CatBowl

Hey, folks. I had a major meltdown this morning so my mom sat me down and gave me some insight into the admissions process now that I’ve turned my applications in. She’s a tenured English professor at a large public research university (with only MAs, no PhD program), and has served on an admissions committee a handful of times.
She walked me through the review process at her institution and what she’s gathered from peers who also review doctoral applications at other schools. She shied away from giving me too much information before I sent in my apps because she’s way too ethical and has students applying to some of the same schools as me, but now that they’re in she unloaded a bunch of useful information (which, on second thought, might be more helpful for people applying next year than those who’ve already applied).
Either way, I thought I’d share this information in case it gives others some insight into this nightmarish process, or at least assuages some of the dread that comes with waiting for decisions. As always, please take this with a mountain of salt, since its only one person’s experience and mostly hearsay since I didn’t take amazing notes when we were chatting (but I did read this post aloud to her and it has her stamp of approval). 
And of course, apologies if hearing about the process from a professor’s perspective after submitting applications might feel unhelpful/provoke further anxiety. It was comforting to me just to take the mystery out of it, but might not be to others. 
 
At her (small-ish) program, there are only 2 professors who read the entirety of the applications each year Admissions or the college of liberal arts have some basic guidelines, and the department administrator separates out the people who don’t meet these requirements before forwarding the applications to the faculty members  The adcomm faculty members still review the applications of folks who don’t meet requirements like GPA minimums, however, especially if they have supplemental letters/explanations for poor performance or test scores (mom says she wouldn’t want to miss a ‘diamond in the rough,’ lol, but she’s been listening to a lot of Hamilton lately) 
  The first thing she does when reviewing an application is independently read the SOP and writing sample There are some expectations for both pieces that determine whether or not the applicant is likely to be considered ‘graduate school ready,’ mostly the candidate’s reason for pursuing graduate study and their demonstrated interest in literary study She says a surprising number of people say things like “I want to go to graduate school because I love reading,” which to her doesn’t show that they understand the demands and expectations of grad school, and it comes across to her like they’re unsure of what to do after undergrad so they just want to bide time Even if the SOP and writing sample do not pass this initial litmus test, she and the other faculty member are expected to read the rest of the application, with the exception of applications that are to the wrong school or unreadable or clearly plagiarised etc.   She and other faculty reviewers at her institution almost always place more weight on LORs than transcripts and test scores. I asked her to rank the pieces of the application from most to least important and she said the following: SOP, writing sample, LORs, transcript, test scores (pretty common knowledge already, but it was reassuring to hear that the pieces I have the most control over are the most important)
  The 2 profs then independently make shortlists of applicants they want to accept, with around 10-15 more people than the average cohort size They then discuss with the other reviewer, and most of the time end up with unanimous ‘rankings,’ but sometimes have to get outside readers (i.e. other faculty or trusted admin) to determine who to choose if two candidates are especially close The top however-many of the list are guaranteed funding or a GTA (since their school doesn’t fund all MA students)
  My mom’s colleagues at both private and public schools who do have PhD programs review applications in a similar way, she believes, and last she heard there are usually double the number of faculty on their adcomms (so, like 4 or more people looking at each application) depending on program size/number of applicants
  Her institution does not recalculate GPAs, and she says most faculty are (hopefully) human enough to not put too much weight on undergraduate ‘pedigree.’  She says she approaches applicants like she would her own students, i.e. she’s generally on their side, want them to be successful candidates, and gives people the benefit of doubt when it comes to things like grades and test scores if they have adequate explanations  However, really poor writing is the only thing that will automatically remove an applicant from serious consideration when she’s on an adcomm, and of course negative LORs or other similar red flags (like mostly C’s and D’s in English courses, or no academic progression/clear patterns in performance) 
  She also doesn’t view older applicants negatively at all, and the only time she will really question an exceptionally large gap between undergraduate and graduate (like, over 12-15 years) is if their writing isn’t demonstrably graduate-level (and even then she said she’ll consider the possibility they might just be out of practice compared to an applicant fresh out of college who probably have more resources/proofreaders at hand) She said that sometimes older applicants demonstrate a lot of maturity and seriousness because they’ve had enough time to consider their career paths— they’re often her most engaged and dedicated students If a candidate is still in undergraduate but shows they clearly understand what grad school is about, this also will not be held against them 
  Diversity of experience counts a lot in her department She always tries to assess how a student might change the culture of the program ‘Fit’ to her is very much about determining who may contribute to the diversity of perspectives upon which the humanities classroom thrives Academic interests are important, especially if what they want to study isn’t offered in the department, but so is admitting students who can learn from one another, and from whom faculty can learn as well. This sounds cheesy, but she said its an important way to foster a well-balanced program
  The last thing she said to me is that graduate admissions varies immensely from year to year (which, sort of unhelpful but I guess a harsh reality)  Usually its a different set of people reviewing each year at her school, and she’s seen her own top students shut out entirely one year and then accepted nearly everywhere the next Many of the most successful scholars she knows have had entirely unrelated careers before going for their doctorates, or they’ve faced the challenge of having to apply twice or even thrice before finding success It really is a crapshoot, but that also means applying again and again won’t reflect poorly on you for most adcomms because it really depends on who else is applying that year  (And she also said some sappy mom-stuff about this torturous experience having nothing to do with my worth as a scholar or person, but that’s not coming from her as a professor so maybe not as helpful)  If you’ve made it this far,  I’m sorry this is so long, but my mom offered to answer any questions if anyone has any I didn’t think to ask. She didn’t know I have been on gradcafe for so long and is worried that I check it too often, but was also excited when I told her I was posting this stuff because she remembers her application days and how horrible it feels not to know. 

