surefire

Some academics are so selfless and dedicated. They genuinely want to help you define your research question. I have had a couple of these informal conversations with potential advisors. I found those informal conversations very helpful and I managed to narrow down my research question. Make sure that you thank him or her. They are taking their time to have an informal discussion with you.

Variance is definitely more the rule, than the exeption. From what I can understand, the composition of admissions committees differs widely, not just from school to school, but program to program. Some will give you hints on their "Admissions" webpages, but by and large the number/identity of readers will be obscured.

I've mentioned elsewhere that I've been ON an admissions committee, as a student rep for my MA program. Speaking from that experience, there were about 6 profs, myself and a PhD student on the actual committee. Before we sat down with the apps, the Graduate Director and the Graduate Secretary went through all of them and removed the ones from the pool that were incomplete and/or didn't meet minimum admission requirements (and had no "good" - i.e., substantiated and appropriate - explanation of mitigating circumstances). So that's two sets of eyes looking at everyone, I think around 30 applicants (of 200-ish) were bounced at that stage. We split the committee into two, each side took half of the apps. We read the ENTIRE contents of these apps and (with the aid of department admin guidelines) each came up with a top ten (we were aiming to fill around 10 spots; ultimately, we made 15 offers and took 12 students). We came together, each with our top ten, and compared notes. We ranked, discussed, justified our choices and cut; then we repeated this process until we had an acceptance and wait list that we (mostly) agreed upon.
Again, this experience is context-specific, but if you were to break it down for MY program:
Sets of eyes looking at your app: between 2 and 10, depending on how far you get.
WHO is looking: Department and/or Graduate Head(s) and Secretary, profs (all from the department, though not all were on the faculty for the program), current student(s) from program

All that being said...



...I think that your anxiety is beyond the how-many-and-what-kind-of-people-am-I-prospectively-exposing-my-inadeqaute-asshattery-to?! nerves. I hope that knowing some of the details that I provided above puts you at ease, but I have a feeling that it won't; partly because everything is context-specific - accordingly, I would advise you to take my experience with a grain of salt - and partly because your question doesn't get to the heart of your doubt.

Everyone gets cold feet about their SOPs (although, for sanity's sake, I couldn't say whether or not it is better to be struck down by this doubt before or after app submission...). I'd caution against directing this concern to a excessive preoccupation with WHO will be reading your app, because you can't really find out nor can you control this element.

Focus instead, on what you can control and generally take care of. That is: create an SOP that displays competency without resorting to jargon (remember when I said that adcomm profs were in my department but NOT neccessarily faculty members in my program? keep that in mind, don't alienate anyone). As well, you would do well to convey FIT, ability to FINISH and capacity to CONTRIBUTE and to do this in a way that appeals to those who might not only work OVER you, but also alongside you.

Finally, you should have some more people read it before you submit it. And I mean different kinds of people. Those with an academic backround and otherwise. Not everyone is going to totally "get" it, but they should be able to tell you things like whether or not you are being clear, compelling and if your passion is shining through (the latter of these being a possible issue for you, I think, based on your post).

Good luck!

Variance is definitely more the rule, than the exeption. From what I can understand, the composition of admissions committees differs widely, not just from school to school, but program to program. Some will give you hints on their "Admissions" webpages, but by and large the number/identity of readers will be obscured.

I've mentioned elsewhere that I've been ON an admissions committee, as a student rep for my MA program. Speaking from that experience, there were about 6 profs, myself and a PhD student on the actual committee. Before we sat down with the apps, the Graduate Director and the Graduate Secretary went through all of them and removed the ones from the pool that were incomplete and/or didn't meet minimum admission requirements (and had no "good" - i.e., substantiated and appropriate - explanation of mitigating circumstances). So that's two sets of eyes looking at everyone, I think around 30 applicants (of 200-ish) were bounced at that stage. We split the committee into two, each side took half of the apps. We read the ENTIRE contents of these apps and (with the aid of department admin guidelines) each came up with a top ten (we were aiming to fill around 10 spots; ultimately, we made 15 offers and took 12 students). We came together, each with our top ten, and compared notes. We ranked, discussed, justified our choices and cut; then we repeated this process until we had an acceptance and wait list that we (mostly) agreed upon.
Again, this experience is context-specific, but if you were to break it down for MY program:
Sets of eyes looking at your app: between 2 and 10, depending on how far you get.
WHO is looking: Department and/or Graduate Head(s) and Secretary, profs (all from the department, though not all were on the faculty for the program), current student(s) from program

All that being said...



