Fall 2013 Applicants?

[lafayette]

Soo..... How are all the 2013 applicants doing on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday?? I'm....spent. And I'm not totally done with all my applications or the semester for that matter.

I miss all the chatter. I need some updates from those on the same roller-coaster ride we call grad app season! :-)

I'm here! I am spending my whole Thanksgiving weekend working on my apps. Was going to travel, but this is more pressing! The Berkeley one looms so close :/ and I'm moving that same day! Still feel as if I could rewrite my SOP a million times and still want to edit it again. It definitely still is not anywhere near where I want it to be and I'll probably edit it again for my apps with later deadlines ... Starting to feel nervous, self-doubt, all of that, but overcoming that by just continuing to work on the apps, polishing and polishing.

[theregalrenegade]

I'm here! I am spending my whole Thanksgiving weekend working on my apps. Was going to travel, but this is more pressing! The Berkeley one looms so close :/ and I'm moving that same day! Still feel as if I could rewrite my SOP a million times and still want to edit it again. It definitely still is not anywhere near where I want it to be and I'll probably edit it again for my apps with later deadlines ... Starting to feel nervous, self-doubt, all of that, but overcoming that by just continuing to work on the apps, polishing and polishing.

I would be doing the same if I didn't need updates from my advisor regarding my SOP. She asked me to revise the original, and I did and sent it to her Wednesday, but I'm sure I won't hear from her until Monday. Not that I blame her. I've done as much as I can do with filling out the mundane app info for most of my schools. And I've been in contact with most of my POIs. I have good days and bad days with the self-doubt and nervousness. Some days I'm just over the moon that I've made it this far!

Well, I"m off to make some green bean casserole. Happy Thanksgiving to you... and the board :-)

[kyjin]

My writing sample is sitting in my advisor's hands for another round of edits, and I'm just waiting on my last recommendation letters from another prof. Hopefully I'll get the sample back tomorrow or Monday, then I can send everything off. I finished my SOP and Personal Statements last week. If I look at them again I know I'll rip them to shreds, but I have to let it go so I can work on my thesis and RA work.

Edited November 22, 2012 by kyjin

[annieca]

My applications are basically all submitted. Brown wants financial information (how much my parents house costs?!) that I can't get until I Skype with my parents on Sunday. Aberystwyth wants ME to submit the letters of rec so I have to wait until my two recommenders send it to me. And I've now got the joy of bugging my parents from 4,000 miles away to send my transcripts to places. Or, well, more correctly, send the form to Carroll so THEY can send the transcripts to places.

I had to knock a school off of my list because of technicalities in my degree, alas. But instead, I added a UK school that I love, love love. Love so much that I kind of have it ahead of my U.S. schools. I could get a Master's in 1 year instead of the 3 years it will take me to get my MLIS and MA at the same time (or just MA at Brown).

Hope everyone isn't hung over from turkey, shopping or the pre-Christmas eggnog!

[tempest_teacups]

I submitted 7 of my applications and only have 2 left (Graduate Center CUNY and WashU) which are due mid-January (so I'm taking a temporary mental health break from this whole process). I feel so relived to have submitted them because now it's out of my hands and up to the PhD fates. Even my professor mentioned to me how much calmer I am now. It honestly feels so good not to constantly be a ball of stress and anxiety. I'm able to actually do things that I want to do now like read for fun, watch a ton of netflix, and hang out with friends. I'm trying so hard not to worry about the outcome of this application season because what happens happens and I will be ready to apply for the next 56489735 upcoming years until SOMEONE wants to accept me ANYWHERE haha

[runaway]

I feel so behind! My SoP is pretty much together, my CV is polished, my letters of rec are lined up, but I still need to do some serious work on my writing sample. First deadline is Dec 1st so I hope to have everything in the week or so after that. Can see the light at the end of the tunnel at least...

[lafayette]

I feel so behind! My SoP is pretty much together, my CV is polished, my letters of rec are lined up, but I still need to do some serious work on my writing sample. First deadline is Dec 1st so I hope to have everything in the week or so after that. Can see the light at the end of the tunnel at least...

Oh, I am with you! My SOP still even needs work! But I am not working this week so it'll be an intense application-a-thon (and moving-to-new-apartment-a-thon, ugh). I am very much not the type of person to submit early and as I mentioned earlier, I am probably still going to be doing edits after my first deadline on the 1st. I only have Berkeley that day, and then the next is on the 10th, and the others after that, so. Was considering Northwestern, also on the 1st, for a long time, but I had this thought, "If it's the only program I get into, will I want to go there?" And I wasn't so sure. Which is to say nothing of Northwestern! But wasn't sure if it was the perfect fit, and it's a big move for me too (though I'd go to UChicago in a heartbeat). I'll probably regret that when I'm, y'know, uniformly rejected from my schools come early spring. But the application fees do pile up and I don't want to waste anyone's time (or momentarily take anyone's spot, if I did get in). Plus, I really want to focus on Berkeley right now. Speaking of which, I need to finish up and polish that personal diversity statement too.

So much to do! For all of those still in anxious working moments, I'm here with you And then soon we'll be done and be wringing our hands in anticipation of the wait, yikes.

[vtstevie]

alright applications have begun! 1/16 can't come soon enough, i'm ready for this to be in someone ELSE'S hands

[runaway]

Today's the day... finish-those-applications day. My first deadline is the 1st, so I'm focusing on that application and will worry about finishing tailoring my SoP for each other school after I get it in. My last deadline's the 15th, so I booked a trip to see friends in Warsaw that day as motivation. I feel like I'm at that so-close-yet-so-far stage, but it's also weird being so close to submitting, given that I've been planning on this moment for years!

