fancypants09

amaddgjs, Hopefully you got PowerPrep to work on your Vista machine. If not, just check the GRE website. Also, there are sample CAT-like questions provided by the ETS on the GRE website, both for the verbal and quant sections, so you might want to look into those questions as well.

joro, if it's just one last letter that you need, is there a way that you can find someone else to write the letter for you? If it doesn't have to be this specific LOR writer, you might want to find an alternate writer--preferably someone who understands your current situation and will pull through for you. Update on my own situation: Thanks to the lovely snow I was able to exchange a few emails with my LOR writer before he took off for his vacay. He said he previously uploaded his letter on the online recommendation system, but it looks like there could have been an error on his end or the system's end--the system never sent me a completed message, although the LOR writer said he successfully uploaded the letter before. He said he's totally fine with re-submitting it, which is great, even though he sounded kind of annoyed by the fact that I had the online system send him another registration email (I know, might have rubbed him the wrong way by being overly anxious). But I'm not blaming my LOR writer for anything--after all, he was checking his email at the airport! Anyone else have LOR writers who had trouble with uploading?

Time for a mini-rant of my own... As I mentioned before, my application deadlines are about a month out (3 weeks to be exact), but I'm kind of feeling nervous about my LORs because of the upcoming holidays: Next week is Christmas, and the following week is New Year's. I checked in with my LORs on Friday, and here's the count so far: One has finished all of his LORs, and another has started her LORs. My worry is actually with my 3rd LOR writer. As of Friday, he sent of one letter and sent it off via snail mail in an envelope I provided him. However, he has yet to upload an online recommendation for my first-choice school. When he replied this morning, he got the two letters confused (he thought he had finished all the LORs), but the online system for my first-choice school shows that, as of this morning, he hasn't uploaded his letter yet. The problem with my 3rd LOR writer is that he's taking his winter break in Europe. He's leaving today. And not returning until January 19. My deadline is on January 15. This particular LOR writer has been super supportive of me in the past, and he is pretty good about checking his email on a regular basis, so I'm not so worried about staying in touch with him. However, he dropped the ball once recently, regarding a reference request, and ever since then I've had a pretty hard time trusting him completely as I had in the past. Anything I can do to assuage my worries and get the LOR writer on the ball?

Thanks everyone! Your words of wisdom calmed my nerves. Happy to report that I'm quite pleased with the Verbal and Math section scores. I'm just so glad that I don't have to worry about this test anymore!

joro, I'm so sorry to hear about your MIA LOR writer. Have you graduated from the institution where your LOR writer is located? If not, perhaps you could talk to someone in the admin confidentially about this issue. I know that at my last school, certain profs were designated to hear student complaints in confidence, and help resolve this issue. Or perhaps you could speak to the Academic Dean or someone else at the institution?

Thanks for the info, meg and Ashlee! I'll be checking in with my LOR writers around the holidays.

So the big test is tomorrow! I'm feeling mostly ready, except for the GRE AW section. Previous GRE takers, do you have any tips on scoring high on these essays? I've done the 2 AW practice sections in PowerScore and reviewed their sample answers, but I'd like to know if there is anything more that I can be doing/reviewing at this point. Thanks for your help!

The watermark is an indicator that the transcripts you are submitting are, indeed, official. No need to worry!

Hm, that is a weird situation. I thought most colleges gave transcripts, even to non-degree students, if they were willing to pay for them... Also, I would assume that your high school administration would either email everyone their transcripts/files before they closed, or at least gave people contact information to obtain that information. I know I'd definitely have the same issues if my school closed, because one of my applications require that I receive a certification letter from my high school. Anyways, I'm taking a shot in the dark with this one, but hope the following helps: Usually, your undergraduate transcript will indicate where you went to high school. I would call up the registrar/admissions office at your undergraduate institution, explain your situation with your high school and community college classes, and ask if you can either see a copy of your application materials (if you live nearby) or if they can send a copy to you (if you are far away), or your high school transcript at least, so that you can get your community college grades. Or better yet--can't you send the community college a copy of your undergraduate transcript with your high school name on it? That might do the trick, without you having to contact your undergraudate registrar.

I think it really depends on the school. Check the admissions portion of each school's website; if it's silent, you might want to call the admissions office itself and ask.

Did she send it via email or regular mail? If she sent it by email I would call the office to confirm. If she sent it by regular mail, give it a few days before you call to confirm. Hope this helps!

Hurrah for joro and Maya! And wishing the best for everyone else.

I would write her the exact sentence you just wrote, in a slightly more deferential tone--something like, "in checking on my applications, I've noticed that your letter for School X is missing. I'd appreciate it if you would send me a confirmation after you have sent the letter." BTW I'm with you on this one. I'm applying to 2 schools, and 2 of my LOR writers have sent in rec letters to one of the schools only. I know they're both the types to use the same letters (or slightly modified versions) for all of my applications, and it's bugging me to no end that they haven't sent in their letters to the second school! Going to sit on my hands for a bit though seeing as I have a few weeks until the application deadline, and I don't want to come off annoying when they're working on grading finals and all that jazz.

When you initially asked for the letter, did you tell your LOR writer that December 4th was the deadline, or that it was just the early deadline? I'd be more worried if you told the LOR writer that December 4th was THE deadline but s/he has not yet replied. I'd suggest that you call your LOR writer also...I know that the time difference makes it difficult, but I wouldn't rely solely on emails if your LOR writer hasn't been responsive. My apps are due early January so I have some time, but I'm planning to email reminders to all my recommenders on Friday--the last day of the semester at my alma mater before winter break.

