ctenophora

You can still submit your application.  My understanding is that as long as your application is in on time you're okay.  For 3 programs I applied to, 2 of my letters were submitted 3-6 days late.  One PI emailed me suggesting I follow up with my writers.  The other departments didn't seem to care.  So far, I've been invited to interview with one of those programs, so I can at least say my late letters did not disqualify my application.

I took notes at all of my previous interviews & I plan to on my future ones.  One faculty teased me, but I don't think this affected me negatively b/c I think we had a nice chat.  Taking notes helps me remember what I talked to everyone about, which is nice when sending thank you emails out or just generally reflecting on my visit.  Plus, some faculty have made some suggestions on additional papers/ faculty to check out... some have talked about ideas, methods, etc., that I didn't recognize & I liked their explanations... others have suggested additional analyses to run in my research... & these are all things that I want to remember to look into.  Other people have warned me about such & such class or so & so professor... some grad students have told me where the cool & cheap places to live are... all info that I would want to know should I matriculate into that program.  So, even if I look silly with my tiny notebook, I'm glad I have it.  

I took notes at all of my previous interviews & I plan to on my future ones.  One faculty teased me, but I don't think this affected me negatively b/c I think we had a nice chat.  Taking notes helps me remember what I talked to everyone about, which is nice when sending thank you emails out or just generally reflecting on my visit.  Plus, some faculty have made some suggestions on additional papers/ faculty to check out... some have talked about ideas, methods, etc., that I didn't recognize & I liked their explanations... others have suggested additional analyses to run in my research... & these are all things that I want to remember to look into.  Other people have warned me about such & such class or so & so professor... some grad students have told me where the cool & cheap places to live are... all info that I would want to know should I matriculate into that program.  So, even if I look silly with my tiny notebook, I'm glad I have it.  

I'm not in biology, but these are some example questions that I asked when I visited schools:
To individual professors:
1. General questions about the research that the lab performs. I'd ask about what the current projects are.
2. I would also ask them about future directions for the lab? What projects are they thinking about in the future? 
3. Are you thinking of growing the lab or keeping it the same size?
     3a. If growing the lab, are there plans to go in new directions for research, or increase work on current paths?
4. How often do you send students to conferences?
5. (for lab fields where there are rotations): How many students rotate in your lab? How many stay?
6. Is [the project you want to work on with this professor] funded? For how long?
7. What are your expectations for a graduate student in your lab/group? (I'd keep it general at first to see what they say, but if they ask for more specific, I usually ask to find out if they would be okay with people working from home, or would they want you in the lab from certain hours etc.)
8. What is the typical time to graduation for your students?
9. What do your students do after graduation?
10. Specific questions about success rate of their students in your chosen post-graduate career path

To department heads or other administrator: (most of my visits involved at least 1 meeting with someone from "departmental administration")
(Although you can ask some of these Qs to faculty as well)
1. How many students join the department each year?
2. What is the typical graduation rate / how many finish? (Also ask: how many pass quals? candidacy? etc.)
3. Ask about the funding structure---if it's TA based then how are they assigned? Does everyone who wants one gets one?
4. What are the department's future hiring plans? Are you planning to grow? What subfields will you be hiring in?
5. Ask about course requirements and other degree requirements (especially if you have prior coursework or a Masters, find out what changes, if any)
6. Ask what happens if you win external fellowships---does your TA requirement go down? do you get more money?
7. Ask about things you're interested in pursuing while you're in grad school, for example: elective courses outside of department? extra opportunities to teach? outreach opportunities? varsity sports (in Canada, grad students are part of varsity athletics too)
To current graduate students:
1. Pretty much all of the same questions as above---you want to see the student's point of view of things and see how they line up with the faculty's point of view.
2. Ask about the quality of classes
3. Ask about the workload of a TAship---how many hours do you really work?
4. Ask about the typical work expectations of the department and especially of the professors you want to work with
5. Ask about where people live
6. Is the stipend enough? 
7. Ask about programs in the department and on campus that support you and whatever you need (e.g. diversity center, parents, cultural clubs, international student office, etc.)

Medievalmaniac, I really don't think that the SoP is the right place to explain your coursework, unless it has direct relevance to the narrative you're writing about your development. I just attached a sheet with all my applications called "Undergraduate Coursework in Literature" or "Relevant Coursework," and then divide it up into "English" and "French." Under each category, I had the course number, the actual full title, the prof, and my grade in it. That way they can cross-reference with my transcript if they want, but they have the important info that they'll really be mining my transcript for isolated for them already. And I didn't have to take up precious space in my SoP explaining them.