[annieca]

@runaway - you go [insert gender pronoun of choice here]! It's probably a good thing that all your deadlines are close together so that you can just get them all done, wham, and then not have to think about them again until the decisions start rolling in.

I am DONE with all of my U.S. applications as Brown just got my $75 and the amount my parents owe on their house (is that really necessary to admit me?). It's a relief, definitely. Two of the schools I applied to have rolling deadlines so as soon as my LOR's come in, they'll make a decision within two weeks. Granted, it's the two schools I'm *least* excited about, but still, two decisions is a good start.

My last application - to the school where I'm studying abroad now - has a weird catch to it. It doesn't have that "Shoot out an email for LORs, they log-in with special passcode, etc." thing. Instead, I have to either upload, via PDF on letterhead, my LORs or here's where it gets weird write them in the textbox. I know my two recommenders trust me not to mess up their letter, but does anyone else think this as odd?

[theregalrenegade]

does anyone else think this as odd?

Definitely odd - I don't like being involved in the recommendation process period. I don't even like knowing that reference requests are piling up in my referees' already cluttered inboxes. Heaven forbid they go into their spam folders!. :::breathe::

[kyjin]

Just submitted all my apps! I'm kind of glad every school I applied to has a December 1st deadline. Everything all done at once!

[benedicite]

Whoo. 5 of 12 completed. I'll be happy to get these done. Must stay motivated...

[theregalrenegade]

Just submitted all my apps! I'm kind of glad every school I applied to has a December 1st deadline. Everything all done at once!

Kyjin, I was informed a couple days ago that I should apply to Berkeley. I've never hustled so fast to get an application underway. I'll be done with it tomorrow. My saving grace was that I already had my materials ready for a Dec, 5 deadline as did my referees. This is absolute craziness! The rest of my apps are for UK schools so their process is slightly different and with later deadlines. Wow...I'm still in shock that this is all happening.

Good luck to you!

[kyjin]

Kyjin, I was informed a couple days ago that I should apply to Berkeley. I've never hustled so fast to get an application underway. I'll be done with it tomorrow. My saving grace was that I already had my materials ready for a Dec, 5 deadline as did my referees. This is absolute craziness! The rest of my apps are for UK schools so their process is slightly different and with later deadlines. Wow...I'm still in shock that this is all happening.

Good luck to you!

Oh man, good luck! Berkeley's app is a bit of a pain as they want financial information as well. (Was not expecting that.) I'll have to do my FAFSA next month when I'm home. Luckily, their deadline for that isn't till March 1st.

[czesc]

I was wondering about that. Presumably you don't have to do a FAFSA until after you're admitted, right?

I'm close to the end, although my deadlines are scattered throughout December. Trying to resist the temptation to eat up time I need to use doing other work with endless and probably pointless tweaking of my statements/sample/etc.

Edited November 29, 2012 by czesc

[kyjin]

I was wondering about that. Presumably you don't have to do a FAFSA until after you're admitted, right?

I assume so, though in my case it would be easier to just get it out of the way next month during my break. If I waited till admits in February, I'd have to get it done in the midst of finishing up my thesis.

[jogatoronto]

First three applications going out today. Fear.

[runaway]

First three applications going out today. Fear.

Same! I need to stop making small edits and just submit already.

[theregalrenegade]

Still working on Berkeley - darn them and all their scanned transcripts into PDF files business! Still need references from two professors, including the one who told me to apply!

What happens if a referee doesn't make the deadline? Does that mean the application is dumped?

[kyjin]

Still working on Berkeley - darn them and all their scanned transcripts into PDF files business! Still need references from two professors, including the one who told me to apply!

What happens if a referee doesn't make the deadline? Does that mean the application is dumped?

Berkeley's recommender deadline is December 8th, so don't fret.

My last recommender just submitted today, and I told her back in October. At least they're in now. (Minus Berkeley, but again they have a later deadline for recommendations, so I'll badger her about it on Monday.)

[Simple Twist of Fate]

What happens if a referee doesn't make the deadline? Does that mean the application is dumped?

Usually not. They tend to give professors a bit of leeway. My advisor missed one deadline last year by several days, but I still got an admission decision (well, it was a rejection, but I suspect that was unrelated). Also, it may help that it's the weekend, because it may be the case that no one will be looking at the apps until Monday.

[Guest lefilsdhomme]

Still working on Berkeley - darn them and all their scanned transcripts into PDF files business! Still need references from two professors, including the one who told me to apply!

What happens if a referee doesn't make the deadline? Does that mean the application is dumped?

Must the Berkeley transcript uploads be scanned copies of official transcripts? My undergrad institution offers the option to print your "unofficial records" as a pdf online. Is this sufficient? I hadn't even considered that it may not be... ugh all of this minutia

[theregalrenegade]

Must the Berkeley transcript uploads be scanned copies of official transcripts? My undergrad institution offers the option to print your "unofficial records" as a pdf online. Is this sufficient? I hadn't even considered that it may not be... ugh all of this minutia

I checked on the admissions site and it does say "official" transcripts, but maybe others can tell you if this is firm.

[Guest lefilsdhomme]

I checked on the admissions site and it does say "official" transcripts, but maybe others can tell you if this is firm.

Ahha! This is the language on the site:

"Required Records: Upload unofficial transcripts with the application for the departmental initial review. Official transcripts of all college-level work will be required if admitted. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) you have attended. Request a current transcript from every post-secondary school that you have attended, including community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs.

If you have attended Berkeley, upload unofficial transcript with the application for the departmental initial review. Official transcript with evidence of degree conferral will not be required if admitted."

I think one is fine with unofficial for the initial submission. Plus, my department already has an official copy of my transcript...

As an undergrad alum of the department, I wish you the best of luck with Berkeley! They have fantastic British historians and the department as a whole is a DREAM!