Timshel

I would not go over the word limit under any circumstance. All of mine have asked for a SOP of 2-3 pages so far, so mine have all been around 1,000, but I have one that is coming up that has to be only 500, which I am not looking forward to.

I know, I love that one, too!

I know, which is why I am completely mortified that I made a tiny error on my Works Cited page on a couple of my writing samples. My husband keeps trying to tell me that no one will notice, but it's driving me nuts!

I'm pretty sure they go in quotation marks. That's how I've seen them and how I'm doing it. Also, capitalize all of the main words if it's the title of class because they are then considered proper nouns.

I am not including mine to the schools that don't require it because I totally bombed it and I feel like it could do more harm than good.

I have carpal tunnel already, so this is just aggravating it. On top of that, I was editing over my writing sample before I sent it to another program and realized that I had two sources out of order on the Works Cited page and one of my in-text citations was cited wrong, and I think I had a heart attack. I'm sure no one will even notice this, but I am horrified!

So, I mailed my stuff to Buffalo this morning, and they told me that first class mail should get there on Monday and priority mail would put it there on Monday, so I just went with the regular mail and I'm hoping to god it gets there by Thursday. It should, though. I'm on the east coast, too, so it shouldn't take that long........

The only school that I know of that still does interviews is Emory.

Don't most people get funding via teaching assistantships?

That article from Fox was laughable and only made me love the movie more!

Well, I'm not going to be able to mail it until tomorrow. I'm hoping that is enough time. Ugh. This shit is so stressful!

The Muppets movie was amazing, and I am so glad I took a break last weekend and saw it. It was much needed!

Thank you! I am second-guessing everything. Did you send anything else? I think I am going to send my Statement of Purpose, too, instead of copying and pasting into that box. I am of course sending my CV, too. I tried to get to the post office today, but work stuff prevented that so I will be at the post office first thing in the morning sending it priority mail, so I hope they get it in time! I am totally freaking out!

Okay, so I am about to send my Buffalo information, and I just want to triple check that I don't need to mail hard copies of my LORs. Has anyone submitted their application already and had their LOR contacted to upload their recommendations?

Okay, there is a difference between stating several faculty members, courses, etc. that would fit for you and then saying "I am applying because I want to work with X." The former is what you should do, not the latter. Or at least what I've been told, and that's what I'm doing.

Yeah, I was going to say, 8 is a lot. There are a lot of schools that are only accepting 5 or less.

That's what I did. I stated what I was interested in, slightly specific, but left it so that I could go in multiple directions with it. That's what I was told to do.

I have talked to several ad comm people, and it has also been stated on many of the schools' websites, that they in no way expect you to stay committed to your proposed idea. Instead, proposing a focus or area you plan to work in, and writing it in-depth, demonstrates your ability to conceptualize a long-term project that is nuanced and realistic. They don't expect you to stick to it. It just shows them where you are with ideas, knowledge, and ability. Or so I've been told.....

This made my day. I thought I would share the wealth: http://librarianheygirl.tumblr.com/

I said this same thing to my husband last night.

I'm lucky that I do have a "Plan B" for now because I already have an adjunct position teaching English at a university, but it doesn't pay a lot, and it doesn't offer benefits, and my husband will be graduating with his masters in history in May and he does not have a job lined up, so it's still pretty scary. I mean, yes, I have a a job, but that doesn't mean my "Plan B" isn't problematic. I am thoroughly convinced already that I am not going to get in anywhere, even though I have only submitted 3 applications, so I am definitely in this thread today.

I looked at several SOPs from people who got into good schools, schools that I am also applying to, and modeled my SOP after theirs. Instead of being like, I did this, i did this, which they can clearly see on your transcripts and CV, I talked about my focus, fit, and what I hope to do in the future. Some of the schools give you guidelines, but those are just to help you, and if they aren't coming straight from the English department, then they are just general for all departments, which differ. Also, if you already have a Masters, they are more interested in you focus because they expect it to be more narrowed and sophisticated. At least that's what I've been told and that's what I've seen on successful SOPs.

It sounds to me like UT is the most popular school here on the boards. I'm glad I didn't apply there. Stiff competition!

This is a clear indication of my anxiety and neuroses while filling out these applications.