cupidcello

Thank you all so much! ❤️ @Ravenwood8: Will send a DM.

I got an invite to visit the FIU campus. Wow! I'm labeling this as a formal interview invite as the informal interview is now over (it was this morning), I'll get to meet my POI once more, and I'll also get a chance to check-out how I "vibe," per se, with the campus. In my honest opinion, my overall "fit" with my potential mentor is a good one, so I feel nice about this invite. Hopefully, all goes well with the visit, and I enjoy being on the campus. That would all be helpful!

Treat yourself to something nice that you know you enjoy. You've come a long way to say that you're a grad school applicant--that's for sure--, and that alone should be celebrated. Take time to appreciate how far you've come, and then buy yourself a special small something (favorite snack, extra toppings on pizza or ice cream, etc.!). Treating myself to something small during a not-as-awesome moment helps me a bit & is a nice pick-me-up so I can continue to move forward.

Hi, thanks for this thread. I'm traveling back to my family home next week--just in time for Christmas and New Year's. I also saw some posts about baking. I baked banana-raisin bread for myself and a few others as well a few days ago. Definitely helped me lower stress and worry levels. I'm not too sure what I'll do during my holiday break before I return back to my job, but maybe some post-Christmas/holiday shopping? I also have a project I'm hoping to publish at some point. I need to work on finalizing initial data collection--then there's a bunch to analyze. This is being done on my own time--outside of work hours--, so I'd be happy to use some of my holiday time for this. Hope everyone's well.

My apologies--I never replied!! Thank you!!

Hi! I got a request for an informal interview (scheduled for next week)! (I do assume that this is a good thing--I hope it is.) Woo-hoo! Please send a direct message for any further information--if interested. I'm just...wow!! Yay!

Spectacular!!!

Congratulations!!

Hi all! Three cheers for December 1st, everyone! I've been waiting for today as 2/3 schools I've applied to have a due date of today (the last one is Jan 1st). I suppose I'm also waiting for December 2nd as I understand that several schools have different time deadlines on the 1st (i.e. midnight, 17:00, 23:59 etc.). I'm also waiting for just one more recommendation letter to one school (That school's portal was down when they were ready to submit. Sigh. One would imagine that this wouldn't happen during such an important time.). Anyway, I might post tomorrow to cheer everyone again. Hope everyone is hanging in there alright! I'm actually working on some thank-you notes at the moment. 'Tis the season to be thankful, right?

@emotional and @goldenxpenguins: You're both so much closer to being done! Yeah!! One downside for submitting my materials a tad early is that I'm checking my application statuses here and there--when I'd rather not check right now (as none of my deadlines have even passed). I was advised to find a healthy hobby(ies) to pass the time. (Happily, I might have found at least one. ) Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating!

This is superb news. Congratulations!!

Very true. Also: Woo-hoo!

Thanks!! Yay for official GRE scores! Aw geez, I bet your documents are great! Honestly, in my experience, when I get constructive critiques, I feel my readers truly care about what I’m writing—which is something to feel good about, IMO.

Yay!! Less anxiety is so good! I've actually submitted 2/3 applications just now! Just waiting for 2 LOR writers to submit their letters (they're aware of my deadlines), but honestly, my part is just about done here. I'm also waiting for a (possible) application fee waiver, but I'd be OK with paying if I don't get a waiver. I totally understand that anxious--but slightly less! -- feeling.

Thank you kindly for the response!

Hello to all, I'm at the point in the application process where I'm content with everything on my end, and I'm ready to submit my applications. However, I have 4 LOR writers, and 2 have submitted. I expect a 3rd to submit one soon, and the 4th confirmed that they will submit soon as well. They all have been made aware of my deadlines. I would like to submit my applications though, especially with the (USA) holidays approaching quickly. Am I allowed to do this, even though I'm waiting on 2 LOR writers? (Note: All schools I'm applying to already accept LORs, and applications have deadline of December 1st. I do not need to submit my applications first in order for my LOR writers to submit anything. For each program I'm applying to, only 3 LORs are required--any more LORs are optional.) Thank you, and I'm definitely sorry if this has been asked already.

