Should I be Worried?

[Jufarius87]

I applied to school that said it takes a max of 6 weeks to send out admissions letters. Im currently at the end of week four. This probably seems neurotic as helk but, is it true that you have a better chance of rejection at the end of an admit cycle or do you think they are just still going through applications?

[uberskooper]

This is only the case when a school has rolling admissions. I applied really early specifically because I thought it would confer a huge advantage, only to discover that all the programs I was applying for reviewed all of their applications at the same time, after the deadline.

There might be some axillary benefits to applying early, such as more time to fix any problems that might arise or the chance that the admissions committee might look at the applications in periodic batches in order to decrease the crush of work after the deadline. I don't believe these offer a huge advantage that you should be worried about.

[hartshorneBoy]

This is only the case when a school has rolling admissions. I applied really early specifically because I thought it would confer a huge advantage, only to discover that all the programs I was applying for reviewed all of their applications at the same time, after the deadline.

There might be some axillary benefits to applying early, such as more time to fix any problems that might arise or the chance that the admissions committee might look at the applications in periodic batches in order to decrease the crush of work after the deadline. I don't believe these offer a huge advantage that you should be worried about.

He's exactly right. My opinion for non-rolling is that you should have your SoP done by early Oct and revise and revise and revise. I'm toeing deadlines right now, but I've had a personal statement that has gone through up to 25 revision rounds now for the 1000 words level 22 for the two page limit and 17 for the 500 word/1page limit. But that's because I rework it for about 30 minutes right before going to bed every other night, and because I feel like I want to close any gap possible, and show that I'm better than my 580V.

[mlle]

I'm toeing deadlines right now, but I've had a personal statement that has gone through up to 25 revision rounds now for the 1000 words level 22 for the two page limit and 17 for the 500 word/1page limit. But that's because I rework it for about 30 minutes right before going to bed every other night, and because I feel like I want to close any gap possible, and show that I'm better than my 580V.

If I went through and revised my PS to that degree 50 million times every night before bed, I think I would end up throwing myself in front of a bus or something. Honestly :roll:

Crap, this is bad news to hear. I haven't even sent in my app for the one school that has rolling admissions.

[Dreams]

He's exactly right. My opinion for non-rolling is that you should have your SoP done by early Oct and revise and revise and revise. I'm toeing deadlines right now, but I've had a personal statement that has gone through up to 25 revision rounds now for the 1000 words level 22 for the two page limit and 17 for the 500 word/1page limit. But that's because I rework it for about 30 minutes right before going to bed every other night, and because I feel like I want to close any gap possible, and show that I'm better than my 580V.

This is excessive to the extreme. Revising your statement 50 billion times will not show adcoms that you are better than your 580V, a solid application package complete with strong references will. You are likely doing more harm than good by constantly revising your statement. My advice would be to get someone to do a final check and just submit the darn thing already.

[hartshorneBoy]

Nah. I mean, it really has just been revised over and over whenever I get a chance to read it or can get someone else to read it. I mean, each draft after 6 has been maybe rewriting one or two sentences so I can add a specific detail here, and then rereading it all through for cohesion. At draft 14 or 15 they got split into word levels. My statement's fine now, so each revision now is after a fit statement is added. The overall time I have spent on my statement has been I guess 30 hours based on fit statements, peer review, faculty review, and revisions. That's not too bad when it's spread across 4 months.

Also, you find nitpicky commas and such when you reread it so many times. I still find things that are mistakes. This way I can say to myself if there is a mistake in the final, then it wasn't anything that could have changed that.

I willingly admit that I'm an extreme case that has been excited to apply to grad school for three years now, and have wanted to write textbooks since I was 15.

[lotf629]

I do wish, though, that I had finished my SOP ahead of time. I had a draft done by late Oct but it was no good, and I'm rewriting it again, and so I was late getting it all my recommenders. I wish that somebody had sat me down and said to me six months ago, "You need to make it a priority to finish a strong version of your SOP by October": I just didn't work it out until it was a bit too late.

This, just in case somebody who plans to apply next year is reading this thread. Get a strong, clear version of your SOP done in time to send it to your recommenders early! I didn't, and I think in retrospect that it would have been an excellent use of my time.