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope some of this was helpful to you!  

Do any of the rest of you here watch The Good Place? It is great at cheering the endless anxiety parade that is waiting for decisions!

SSDGM!  I knew I couldn't be the only murderino on here!

It's about that time I suppose! I was notified via email from the chair of graduate studies of my acceptance to U of Illinois- Urbana Champaign PhD program...."champaign" befits this evening's festivities for me! Good luck to everyone...it's getting real!

Hi everyone! Long time lurker here! I posted the UIUC acceptance. Still in utter shock. I applied to many, many programs and I'm surprised that the first one I've heard back from is an acceptance.

@Bopie5 I am working on a paper about human-controlled climates/ climate disasters in early film (Deluge, maybe Metropolis, I am trying to find other films). Jennifer Fay has a good book which covers a lot of this. I am also trying to read a lot about how early films were made as the mechanics of this is mostly what I want to discuss. How does this control of weather mirror the Anthropocene control of climates. This is the last paper I have before I write my thesis sooooooo I wanna get it done...

@Sav Yes! The teaching part of Oregon's app took me by surprise too. 
But yes, I feel pretty good about mentioning my teaching experience but not doting on it for too long in my SOP. Research is my priority and I hope adcomm members see it that way too. 
I haven't posted much lately (or really, much at all), but I am so excited to see where everyone ends up also! 

REAL.
Tbh, since we've all been spending more time talking on here, I've gotten increasingly invested in all of your decisions as well as mine! I can't wait to see where all of you end up, and it's fun to think that maybe some of us would end up in the same programs!

I guess the danger would be if a program is more focused on research than teaching it would be a risk? But you should definitely be proud of it, and to me it makes sense to emphasize it if possible as teaching is usually the goal post-PhD. It definitely shows you're qualified!

