UC Santa Barbara--anyone else out there?

[wintergirl]

This is the third app I've got to submit tonight. (Already submitted Oregon, working on Michigan.) Here's UCSB's notion of a SOP and some other vaguely intentioned statement:

Statement of Purpose

Give a brief statement outlining your reasons for undertaking a graduate program, your particular area of specialization within the major field, your past academic work, and your plans for future occupation or profession. Also include any additional information that may assist the selection committee in evaluating your preparation and aptitude for graduate study at UC Santa Barbara.

Personal Achievements/Contributions Statement

UC Santa Barbara is interested in a diverse and inclusive graduate student population. Please describe any aspects of your personal background, accomplishments, or achievements that you feel are important in evaluating your application for graduate study. For example, please describe if you have experienced economic challenges in achieving higher education, such as being financially responsible for family members or dependents, having to work significant hours during undergraduate schooling or coming from a family background of limited income. Please describe if you have any unusual or varied life experiences that might contribute to the diversity of the graduate group, such as fluency in other languages, experience living in bicultural communities, academic research interests focusing on cultural, societal, or educational problems as they affect underserved segments of society, or evidence of an intention to use the graduate degree toward serving disadvantaged individuals or populations.

Why not just call it a diversity statement??! Banging my head against the desk right now.

My kingdom for one standard application for all PhD programs.

[rainy_day]

bespeckled, from my admittedly suuuuuper burnt out place (I had 7 apps due today), I would totally turn in the same essay I wrote for Michigan.

[wintergirl]

Holy crap, 7 apps in ONE DAY??!? I did four on Dec. 1st and that about killed me. Literally. That was before I had a polished writing sample and SOP "template" ready to go, so that helps a bit with these. (Except for Michigan & UCSB's particular demands...)

But what apps did you submit today? CONGRATULATIONS!!

[rainy_day]

Omg, I've been working on them all week! I started submitting them over the weekend, because, yeah, I absolutely could not do 7 in one day. But I'm super beat, all the same.

Also, on Dec 1st I had UMinnesota and UCLA due....and I had the flu! I managed to get UMinnesota in; UCLA will forever be "the one that got away." haha.

Congrats to you as well! I like to think we're pretty baller for getting through all this.

[wintergirl]

Aw that sucks about the flu! Damn, can't imagine trying to think carefully to click on each little thing in the application with a fever. Doing it without the flu was bad enough!

I hear you on "the one that got away": UCLA is my top choice, but I very nearly flubbed it by doing all the "easy" apps earlier in the day on Dec. 1st so I could clear the decks for UCLA and USC. Boy, was I regretting that at 11:59 PST while frantically uploading documents. NEVER AGAIN.

Now that I'm back to square one with my (good) SOP for Michigan, I haven't a clue what to do with my personal statement for either of these. UGH.

[rainy_day]

It would be a great consolation to me if you got into UCLA, so I'll send you good vibes.

If it helps you at all, I got an email from Michigan that the deadline was midnight pacific time; I'm on the east coast so this surprised me.

I'm 2-3 fit sentences away from desert of some kind and a mindless tv show! They are taking an inordinately long amount of time to write.