Airing of Grievances

[rawera]

I feel like the person that ultimately gets shafted by all this is my poor boyfriend

You two have a pretty adventurous relationship.

[antecedent]

You two have a pretty adventurous relationship.

I prefer to think of it as an "open relationship" consisting of me, my boyfriend, and my grad apps.

[lolopixie]

I anticipated the LOR ordeal with not being able to send out requests until after the application is submitted, so I opened the apps in October to see which schools did that and sent out paper copies for those. I'm not going to be able to submit until around the 20th because I'm waiting for my GRE scores. I guess it is for the best because my paycheck on the 23rd isn't dedicated to anything.

[Timshel]

I anticipated the LOR ordeal with not being able to send out requests until after the application is submitted, so I opened the apps in October to see which schools did that and sent out paper copies for those. I'm not going to be able to submit until around the 20th because I'm waiting for my GRE scores. I guess it is for the best because my paycheck on the 23rd isn't dedicated to anything.

Yeah, I wish I would have known so I could have them send paper copies, but it'll be nice to get it done early. My plan is to (hopefully) submit it tonight.

[lcm]

Got an email from one of my LORs this afternoon saying she will be in the office tomorrow morning so that all my Dec. 15th applications will be turned in on time... she failed to mention if she mailed out the paper recommendation for the application that's due tomorrow. I'm way too on edge for this.

[wintergirl]

Sorry to hear about everyone's LOR troubles.

Here's my gripe o' the day: I hate that there are already lots of people hearing back about their apps in the results board, including getting acceptances to schools I want to go to. Of course they're all science PhD apps ... but STILL. Why must we lit people wait so long??

/haven't even submitted half of my applications yet, so ridiculous complaint is ridiculous

[cquin]

My grievance right now is that I cannot motivate myself to work on my SOP for Rutgers--which is due tomorrow. Instead, I've spent the past hour looking at apartment complexes in all of my potential new home cities. Does anyone else do this? Even when I'm not directly working towards grad school, I'm fantasizing about grad school.

[rainy_day]

My grievance right now is that I cannot motivate myself to work on my SOP for Rutgers--which is due tomorrow. Instead, I've spent the past hour looking at apartment complexes in all of my potential new home cities. Does anyone else do this? Even when I'm not directly working towards grad school, I'm fantasizing about grad school.

Haha, I did that last night for UC Irvine, instead of working on their sop. Or sleeping! It was very late at the time.

I'm actually having a hard time envisioning myself *in* another city, probably in part because I have lived in my current city for 9 yrs. (yikes, that makes me feel old.)

[Grunty DaGnome]

Apply Yourself is the worst. If you breath too hard, it locks you out and says you're already logged in. Why are both my applications due tomorrow "Apply Yourself" applications?

[bdon19]

My grievance right now is that I cannot motivate myself to work on my SOP for Rutgers--which is due tomorrow. Instead, I've spent the past hour looking at apartment complexes in all of my potential new home cities. Does anyone else do this? Even when I'm not directly working towards grad school, I'm fantasizing about grad school.

I just submitted my application for Rutgers, only because it is dumb and won't let me send out my letter requests until I finish. I'm a bit peeved, though, that now I have to wait 24 to 72 hours or whatever it is to get my "RUID" so I can upload my other stuff. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Also, my mom has already planned out exactly where I'm going to live for half the schools I'm applying to. She's convinced that New Brunswick is unsafe (she printed out an article from the NYT from 2004 called "How Unsafe Is Rutgers, Really?"), so she's been looking for places in nearby towns. This will be a long few months for all of us, won't it?

[Grunty DaGnome]

Also, my mom has already planned out exactly where I'm going to live for half the schools I'm applying to. She's convinced that New Brunswick is unsafe (she printed out an article from the NYT from 2004 called "How Unsafe Is Rutgers, Really?"), so she's been looking for places in nearby towns. This will be a long few months for all of us, won't it?

Awwwww. Mom loves ya

[cquin]

I just submitted my application for Rutgers, only because it is dumb and won't let me send out my letter requests until I finish. I'm a bit peeved, though, that now I have to wait 24 to 72 hours or whatever it is to get my "RUID" so I can upload my other stuff. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Also, my mom has already planned out exactly where I'm going to live for half the schools I'm applying to. She's convinced that New Brunswick is unsafe (she printed out an article from the NYT from 2004 called "How Unsafe Is Rutgers, Really?"), so she's been looking for places in nearby towns. This will be a long few months for all of us, won't it?

OH MY GOD, I FORGOT ABOUT THAT STUPID 24-72 HOUR WAITING PERIOD. Guess who's staying up all night?

My mom tried to dissuade me from applying to a few schools because they're in "boring" cities-- "Lincoln, Nebraska?! No, that's crazy, you can't live there."

[Grunty DaGnome]

Fed Ex charges 29 dollars for next day delivery

[rawera]

USPS has an overnight option too.