...I think that your anxiety is beyond the how-many-and-what-kind-of-people-am-I-prospectively-exposing-my-inadeqaute-asshattery-to?! nerves. I hope that knowing some of the details that I provided above puts you at ease, but I have a feeling that it won't; partly because everything is context-specific - accordingly, I would advise you to take my experience with a grain of salt - and partly because your question doesn't get to the heart of your doubt.

Everyone gets cold feet about their SOPs (although, for sanity's sake, I couldn't say whether or not it is better to be struck down by this doubt before or after app submission...). I'd caution against directing this concern to a excessive preoccupation with WHO will be reading your app, because you can't really find out nor can you control this element.

Focus instead, on what you can control and generally take care of. That is: create an SOP that displays competency without resorting to jargon (remember when I said that adcomm profs were in my department but NOT neccessarily faculty members in my program? keep that in mind, don't alienate anyone). As well, you would do well to convey FIT, ability to FINISH and capacity to CONTRIBUTE and to do this in a way that appeals to those who might not only work OVER you, but also alongside you.

Finally, you should have some more people read it before you submit it. And I mean different kinds of people. Those with an academic backround and otherwise. Not everyone is going to totally "get" it, but they should be able to tell you things like whether or not you are being clear, compelling and if your passion is shining through (the latter of these being a possible issue for you, I think, based on your post).

Good luck!

I thought of best-case scenario:

f = fellowship.

This person is so awesome we want to recommend them for tons of funding, stat.

My MA thesis was very interdisciplinary in nature (though it doesn't trespass into any of your stated fields of interest). The project drew upon Sociology, Law, Epidemiology, Public Policy and Health Studies.

Expectations: I think that it's very promising and important that you're asking about expectations. One of the greatest favours that you can do for yourself with an interdisciplinary project is to manage your expectations. You should ascertain early on what this project CAN and CANNOT accomplish. For my part, the topic that I chose was very important to me, so I decided early on to be rigorous and to do justice to all the fields that I was drawing upon; this means, not just cherry-picking what you like from each, but also being obligated to the foundational theorists/frameworks and ongoing developments of EACH discipline. This can be exhausting. I expected the backround reading to be extensive, what I didn't realize is the amount of UPKEEP that is required to stay ahead of developments in the field.

Challenges: Other than the upkeep thing... The most challenging aspect was my writing. I secured an amazing, tough-as-nails supervisor early on, and when I brought her my 1st draft, 20-page proposal, she said that my ideas/data/direction were all great, but I was going to have to re-write the entire thing because my style/vocabulary was NOT accessible considering that the project was interdisciplinary (and thus had an audience with varied backrounds and underdstandings). I was crushed; I turned in 6 drafts of that proposal before she accepted it...
Other possible challenges: While this wasn't a requirement for me, I had colleagues doing interdisciplinary work who faced the additional challenge of securing ethics committee clearence. Requirements/submission guidelines can differ depending on your program and the aims/parameters of your project. If you're doing work that requires this type of clearence, and the project is interdisciplinary in nature, you would be wise to figure out your obligations early. This challenge also applies to some funding/conference/journal applications.

Outcomes vs. Expectations: When I started the project, I was afraid that some of the aims of my research would be mis/re-directed by well-meaning but stong-willed thesis committee members who - depending on their disciplinary loyalties - would try to exert control over the project's priorities. It can be tough to draft something that is true to your interests while also being open to new theoretical contributions and diplomatic concerning the advice of committee members. I was pleased with how I negotiated this terrain. The end result was a thesis that answered the questions that I had initially started out with, but also posed new ones that I hadn't considered at the beginning of the endeavour which brought depth and scope to the research.

