Too late to apply? Need advice desperately

[LDhumfac]

I know I probably sound really stupid. I grew up with a huge anxiety problem. I graduated last May....asked professors somehow but the deadlines passed. This year I asked again in September- pretty amazing for myself(as in overcoming my anxiety). They said yes and said I was organized and had good qualifications but then when it came to sending the links to the schools, I wanted to have everything together and kept waiting and waiting....then my anxiety was like telling me it was too late to send them (I'm stupid it seems). I then asked in February again and they said ok, but I got discouraged because I missed so many deadlines.

Don't get me wrong. I've actually helped myself in getting over my anxiety (a lot), since I worked at a job, in which i talked to ppl everyday. But when it comes to applying to schools and asking the professors, it's like I become that old anxious person again. (With everything else, I pretty much as normal and carefree as anyone else. I do take school seriously though.)

So, I sent them the links March 5, none of them did it....so that's that. I haven't read my e-mail since the 15, because I was frustrated. Maybe they did it for the rolling admissions. I'm not sure.

I majored in psychology. I want to do human factors, but since I'm so late I want to just get my masters in psychology. Then get my PhD for human factors psyc., unless I decide I like I/O better.

I wonder if it's too late to apply to such schools with rolling (I know you're supposed to do these early) or ones with late deadlines.

For example, I want to apply to UTSA. I asked the professor since the deadline is July 1st(if I turned it in now, would I be okay?) He responded:

"We have not yet sent out as many offers of admission as we are able. The rate we're receiving applications at is a bit higher than usual, so there is a fairly good chance we will run out of space before the official deadline. That said, if you get the application in this month the odds are very high your application will get reviewed before we're completely fulI."

I had a 3.9 gpa from a good university and have been a research assistant for two different professors. I also had a temporary job as a research assistant for one other professor and my bachelor's in psyc.

Schools I want to apply to: NYU (masters in general psyc, deadline is june or july i think), Catholic U. of Amer(masters in human psyc, rolling admissions), colorado state univer(masters in ergonomics/human factors, rolling admissions) and utsa (deadline in july, masters in psyc).

I really don't want to have to wait another year. School is where I want to be. I know I could have probably got in one of the best schools, but I seemed to fail myself again. Any encouragement or advice would be helpful. Thank you.

[see_bella]

Like Nike, just do it! :-). Since you have the profs response which is positive, then go ahead. You have nothing to lose; grab the opportunity before deadlines approach and pass you by. You'll do well in grad school, anxiety and all.

[cafeaulaitgirl]

I would only apply if these are schools you really want to go to. I wouldn't want to apply to schools simply because they have late/rolling deadlines. If they aren't, I would just wait a year. It's really not that long considering it will be time to start applying for schools again in October/November.

[felicidad]

Another advantage of applying later is that you have time to apply to and scoop up some fellowships to make your application more competitive and to give you more resources for graduate study. I reread your post and noticed that you eventually hope to enter a PhD program. It seems that you are only applying to masters programs because you missed the deadline for PhD programs. That is a hell of a lot of money to spend just so you don't have to wait another year, especially if you take into account your potential earnings and savings after a year of work.

One year can seem like a long time when you are antsy, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not very long. It takes the average person much longer than a year, by the way, to pay off expenses incurred by paying full tuition and living expenses, usually through loans, for graduate programs. I would especially warn you that at this late date, any funding you may have gotten will almost surely have been distributed by now. In one year, you can solidify your interest in a subdiscipline. You can get work experience or do an internship. You can raise your application stats like GPA.

I don't know what relationship you have to your recommenders but they will almost certainly be pleased if you tell them that you felt your application could be stronger on the next cycle if you do X, Y, and Z, and that you would like to wait a year and shoot higher. Also, check your e-mail. Now. Don't think, just do.

[fillyglory]

I don't know how your application material is coming together, if you have them right in your computer ready to be sent, then maybe you should apply, because waiting another year will probably be more anxiety for you. BUT, if you're not ready with your material (SOP, CV, LORs...) or if you feel that your current ones are not the best you can do, then I think you should hold it off til the next year. I was kind of scrambling when I applied. It was late October, 3 schools' deadlines were in December, I already had an SOP and CV but they weren't great, but in the hurry, I sent them out with only slight alterations. The next 4 schools I applied to had later deadlines, so I practically rewrote half of my SOP and finally felt satisfied with it. I got rejections from all the first 3 schools and 2 acceptances out of the later 4, 2 are still pending, and I felt that the later 4 schools fitted me better anyway. I realize now that I just applied to the first 3 because they had good reputation and earlier deadlines. So please don't apply until you're ready with your material and don't apply just because you can get it in before the deadline. Hope this helps!