Agreed! We're our own best advocates! I'm definitely about to send my two of my letter writers a quick and gentle reminder (2 submitted, 2 not submitted)... I have a feeling that these particular letter writers are looking to submit their letters in one sitting, but I'll still send off a reminder as it seems to be good form. (I'm in a fortunate position where letter writers can send off LORs before I submit applications.) I'm hesitant to send hit "submit" on my applications until I have their LORs sent in (preferably from both)...or November 30th. Whichever comes first, honestly. I feel badly to give my letter writers the extra nudge as the semester's coming to a rapid close. I can only imagine how busy they are. Still, they did agree to write letters, so I suppose I'm doing the right thing by sending a kind reminder off! ---- As for my applications, everything's looking alright. Save for LORs and an answer to a fee waiver request, I believe I'm in a spot where I could submit my applications. Insanity! Thanks for the good vibes and support, all! We're inching closer to the finish line, and I'm excited for us all!

Arg, I understand your uneasy feelings. Do your schools--at least--have a sort of "grace period" for LORs? I feel that some schools tend to?

I'm in a similar(ish) boat! Two of my letter writers haven't submitted anything yet, but I can guarantee that at least one hasn't forgotten about me. ? The other? I'm unsure--I need to send an e-mail to said person. Eep! I'm also trying to get a fee waiver for one program, but I may very well not hear back from this place for a few more days. Double eep! In any case, I hope your anxiety simmers down a bit! You're taking the right steps by e-mailing--very proactive! It's probably just a busy time with the semester winding down and apps being due soon-ish, but totally follow-up on said e-mails if/when you can!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give a good cheer and a little encouragement to everyone applying right now. I hope everyone's hanging in there alright! You can do it!!

Yay! Congrats on the quant score going up!!! That's so good! My applications are going alright, I suppose. I'm trying to wrap everything up and get everything submitted around Thanksgiving time, honestly. This month's been a slight emotional roller coaster for me! I bet you're doing great! Working full time and getting these apps done = difficult! Hang in there. Hi! Personally, I think that if you had to send one set, I'd go with the AWA 4.0 set. One of my advisors said to me that some programs do look for that score of 4.0. Your other scores from exam 2, despite the lower V score, are still solid. -- Keep it going, everyone. We're all superstars. :3

Hey everyone, I apologize for the double post here, but I'm wondering how everyone's doing with their applications. -CC

Considering your situation (applying to 14/15 places), I would, personally, send a kind reminder 2 weeks before the Dec 1st deadline via e-mail. I'm saying 2 weeks because of Thanksgiving/holiday season (assuming your recommenders are from the States) and also, should they forget about your LOR, they have enough time to craft a good one. Depending on where you apply to, some schools may just want a letter, and other schools may have their own unique template for LORs. Ergo, you'll want your letter writers to have the time to submit to every school. Since you're applying to many schools--and I'm not sure if you've already done this--but I would send an Excel/spreadsheet of: the schools you are applying to, their application deadline dates, the method of how the LOR is supposed to be submitted (electronic, snail-mail), and anything else that particular school needs from them (whatever that may be). This will help them keep track of your program list. Good luck!

That's a good idea! I'm unsure if any of my letter writers are addressing my low GRE scores, but I'll be chatting about scores to one of my letter writers tomorrow. Maybe I'll bring this idea up to them? They know I've been worried about the GRE. I hope so too! I'm working in my fifth lab, and I'm currently a lab manager here. I hope this info will help within my application(s). I'm unsure of how my LoRs will be strength-wise, but I'll try to remain optimistic here. Definitely crossing my fingers for all of us too! Thanks for the reply! -CC

Thank you so much! I've received several comments, and at first glance, they all look really useful. Now to put those comments to use and change up my SOP... I'm definitely really stressed out. I did get my AWA score today, at least, and I'm very pleased with it. Still, it's been confirmed that I only received a total score of 300 for quant/qual. I'm hoping the rest of my application can assist me here... Yikes. ?