Bottom line: The best things that you can do when undertaking interdisciplinary research is: 1.) to be hyper-conscious of the intent, purpose and direction of your project; be true to these principles, but also be aware of your obligations to the fields that you are playing in and the advice of your committee and/or profs. 2.) Secure a kick-ass supervisor who will appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of your work, be receptive to your research aims and be relentless and helpful regarding the intricacies of straddling more than one field.

Good luck!

Variance is definitely more the rule, than the exeption. From what I can understand, the composition of admissions committees differs widely, not just from school to school, but program to program. Some will give you hints on their "Admissions" webpages, but by and large the number/identity of readers will be obscured.

I've mentioned elsewhere that I've been ON an admissions committee, as a student rep for my MA program. Speaking from that experience, there were about 6 profs, myself and a PhD student on the actual committee. Before we sat down with the apps, the Graduate Director and the Graduate Secretary went through all of them and removed the ones from the pool that were incomplete and/or didn't meet minimum admission requirements (and had no "good" - i.e., substantiated and appropriate - explanation of mitigating circumstances). So that's two sets of eyes looking at everyone, I think around 30 applicants (of 200-ish) were bounced at that stage. We split the committee into two, each side took half of the apps. We read the ENTIRE contents of these apps and (with the aid of department admin guidelines) each came up with a top ten (we were aiming to fill around 10 spots; ultimately, we made 15 offers and took 12 students). We came together, each with our top ten, and compared notes. We ranked, discussed, justified our choices and cut; then we repeated this process until we had an acceptance and wait list that we (mostly) agreed upon.
Again, this experience is context-specific, but if you were to break it down for MY program:
Sets of eyes looking at your app: between 2 and 10, depending on how far you get.
WHO is looking: Department and/or Graduate Head(s) and Secretary, profs (all from the department, though not all were on the faculty for the program), current student(s) from program

All that being said...



...I think that your anxiety is beyond the how-many-and-what-kind-of-people-am-I-prospectively-exposing-my-inadeqaute-asshattery-to?! nerves. I hope that knowing some of the details that I provided above puts you at ease, but I have a feeling that it won't; partly because everything is context-specific - accordingly, I would advise you to take my experience with a grain of salt - and partly because your question doesn't get to the heart of your doubt.

Everyone gets cold feet about their SOPs (although, for sanity's sake, I couldn't say whether or not it is better to be struck down by this doubt before or after app submission...). I'd caution against directing this concern to a excessive preoccupation with WHO will be reading your app, because you can't really find out nor can you control this element.

Focus instead, on what you can control and generally take care of. That is: create an SOP that displays competency without resorting to jargon (remember when I said that adcomm profs were in my department but NOT neccessarily faculty members in my program? keep that in mind, don't alienate anyone). As well, you would do well to convey FIT, ability to FINISH and capacity to CONTRIBUTE and to do this in a way that appeals to those who might not only work OVER you, but also alongside you.

Finally, you should have some more people read it before you submit it. And I mean different kinds of people. Those with an academic backround and otherwise. Not everyone is going to totally "get" it, but they should be able to tell you things like whether or not you are being clear, compelling and if your passion is shining through (the latter of these being a possible issue for you, I think, based on your post).

Good luck!

Variance is definitely more the rule, than the exeption. From what I can understand, the composition of admissions committees differs widely, not just from school to school, but program to program. Some will give you hints on their "Admissions" webpages, but by and large the number/identity of readers will be obscured.

I've mentioned elsewhere that I've been ON an admissions committee, as a student rep for my MA program. Speaking from that experience, there were about 6 profs, myself and a PhD student on the actual committee. Before we sat down with the apps, the Graduate Director and the Graduate Secretary went through all of them and removed the ones from the pool that were incomplete and/or didn't meet minimum admission requirements (and had no "good" - i.e., substantiated and appropriate - explanation of mitigating circumstances). So that's two sets of eyes looking at everyone, I think around 30 applicants (of 200-ish) were bounced at that stage. We split the committee into two, each side took half of the apps. We read the ENTIRE contents of these apps and (with the aid of department admin guidelines) each came up with a top ten (we were aiming to fill around 10 spots; ultimately, we made 15 offers and took 12 students). We came together, each with our top ten, and compared notes. We ranked, discussed, justified our choices and cut; then we repeated this process until we had an acceptance and wait list that we (mostly) agreed upon.
Again, this experience is context-specific, but if you were to break it down for MY program:
Sets of eyes looking at your app: between 2 and 10, depending on how far you get.
WHO is looking: Department and/or Graduate Head(s) and Secretary, profs (all from the department, though not all were on the faculty for the program), current student(s) from program

All that being said...