As for what I did in my SoP that I think worked, I have some perspective on that, having been roundly rejected two years ago and pretty decent success this round (though UVa and U Washington, what is UP?! Still waiting on them). I really think the difference between my two SoPs is the big thing that made the difference, as my numbers and other qualifications (and even most of my writing sample, though I edited it) are the same. So here's what I think made the difference, in three alliterative categories:

1. Focus. Like it or not, they want to be able to categorize you. You can have secondary interests, but they have to be clearly secondary and bear some relation to your main focus. Last time I tried to tell too many stories of my development, and there were too many directions I could go in. This was partially a reflection of where I was at the time, and honestly I think they were right to reject me straight out of undergrad - I needed some time to reflect, to think about what I actually wanted to do in the field. Now that I have, my SoP reflects that clearer sense of direction and purpose.

2. Fit. Everyone tells you this, but it's true. I spent a lot more time really researching profs on the websites, then looking up and scanning through a few key articles, and skimming through the courses they taught. It really gives you a better idea of whether their interests and methodologies ACTUALLY fit yours, or whether it just looks like that on paper. I then tailored my fit paragraph to show how multiple faculty members could support my research interests (this may be English-specific, as in other non-humanitites disciplines you are applying to work with one advisor). Also, if the department has a pet methodology, it's helpful to know that - they'll look for students who fit that bill. Interdisciplinary programs that faculty are involved in and subfield/methodologically-specific colloquia, etc. are also things to look for.

3. Future. This could vary, depending on how much of an academic past you have, but for me what helped was focusing discussing even my past towards showing how it formed a trajectory for the future. I've said in other places around here that the best advice I got for my SoP was that you should think about demonstrating that you are capable of conceiving of a larger project; whether or not you end up doing that project is irrelevant, as you probably won't and the adcomm is well aware of that - the point is that you are CAPABLE of conceiving of a future direction for yourself. I focused on telling a story (i.e. "I'm interested in the relationship to place in Modernist literature") and cutting all details of my past that didn't mesh with that. So by the end I was able to say look! What I discussed doing in paragraphs x (gloss of relevant coursework/advisors, focus), y (challenges and triumphs of writing my thesis and learning theory), and z (teaching, living different places) all feed into the project I'm proposing in this last paragraph (though the project was sufficiently broad so as not to pigeonhole me). I said that I wanted to go in certain different directions, but it was clear that it would be a continuation of my development, not starting anew. They want to see that you are capable of functioning independently as an academic (should be demonstrated by your past and by the fact that you can independently come up with good future directions), but that they have something to offer in terms of guiding you.

Hope that helps!

I just had a professor who sits on admissions committees look over my SOP.

My introduction was talking about how I liked to go to museums as a child and was fascinated by the ancient world. He said that starting out like this is a huge mistake. Obviously if you are applying to study archaeology at the graduate level, it's pretty much assumed that you're fascinated by the ancient world and probably enjoy museums. But so do lots of people. What makes you unique. Attempt to illustrate your passion for the field without really telling some kind of silly story about your childhood. This is also an approach that many people take, and if you really want a strong SOP you'll find a better, more mature, and more creative way to say it.

The next point is, whether or not to talk about the negatives on your application. I wrote mine this year mentioning them extremely briefly and moving on. My thought behind this was to simply focus heavily on all the points that make me a competitive applicant. However, some graduate programs explicitly say that your SOP is the place on your application to mention your negatives and why the committee should overlook them. Obviously, this should not be the focus of your SOP. What the committees are looking for here is growth and improvement above all. Do not make excuses for poor grades, weak GRE scores, or a spotty work record. Do, however, point out how you have grown, how the committee can see improvement, and then highlight the things that make you a fabulous candidate.

The last thing I will mention is also very important, particularly for PhDs. Make sure that you know who you are applying to study under, and what your project is. Demonstrate that you would fit into the department like a glove and that you read Dr. Octopus' latest article on the newest theory, etc. etc. etc. Also, have a concise project in mind. Remember, you're not married to this idea, but you need to show the committee that you can ask the right kind of questions concerning your proposed research and that the project is something that the faculty could help you on based off of their interests and previous work. Do not make this project a carbon-copy of something they have previously accomplished, but a project that complements the research they have already performed. It is also highly advisable, since your job as a PhD student is essentially to perform lots of independent research, to demonstrate that you are capable of performing independent research. Although you want to show that you are a good fit for the program, you do not want to appear as though your adviser will have to hold your hand for the next five years.

Hope that helps! I'm no expert, but these are simply my thoughts on the process.

I will start this thread up to try to have a place for non-biomedical applicants to start discussions about this upcoming application cycle. Here is the topic from last year if you would like to read it and mine it for information.
2015 Application Cycle
Feel free to post your stats to get advice from others. Here is the template the main thread is using.
Good luck to everyone this year! I wish you all the best.