ahora mismo. Muy pronto termina la espera para mi tambien!

Pues, no fui yo quien le entrevistaron. Estoy pensando en llamarles al fin del mes si no hay ningun noticia.

Bueno, es la primera vez que comenté en este hilo. Solicité a cuatro programas y tengo noticias de dos - un rechazo y una aceptación, y por lo tanto todavía espero las respuestas de dos programas (Vanderbilt y UC-Santa Barbara). Sin embargo, estoy pensando en aceptar la oferta de UC-Boulder (el programa que me acepta), pero no quiero aceptarla sin tener las respuestas de los otros. En fin, estoy harta de esperar, especialmente ya que la fecha de entregar para UCSB fue el 15 de diciembre. Tres meses es bastante tiempo, ¿no? ¡Suerte a todos en estas últimas semanas!

I finally got the "die inside" one today. No word = drinking tonight anyway. Oh well, just one program. But this is quite possibly the best idea ever. I think the amount of "other" posts requesting GRE info went up exponentially after this - gave them the idea

I'm not history, but I saw this thread and thought it would be what it is. I wouldn't worry about it - mine says the same thing for UVa, but I called and spoke with people in the Grad Admission office (who are a lot nicer than others I've talked to at other schools, and I'm not just saying that because I did undergrad there), and they told me they had everything. So - I would go ahead and give them a call to double check if you want to and haven't done so already.

And reviving this thread for a second to rant: My undergrad transcript sent to Vanderbilt is THE LAST THING that is unaccounted for for all of my applications. I sent it Dec 29, so I figured today wasn't "too early" to give them a call to check the status, since their deadline is Jan 15. The lady in the department was really nice and helpful, but said all supplemental material was sent to them from the Office of Grad Admissions and to give them a call instead. I gave them a call, prefacing my explanation with "I know this might be obnoxious, but...." - the guy I talked to was extremely unhelpful and condescending. I fully understand they're going over thousands of applications for multiple departments, but if he had the time to answer the phone and he's doing the job, he had the time to be courteous (even falsely so). But I'm not worried - even just talking to the lady in the specific department was fine, she gave me the impression that it's apparent absence even after deadline was not a death sentence, which after having called a few places and reading it *over and over* on here, I feel that's true. It was more that I just wanted to make sure I'd done everything I could, especially since this would be the Very Last Thing I have to submit. /vent

Me too! Mine I think was more based on their different focus in the Spanish field - one does peninsular literature, the other does Latin American, specifically Mexican. But it was funny to meet with both and hear one guy trash the suggestions of the other... but more disconcerting. I also regret not applying to a couple more and turning things in sooner - I had everything pretty much ready, but I couldn't just hit send... It was all there by deadlines, but you know.

My friend lent me Pride & Prejudice & Zombies back in late summer... which I didn't touch until I turned in my last application because I spent the between months traveling, working on apps, working, more traveling, and more working on apps. Breezed through that, and then found a free copy of Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons, which has turned out to be a little depressing given I've reached the part where the protagonist is experiencing academic failure albeit for reasons completely unrelated to my feelings about the application process. Wolfe's attempts at undergrad slang circa 2004 do keep it amusing though Next I will probably be (re)reading theory so I don't freak out in case I happen to get an interview.

Heh, I doubt more than 2 weeks is acceptable, but then again, what do I know? Luckily mine will only be a couple of days late for the first deadline school - I managed to FINALLY catch my prof on the phone during his business hours, and he told me he was writing it and it would be sent today. He also made it sound like he thought I was crazy, but I'm just happy to *know* what's going on and that it will be taken care of.

I was thinking that too, but LUCKILY I just caught the MIA Prof on the phone during his business hours, and he told me he was writing it and would send it today. Sure, a little late.... and of course his voice made it sound like he thought I was crazy... but oh well! It's covered. WHEW.

ME TOOOOOOOOOO. I even asked him if he'd write the LOR back in JUNE, and he had everything (links) he needed by October 5. And he missed a Dec 1 deadline and hasn't responded to emails in the past couple of weeks (although was good about responding to prior ones), and has no office voicemail, and the secretary of the dept can't do much to contact him for me. I'm considering the 2.5 hour drive to ambush him in person, although seeing the comments that lots of schools will take LORs late is reassuring. Especially since this first deadline was to my undergrad school, which is where this prof is! All he'd really have to do is print it out and hand it over to the adcomm down the hall. oh venting.

So everything with my applications has pretty much come together, thankfully, except for one of my LORs. I knew his reputation of being a procrastinator, but I figured that it would be okay for me since I have him the links for the LORs months in advance, and he'd agreed to write me the LORs way back in June. Lo and behold, the first deadline was yesterday and he still hasn't submitted an LOR for that school (luckily they only require two and I already had two), and he hasn't responded to any of my emails in the past couple of weeks. I even tried calling his office phone (which sadly has no voicemail), and calling the department office. I'm not in town, so I can't show up in person.... although I've considered the 2.5 hour drive.... I'm trying to remain optimistic, but I think it's wise to set up an emergency LOR because my other applications require 3 or 4 (ridic!) LORs, and I definitely need his, or a replacement. Thus, my question. I can think of two replacements, but I'm not sure which one is better. I'm applying for Spanish programs, btw. 1. My undergraduate thesis advisor. Seems like an ideal choice, right? Eh, it's complicated. This professor did advise me, but since I had problems with my thesis (change of topics, change of focus), it wasn't your traditional advising. I met with her a few times, and she did offer help and feedback, but it was not a close relationship. I did, however, also take a class with her where I met with her about papers and presentations for the class. Finally, she's a professor in women's studies, not Spanish. I haven't spoken to her since I graduated this year (took her class my last semester in undergrad). 2. Portuguese professor. I only took one class with him, and it was language instruction, not a class studying literature or culture. However, he's fairly respected and has been around a while, although he's about to retire. I also contacted him recently about suggestions for possible programs to apply to, so he does remember me and we have had recent contact, which is a bonus because I took his class over a year ago. I did well in both classes for these professors, so that's a plus. I'm just not sure which one would be better.... help/thoughts? I want to contact someone today, because my next deadlines are within two weeks and while I'll certainly explain the circumstances, it's still iffy to contact someone so close and during the end of a semester. *frustration*

I'm applying to spanish programs, and have written my SoPs in English. I haven't worried about that too much, since most also require writing samples (usually specifically in Spanish or the pertinent language for the program). As for the writing sample question... I wouldn't think this would be too much of a problem, and actually those programs that are in Romance Departments (as opposed to a separate Spanish or Spanish/Portuguese department) would find this particularly good. I say that because one of my recommendation writers also warned me against doing Romance Department programs because of the combining with other languages, but that's more personally because I have a background in Spanish and Portuguese, but none of French or Italian, etc. Plus, check out the work that's been done by some of the faculty members. You'll probably find that they've written things comparing spanish-language literature to non-spanish literature. In short, IMO, I wouldn't worry about it. Pick your stronger sample, even if it's one that is writing about spanish and french lit.