Fall 2015 Applicants

[hreaðemus]

Thank you unræd! That's promising, at least. Here's hoping the Board is feeling generous!

[Dr. Old Bill]

 My application just went from "under consideration by degree committee" to "under consideration by Graduate Board," which is supposedly the last step (!!) in the process of admission.

 

That is the most exciting thing I have heard all day!

 

Really pulling for you, little Bat!

[unræd]

I wasn't sure where to post this (boringly specific) question, but: for those applying to Harvard (English), is it still the case that a hard copy transcript needs to be sent to the GSAS, in addition to uploading a pdf to the online application? The English program website says yes, but all I can find on the GSAS website is this:

 

Transcripts

The Graduate School requires that you submit your application online, and that your recommenders submit letters of recommendation online. Upload your statement of purpose, transcripts, and additional academic information in the Writing Sample and Additional Academic Materials section of the application.

 

If nobody knows the answer, I might just have to spend hours crafting a Harvard-worthy email to someone in the admissions office...

 

 

For what it's worth, I did send Harvard hard copies.

 

I'm coming to this conversation late, but where are you guys seeing that the Harvard English website says to send paper copies? The text at the English graduate admissions website here says, under the Admissions FAQ question on required documents at the bottom of the page, "Transcripts from each college/university you attended. The Graduate School requires that you upload your transcript(s) with your online application. Please do not send paper transcripts." Under the question about where to mail supplemental materials, that same English dept page says: "The entire application system is conducted online. Please do not send any paper materials to the English Department. Please note that GSAS no longer accepts paper materials." Am I just totally missing something somewhere?

Edited November 8, 2014 by unræd

[hreaðemus]

I second unræd's question.

Edited November 8, 2014 by hreaðemus

[unræd]

I'm not trying to be a douche, I'm just genuinely confused--I added Harvard to my list late, and if I'm going to send paper transcripts I need to get those puppies in the mail!

[Dr. Old Bill]

Ruh roh. Mea culpa time. I just checked, and I did not, in fact, send Harvard paper transcripts. Looks like I must have been thinking of somewhere else when I made that post a month ago. So my sincere apologies for that. Hopefully it didn't cause you any undue stress.

 

Incidentally, despite being a generally meticulous person, the other day while going through my submitted applications to make sure one of my letter-writers' LOR was uploaded properly, I noticed that Rutgers requires hard copies of transcripts...and I didn't realize that at the time of submission. In other words, it's always good to triple- and quadruple-check (quintuple? Sextuple?) application requirements, even after you've submitted an application. I plan on doing yet another sweep through of all of them at some point soon, just to be sure.

 

But again...sorry for the snafu, folks.

[mikers86]

No matter how many times you read over application requirements, I swear a new one materializes on the grad school page that contradicts what was previously stated. Keep on top of it! It's especially tedious if say one of your undergrad institutions doesn't permit online transcript requests and you have to overnight a paper request with a check. Not to mention expensive...

Edited November 9, 2014 by mikers86

[unræd]

But again...sorry for the snafu, folks.

 

Pshaw--no snafu, and hence no apology needed. I just didn't know what was what!

[hreaðemus]

Eep, Cambridge just made me a conditional offer of acceptance!!!

 

I know the real challenge is yet to come: funding, oof. There's no way I could attend unless I get the Gates or a College scholarship or something similar. But!!! Still!! It took my entire application less than two weeks from the time I submitted the last of my supporting documents to be processed and accepted -- that seems like a compliment. And, also, Cambridge! 

 

This will make the rest of applications season sting a tiny bit less. <3

[Dr. Old Bill]

Eep, Cambridge just made me a conditional offer of acceptance!!!

 

I know the real challenge is yet to come: funding, oof. There's no way I could attend unless I get the Gates or a College scholarship or something similar. But!!! Still!! It took my entire application less than two weeks from the time I submitted the last of my supporting documents to be processed and accepted -- that seems like a compliment. And, also, Cambridge! 

 

This will make the rest of applications season sting a tiny bit less. <3

 

WOO HOO!!!!

 

Funding concerns aside, this is HUGE news! And you also get the distinction of being the first of our little Grad Cafe cohort to feel the exhilaration of acceptance!

 

You should now start the inevitable "2015 Acceptances" thread.

 

I'm seriously thrilled for you, little Bat -- congratulations!

[queennight]

Eep, Cambridge just made me a conditional offer of acceptance!!!

 

I know the real challenge is yet to come: funding, oof. There's no way I could attend unless I get the Gates or a College scholarship or something similar. But!!! Still!! It took my entire application less than two weeks from the time I submitted the last of my supporting documents to be processed and accepted -- that seems like a compliment. And, also, Cambridge! 

 

This will make the rest of applications season sting a tiny bit less. <3

That's incredible!!! Congrats   and yes, we definitely should open up an acceptances thread now!

[hreaðemus]

Thank you!!! I'm so grateful for our little community here - it makes successes much richer, and failure less scary. You all are terrific! (Also, I did as instructed! The acceptances thread is officially begun...)

[unræd]

YEEEEHAW! How terribly, terribly exciting! Yay you! Woot! Is it weird to feel very proud of someone you've never met?

 

I swear, I'm away from GC for a couple days, and cool shit like this happens!

Edited November 13, 2014 by unræd

[1Q84]

I'm curious as to how folks feel about this:

 

I was originally intending to apply to those tippy-top programs in my field as kind of a "hail mary pass," (which is not to say that I wasn't going to put effort into the application). I already spent some money sending GRE scores and transcripts to those programs but now I feel as if I've had a change of heart, mostly about my chances of being accepted.