I'm going through similar adjustments (albeit for a master's program). I agree that the personal statement should be much like the SOP. However, I would add a few "personal" touches if your SOPs for other schools were pure research proposals. Perhaps you could include a short paragraph about how you became interested in the field, or in your research topic. I don't think it has to be super personal, but I do think it has to add some individual dimension to your interest in the field and/or your research topic. I applied to a master's program in Europe last year where I was required to submit a "research statement"--i.e., nothing about myself or how I became interested in the topic. The schools I'm applying to this year have a similar prompt to the one you posted, and when I asked friends who had also applied to those programs, they all mentioned that I should approach it from a more personal perspective.

1. I think regular printing paper is totally fine for applications. I've only used higher quality paper for my undergraduate thesis (we were required to use acid-free paper) and for job search materials (the fluffy & soft resume paper--the best in my opinion, but super expensive!). 2. When I applied to my first grad school (already 4 years ago!) I put down identifying information in the header. I didn't use page numbers b/c my SOP ended up being 2 pages max. If you are numbering a longer writing sample though, I'd put page numbers as footers just to be clear with organization and everything. 3. Stapling SOP = OK. Stapling CV = OK (again, not like a formal job application, so stapling should be OK). If your cover letter is 1 page, then I'd just place it on top of the stack and not staple it. Usually, I like to clip all the stapled parts together into 1 big packet with a small binder clip. 4. Not sure what you're referring to here, but with regards to anything I send to my LORs, I send them an informal cover letter, much like an email, with a checklist to help them keep track of everything I'm sending them and what they're supposed to do. 5. I don't think you want to send in more than 5 pages in a regular letter-sized envelope. If you're applying to lots of schools, I suggest that you stock up on large envelopes (8.5x11), which are pretty cheap at the mega office supply stores. Hope this helps!

Yes, I would say your SOP is too long, even if the upper limit is 1000 words. I don't know about other applicants, but I'm going to sick pretty close to the word limit. I could see being approximately 20 words over (like 1 sentence) as being OK, but I'd be wary of anything longer. I think following directions is just as important as the content itself; also, I think most schools have space for an optional essay or additional information.

I hear you, Maya. I think it's apt to call your LOR writer. A lot of what you say will depend on how close you are with him/her. I ran into a similar situation once and called my recommender in his office and on his cell (we're pretty close; I knew him growing up, and I worked for him for 2 years). When I couldn't get through, I left a message saying that I wanted to speak to him about a rec letter. I also called his secretary and left a message, to the effect that I wanted to speak to my recommender ASAP. Within 10 minutes of my messages, I received an email from my recommender stating that he had completed the letter and sent it out that day. In my own experience, I've found that most LOR writers who have been supportive of you in the past will pull through. When they go MIA, it's mostly because they're busy with their daily work, which includes their research, teaching, and giving and grading exams, especially at this time of the year. They haven't forgotten you; it's just that your email has been clumped together with a hundred other things that are equally urgent to them. I know, a simple "OK, will send the letter soon" or something to that effect would put us at ease, but I've known quite a few professors who read and internalize the emails they receive without replying to the sender. Hope my experience helps somewhat. Lots of luck in contacting your LOR writer tomorrow!

Thanks for sharing your stats, early admits! I had another quick question about the Fletcher online applications. How quickly are the statuses for recommendation letters updated, do you know? Just wondering if/when I should be sending out reminders to my LOR writers.

In my final days of preparation--taking the big test on Friday! I just started doing some of the practice questions on the PowerPrep software and noticed that there were a number of stats questions (standard deviation, normal distribution, etc.). It's been almost 10 years since I've done any math at all, and probably exactly 10 years since I've had statistics, so I'm a bit fuzzy in that area. Funny thing is, there were no stats questions in Barrons or the Princeton Review book that I'm using. Anyone actually run into stats questions on the actual test?

Congrats to everyone for your acceptances! Would you guys mind sharing your stats?

8 point font is very small, especially when printed. I've had readers critique my resume in the past for the font being too small, and that was Times New Roman 10 point font. The smallest 12 point font, I believe, is Times New Roman. The spacings are small so you can get more on the page than if you were typing in Courier New, for example. Is it possible to send out an email to the AdComm instead? Sending it via mail may suggest that you're trying to wiggle your way through their word/space limit. On the flip side, you might not need to send in anything, if the AdComm is used to seeing the small font from a lot of the other applicants. Take the above with a grain of salt...I'm just another applicant, trying to get thru this process

Thanks for your input, everyone... I did send a quick thank-you note to the interviewer, and received a warm reply. And I'll keep your suggestions in mind, socialpsych, when I am polishing up my SOP. My top priority right now is with the GRE...taking it next Friday!

Definitely no GPA in the SOP, unless there are some extraordinary circumstances you'd like to explain in the SOP. One school I'm applying to stated specifically that they did not want to see general justifications for poor grades in the essays. I've heard mixed things about the CV. Some of my friends who did put it on their CVs for grad school applications did so because their grades were simply outstanding, or if they had received a particularly high grade in a relevant class. Personally, I'd say don't list it unless they're stellar. The AdComm is going to see your transcripts, and the last thing you want is someone to pass over all your accomplishments and hard work just because they get fixated on a number.

Maybe try downloading PowerPrep again? I just downloaded PowerPrep, and I have Vista as well. Some of the components in the PowerPrep don't work, but the practice questions and the practice tests seem to be working just fine. There are also instructions on how to run PowerPrep on Vista on the GRE website. Don't worry if your screen seems to go out of proportion when you run PowerPrep--when you turn it off, your screen returns to normal. Hope this helps!