How far behind / lost am I?

[teamind]

My question is two fold; one about being late with applications in general and the other about POIs.

1) I haven't finished my SOP, haven't begun my CV, thus have yet to give my recommenders any info, and have only contacted about 4 out of 10 POI's. I'm finding it so incredibly hard to organize all of the different application requirements and it seems like everyone is much farther along and at least has a solid handle on things. I was sick for a few weeks and had to move twice, but other than that: What am I doing wrong? Did I just not budget my time properly? I feel like filling out all the online applications will only take a solid day's work, but in terms of my SOP, it seems as if I'm going at a snails-pace. Every day that passes I seem to get more disorganized and more behind on where I'm supposed to be in the process.

2) I have read many different opinions on this site about contacting POI's in Political Science, some say it's a must and some say it's whatever. One POI replied back with a "its seems like we have similar interests, I encourage you to apply", one replied with a "I encourage you to apply to a different program, political science is really hard to get into...". One invited me to speak on the phone with her after thanksgiving, and (this part of the story is the crux of my concern) one suggested that we meet (we live in the same city). So I went to her office, she informed me she wasn't taking on any new students to advise, after which point I sat there and stumbled trying to think of questions about the program (I assumed the meeting would be about potentially working with her, so I was very unprepared otherwise). After that experience, I feel discouraged about contacting other POI's since I obviously am not sure what to ask about programs in general (I thought I did, but every question I asked to this certain professor was greeted with a one-sentence answer and somewhat of a blank stare). I'm not entirely sure what I'm asking here, I guess I'm just confused and discouraged with this whole contacting POI-business, especially since I am so behind on my applications and I am just panicking about adding another mess to the pile.

Thanks for reading; any thoughts are so appreciated!

[TeaGirl]

I wouldn't say you're too far off behind. However, I think you should focus on getting your SOP and CV done in the next week or two, so you can get something to your recommenders. Finish the CV first, even if it starts out as an uninspired list of things you've done, it'll give you something to work with and refer to when writing your SOP.

As far as POIs, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Contacting professors can often be an exercise in weirdness. I've had some reply with a thoughtful encouraging reply, some with a "sure apply" one liner, and some telling me they weren't taking on students. Some don't reply at all and some you don't contact (they never reply to emails), they contact you if they're interested. It's frustrating, but I don't think it's the end-all in applying. It's just improving your admission chances by applying to places where a POI at least thinks you've got a shot. Make sure you ask in your email if they're taking on students to clear that out from the beginning. As far as talking with them, know something about their work prior to going there so you can chat about it. If you end up in a similar scenario of talking to a prof. who isn't taking students, you could simply talk a bit about what interested you in their work in the first place and in the program in general, and what you hope to do in the future. If they don't pick up the conversational cue, there's nothing really that you can do, so thank them for their time and say bye.

I would just send those emails. Nothing to lose really. Worst case scenario, they say no, and that'll be that. But don't put the rest of you applications on hold for this. Get them done and worry about contacting POI's later.

[staceyjo]

How many schools are you looking to apply to? I applied to 4 and had to do 3 completely different SOPs. So first I would start by deciding what schools you are applying to and seeing what they require for SOPs and CVs.

I would focus on the CV next. You will need to be able to send it out when you ask for LORs. Esp if the LORs need to come from Profs. They have a lot of students and even if you are a stand out student they may get your work confused with another student. Professors are also quite busy and take a long time to get back to you and get the LORs done, so I'd start requesting those once you have decided where you are applying.

For my one SOP I had 6 completely different drafts. But I just started by sitting down and randomly writing. Most of what came out was pretty good and I was able to use, but not all of it. The important thing is that you get anything down. Once you do it's easy to get it polished and finished. I had a recommender ask to read my SOP first before doing the LOR. So be prepared for that. The actual filling out of the applications takes the least amount of time.

[teamind]

How many schools are you looking to apply to? I applied to 4 and had to do 3 completely different SOPs. So first I would start by deciding what schools you are applying to and seeing what they require for SOPs and CVs.

I would focus on the CV next. You will need to be able to send it out when you ask for LORs. Esp if the LORs need to come from Profs. They have a lot of students and even if you are a stand out student they may get your work confused with another student. Professors are also quite busy and take a long time to get back to you and get the LORs done, so I'd start requesting those once you have decided where you are applying.

For my one SOP I had 6 completely different drafts. But I just started by sitting down and randomly writing. Most of what came out was pretty good and I was able to use, but not all of it. The important thing is that you get anything down. Once you do it's easy to get it polished and finished. I had a recommender ask to read my SOP first before doing the LOR. So be prepared for that. The actual filling out of the applications takes the least amount of time.

I already have a list of schools (many more than 4), and will have to change each SOP each a bit for each program. I already have most of the main template written, I'm actually finding the editing / polishing stage the hardest which I kinda why I'm freaking out. It's as if I hit a mental block. As for the LORs, I've already asked for them and have 3 profs ready and willing to write them. They are being very patient (unless they have all forgotten...) but I'm definitely worried I'm not giving them enough time. My first deadline is mid December.