 

Would you just continue on with the application and sink more money in for the app fee or would you cut your losses and save some money/time?

[heliogabalus]

If the program is a good fit, I'd apply to the top programs. It's hard to play it safe with grad school--so many don't even get into their safety schools--and the top programs are likely to offer the best funding and chances at getting a job. If you get in, will it be worth the money you spent on the application? If yes, apply.

[__________________________]

I'm curious as to how folks feel about this:

I was originally intending to apply to those tippy-top programs in my field as kind of a "hail mary pass," (which is not to say that I wasn't going to put effort into the application). I already spent some money sending GRE scores and transcripts to those programs but now I feel as if I've had a change of heart, mostly about my chances of being accepted.

Would you just continue on with the application and sink more money in for the app fee or would you cut your losses and save some money/time?

I know what what you mean, even at this point I have a couple programs I'm on the fence about. Thing is I went into this whole process figuring that I can't financially justify a humanities Ph.D. unless its at a great program where I'll be able to get a job. Even my "safety" schools are great schools and very selective and very well funded programs. There's a couple "tippy-top" programs I'm applying to and I was nervous about applying to Ivies like Princeton and Yale. I'm probably going to cut out Yale because I simply don't think I would fit with the program as well but there's always that weird feeling... like feeling like you'll regret it if you don't try...

I dunno. What I'm doing is taking a hard look at those tippy-tops and determining how much of me really meshes (I think) with the program and how much is just for the name of the program, the name of the school. Were I you I would maybe browse a couple other programs that you may have thought about earlier but forgot about or wrote off. I realized within the last couple weeks that there's a couple schools I looked at early on that I wrote off for opinions I no longer have and now would be really excited to attend.

If you've already sent your scores to those schools and would still think you would love going there I would do it if you can afford to. It's not going to be a WHOLE lot cheaper switching over to a new app in the middle of one than adding a school to the list. But yeah, the schools I've already sent scores to, I'm definitely going to apply to - might as well, right? If your change of heart is purely about confidence getting in, I would say that you should apply anyway since you've already started investing the time and money into applying. Because you never know! From other posts you've made here, it seems to me like you're a strong candidate!

Edited November 13, 2014 by mollifiedmolloy

[Dr. Old Bill]

For me (and probably for most of us) it's all about fit. Fit is a two-way street, of course -- you have to fit the program, and the program has to fit you. It took me a long while to figure out how to determine fit, and honestly, it's probably going to be after acceptance(s) that it really comes into focus.

 

What I'm getting at is that the "tier" doesn't really matter so much. I mean sure -- it matters in a broader sense -- but when it comes to deciding on schools on their own merits, it's simply more important to find a place that you will be happy to attend for five or more years. Professors you'd like most to work with. If those ideal professors are at Yale...apply to Yale! If they're at the University of Northern Alaska...apply to UNA! There are myriad considerations when choosing schools, but don't let "tier" be one of them, unless your materials are truly not in the ballpark of what they require.

[1Q84]

Thanks, Molloy and Wyatt (I ran out of upvotes for today... have a gif?)

 

 

You guys are right. I might as well roll the dice. It would be dumb for someone looking to get into gender/sexuality not to apply to Berkeley. 

[zanmato4794]

1Q84, I read your post while I was at work, and so did not reply (almost typed "apply!") then, but I agree with the others: apply.

 

i'll speak only for myself, but I know that I won't be my sane rational self again until after spring when I know my fate, and so I don't trust my decisions regarding graduate school from here out. I've already caught myself considering waiting another year to be more ready--and I have a lot of shit under my belt--just because I was panicking.

 

plus: if you apply and get into a school, even if it isn't one of those top schools, you might still kind of feel badass about having potentially been a serious competitor in that process.

[unræd]

Also, I was at a conference this week and saw a presentation by a graduate student at one of the top schools in my field that was just absolute crap, and that gives one a certain "Well, fuck, I guess the sort of people who get admitted there aren't necessarily superhuman gods of scholarly perfection after all, so I might as well!"

[mikers86]

I'd caution drawing that conclusion. I've seen professors from top institutions give both absolutely terrible and absolutely inspiring papers. It does give one hope, but everyone also has off conference papers.

[unræd]

I'd caution drawing that conclusion. I've seen professors from top institutions give both absolutely terrible and absolutely inspiring papers. It does give one hope, but everyone also has off conference papers.

 

Oh, no--I wasn't saying either that he wasn't a good scholar, or that because he gave a single bad presentation, that means that anyone can get into his school with nothing but an SOP and a dream. Neither of those things are true, at all: he is in fact a good scholar, and his program turns away ridiculously qualified applicants every year. The only conclusion I was drawing was just that, as I said, no one--even admits to whatever tippy-top program you can name--is absolutely perfect.

 

It's tautological, sure, and perhaps a facile thing to celebrate. But still worth remembering, I think, given how this process (and GradCafe, in a certain way) necessarily emphasizes your faults.

[jhefflol]

I HAVE A GIF I NEED TO SHARE BUT I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT 

 

Figured it out. I'm smart sometimes.

 

Basically how I feel having filled out most of my applications and now must wait for an adcomm to like me:

 

Edited November 15, 2014 by jhefflol

[queennight]

When schools inevitably question if I'm drunk for even trying to apply to them:

[__________________________]

Stinky old adcomms just aren't always hip to the stylez of the future.  How I'm going to feel around the time schools are looking at my application: