grad_wannabe

I mentioned this on one of the blogs, but it bears repeating: not only are schools looking for students that fit well with their programs, they are also (as it was made clear during the campus visits I made, and referenced in the UMass quote Fuzzy posted) are looking for students that fit well together. At USC they told us they were looking to craft a group of students from the applicant pool: they are not simply looking for the "best of the best." They are building teams. Sure, you may be the objective best running back in the draft, but if your running style (aka career goals and research subjects) doesn't work with the rest of their team, you're not going to get picked.

I'm picturing exhausted grad students/office gophers in the admin offices with seemingly endless piles of transcripts, rec letters, and GRE scores towering over them, laboriously entering all this crap into the database while frantic applicants call over and over screaming, "But I sent you everything!! Why isn't my status updated to complete?!?"

I imagine USC is having a field day poaching talent from the UC system right now. I just finished my UG at a UC and it's not pretty. Art facilities are being gutted, classes canceled or overbooked, professors asked to leave before they're eligible for tenure. I told one of my professors about the funding tracks for all MFA students at USC (it's practically free) and she sighed, "The financial system at UC right now is so depressing. We're trying to help as many grads as we can but the university is making it very, very hard."

I got the vibe from one of my writers (who never showed me her letter) that she thinks I'm a brown-nosing smarmy pants, and I'm terrified her letters look like this!

My thoughts exactly. Low expectations are the key to happiness. I'm trying to convince myself I don't have a shot in hell anywhere, so any acceptances will be a pleasant surprise.

Ah, I just finished my UG last June and I still live with my parents. My life will be changing quite drastically this year whether I get into grad school or not. An acceptance just shifts the direction.

A friend of mine, who is almost done with her grad work at Bowling Green, described this interim period as the ultimate break: "You've done everything you can possibly do. As soon as you get an acceptance, or as soon as you get all the rejections, you have to start making plans and moving on with your life. For now, you get to just chill! Enjoy it!" So, trying to look at it with that frame of mind, I'd rather wait it out. I'm actually thinking of trying to get a second job to pass the time and save up some money, cause I'm gonna need plenty of that whether I get into grad school or not.

THIS. I went to an information session at a school, and I was surprised at the sheer inanity of the questions being asked. "What if I'm ordering transcripts from a school I went to abroad? Do I have to get those translated?" and "How long should my statement of purpose be?" and "What if my rec letter writer isn't submitting online? Is there a special form or something I have to give him?" I kept thinking, "C'mon people - you can figure out all this stuff on your own time, can't you?" I asked questions about thesis committees, publishing, availability of elective classes at the general university - stuff about the SCHOOL, not just the application. The grad coordinator and the head of the grad program BOTH came up and introduced themselves to me afterward and actually said, "We never had anyone ask those questions before." Remains to be seen if it makes any difference in my application, but it sure seemed to make an impression on them at the time.

The times that I've tried to contact schools to check up on things, they told me in a somewhat curt manner that they "simply did not have the time to look for individual documents" and that "if anything is missing by the time we start reviewing applications, we will let you know." I was under the impression it was frowned upon to check up on applications?? For my last application, I emailed the grad program coordinator (with whom I'd already been in contact) some extra writing samples he'd asked for. In the same email I told him, "Ok, both parts of the online application are done, and I've received confirmation that all of my recommendation letters and transcripts have been received. Thank you for all your help, and I hope I'll be talking with you soon." That 'confirmation' was in the form of the online delivery confirmation I'd paid extra for on my transcript package, my two online rec letters getting automatic "A letter has been successfully uploaded for you" emails and my one offline rec letter writer telling me, "Don't worry, I sent it in. Good luck." The department itself never sent me any confirmation of anything. I never got a response from the guy. I hope I didn't come off as pushy.

Haha luckily I used neither in my SoP! I just liked the way they sounded here, relishing using words on a messageboard without having to triple-check their meanings for the damn statement, I guess. though on second thought, the career you described sounds like a good back-up plan if I don't get accepted anywhere...

Now that all my apps are in and I'm dying from impatience/anxiety, I'm reviving this thread. I've pulled some great titles from here that went onto my reading list - keep em coming! I just plowed through "The Cat Who Walked Through Walls" by Robert Heinlein. Not nearly as diverting or fun as his "Stranger in a Strange Land." Currently "Less Than Zero" from Bret Easton Ellis which is, unfortunately, pretty much what I expected. Looking forward to starting "Seven Days in the Art World" and "On the Origin of Stories" both of which are checked out from my library (argh).