...I think that your anxiety is beyond the how-many-and-what-kind-of-people-am-I-prospectively-exposing-my-inadeqaute-asshattery-to?! nerves. I hope that knowing some of the details that I provided above puts you at ease, but I have a feeling that it won't; partly because everything is context-specific - accordingly, I would advise you to take my experience with a grain of salt - and partly because your question doesn't get to the heart of your doubt.

Everyone gets cold feet about their SOPs (although, for sanity's sake, I couldn't say whether or not it is better to be struck down by this doubt before or after app submission...). I'd caution against directing this concern to a excessive preoccupation with WHO will be reading your app, because you can't really find out nor can you control this element.

Focus instead, on what you can control and generally take care of. That is: create an SOP that displays competency without resorting to jargon (remember when I said that adcomm profs were in my department but NOT neccessarily faculty members in my program? keep that in mind, don't alienate anyone). As well, you would do well to convey FIT, ability to FINISH and capacity to CONTRIBUTE and to do this in a way that appeals to those who might not only work OVER you, but also alongside you.

Finally, you should have some more people read it before you submit it. And I mean different kinds of people. Those with an academic backround and otherwise. Not everyone is going to totally "get" it, but they should be able to tell you things like whether or not you are being clear, compelling and if your passion is shining through (the latter of these being a possible issue for you, I think, based on your post).

Good luck!

IK--

Why do you start new threads to ask questions that have been addressed in previous threads that you also started?

An electric kettle, snow pants, and a grown-up-sized version of this.

One word: Skyrim.

Aside from that, I sympathize with you. The winter is my least favorite season, and while I love being outside during the rest of the year, I cannot stand cold weather sports or anything that celebrates the frigid temperatures. That's not wholly unexpected, though -- I spent my childhood in the south.

I'd go standard 1 inch for your bottom/left/right margins.
My reasoning has to do with my experience on an MA admissions committee (disclaimer: this experience was for incoming MA students, in a specialized social science program, at a Canadian University... everything is context-specific).

When I was flipping through writing samples and I came across ones with tweaked margins, an overbearing, uninvited thought would pop into my head: "Who IS THIS person that thinks that their thoughts are SO SPECIAL that everything needed to be included at the expense of my eyesight/sanity?!"

That's not a nice thought. But after the twentieth or so application, these types of thoughts emerge unbidden.
Let's be clear: I read ALL components of EVERY application, regardless of formatting and would not have considered whether or not someone messed with margins a make-or-break element of a decision.

But... there are reasons for standardized formatting. Ideally, everyone gets equal space to shine and time for consideration. When you mess with margins, you are demanding more space and more of the reviewer's time. Even if they don't conciously fault you for it (and how could they if, in your case, only the top margin space is explicitely specified), taking liberties with the margins (considering that 1 inch is the generally expected/accepted format) might put them in a foul mood. That's not the mood that you want while under their purview.

Tweaking with the margins isn't worth it. Where possible/appropriate, footnote thoughts that you can edit out but don't want to do without and go with your 20-pager.

I'd go standard 1 inch for your bottom/left/right margins.
My reasoning has to do with my experience on an MA admissions committee (disclaimer: this experience was for incoming MA students, in a specialized social science program, at a Canadian University... everything is context-specific).

When I was flipping through writing samples and I came across ones with tweaked margins, an overbearing, uninvited thought would pop into my head: "Who IS THIS person that thinks that their thoughts are SO SPECIAL that everything needed to be included at the expense of my eyesight/sanity?!"