OK, so, I took down some figures from the link above and compiled it. I'll post my data below, but first, some disclaimers:
- DO NOT use this information or rely on it for anything other than a way to pass the time while you obsess over results. Why? Because this is not reliable at all. Some reasons why it's not reliable:
Gradcafe is not a representative community The data on Gradcafe might reflect more about website usage rather than actual results Any changes year to year could also be down to program changes, programs vary their selection practices and cohort sizes The data actually found on Gradcafe is not necessarily accurate (there are trolls, people submitting more than once, people submitting in the wrong category or date, etc.) Even if everything was accounted for, we don't know any funding information The data does not correlate with actual figures we have from schools Probably more reasons, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. So, with that out of the way, here's what I've done:
I have two tables, one for all schools and for one my 18 (so the second is mostly helpful for me, but many of you are applying to the same programs, so it's slightly helpful to you). I selected English Lit and English (unspecified) PhDs ONLY. No rhetoric, no MAs. All applicants were selected, and then I looked at the data for each fall cycle. I made a note of the applicant totals for rejections, acceptances and waitlists and tallied them all. I then calculated two totals: one with the waitlist and one without, because there is no way to know if a waitlist result stayed that way (and would thus be a rejection) or if was later reposted as a rejection/acceptance (which would mean the waitlist should be discarded). Thus, the 'real' total is probably somewhere between the two. I then calculated the acceptance rate based on the two totals. I did not use any GPA or GRE stuff because it would just complicate things, and we don't know if they're good indicators anyway So, is this useful? Probably not. As stated above, the data is unreliable. Even if the data was reliable, we do not have enough market information to make any conclusions. Even if the data was reliable, we cannot know how many actual people are involved (so we have no real numbers). So the acceptance rates are probably useless (though I think it's amusing how they're several times higher than the norm). With that in mind, what CAN we discover through this? I think we can get some estimate of how many spots there are on offer at these schools. Leaving aside the fact that not all acceptances on the board are actual acceptances, so assuming that they're mostly correct: every correct acceptance on the board is one actual spot offered during that year. While one person might have collected several acceptances, one would assume that this person only goes to one school and that the other schools would offer the spot to the next person. The issue is that some acceptances might actually be the same spot (person A gets two offers, selects offer 1, offer 2 is then given to person B, who accepts). There is simply no way of knowing with the data that we have, so all we have is a very rough estimate. Perhaps this issue could be addressed somewhat by only looking at the first batches of responses, rather than any offers given in March or April. That would mean going school by school, something I did not do this time because it would take too long for what is ultimately a useless activity.
Anyway, the data from the last 3 years indicates that there is kind of a trend in totals, so perhaps we can expect similar numbers this year. So, here's what I got, now please overanalyze so we have things to discuss:
 

Congrats @Bopie5 for all those good news. I know that's frustrating but those things will always happen because you will always discover something new to add to your SoP or new accomplishments. The brightside: you're always evolving as a scholar! Honestly, with so many things being online now I would welcome a system that allowed you to make as many changes as you want, whenever you want, and the adcomms will see things when they see things. If they printed everything the day after you submitted and you made new changes, too bad. But if they haven't yet, you can still reflect your new ideas. I know why we need hard deadlines (which committees have tended to disregard many a time), but once documents are in but have not been evaluated yet (because who reviews applications over the break or during finals?), I see no harm in allowing for changes. I think some portals allow for it, too.
Y'all, if we're all here panicking we need to posting, so at least it feels like things are happening. Start thinking of things to contribute/say.
For instance, I dunno how many of your are on your second go like me, but for those who aren't, I figure it would help to know exactly what to expect (not that it matters, you'll know when there are changes), so let me tell you what happened to me last year:
I applied to roughly the same number of schools I did this year (so a lot). I got rejected outright everywhere except NYU who offered a partially funded MA I could not afford but was grateful to receive. In pretty much every case barring perhaps one or two that notified everyone at once or within a day, you will hear about interviews and admits first and days or weeks (maybe even a month) later you will hear about rejections. Since all of mine were rejections or partial rejections, that is what I can speak to. In all cases I received an email. Half said to check the portal for a decision notification (which appears out of nowhere, there isn't a box that suddenly changes to CHECK THIS CHECK THIS), the other half stated the decision in the email itself. Some are from DGS, some from Graduate School reps. Most came in February with a few in March, the first was Chicago on February 9th (I applied to Chicago, Brown, Columbia, CUNY, NYU, Michigan, Penn, Virginia, Rutgers, as well as some in Comp Lit and Rhetoric (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA)). Some people talked about seeing changes in the portal before they got an email, and I think that happened to me once, but I ultimately got emails from everyone. The week of February 20th or so was the most active.
As for my half-acceptance. I got an email from a graduate administrator at NYU with two pdfs, one with a letter from the program head notifying me of my rejection/acceptance, and another with registration information. Two days later I got the official offer through an email telling me to check the portal. From this experience my assumption is that if you get a decision notification email it is most likely a rejection, but there have been cases where that was not the case. In all likelihood if several acceptances (beware of dummies and trolls) are posted to the results board and you do not hear from them within a day, it is likely a rejection.
I know no one asked but I also know that last year all I wanted was some sort of info. Like where do I look in the portal to see if I've been accepted (in most cases it will appear above the checklist). Since I'm sure everyone will be refreshing the results page and the portal, let me assure you that, at least in the cases of the universities I mentioned, you WILL receive an email with a decision, no one is forgetting about you, but obviously if you're not accepted it will take longer. Also, the results page, as useful as it is, is also the most demoralizing thing ever. Use with care.
Hope this helps. If anyone wants to know how specific programs notify (rejections) and what they said (mostly generic), let me know and I'll check.

