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Fall 2012 Applicant Chit Chat


goldielocks

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Has anyone else noticed that the Rutgers status check page is missing documents that were definitely sent in? For example, it says my transcripts have not been received, but they were sent like two months ago. I uploaded my unofficial ones but this makes me nervous.

Yes! I'm glad it's not just me.

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Just submitted to my dream school. My stomach is in knots now... mostly because this application was as close to perfect as I could make it, and now I'm looking back at my first two and going.. damn it.

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My last--and most important--LOR writer finally submitted her letters just now...less than an hour before deadline. Talk about nerve-racking but I'm SO relieved right now. I was getting pretty close to calling her house, even in spite of the fact that she has young kids whom I probably would have awakened. :D

Edited by taybaxter
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My last--and most important--LOR writer finally submitted her letters just now...less than an hour before deadline. Talk about nerve-racking but I'm SO relieved right now. I was getting pretty close to calling her house, even in spite of the fact that she has young kids whom I probably would have awakened. :D

Lucky you! I'm still waiting for my third LOR to submit her letters to four of my applications due today. I suspect she completely forgot about them because she submitted letters to half of my applications back in November. I found out that she's gone for holidays in Uganda until January (which explains why she hasn't been responding to my reminder emails), so I had a friend who is best friends with her daughter get her to remind mom. Daughter has sent a text to prof, so hopefully this is all sorted out soon :unsure:

On a more positive note, I've just submitted the last of my applications!

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Lucky you! I'm still waiting for my third LOR to submit her letters to four of my applications due today. I suspect she completely forgot about them because she submitted letters to half of my applications back in November. I found out that she's gone for holidays in Uganda until January (which explains why she hasn't been responding to my reminder emails), so I had a friend who is best friends with her daughter get her to remind mom. Daughter has sent a text to prof, so hopefully this is all sorted out soon :unsure:

On a more positive note, I've just submitted the last of my applications!

Clever way to get in touch with her.

Best of luck! I'm sure it will all work out in the end. :)

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Congrats, everyone, on your progress! I am so happy that this process is winding down that I can't even describe it. Waking up and knowing that Rutgers and Yale are out of the way... it's like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I hope everyone else is starting to breathe a bit easier, too!

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Big Ups to all of the fellow applicants for being willing to share your hits and misses during the application process, it really helped me alot. Thanks also to Sig and other vets for offering the comfort and sometimes much needed corrective advice from those who have navigated these waters before...

Edited by ADMITedlyLucky
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5/7 applications in.

I hate that I once again put myself in a position where I was scrambling to submit stuff an hour before the deadline! I'm sure it has affected the quality of my application, and will certainly hurt my confidence during the waiting period.

Still I guess, it's a relief that this process is finally coming to an end!

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I still have three more to go, they aren't due until January 15 but I want to get them done this week. Is anyone else applying to the University of Miami? They want a writing sample but there doesn't seem to be anyplace to upload a sample. Does it need to be sent in hard copy form? I meant to call on Friday but I ran out of time. That call will be one of my first things I do on Monday.

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*whew* only two more applications remaining, just waiting for someone to give me a final review of my writing sample.

Quick question, since this is regarding something I CAN change: should you include dates in your SOP? I painted a chronological picture of my intellectual development, but did not include specific dates (I am relying on my CV to do that). What do you think?

Also, how do the application rounds work anyhoos? Candidates make the first cut based on SOP and CV right? then I guess they go to Writing Samples and LORs......right?

just checking, but by now most of you should be *relieved* ...enjoying football season (or whatever else)......

good luck chumps

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different schools pick different things to judge for each round of cuts. some start with LORs, some start with SOPs, some don't pick up your transcript till the end, some use it to cut you at the beginning. best to not worry about it either way, since there's nothing you can do about it.

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STILL waiting for my third LOR to upload her letters to four applications due on Dec.15th. She submitted quite a few back in November (got in all the Dec.1st letters and one for Dec.15th), but for some reason forgot about the last few and went off on holidays overseas. She won't be back until January and doesn't check her emails. I got her daughter (through a mutual friend) to send her a text on Friday and she responded to say she thought she submitted everything and that she'll check her email, but I haven't heard from her yet. It's an awful feeling to know I've been so organized and on top of things with my applications all semester and have all of that threatened by a situation outside of my control. One of the schools is my top choice, so I just hope the LOR gets in before it's considered an incomplete application :(

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STILL waiting for my third LOR to upload her letters to four applications due on Dec.15th. She submitted quite a few back in November (got in all the Dec.1st letters and one for Dec.15th), but for some reason forgot about the last few and went off on holidays overseas. She won't be back until January and doesn't check her emails. I got her daughter (through a mutual friend) to send her a text on Friday and she responded to say she thought she submitted everything and that she'll check her email, but I haven't heard from her yet. It's an awful feeling to know I've been so organized and on top of things with my applications all semester and have all of that threatened by a situation outside of my control. One of the schools is my top choice, so I just hope the LOR gets in before it's considered an incomplete application :(

To make a long story short -- crisis averted! Prof got a call from her daughter on the 16th but was in a town without electricity at the time, so she traveled to the capital and uploaded the letters the other day! She felt terrible about it and told me she thought she submitted them in November, but for some reason these four didn't go through at the time. I'll be sure to get her a nice little gift in February :)

Glad I can now join the rest of you with the regular, wait-induced panic!

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Hello everyone!

I am applying for an MA program. I have submitted the electronic application and have asked the professors write the letters of recommendation. I have the writing sample ready (I actually have two, need to choose one). The only thing that is kicking my butt is the SOP. I have never written one before and I really have no idea what the heck I should be writing or how to do it. Thankfully the program I'm applying to does not require GRE scores.

The deadline is Feb 15 and although it seems like so far away, I'm sure this SOP is going to take that long.

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Chiqui,

You have probably already heard this, but the 1st piece of advice is to NOT write about your passion for history and how you have been drawn to history documentaries since you were kid. Write about more concrete goals and intellectual pursuits. What do you want to study (for instance, my areas of interest are early American religion and the ante-bellum South). Do you have a specific research agenda? If so, how can you further it in the program you are presently applying to? Will your pursuits advance the field and how? If you do not know the answers to these questions, it may be a good idea to reflect on and research these issues in the next 2-3 weeks before writing the SoP.

Having said all that, I just finished my MA in history at my local state university. Not knowing any better, in my SoP I wrote about my passion for history since I was a kid... One of my profs clued me in that this type of SoP works in programs that need all the students they have, but it probably is one of the first eliminators at more competitive programs.

Hope this helps...

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Well, kids, I just got a wonderful belated Christmas surprise: an email from my POI at one of my dream schools. I am being nominated for a fellowship. I will post details after I speak with the professor and have more information. Talk about a surprise. I was just checking my email while making a late dinner and I dropped my phone...

Wishing everyone else all the best and lots of luck!

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Well, kids, I just got a wonderful belated Christmas surprise: an email from my POI at one of my dream schools. I am being nominated for a fellowship. I will post details after I speak with the professor and have more information. Talk about a surprise. I was just checking my email while making a late dinner and I dropped my phone...

Wishing everyone else all the best and lots of luck!

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!! Wonderful news, goldielocks! So happy for you!

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