That's not a nice thought. But after the twentieth or so application, these types of thoughts emerge unbidden.
Let's be clear: I read ALL components of EVERY application, regardless of formatting and would not have considered whether or not someone messed with margins a make-or-break element of a decision.

But... there are reasons for standardized formatting. Ideally, everyone gets equal space to shine and time for consideration. When you mess with margins, you are demanding more space and more of the reviewer's time. Even if they don't conciously fault you for it (and how could they if, in your case, only the top margin space is explicitely specified), taking liberties with the margins (considering that 1 inch is the generally expected/accepted format) might put them in a foul mood. That's not the mood that you want while under their purview.

Tweaking with the margins isn't worth it. Where possible/appropriate, footnote thoughts that you can edit out but don't want to do without and go with your 20-pager.

I'd go standard 1 inch for your bottom/left/right margins.
My reasoning has to do with my experience on an MA admissions committee (disclaimer: this experience was for incoming MA students, in a specialized social science program, at a Canadian University... everything is context-specific).

When I was flipping through writing samples and I came across ones with tweaked margins, an overbearing, uninvited thought would pop into my head: "Who IS THIS person that thinks that their thoughts are SO SPECIAL that everything needed to be included at the expense of my eyesight/sanity?!"

That's not a nice thought. But after the twentieth or so application, these types of thoughts emerge unbidden.
Let's be clear: I read ALL components of EVERY application, regardless of formatting and would not have considered whether or not someone messed with margins a make-or-break element of a decision.

But... there are reasons for standardized formatting. Ideally, everyone gets equal space to shine and time for consideration. When you mess with margins, you are demanding more space and more of the reviewer's time. Even if they don't conciously fault you for it (and how could they if, in your case, only the top margin space is explicitely specified), taking liberties with the margins (considering that 1 inch is the generally expected/accepted format) might put them in a foul mood. That's not the mood that you want while under their purview.

Tweaking with the margins isn't worth it. Where possible/appropriate, footnote thoughts that you can edit out but don't want to do without and go with your 20-pager.

I'm hoping that the anxiety/worst nightmare dreams hold off for at least a few more weeks while I finish all my submissions...

In the meantime, I had a kind of funny funding-related dream a few weeks ago, wherein my graduate advisor called me on the phone. The conversation went like this:

Advisor: You won all of the funding!
Me: That's amazing! Which ones?! (Some of the funding bodies I applied to have multiple categories of awards and won't let you hold some in tandem with others)
Advisor: All of them!!
Me: Wait...what?...
Advisor: ALL OF THE MONEYS!!!

And then I realized I was dreaming. My partner poked me and asked who I was talking to. I told him about the dream and now it's like a running joke:

Me: My advisor e-mailed me...
Loving partner: Is it about the moneys?

...

Me: I'm considering this project for one of the university's research centres, I'll have time for it if I have funding...
Funny partner: Don't worry! You're getting ALL OF THE FUNDING!

...

Yeah, I'm choosing to pretend that that dream was a good omen.
That, or I'm dwelling on funding prospects too much while reading the Hyperbole and a Half blog.

Answer with the schools you're applying to that match the given school best in terms of research fit. It can help you look focused and passionate about the subject.

If you're truly uncomfortable saying the other schools you're apping, though, I doubt anyone would hold it against you if you left it blank. But it CAN be turned into an asset to your application, as said above.

I suggest a longer T-shirt:

Friends Don't Let Friends Develop Unreasonable Expectations About the Job Market, No Matter How Much Easier It Is to Pretend That You and Your Friend Are the Exceptions to the Rule and You'll Both Get Jobs Because You're Both Brilliant and The Unemployed People are Just People Who Aren't as Academically-Gifted As You Are. Instead Friends Acknowledge to Each Other the Exceptional Difficulty of Getting an Academic Job, Call Bullshit on Each Other When Appropriate, and Help Each Other to Professionalize Early and Often. Further, Friends Will Also Remind Each Other that While Getting a Funded PhD, You are Actually Getting Paid to Live Your Dream, If Only for a Short While, So While Academic Jobs May Be Few, It Was Still Worth It For the Opportunity You Did Get to Engage With Academic Discourse on a Daily Basis.That Said, Friends Certainly Don't Let Friends Get Unfunded PhD's. Nor Should Enemies For That Matter.