Editing is a very important skill to have. However, I don't think I would worry about this. 500 words is about 2 pages double-spaced. I don't think anyone is going to sit there and count the number of words you used as long as its within about 5ish percent of their request. I would be more concerned if they requested 500 words and you gave them 600-700 words. I think you'd be best served by focusing on other aspects of your application.

I recommend to everyone to do a quick check of faculty pages before you submit anything. I was working on my online app for CUNY and realized that some faculty I had mentioned in my app were no longer listed (I last checked a month ago). Maybe some places don't update their faculty profiles periodically, but it's worth checking even if just to make sure that the people you mention are actually still there.

Hello!
I've been lurking around grad cafe for a few months--finally decided to make an account and start posting so I could share in the stress and anxiety over applying to PhD English lit programs for fall 2019.
I finish my M.A. in the Spring. Hoping to transition into a PhD program next fall. It's interesting seeing the people on here who finished their M.A. and then took a few years off. I'm terrified that I'd lose interest or become too lazy to go through the application process after a break from academia.
Briefly I'll mention that I'm looking to focus, broadly speaking, in ecocriticism/environmental lit. It's actually super cool to see other ecocrit people here..Environmental lit seems to feel like a small branch of English studies, but perhaps it's starting to grow? I had no idea environmental lit was even an area of study when I was an undergrad. I'm still finalizing my list of programs I'll apply to--but I think i'm aiming for about 8-10. Even 8-10 feels like a lot, especially considering that I'm not planning on applying to any top 20 schools. Still hoping I can put a lot of TLC into each application.
Anyway, looking forward to sharing in the joys of application season with everyone on here. Happy to mention any more specifics about my application stuff/background if people are curious.
And also a pre-emptive good luck to everyone. Given the fact that we're all gathered here and putting our hearts into getting into PhD (or m.a.) programs probably means we're on the right track, and I'm confident that it'll all work out in the end for all of us :).

Wow! My head is swimming in all this excellent advice. Thanks, all, for commenting. Several of my professors also suggested applying to all the programs I can afford and can make time for tailoring apps. Luckily, I'm in the position finance-wise and time-wise to apply to all 18-ish schools on my list (after several more rounds of vetting, of course).
@FreakyFoucault Thanks for the welcome and for all the suggestions! You have put my mind at ease regarding the GRE (at least, for now). And as for the money talk, I see now that the return on investment of applying to more schools greatly outweighs the initial cost of apps. Thanks for putting that in terms that I can easily understand! I will look again at Stanford and message you if I have any questions – thanks a bunch. 
I'll be mindful of application fatigue, too, @Kilos. I'm hoping that I've started this application process soon enough to avoid the fatigue showing up in apps, but we shall see. 
@Warelin, those numbers really put this whole thing into perspective. It seems like my expectations should be thrown out the window when it comes to acceptances/rejections.  
@M(allthevowels)H I would love to hear about Ole Miss's program if you don't mind! I've just looked into Rice and I was impressed with the faculty working on environmental lit. Plus, living in Houston would be great, I imagine. They have already been added to my list – thanks for the suggestion. Congrats on your acceptances and good luck in the fall! 
@klader I will be sure to only apply to schools where I see a strong fit. The problem so far is that I fall in love with so many programs that I look into! But yes, I look forward to the day when campus visits are around the corner. I'm not currently a student, so I'll have to work something out with my job, but it sounds like campus visits are necessary on the decision-making side of this process. Thanks for your suggestions! 
I'm sure I'm not doing replying correctly, but I wanted to make sure to thank everyone for their sound advice. You guys rock! 
 

Hi hi! I'm applying for 2019 as well. My research interests include contemporary American lit and ecocriticism/environmental lit. I focused on Southern lit in my MA, so I'd love to continue work on Southern lit if I can make it work, but ecocrit is far more important to me at this point. I'm applying to 15ish schools – still narrowing down. I'm retaking the GRE this weekend (thankful for any good vibes sent my way) because my scores from several years ago are pretty terrible. I've chosen not to take the Subject test because f that. ☺️
I've been revising my writing sample and drafting my statements of purpose since about May but still have a lot more work to do. I feel great about my rec letters and my CV. 
I too am constantly worried that I'm not doing enough, @Scarlet A+. Best of luck to everyone with this anxiety-ridden process! 