Schools I'm sure I won't get into: "She only graduated in 2009? ... wait a minute she spent seven full years to do her undergrad? We sure don't want her type of philandering malingerers around here! Plus, what the hell is this personal statement? Is she trying to show off her vocabulary? Sounds like she gargles with a thesaurus every night ... and it doesn't even make any sense, it's all over the place. Next!" One school I think I might have a real shot at and have visited often: "God, is it THIS chick again? Who does she think she is, showing up on campus and trying to shake my hand all the time? Does she even realize what a huge tool she is? And I saw her in the parking structure at that screening at RedCat last week ... she's totally stalking me. Weirdo. Next!"

Last night, as I checked my gmail inbox the umpteenth time to see if I'd gotten anything from any schools, I realized I do that a lot. Check my inbox, that is. Fifteen times a day, easy, and I'm not even slated to hear anything back til March. Driving myself batty. So I rigged an easy way to get any emails to that inbox (I created this gmail account specifically for grad apps, so that inbox only receives school-related mail) sent to my phone as a text (this is for all the kids without fancy iPhones or Blackberries). This way, instead of finding a computer and logging in over and over, I could just stare obsessively at my phone and freak out every time I got a text! Easy! I thought you guys might be interested, so I figured I'd share: 1) In gmail, go to "Settings" in the top right-hand corner. 2) Click on "Forwarding/POP and IMAP" 3) In the top section, select "Forward a copy of incoming mail to" 4) In the box, enter your 10-digit phone number, followed by the right address for your carrier: http://tinywords.com/about-old/mobile/ 5) Be sure "Save a copy to my inbox" is selected. 6) If you want, you can use the "Filter" function to select exactly which emails get forwarded to your phone. 7) Save changes. I actually get the emails as texts BEFORE they show up in my inbox. 8) Commence staring at phone and willing it to light up.

I'm sure I'll be posting again as things to occur to me, but here's one that had me stumbling: When requesting rec letters from anyone, provide them with the entire packet of submission materials - stamped and addressed envelopes, pre-filled out forms, the works - far in advance of the due date, whether or not you think they'll be submitting their letters online. I assumed all my letter writers would do everything online, so I didn't give them any paper submission materials. There was one (albeit much older) professor lady who emailed me in a frustrated tone, saying she "couldn't understand the online system for any of [my] schools, please send addresses where they should be mailed." In a panic I wrote back and asked if I could bring her the paper materials - I felt horrible that she'd have to buy her own stamps and use her own envelope, on top of writing the letter. She wrote back (somewhat huffily) that she'd be going out of town and didn't have time to wait for me to come to her house. I'm still quaking in my boots, worried that may have influenced the letters she wrote for me. I'll be worried til I hear back from schools, which isn't for months. And I second the posts above that recommended buying a TON of transcripts, even more than you think you'll need, very early. I can't even count the number of times I had to go back to my UG campuses buying "just one more" 'script.

Most of the people already attending/having completed grad school that I talked to when applying said something about the "first round" of apps - so it's VERY common to go through more than one round. I caught a lot of flak that went, "Aw, your first round of applications! I remember my first round, many years ago ... aww you're applying to MIT?? First-round optimism, how cuuuute! Yeah good luck on that, the second round is usually when you find a program that really fits."

I just found out in the last two days that three of my Facebook friends (one guy and two girls I know and had school with, but we're not really close) applied to the exact same programs I did, for the same term. (One even got a rec letter from the same professor!! argh.) So, if I get accepted to any of those programs, I'll probably just post a giant "YAAAYYYYY!!!" in my status. If anyone cares enough to ask me what the good news is, I'll message them directly.

I was wondering - can we write off application expenses on our tax returns as education expenses? I know there are people on here who spent over a grand...

I have heard widely that this is the case. UC and Cal State schools have an unwritten rule that one is simply not permitted to return to their UG schools for grad work (though I'm sure there are exceptions). I had a friend at UC Berkeley, she said they made it abundantly clear to her that she was not welcome back on the campus for grad school. I went to a group interview at NYU. Half of the kids in my group interview did their UGs their, and the department head conducting the interview made a point to bring it up: "Wait a minute, that entire half of the table all got their degrees here?" I dunno, I would think having connections to a grad school because you did your UG there would kinda render those connections moot.

@Joro - sounds like you found a back-up!! YAY you can do it!! All you need is a letter so the adcomm can check that box and cover their asses. It's gonna work out! Don't take it personally about the prof bailing on you. It blows hard, but it's probably not about you. Sounds like they're just a run-of-the-mill shitty person, with the phone tag and straight-to-voicemail BS. I had one professor who approached me (not, I want to note, the other way around) - she actually invited me into her office out of the blue, and when I sat down thinking we were going to talk about my plans for my final project in her class, she said "Let's get you into grad school!" She offered to write me a rec letter, offered to introduce me to high-up people at a couple schools, indicated that she had a lot of influence at another school ("I was up for the department head position there, ya know!"), and then just completely disappeared when the time came to start backing up all that talk. I emailed her over and over for weeks, never got a response. I assumed she was a flake and made other arrangements. Randomly saw her at a gallery opening a couple months ago and she literally ran away from me, yelling over her shoulder, "Email me!" So Joro, I want to say even if you don't get into the school - you did all you could. You didn't let this lazy douche dictate your future. You manned up and found a replacement letter, which probably involved swallowing your pride and groveling a bit. That takes balls and I commend thee, sir.