If you're still pretty fresh off the degree, I'd recommend visiting your university's career center for a consultation or some advisement. When I finished my MA, I was fairly certain that I wanted the PhD as well. However, I didn't want to apply straight-away. I didn't want to start a PhD just because I didn't know what else to do. As well, though I wasn't feeling TOO fatigued mentally, I was a little worried that my social skills (and accompanying ability to get a non-academic job) had atrophied. I was a little uppity about approaching the career center (I didn't want to attend seminars to learn how to shake hands properly), but once I acknowledged that a huge bulk of the work is learning to articulate your academic experience and tailoring resumes and cover letters, I really gleaned a lot from one-on-one meetings and job panels.

Managing expectations was a huge part of the game. Like you, I wasn't necessarily looking for a career route, but I wanted to be stimulated, learn some real-world skills and have enough money for rent and some loan repayment. I've had 6 jobs in the last year, mostly 3/4 month. part-time contracts, everything from menial to unpaid to somewhat-in-my-field. It quickly became apparent that I wasn't getting a 50k (or even 20), full-time with benefits kind of thing, but it was an adjustment to realize that part time, short term and even unpaid work was hyper-competitive and hard to come by.

I'm actually a chef by trade (which is what I did to make money during my undergrad), so I had that to fall back on; but I wanted to challenge myself to look elsewhere first. I thought about a government gig, but departments kind of like to recruit for the long-haul and I didn't want to fib about my intention to return for the PhD. I did some of the standardized placement testing anyway (and did well!) but affirmed that that wasn't the route that I wanted. In the second month of full-time job seeking (and not a single call-back)I walked into a bookstore and struck up a conversation with the owner about Oscar Wilde. He offerred me a part-time gig (I told him about my BA, in which I had a second major in English, but didn't bother to mention my legal-ish MA). I'm still working there! To supplement, I worked as a co-instructor at my undergrad university. It was a 3 hour commute twice a week, but worth it, because it led to a short-term research position and some conference attendence - I loved the instructor post and it confirmed my desire to do a PhD. At the same time, I held an unpaid internship at a non-profit that a friend had recommended (25 hrs/week, unpaid, money was tight for those months). Totally worth it! Their recommendation secured for me an interview at a large NGO and I've been consulting here for 4 months (I plan to be here until I start the PhD next fall).

I'm sorry that this is so long, but I actually really like sharing my experience with others on the job-front stuff! I was really conflicted about the job hunt. I was happy to take the bookstore post but felt guilty for not wanting "more"; I was eager to try a "grown-up" job but was dismayed to learn that the MA didn't always give me the edge over those with just BAs; I was very committed to the job search and felt that I was doing the "right" things in my applications, but I had no (non-academic) network in the city and no one was calling me ect; Anyway, I'm always happy to share because I felt like such a schmuck at the beginning of the hunt, and now I'm refreshed and I'll never wonder "what if I left and tried to hack it in the "real world"?" because I'm out here, doing it and surviving. I tried a litany of new things in different sectors (private, governement, non-profit, academia) and now I feel confident in my decision to return for the PhD (I want to work in academia, hopefull as a prof., something I NEED the PhD for).

TLDR (My advice in brevity)
1. Know thyself: This sounds glib but it's actually a lot of work. A career center can help you articulate this stuff. You won't be able to convince other people that you want a position if you can't orient yourself and explain how it actually makes sense to you. When I sat with someone and boiled down what I excelled in and enjoyed during the MA (TA-ing, research), I suddenly had great focus and was able to turn this traits into workable resume points (without any fibbing!)

2. Know others: certain parts of networking (like coldcalling) totally sucks; but it's so important, even for "menial" posts. Talk to everyone. Tell everyone that you are looking. Talk to people who have, or have had, the positions you want (they will be the best resources to answer the "cite the degree on the CV or not" question). I heard about the internship through a friend, my supervisor at the internship introduced my to a NGO HR person who gave me a line on the consulting gig, I leveraged my litany of contracts to get the current one and here I am. Opportunities will lead to other opportunities.