I'm fascinated with Annette Kolodny's texts, particularly The Lay of the Land. I also loved Marti Kheel's article "From Heroic to Holistic Ethics: The Ecofeminist Challenge," and incorporated bits from both in my MA thesis. Christine Flanagan's work on Flannery O'Connor, though not strictly ecofeminist, resonated with me as well. I focused on O'Connor's novel Wise Blood in my thesis, and I did an ecofeminist reading of the protagonist of Wise Blood for my writing sample and leaned on these works a good bit. 

I'm fascinated with Annette Kolodny's texts, particularly The Lay of the Land. I also loved Marti Kheel's article "From Heroic to Holistic Ethics: The Ecofeminist Challenge," and incorporated bits from both in my MA thesis. Christine Flanagan's work on Flannery O'Connor, though not strictly ecofeminist, resonated with me as well. I focused on O'Connor's novel Wise Blood in my thesis, and I did an ecofeminist reading of the protagonist of Wise Blood for my writing sample and leaned on these works a good bit. 

@Matthew3957 just DM'ed you! ☺️

Hi @Matthew3957! I am glad to hear there's some crossover between our lists. My list has changed a bit since originally posting since I've had some time to vet. I'm probably applying to UTA still (I also love Heather Houser's work!) because of the location, to be honest. I agree with you about UCLA 100% and I'm no longer applying because of the damn subject test. Princeton was on my list because of Rob Nixon, though I probably won't apply there because of – you guessed it – the subject test requirement. I still have time to decide if I want to sign up to take the test. 
Since I've done some thinking about where I'll apply, I've also decided to apply to Rice and possibly UMich as well. I'm also applying to U of Iowa; they offer environmental humanities courses periodically, but from what I've gathered, a lot of profs there include ecocrit in their seminars and are willing for their students to take ecocritical approaches in their classes. Oregon has very quickly become one of my top choices. 
Yes – my SOP has gone through several massive revisions already since I posted originally. It's been a tough one for me but I keep telling myself I have plenty of time (I'm applying this year). Are you applying this year or next? 
Excited to hear your thoughts! 

Thank you so much! You have no idea how happy this has made me. But... why can't they say this on their website!? It is so strange to me that these programs are not advertising these major selling points.
But then again, given what @Warelin has mentioned above, perhaps it is in their best interests not to. @Warelin: thanks for the tip on searching the program's name in the board and seeing what others have been offered. I think at this point I can narrow this list down to a number that's more workable so that I can either do that, email the respective DGSs, or ask students directly if they've received funding.
@a_sort_of_fractious_angel The website's wording is so strange: "All PhD applicants for full-time study are automatically considered for departmental financial support. These awards are based on academic merit, not financial need." If you know the program is fully-funded, I guess the latter statement is actually meant to be reassuring, telling prospective applicants that they'll be offered funding if they get into the program regardless of their income level. But to someone who doesn't know that, it makes it sound competitive and "considered for funding" definitely makes it sound competitive. Anyway, I'm definitely taking your word for it that it's funded. But thank you for the offer! I'm not sure yet whether Buffalo will be on my "finalists" list.

Wow! My head is swimming in all this excellent advice. Thanks, all, for commenting. Several of my professors also suggested applying to all the programs I can afford and can make time for tailoring apps. Luckily, I'm in the position finance-wise and time-wise to apply to all 18-ish schools on my list (after several more rounds of vetting, of course).
@FreakyFoucault Thanks for the welcome and for all the suggestions! You have put my mind at ease regarding the GRE (at least, for now). And as for the money talk, I see now that the return on investment of applying to more schools greatly outweighs the initial cost of apps. Thanks for putting that in terms that I can easily understand! I will look again at Stanford and message you if I have any questions – thanks a bunch. 
I'll be mindful of application fatigue, too, @Kilos. I'm hoping that I've started this application process soon enough to avoid the fatigue showing up in apps, but we shall see. 
@Warelin, those numbers really put this whole thing into perspective. It seems like my expectations should be thrown out the window when it comes to acceptances/rejections.  
@M(allthevowels)H I would love to hear about Ole Miss's program if you don't mind! I've just looked into Rice and I was impressed with the faculty working on environmental lit. Plus, living in Houston would be great, I imagine. They have already been added to my list – thanks for the suggestion. Congrats on your acceptances and good luck in the fall! 
@klader I will be sure to only apply to schools where I see a strong fit. The problem so far is that I fall in love with so many programs that I look into! But yes, I look forward to the day when campus visits are around the corner. I'm not currently a student, so I'll have to work something out with my job, but it sounds like campus visits are necessary on the decision-making side of this process. Thanks for your suggestions! 
I'm sure I'm not doing replying correctly, but I wanted to make sure to thank everyone for their sound advice. You guys rock! 
 

