Too Early?

[MAN]

Hello,

I am looking at attending Economics graduate school in the Fall '09 semester. I have already taken the GRE (560V, 800Q, 4.0 AWA), filled out the applications, submitted transcripts, and contacted my professors for letters of rec.

Am I doing this way too early? Could there be any benefit for getting this out of the way quickly (ex. I applied to undergrad really early as well and ended up getting a grant to attend my preferred school)?

[anese]

Hello,

I am looking at attending Economics graduate school in the Fall '09 semester. I have already taken the GRE (560V, 800Q, 4.0 AWA), filled out the applications, submitted transcripts, and contacted my professors for letters of rec.

Am I doing this way too early? Could there be any benefit for getting this out of the way quickly (ex. I applied to undergrad really early as well and ended up getting a grant to attend my preferred school)?

I don't think so, I started asking in May/June of the year before I applied, and then sent timely reminders with contact information/instructions for writing recs etc. via post and email for each of the professors who agreed to write recs for me.

[MAN]

Thanks for the answer.

Do you think an early application results in an earlier admission decision? Or do you just get lumped in with everyone else?

[anese]

Thanks for the answer.

Do you think an early application results in an earlier admission decision? Or do you just get lumped in with everyone else?

It doesn't matter. You should send things in a timely manner to allow for late ETS score reports/slow recommendation letters and all matter of administrative mistakes, but don't worry about sending in things early to get an earlier decision. Usually, from my experience the admissions committee will meet together at a set date of their choosing and go through the applications that the Graduate Secretary has selected from the general pool of applicants. Then they may make admissions decisions in rounds, notifying potential candidates of their status: accepted, wait-listed, and rejected, with accordance to their ordering of strongest to weakest.

This is not true for every program, and notifications can go out in different orders for innumerable reasons particular to different departments.

[ampersand]

I agree with anese. Admissions decisions are made on a department level by committees, and I gather that most of these committees don't even meet until January or so. Some schools make their funding decisions are made around that time, while others wait until closer to the April 15 deadline when students have to make their final decisions.

Of course, if you're going to be a student this fall, I think it's great that you've got the bulk of your applications done so that you can concentrate on doing well in your classes and preparing intellectually for grad school (keep in mind that you'll have to send updated transcripts to your destination school once you complete your classes and get your degree). You might also consider applying for outside fellowships this fall.

[anese]

Also, wanted to add that if you send in apps early, be sure to check and make sure the schools have not updated/changed standards for their application or added a supplement at least by November. I remember one poster sharing an experience where the graduate school added a last minute supplement to the app that they had not anticipated, but were lucky to have noticed!

[MAN]

I'm no longer in school (graduated back in 2004), but I am going to take the time to learn/refresh myself on some math and econ that will be useful after I get accepted (yay, positive thinking).

I probably wouldn't have thought to look for changes in applications, so I'll have to do that. Thanks!

[dans595]

One nice thing about it is that you don't have to worry about getting this all done during the school year. (Well, we're still on summer break here for another few days.)

[mlle]

uh oh. Now I'm worried that I'm waiting too long. I am planning on applying for programs to start in Fall 2009 and haven't even begun my personal statement yet, much less contacted professors for recs. I had the understanding that as long as you send everything in and contact professors for recs no later than a month before the deadline, you're okay. Am I mistaken?

[rising_star]

uh oh. Now I'm worried that I'm waiting too long. I am planning on applying for programs to start in Fall 2009 and haven't even begun my personal statement yet, much less contacted professors for recs. I had the understanding that as long as you send everything in and contact professors for recs no later than a month before the deadline, you're okay. Am I mistaken?

You aren't mistaken. If you want to contact profs for recs, let them know now but then give them the info 6 weeks before the earliest deadline.