willtherebestars

Today I got notice from one school that my application was complete and going to be reviewed by the admissions committee... not sure if that counts! But at least I know what's going on That leaves four mysteries.

Soon? Really? I wasn't expecting anything until late Feb. at the earliest... one school doesn't even have all of my letters! Ahh! Well... good luck!

Stanford was one of my most helpful schools in this regard. I'm sure it varies by department. They were great.

Talk about torture... one of the prof.s on the adcom at Dream School was automatically added to my gmail contacts because we emailed back and forth several times during the beginning of the semester. So, extremely awkwardly, I can see when he is online etc. I'm constantly thinking, "AH! What if he's looking at my app. RIGHT NOW?" And then I log out because I can't bear it. I was wondering... how do you face advisors if you get rejected across the board? My advisor thinks I'll get in nearly everywhere I applied... I think she's a little too optimistic! I'd be so embarrassed. "Yeah... could you just keep that letter on file for another year? Thanks."

I made the mistake of completely overcompensating and studied extremely hard for the quantitative. I did WAY better than I was expecting on that section, but my verbal score suffered, at which I was very disappointed b/c my practice tests were going well. Did anyone get two verbal sections?

Try Craigslist! My fianc

Wow, yes. I am consistently frustrated with my mom's responses to my attempts at conversations regarding graduate school. I don't think she considers it to be a real career or something... (that is, being a professor, eventually). In any case, it's really frustrating because my four stepsisters also opted out of college. But luckily my fianc

This might seem sneaky, but what I resort to is writing to the desired grad admissions office to ask them about the letter / application status, then when they respond about the missing letter, just sort of forward it on to the recommendation provider with a nice message... always ending with a "If you need anything from me please let me know!" And a sounding thank you. Don't want to seem pushy, but something has to be done!

Definitely before! Especially in the humanities, it is important to get in touch with somebody in your potential department. Otherwise, unless you can afford to visit on your own, how will they be able to attach a person to an application? Plus, professors or DGS's usually have really great advice. I saved the money I would have spent on an application fee to Cornell because the faculty didn't actually suit my particular interests. Of course... I was still tempted to apply. It's also helpful to be able to mention some particularly good insight a professor had on your potential project in your SOP. This is mostly all personal opinion, but I hope it helps!

My advisor (who is also my thesis advisor and independent study professor) gave me permission to read her letter. It made me cry! I'm not sure if she was just saying a bunch of really flattering things because she's been in the field forever and she knows how it works, but if any of the other letters were anywhere near as good as hers, I feel good about at least one part of my app. :mrgreen: It's tempting but I'd feel secretly guilty forever if I read one without permission. It makes me shiver a little thinking about it, haha.

Yes...! I could only afford to apply to five schools, and although my stats aren't anything to be ashamed of (except, perhaps, GRE verbal), sooooo many students are applying with similar stats and who knows? Their research interests might align PERFECTLY with the professors that I want to work with. Oh jeez. The prospect of getting results is consuming my thoughts. Luckily I'm taking a somewhat easy semester so that I can focus on my thesis... ha! This forum has probably saved me from going insane / getting severely depressed (for more than a couple of hours at a time, anyway). :!: