bdon19

Okay, so Toronto is now the current school on my radar. Who's with me? My current freakout is due to the fact that I can't find any information on what time the application is due tomorrow. I guess I'll be up all night making sure I get everything in before I head off to work tomorrow. But the 500 word SOP, plus revisions to my writing sample are going to drive me crazy. I wanna feel the solidarity here, people!

THIS 500 WORD SOP IS EATING MY SOUL RIGHT NOW. Or at least eating my words. I just don't understand how I can do this in 500 words or less: The statement of purpose should indicate your interests in English and the strengths you bring to us. Discuss the historical area, literary forms, and/or theoretical approaches that inform your work. (If you are a PhD applicant you should, in addition, outline in detail the kind of dissertation you might ideally write). You should also consult our web site at http://www.english.utoronto.ca and mention faculty members whose work is particularly relevant to your proposed studies and research. The statement should be limited to 500 words. k;lkja;slkjd;flkj;alkjs;ldkjf;lkja;lksjd;ljf;lkajs;lkdj;flkja;lskjd;lkfj;alkjsd;lkjf;laksjd;lkfj;alkjsd;lfkjl;aksjdf

Luckily, I started my initial drafts of the SOP keeping in mind that some schools won't allow more than 500 words. Unluckily, my first application said 1-2 pages, so my final draft ended up just over 1,000 words. Now I have to cut, cut, cut for Toronto on Monday. Grrrrr.

My personal favorite is : http://feministryangosling.tumblr.com/

I would DIE to have 1000 word limits. My next app (Toronto) has a 500 word limit, and it's KILLING me.

I haven't made a list, but I'm pretty sure I already have the estimated result dates memorized. Or at least I know based on a ballpark (like, middle of February, 18th-20th of Feb, that kind of stuff).

Mine tells me that they submitted when I log in. I also received an e-mail notification when each of my letters was received (one like a half hour before the deadline). Does it not say that any of them have submitted? :/

I stupidly forgot that Duke didn't require them and just filled them in on the online part of the app, though I didn't include them on the official score report. Meh, I don't think it will really matter either way, especially since my scores were within that "not stellar but not bad" range.

Done. I am never looking at that writing sample ever again. Until I start working on Toronto's app. Which is due Monday. I hate my life. Hahaha

I am right here right now. 2 hours until Duke's app is due, and my writing sample is falling apart. I thought I only had to write two more random connecting paragraphs, but I can't come up with a title, which is signifying to me that I don't really have a thesis. l;kja;lksjd;lkfja;lksj;dlkfj;lakjs;kjd;fja;lskjdf;lkjas;dlkjf;alkjsdf

Pericles Lewis is the most bomb name ever. Seriously, when I was making a list of potential POIs over the summer, I had an entry for him on my spreadsheet that simply read: Pericles Lewis: HIS NAME. Hahaha. He's right up there with Michael Awkward at Michigan. I had a friend who extensively quoted an article by Awkward in a paper this year, and when she met with the prof. to talk about it they just ended up giggling the entire time. Also, just putting this out there: T-2 hours left (for my time zone, at least) to get everything in!! EEEEK! Thankfully I submitted the app part last night. Just tweaking the writing sample now...and realizing that my brain is no longer functioning properly. I've never had such issues with subject-verb agreement in my life as I am having tonight...

P.S. I fully expect myself to be in the other thread by the time I click "submit."

Hahaha I love this. I'm kinda sorta having one of these days. I mean, not the whole genius thing, but I've been working non-stop on my writing sample for the past few hours, preparing it for my first deadline (tomorrow, eek!), and I'm feeling good about my application as a whole. I'm really happy with the way my writing sample has turned out, and I've gotten really positive feedback from LORs on my most recent SOP draft. So now all I have to do is crank up the guilty pleasure music (T-Swift gets me pumped to write about Samuel Richardson every time) and get this stuff polished!

I am only JUST getting to finishing up my app. I was up at 4:30 this morning and didn't get back from my job until nearly 7. I still have pages of my writing sample that are unwritten. kja;skljd;flkja;lsjdfl;kj;aklsj;dkjf;lkasdf I am caffeinating myself up right now and banning myself from GradCafe until this is in!

I am suffering some major procrastination issues right now. Therefore, I am asking the all-knowing Magic 8 Ball for what it alone can know: Will I get into Brown? Outlook not so good. Cornell? Ask again later. Duke? Absolutely! Indiana? Ask again later. Princeton? No way. Rutgers? Yes. Michigan? Absolutely! UNC? Yes. UT-Austin? Absolutely. Toronto? My sources say no. Looks like I have a few options, at least.

I know it might be a little late for this, but I was wondering if anyone is still interested in doing an SOP swap? My letter writers are all being dumb and not responding to e-mails while they're on vacation, so I haven't had many people to look over my SOP for me. I know a lot of you will have submitted apps already, but if anyone's interested in doing one, PM me!

Q: Will I get into grad school? A: Yes Q: Will I get in this year? A: Yes Q: Will I get into one of my top choices? A: Definitely I think this thing is broken...

All I could think was, "Well, obviously she's doing it wrong. You don't JUST apply to Yale. Silly girl." But *spoiler alert* the next year she still does it wrong (at least in the eyes of people like us). And succeeds. Which just feels cruel. The 80s were a different world. Boo.

I actually read the whole thing last week, while working furiously on apps. It was an easy read and kind of kept me sane while working through the huge issues in my writing sample. I just convinced myself that it was potentially helpful for my SOP and therefore wasn't detracting from my app time. And I ended up referencing it in my SOP. It was potentially a gratuitous reference, but I think it worked. I have many thoughts about the novel that I haven't quite sat down to think through. I liked it, a lot, but (dare I say this?) I think Eugenides is a lot smarter than this book. I was SUPER excited about it because I'd read the short story in the New Yorker a few years back that turned into this novel. Honestly, I think Eugenides, blasphemous though this may be, is a better short story writer than novelist. Yes, of course there's Middlesex, but still.

Haha as much as I'm glad I now have until the 8th thanks to UT, part of me wishes I could just be done, NOW.

I used "literally" twice in the same sentence on my Facebook today. All I can say is that Texas is looking really, really good to me right about now, if only for giving me one more week to think about these applications!

Well, thankfully now I have until Dec. 8th for my first application. God bless Texas. Hahaha. This was the best news I've gotten since the summer, especially because I currently have 35 pages of notes and no coherent paper written...

YES! IT'S ON THE WEBSITE NOW!!!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!