Most Annoying Applications: Fall 2013 Edition

[RubyBright]

I agree, being unable to log into more than one ApplyYourself app at a time was both a.) irritating and b.) confusing, since it didn't say that was the problem. But I think that the one that took the cake was the school that required me to submit fall grades, but wouldn't email my recommenders until after I submitted my application. Read as: gave my recommenders only a week to get in letters before the deadline.

[ShortLong]

Purdue just likes to send emails. They sent a bunch while I was applying, and a bunch now I have been accepted. Come on! just let me make my decision in peace.

 

Also, I was contacted by a POI to have a phone interview. I specifically told him my time zone because I wasn't sure which one he was in. Then he told me a time zone one hour ahead and I planned according. He was supposed to call me 45 minutes ago, and I googled that his school is in my time zone. Really? Is it that hard to get your time zone correct?

[Soleil ت]

Also, I was contacted by a POI to have a phone interview. I specifically told him my time zone because I wasn't sure which one he was in. Then he told me a time zone one hour ahead and I planned according. He was supposed to call me 45 minutes ago, and I googled that his school is in my time zone. Really? Is it that hard to get your time zone correct?

 

... Ya sure you want him as a POI?

[Solnce]

The worst was UCLA - I am using Chrome and copy-paste does not work there. Unfortunately I have not thought about checking that in other browsers. 

 

Anyway, it's not the worst part.

 

To some point I managed to finish everything and was about to submit the application. And it did not let me go through.

I have no idea why they have some weird choice of where the LORs go but the problem was that I chose the wrong destination - for all the recommenders. 

So it did not let me to submit it because it could not 'see' the recommendation letters. 

The Tech Support told me that all the letters are electronically sealed and cannot be re-send to where it's needed. So I have to contact the institution.

 

I did. I contacted the institution. 

 

They just deleted all the LORs. 

 

And it was the day before the deadline.

 

So that's how I could not apply to UCLA.

 

---

 

The best application service is UCSB's! It's just perfect. Especially after all the fights with UCLA and Stanford. 

 

I just can't get it - those schools are the best in the world - how can they have so poor application services? 

[BlahCollege]

Purdue just likes to send emails. They sent a bunch while I was applying, and a bunch now I have been accepted. Come on! just let me make my decision in peace.

 

Also, I was contacted by a POI to have a phone interview. I specifically told him my time zone because I wasn't sure which one he was in. Then he told me a time zone one hour ahead and I planned according. He was supposed to call me 45 minutes ago, and I googled that his school is in my time zone. Really? Is it that hard to get your time zone correct?

 

If you are talking about a Purdue POI, yes, yes it is that hard to keep the time zone correct.  Up until like four years ago Indiana was EST for half the year and CST the other half, so if the POI had lived there long enough it's understandable that they may have confused it.  I know I confused it once or twice while I lived there.

[mpheels]

I hate SOPHAS with a burning passion. I only had only application through SOPHAS, but it's my safety school, so I had to do it. It took two hours to type in every.single.class I've taken, and it still takes them four weeks to calculate their own version of a gpa which totally disregarded the upper/lower division information I provided? WTF? At least their calculated gpa was 0.15 points higher than my real gpa. Their recommendation letter systems sucks too. Why isn't their a built in reminder email? One of my letter writters in particular is much more responsive to official auto-emails than he is to my nagging. SOPHAS also makes it really difficult to enter degree information if you have more than one degree from the same institution. I have two degrees and a certificate from one school. It wasn't clear if I should enter the school separately for each degree, or once for the full 12 year time period then add each degree earned. I emailed SOPHAS, and they said either was fine. I'm a survey design geek - you should NEVER set up a data collection system where "either way is fine." All that, and $120 for one school... applyyourself was a dream in comparison.

[dontgobreakingmyCUORE]

I had issues with UCLA's app as well... I just ended up switching browsers and everything worked out (it's my top choice so I was basically doing everything I possibly could...)

 

The app I found most annoying was Virginia Tech, though... it was a personal thing I guess - whereas every other application only required scanned copies of my unofficial transcripts (some required mailed official ones) VTech required scanned official copies. This was especially unfortunate when I didn't know I was applying there until my research advisor made a "what do you think you're doing not applying to the school of the speaker you're having breakfast with" comment... when I was in Beijing for a conference 5 days before the deadline. As in NOT able to get a scanned copy of my transcripts uploaded before the deadline. I emailed them that morning and I got something that seemed pretty much like an automated response saying that only official transcripts were accepted. Instead I uploaded my unofficial ones with a note saying I was OFF CONTINENT.... They accepted me a week later. Gotta wonder....

 

 

 

[ShortLong]

If you are talking about a Purdue POI, yes, yes it is that hard to keep the time zone correct.  Up until like four years ago Indiana was EST for half the year and CST the other half, so if the POI had lived there long enough it's understandable that they may have confused it.  I know I confused it once or twice while I lived there.

 

It was not a Purdue POI. To make it worse, when he did call me, I explained I couldn't talk for very long because of a time zone miscommunication. His response, "Aren't we in the same time zone?" If he realized that from the start he should have just disregarded my inclusion of time zones.

[echlori]

I hate SOPHAS with a burning passion. I only had only application through SOPHAS, but it's my safety school, so I had to do it. It took two hours to type in every.single.class I've taken, and it still takes them four weeks to calculate their own version of a gpa which totally disregarded the upper/lower division information I provided? WTF? At least their calculated gpa was 0.15 points higher than my real gpa. Their recommendation letter systems sucks too. Why isn't their a built in reminder email? One of my letter writters in particular is much more responsive to official auto-emails than he is to my nagging. SOPHAS also makes it really difficult to enter degree information if you have more than one degree from the same institution. I have two degrees and a certificate from one school. It wasn't clear if I should enter the school separately for each degree, or once for the full 12 year time period then add each degree earned. I emailed SOPHAS, and they said either was fine. I'm a survey design geek - you should NEVER set up a data collection system where "either way is fine." All that, and $120 for one school... applyyourself was a dream in comparison.

They took over a month to process my GRE scores, and in the meantime a school was asking me where my scores were.