Cosider this analogy: Harrison Ford worked as a pretty face in Hollywood for YEARS doing no-name, pretty-face stuff. He became disillusioned and took up work as a carpenter for sets, where he met George Lucas, who liked the cut of his jib and cast him. And then he was freakin' HAN SOLO!.... Moral? Keep your eyes peeled for your George Lucas! Everyone downplays the "luck" element that comes from networking and how this contributes to success, but it's important (even for "just menial" stuff, it's important to being in a happy place with a job that fulfills you/suits your needs, "menial" or otherwise)!

Finally: If you ARE planning to return to academia, consider what a "time-off" period of JUST "menial" (or non-relevant) experience is going to look like on your apps. I know that the economy sucks and few of us have the luxury of having something paid, and in our field, fall into our laps; but if you are committed to your work vision as articulated above, please also consider dedicating some of your time to something that will build skills that you can transfer BACK to academia, even if this just takes the form of unpaid work or volunteering!

And good luck!

Definitely a good point. I was a student representative on the admissions committee for my MA program and I have to say, none of us doing the ranking laid eyes on the apps until a week after the deadline (generally, that gave a grace period for incoming transcripts/reference letters; you know, stuff that might be beyond the student's control). There was nothing to indicate whether an app was submitted early or close to the deadline, we only knew which ones came in late/incomplete (these were generally substantiated by a student's explanation). What WAS apparent, was how much time was spent on an app. The first ones we culled, after non-competitive stats (that had no explanation) were often ones that were obvious lazy form applications (no tailoring to program/discipline or attempt to articulate "fit") or obviously rushed (that, by turn, contained glaring mistakes, nonsensical SOPs, conflicting information and straight-up carelessness).

My advice, then, is to balance considerations of the way in which you work best with a need to spend an adequate amount of time committed to writing and reflecting and editing your app. For myself, I like to hang on to applications until the deadline is looming, but not urgent. This means that I do the major drafting early on, so I'm usually just fussing with small things towards the end; this helps me keep my sanity and reflects the way that I work best. If I submitted early, I would spend the rest of the time before the deadline wishing that I hadn't as I would think of a million things that I might've done differently. I don't really get the "big sigh of relief" when I submit, I get it when the deadline passes and I know that now, certainly, it is all totally out of my hands.

With all that in mind, two things:
(1) This is just a reflection of my experience. I'm not familiar with the admission committees of other disciplines (indeed, it would certainly be different if acceptances were "on a rolling basis", I've just never encountered this.)
(2) If you "work best" when you need to be in a particular mood, and that mood is "last-minute panic", I would suggest rethinking your strategy. To clarify my previous point, I like to come in close to the deadline, but not last minute. If you're going to hang-on-to-it-for-as-long-as-humanely-possible (like me), you should always aim for a submission of a week-ish prior to the deadline in case something goes wrong. I promise you, the one time you try to come in under the wire, murphy's law will strike you down with a postal strike or something equally calamitous!

If you're still pretty fresh off the degree, I'd recommend visiting your university's career center for a consultation or some advisement. When I finished my MA, I was fairly certain that I wanted the PhD as well. However, I didn't want to apply straight-away. I didn't want to start a PhD just because I didn't know what else to do. As well, though I wasn't feeling TOO fatigued mentally, I was a little worried that my social skills (and accompanying ability to get a non-academic job) had atrophied. I was a little uppity about approaching the career center (I didn't want to attend seminars to learn how to shake hands properly), but once I acknowledged that a huge bulk of the work is learning to articulate your academic experience and tailoring resumes and cover letters, I really gleaned a lot from one-on-one meetings and job panels.