Wow! My head is swimming in all this excellent advice. Thanks, all, for commenting. Several of my professors also suggested applying to all the programs I can afford and can make time for tailoring apps. Luckily, I'm in the position finance-wise and time-wise to apply to all 18-ish schools on my list (after several more rounds of vetting, of course).
@FreakyFoucault Thanks for the welcome and for all the suggestions! You have put my mind at ease regarding the GRE (at least, for now). And as for the money talk, I see now that the return on investment of applying to more schools greatly outweighs the initial cost of apps. Thanks for putting that in terms that I can easily understand! I will look again at Stanford and message you if I have any questions – thanks a bunch. 
I'll be mindful of application fatigue, too, @Kilos. I'm hoping that I've started this application process soon enough to avoid the fatigue showing up in apps, but we shall see. 
@Warelin, those numbers really put this whole thing into perspective. It seems like my expectations should be thrown out the window when it comes to acceptances/rejections.  
@M(allthevowels)H I would love to hear about Ole Miss's program if you don't mind! I've just looked into Rice and I was impressed with the faculty working on environmental lit. Plus, living in Houston would be great, I imagine. They have already been added to my list – thanks for the suggestion. Congrats on your acceptances and good luck in the fall! 
@klader I will be sure to only apply to schools where I see a strong fit. The problem so far is that I fall in love with so many programs that I look into! But yes, I look forward to the day when campus visits are around the corner. I'm not currently a student, so I'll have to work something out with my job, but it sounds like campus visits are necessary on the decision-making side of this process. Thanks for your suggestions! 
I'm sure I'm not doing replying correctly, but I wanted to make sure to thank everyone for their sound advice. You guys rock! 
 

I think this is a very excellent point. Three of the programs I was accepted at were the last three added before I finalized the list and sent them to my professors. I liked them all, but thought my chances were too low. The process is really humbling. I was rejected by colleges that I thought I had a really good chance of getting in based on scores, admission rates and interests. And accepted by schools I thought I had no chance at. I was accepted by schools that accept less than 5 percent of applicants and rejected by schools that accept more than 30 percent of their applicants.

I completely agree with both of the above sentiments. All of our suggestions here bear a tacit YMMV caveat. If OP determines in their cost-benefit analysis that applying to five programs makes the most sense, then five is the magic number! Alternatively, if they want to hedge their bets and apply to 15, then 15 is the magic number! Here's the catch: I was initially hesitant to remark that "you're accepted to 0% of the programs to which you don't apply" because such a trivialism ignores the significant opportunity cost (time and money) involved in adding more schools to the list. I was lucky enough to be able to pay the $2300 it took to get myself into grad school. In an alternate universe, however, I might've applied only to the 3 universities that accepted me and saved a bunch of money doing so. If that had been the case, I'd likely be the proud owner of a preowned Honda Rebel 300 -- I'd be unstoppable!!! But, on the other hand, I also might've applied only to the 13 schools that ended up rejecting me, which would've cost a lot and left me with nothing. Both situations are possible, the former certainly so: @Kilos, and many others here, have succeeded despite (or, perhaps, because of) applying to only a handful of programs. Nonetheless, others here apply to many and receive only a few acceptances ... or none. It's a numbers game, but with research and good luck you can do well for yourself without breaking the bank. 
Kilos is also right to mention application fatigue. Because I got a job after graduating, I was able to prepare my applications deliberately over the course of a year and a half. I did a little grad-school work here and there (sometimes at my office) with ample breaks and largely avoided burning out. Unfortunately, not all applicants have time on their side. If you do, however, I'd start researching and writing (and getting the tests out of the way) as soon as possible. Avoid procrastinating, though, because time truly does evaporate after you leave school. You have to be vigilant to avoid the fate of Samuel Johnson's Idler: 
“[Mr. Sober] draws oils and waters [from his chemical furnace], and essences and spirits, which he knows to be of no use; sits and counts the drops as they come from his retort, and forgets that, whilst a drop is falling, a moment flies away.”
Just be mindful of your options, OP. Hindsight, for those of us who are starting programs in 2018, is 20-20. Foresight, of course, isn't. Do what makes sense for you. The right course will become evident in time.