[marlowe]

Fed Ex charges 29 dollars for next day delivery

I mailed my CUNY-Graduate Center documents - writing sample, CV, transcripts - certified US Mail in plenty of time to reach NY by the deadline.

I submitted the application three days before the deadline, only to find out that they require you to print out and mail the Signature page, as well. Yet another frustrating aspect of the CUNY experience to go along with the whole 'we don't send reference requests until you submit' thing.

$20 later, next day delivery with signature required. CUNY lost a check that my sister sent last year; though I highly doubt that they are super strict on deadlines, I'm not taking any chances.

[Timshel]

I sent some things only 5 days before the deadline but didn't stress about it because it takes them days to get all of the materials to the right place, and the post office told me the estimated time was 3 days to get there, so I figured I'd take my chances. They'd see the post mark date and know that if it got there really late, it wasn't my fault.

I mean, if we are really going to air a grievance, it should be for any school that requires ANYTHING be sent to them, whether it's writing samples, transcripts, etc. Boo on them!

[cquin]

I mailed my CUNY-Graduate Center documents - writing sample, CV, transcripts - certified US Mail in plenty of time to reach NY by the deadline.

I submitted the application three days before the deadline, only to find out that they require you to print out and mail the Signature page, as well. Yet another frustrating aspect of the CUNY experience to go along with the whole 'we don't send reference requests until you submit' thing.

$20 later, next day delivery with signature required. CUNY lost a check that my sister sent last year; though I highly doubt that they are super strict on deadlines, I'm not taking any chances.

I too forgot that stupid signature page, so I asked someone in the admissions office if I *had* to drop it off and she told me I could "fax it, or e-mail it, or drop it off, or mail it, or whatever" (exact words). But I'm sorry about your experience

Edited December 15, 2011 by cquin

[poeteer]

FSU (creative writing for me, but I'm assuming the whole English dept) has some interesting instructions for recommendations -- apparently if your recommender can't or won't upload their letter to the online application (or if your dossier service can't get through, for example), they're supposed to send it to you so you can upload it for them as a supplementary material. That's really weird to me. I'm not going to ask my recommender to send me a letter I've already waived my right to see on other apps, and that he or she wrote assuming I'd waive them -- I'm surprised anyone would be comfortable with that arrangement. And Interfolio wouldn't even send me the letters if I asked. Sometimes I wish schools wouldn't put all these strict parameters on the recommendations because it's just so out of our control. Not all of us are in school, with easy access to our professors!

Edited December 15, 2011 by poeteer

[marlowe]

I too forgot that stupid signature page, so I asked someone in the admissions office if I *had* to drop it off and she told me I could "fax it, or e-mail it, or drop it off, or mail it, or whatever" (exact words). But I'm sorry about your experience

Eh, I appreciate the empathy. I am good at justifying things though; if all of my apps had cost as much as CUNY's, I would be down a lot more than twenty bucks.

[Grunty DaGnome]

I too forgot that stupid signature page, so I asked someone in the admissions office if I *had* to drop it off and she told me I could "fax it, or e-mail it, or drop it off, or mail it, or whatever" (exact words). But I'm sorry about your experience

Signature page? "Andrea" from the grad. department contacted me nearly 2 weeks ago to let me know my application was complete, yet I sent no signature page. Is it possible that the electronic signature page is sufficient when submitting on line?

[cquin]

Signature page? "Andrea" from the grad. department contacted me nearly 2 weeks ago to let me know my application was complete, yet I sent no signature page. Is it possible that the electronic signature page is sufficient when submitting on line?

Do you remember that page that appeared AFTER you hit submit? It said "Print this out and mail it with your supplemental documents, blah blah blah." It asked for the date, your signature, and your program. Yeah, that's the signature page. I really, really don't think it's important, though.

...Then again, who the hell knows with CUNY?

[Timshel]

Do you remember that page that appeared AFTER you hit submit? It said "Print this out and mail it with your supplemental documents, blah blah blah." It asked for the date, your signature, and your program. Yeah, that's the signature page. I really, really don't think it's important, though.

...Then again, who the hell knows with CUNY?

Amherst said something similar to this on their application. It said one page that if you had to mail anything (which you do) that you should print out the last page and then send that with your documents, or provide something that has all of your information on it. I had already mailed my documents in, and coincidentally provided all the information that they wanted anyway, but then, when I clicked submit, it said: print this page and send with your supplemental materials.

So. Confusing. I just said fuck it and figured that what I sent with my materials is probably good enough. The only difference was that the print out had my application number on it. I'm sure that just helps them locate your stuff quicker.

Edited December 15, 2011 by Timshel

[lolopixie]

I'm just ready to be done! I'm losing steam big time over here. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it.

[Timshel]

Once I submit Cornell's tonight/tomorrow morning, I don't have any more due until mid-January, so I am taking a two week break from them while I go on vacation.

[especially]

I'm in the same boat lolopixie. You can do it! Hopefully I can as well.