Managing expectations was a huge part of the game. Like you, I wasn't necessarily looking for a career route, but I wanted to be stimulated, learn some real-world skills and have enough money for rent and some loan repayment. I've had 6 jobs in the last year, mostly 3/4 month. part-time contracts, everything from menial to unpaid to somewhat-in-my-field. It quickly became apparent that I wasn't getting a 50k (or even 20), full-time with benefits kind of thing, but it was an adjustment to realize that part time, short term and even unpaid work was hyper-competitive and hard to come by.

I'm actually a chef by trade (which is what I did to make money during my undergrad), so I had that to fall back on; but I wanted to challenge myself to look elsewhere first. I thought about a government gig, but departments kind of like to recruit for the long-haul and I didn't want to fib about my intention to return for the PhD. I did some of the standardized placement testing anyway (and did well!) but affirmed that that wasn't the route that I wanted. In the second month of full-time job seeking (and not a single call-back)I walked into a bookstore and struck up a conversation with the owner about Oscar Wilde. He offerred me a part-time gig (I told him about my BA, in which I had a second major in English, but didn't bother to mention my legal-ish MA). I'm still working there! To supplement, I worked as a co-instructor at my undergrad university. It was a 3 hour commute twice a week, but worth it, because it led to a short-term research position and some conference attendence - I loved the instructor post and it confirmed my desire to do a PhD. At the same time, I held an unpaid internship at a non-profit that a friend had recommended (25 hrs/week, unpaid, money was tight for those months). Totally worth it! Their recommendation secured for me an interview at a large NGO and I've been consulting here for 4 months (I plan to be here until I start the PhD next fall).

I'm sorry that this is so long, but I actually really like sharing my experience with others on the job-front stuff! I was really conflicted about the job hunt. I was happy to take the bookstore post but felt guilty for not wanting "more"; I was eager to try a "grown-up" job but was dismayed to learn that the MA didn't always give me the edge over those with just BAs; I was very committed to the job search and felt that I was doing the "right" things in my applications, but I had no (non-academic) network in the city and no one was calling me ect; Anyway, I'm always happy to share because I felt like such a schmuck at the beginning of the hunt, and now I'm refreshed and I'll never wonder "what if I left and tried to hack it in the "real world"?" because I'm out here, doing it and surviving. I tried a litany of new things in different sectors (private, governement, non-profit, academia) and now I feel confident in my decision to return for the PhD (I want to work in academia, hopefull as a prof., something I NEED the PhD for).

TLDR (My advice in brevity)
1. Know thyself: This sounds glib but it's actually a lot of work. A career center can help you articulate this stuff. You won't be able to convince other people that you want a position if you can't orient yourself and explain how it actually makes sense to you. When I sat with someone and boiled down what I excelled in and enjoyed during the MA (TA-ing, research), I suddenly had great focus and was able to turn this traits into workable resume points (without any fibbing!)

2. Know others: certain parts of networking (like coldcalling) totally sucks; but it's so important, even for "menial" posts. Talk to everyone. Tell everyone that you are looking. Talk to people who have, or have had, the positions you want (they will be the best resources to answer the "cite the degree on the CV or not" question). I heard about the internship through a friend, my supervisor at the internship introduced my to a NGO HR person who gave me a line on the consulting gig, I leveraged my litany of contracts to get the current one and here I am. Opportunities will lead to other opportunities.

Cosider this analogy: Harrison Ford worked as a pretty face in Hollywood for YEARS doing no-name, pretty-face stuff. He became disillusioned and took up work as a carpenter for sets, where he met George Lucas, who liked the cut of his jib and cast him. And then he was freakin' HAN SOLO!.... Moral? Keep your eyes peeled for your George Lucas! Everyone downplays the "luck" element that comes from networking and how this contributes to success, but it's important (even for "just menial" stuff, it's important to being in a happy place with a job that fulfills you/suits your needs, "menial" or otherwise)!

Finally: If you ARE planning to return to academia, consider what a "time-off" period of JUST "menial" (or non-relevant) experience is going to look like on your apps. I know that the economy sucks and few of us have the luxury of having something paid, and in our field, fall into our laps; but if you are committed to your work vision as articulated above, please also consider dedicating some of your time to something that will build skills that you can transfer BACK to academia, even if this just takes the form of unpaid work or volunteering!

And good luck!