[teamind]

I wouldn't say you're too far off behind. However, I think you should focus on getting your SOP and CV done in the next week or two, so you can get something to your recommenders. Finish the CV first, even if it starts out as an uninspired list of things you've done, it'll give you something to work with and refer to when writing your SOP.

As far as POIs, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Contacting professors can often be an exercise in weirdness. I've had some reply with a thoughtful encouraging reply, some with a "sure apply" one liner, and some telling me they weren't taking on students. Some don't reply at all and some you don't contact (they never reply to emails), they contact you if they're interested. It's frustrating, but I don't think it's the end-all in applying. It's just improving your admission chances by applying to places where a POI at least thinks you've got a shot. Make sure you ask in your email if they're taking on students to clear that out from the beginning. As far as talking with them, know something about their work prior to going there so you can chat about it. If you end up in a similar scenario of talking to a prof. who isn't taking students, you could simply talk a bit about what interested you in their work in the first place and in the program in general, and what you hope to do in the future. If they don't pick up the conversational cue, there's nothing really that you can do, so thank them for their time and say bye.

I would just send those emails. Nothing to lose really. Worst case scenario, they say no, and that'll be that. But don't put the rest of you applications on hold for this. Get them done and worry about contacting POI's later.

Thanks! definitely some good nuggets of advice here

[kaputzing]

I already have a list of schools (many more than 4), and will have to change each SOP each a bit for each program. I already have most of the main template written, I'm actually finding the editing / polishing stage the hardest which I kinda why I'm freaking out. It's as if I hit a mental block. As for the LORs, I've already asked for them and have 3 profs ready and willing to write them. They are being very patient (unless they have all forgotten...) but I'm definitely worried I'm not giving them enough time. My first deadline is mid December.

Ask your profs when they want your SOPs as references for your LORs. Some profs are willing to write very quickly (one of mine says she will take an afternoon to do it), while others might require a few days (again one of my recommenders just wants a three-day advance warning) or weeks (and my third takes 2-3 weeks). When in doubt, just double-check with them.

[staceyjo]

If your first one is due in mid December, you are definitely behind and not giving your recommenders much time to get the letters out. I had to wait an average of 3 weeks for my recommenders to get the letters out to the school. Transcripts also can take quite awhile, esp at this time of year when everyone is applying to grad school. I know my undergrad says between 11/15 and 1/1 to allow at least a month for transcripts to get out.

[kaputzing]

Some schools will take unofficial transcripts though (and ask for official after they accept you). If you have one from your academic advisor, you can just scan it into a pdf form and attach it to the application.

Or, better yet, just order an electronic (official) copy of your transcript, which typically takes 1-2 business days to arrive in the inbox.

Edited November 25, 2012 by kaputzing

[teamind]

If your first one is due in mid December, you are definitely behind and not giving your recommenders much time to get the letters out. I had to wait an average of 3 weeks for my recommenders to get the letters out to the school. Transcripts also can take quite awhile, esp at this time of year when everyone is applying to grad school. I know my undergrad says between 11/15 and 1/1 to allow at least a month for transcripts to get out.

Yes I know I am behind; hence this post.

[juilletmercredi]

How are you organizing your list of things to do? It may be helpful for you to make a checklist, electronic or paper, with all of the requirements for each school. You can give yourself mini-deadlines to get each piece done and check them off when you do finish. That way you are keeping track of what you've already done and what you need to do. I created mine in an Excel spreadsheet, where I also kept addresses and web URLs that I needed for the process.

As for contacting professors, I think it can be helpful but not necessary for the majority of the social sciences (I'm in a social science, too). Sometimes it can be great to have a professor in your corner, but I think that's only really probable if your interests align very well and the professor already knows that you'll be a great worker. Usually this happens because he/she knows you ahead of time, or knows your current advisor and talks about you, or occasionally has seen you present at a conference. I guess in uncommon circumstances a professor will look at your CV and say "THIS! I have to have this kid," but if they are going to do that, they can do that when they see your CV during the process. It also depends on how admissions are done at your programs of interest. At my department, students usually name 1-3 professors they'd want to work with and their applications get forwarded to those professors, and the professors decide who they want to invite to campus based on the application. It's helpful to have contact professors ahead of time in this scenario, but not necessary, and I didn't.

[teamind]

At my department, students usually name 1-3 professors they'd want to work with and their applications get forwarded to those professors, and the professors decide who they want to invite to campus based on the application. It's helpful to have contact professors ahead of time in this scenario, but not necessary, and I didn't.

Thanks for the advice! I'm not sure how its done in my department, but something like this sounds about right. I think I'm going to, for the most part, forgo contacting any more professors.

[JayU]

Hi guys; I'm having a little difficulty gathering the right information from various sources online so I'm sure your replies will greatly influence my next decision. I graduated from University with a very low GPA of 2.56/4.00 but have extremely high GRE scores. I simply will like to know if I stand a chance of getting a master's program considering I have valid explanations for my poor performance during my undergrad years. What else will be needed to facilitate me getting a chance to pursue a master's program?

Thanks a lot!