DBear

It just dawned on me today that at least one of my applications (or maybe more) is being scrutinized already and may have already ended up in the trash! I finished all my applications relatively early and all my friends keep saying "oh, you must feel so relieved!" On the contrary, my brain keeps coming up with new things to freak out about. Honestly, I never knew how creative I was until now Just needed to get that off my chest. Anyone else developing extreme paranoia?

Value added

Swedish Fish

So, so true.. I spent a slight bit more than my original estimate because one school's application fee was higher in the actual online application than it had indicated on the admissions info page.

Hot shots

@stereopticons, anything to dull the anxiety! Beer pong

Beer bottles Wonder what happened with my previous post hmmmm...

I'm too busy stalking and nagging one of my LoR writers lol Everything else is done! Good luck everyone!

Yay! I'm glad to hear that you were able to find a way around the problem. I was talking to a friend of mine who applied last year to English programs - we have a LoR writer in common and she was telling me that departments really do give you that wiggle room. The professor we have in common is notorious for being late (he even forgot one student completely one year and submitted ZERO letters) and she was telling me not to worry, it wouldn't impact my application. She even said that one school emailed her saying they hadn't gotten the letter and once she got it in, she almost immediately got her acceptance from that school. That being said, if your letter writer is that unresponsive, then I think you did the right thing in switching her out - late is okay, but if there's no certainty she'll write the letter at all, that's a different issue! Good luck!

I think your GRE scores are more than adequate, I don't think they will be an impediment. Your SOP is more important then as a tool to show that you have research capabilities even if your GPA is not stellar. I agree that writing about accomplishments most relevant to your research interests and your proposed field of study is important. However, if you have room to do so, I think that writing about research-related accomplishments that are not completely related will not be bad either since that is still linked to your potential to do well in the field. If you craft the essay well, you can tie in these other accomplishments to show that they are make you a better candidate. Also, I think it is important to choose the right schools. If you are focused on getting a terminal MA, but the schools you apply to would prefer students to go on to a PhD, then you may need to look at other schools. Good luck!

Water retention

I so want to go with dismember but that's only one word.... Water board

Burger joint

Jaeger bomb

Rehearsal dinner @stereopticons I've been a hungry mess since you hit us with hot pockets. Alas, those are not sold in my neck of the woods

Hot mess

If you apply to programs that use GRE as an initial filter, sad to say that you may not make the cutline. If you get past that initial screen, though, you have a great list of credentials so a good SOP and letters of recommendation could offset the GRE scores.Hopefully the schools you listed don't filter you out...

Tequila shot

So sorry that happened to you... LoRs that one part of the application process that lies out of our hands.. If that's the email reply you got, I think all there is left to do is hope for the best, unfortunately. It does seem that most schools will review late LoRs, so perhaps they'll still review your application. My most optimistic interpretation of the email you got back is that it's a canned response, and they don't want to encourage late submissions in any of their official communications. Another way to read this is that there's also no guarantee that the admissions commission WON'T look at your documents. If anyone who got in to these schools can confirm or add something, I'm sure that would be helpful as this is only based on general conjecture..

I found that most schools don't send notices regarding receipt of Letters - at least for the schools that I've applied for. For UMass, I'm not sure what happens because by the time I got the login id to track the application status, two of my letter writers had already uploaded their letters, so perhaps if they'd uploaded them later, then I would've gotten a notification. I also noticed that some schools don't have one simple button you can press to resend invitations or reminders, which is a pain....

Is it possible to call her? For the apps due on the 15th, being a bit later than the 15th should be fine, but then the one that says the 15th is the latest, I would take that at face value and let her know that's the most urgent one - if she's in the office and you can physically drop bye, that would work too, I think - I feel like she spaced out thinking that she sent in one and she was done. One of the professors in my department actually blanked on this one student's application cycle completely and sent ZERO letters out - needless to say he didn't get in anywhere.. so... assuming the worst may be necessary....

Jingle bells

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