I actually based my choice of LOR writers depending, in large part, on where they had connections. I did research on where they'd been educated and where else they'd taught or had residences. If there was any overlap at all with the schools I was applying to, I used it. I also name-dropped mercilessly when meeting with anyone from any of my choices. Me: "Yes, so-n-so told me it would be good to meet with you..." Him: "You know so-n-so?! How is he? Any friend of his is a friend of mine!" I was told that in the art world, at least, connections are EVERYTHING. We'll see how far it gets me.

I just got an email: "Your application is in review. Expect to hear a decision by April 1, though it may take longer." So, I hope I hear before the world ends in 2012.

Maybe they were just jerking my chain, but the two campus visits I made to potential schools were big ego-boosters. At school A, I attended a guest lecture two days after an information session where I'd asked a ton of questions. I sat down in the front row and saw the head of the graduate department come in. I thought to myself, "Ooh, I wonder if he'll remember that I was here the other day." To my shock, as soon as he saw me, he ran over and asked me to send my writing samples to him directly. When I introduced myself, saying, "Oh, I don't think I got the chance to tell you my name the other day," he laughed and said, "Oh, don't worry! I definitely know who you are." I was blown away. At school B the head of the department, during our meeting, dropped such gems as, "Shoot, I might have to admit you right now!" and "any friend of ---- (a prof writing me a rec letter) is a friend of mine!" Definitely felt good after both of those encounters.

For me it's not any one thing in particular - it's every little thing added up. Death by a thousand cuts, I guess. I'm gonna go on a mini-rant here, so feel free to skip everything. I have one application left. Yesterday I was mailing out the transcripts. Just one little step! Just transcripts! First, as all of you know, I had to get the transcripts. I went to three different schools for undergrad, so that's three entirely different processes of acquisition (some schools don't allow hand-carrying the transcripts. Some don't allow online ordering. Some do ONLY online ordering. Some take only fax orders. Some cost 15 dollars. Some cost 2. Some take 3 weeks to get there. Some take 2 days. For one school, I actually had to buy the transcripts online, print out an order form, fill it out by hand, THEN write my purchase number on the form, then FAX that back to the school. I'm lookin' at you, Humboldt State.) Then, once I finally had all the transcripts, I realized this school wants TWO complete sets - one sent to the graduate school, and one sent to the department. So, I got two envelopes, filled out two address labels, and put one set of 'scripts into each envelope. Then I realized that the graduate school has forms that are supposed to accompany the 'scripts - so I had to print out three forms and fill each of them out by hand and staple one to each school's 'script, then put the whole set back in the envelope. Today after work (luckily I work part time - I don't know how people with jobs and families to take care of get this all done, to be honest) I have to go to the post office and pay to send both envelopes, both with delivery confirmation. I know you guys all know exactly what I mean - this entire process is incredibly grueling, frustrating and tedious. On top of outrageously expensive. Whew I gotta calm down. This can't be good for my blood pressure.

I uploaded a portfolio on January 5, the day it was due, at about 11:30 (last minute, I know). The response page popped up and said, "Your portfolio was submitted on January 6!" Cue my freak-out, thinking it was late. I then got a confirmation email from the application website that said, "Your portfolio was received on January 5!" Cue my calming down. I just now got an email directly from the school that said, "Your portfolio was received on January 6!" I'm too tired to freak out anymore.

Classic! I work in a cubicle, so I'm not really surrounded by people accustomed to thinking outside the box. 40-something secretary who sits across from me: "So, what did you study in school?" Me: "Art." Her: "Oh, so you want to work for Disney?" Me: "Uh, no, I make video installations." Her: "Oh, so you make movies?" Me: "Uh, no, I, uh ... I study what art is about." Her: "What? What do you mean, what art is about? Why do you need to go to school for that? I don't understand - if you want to be an artist, just BE an artist! What is there to learn?" Me: "..." Her: "Well, don't worry, if you know how to draw, you can always be one of those people who draws portraits at Disneyland! You... you do know how to draw, right?" Somehow these conversations always leave me feeling like a depressed asshole elitist. Loathing the other person, yet somehow also wanting connection on a human level, which leads to self-loathing...