Anybody not applying for another 1+ years? How are you making the most of the pre-app time?

[med latte]

Anybody else here reading these forums early -- you do not plan to apply for another 1, 2 or 3 years? Have these forums inspired you to take any specific action in effort to improve your application?

 

I've been out of school for a while, but I am taking a couple of classes at the school I hope to attend full time later -- one of classes will be an independent research project that I'll start in the fall.  I picked up a job teaching two one-day continuing education workshops in my field; it isn't the TA experience that other Ph.D. candidates may have but I hope it will count for something.

 

Anybody else? Ideas for making the most of the year(s) before our applications are due? 

[Dedi]

For me, I started really early (I won't be applying until next fall). I started looking at grad schools and doing research on the programs since freshman year. Obviously, interests change but as I learned more I was able to get a sense of what I truly wanted to do for my grad school dissertation. Right now my research plan is pretty specific. This allows me to contact POIs that are specific to my research interests. Basically, I've proposed my project to them, and the professors that have responded tend to be positive about it. Many of them do not have space in their labs, so it's useful to ask them whether they plan to have room in their lab in the future.

 

I have a first draft of my SOP for the programs that I definitely want to apply to and a first draft of my CV.

 

Extra research experience, especially relating to what you want to study, always helps. When I talked with Stanford admissions about whether extra classes/certificate or a research project would give me an edge, they said that research experience is considered the number one priority. That gave me some insight as to how important research is (at least in my field).

 

Make strong relationships with professors, but don't try to force anything on them or it seems artificial (in my opinion). Letters seems to flow better when the student-professor relationship flows naturally. I don't know how else to say it. My advisor told me that it's not hard to write LORs for me because he has a lot a positive things to write about. They may also provide opportunities to research with them and create an even stronger letter (considering that you were committed to the research).

 

That's all I can think of, but those are a few things that I am doing to prepare myself for the next application season.

[oceanlover]

I applied this fall for next fall, and started really preparing for grad school at the beginning of the semester.  Looking back I wish I had more time, specifically for GRE studying and contacting professors.  I really underestimated how time consuming contacting POIs would be, between searching for programs and waiting for replies.  I wanted to be very thorough and made such I covered every school and every program, I didn't want to look back and have any regrets!  Definitely spend a lot of time looking at schools and specifically the research being done, as well as working on your SOP.  Being prepared and applying early definitely takes helps minimize the stress! Good luck!

[Crucial BBQ]

Grad school was on my radar before I even entered undergrad, and after I finished my first semester of undergrad I knew that I really did want grad school.  So, I began my search then, including downloading applications when available to "practice" filling them out...and writing the SOP and other essays.  Even with a four-year's head start I still found myself scrambling at the last minute.  Things change. 

[Crucial BBQ]

...and I even began saving up the money that would be required to apply to 7 or 8 programs...then the money went elsewhere...

[med latte]

just bumping to see if anyone else is researching now for an application season in the future...

[slouching]

I'm a junior, and I won't be applying to grad school until fall 2015 (maybe even later). About a year ago, I realized that grad school is something I'm interested in pursuing, and since then, I've been taking steps to make myself a competitive applicant. Reading these forums and doing my own research has helped me understand some potential flaws in my application, and since I've started preparing so early, I have plenty of time to attempt to fix those issues. Here are some of the things I've been working on:

 

- My language skills need improvement. I would like to learn French, but I won't have time to do so during undergrad. Instead, I will be doing a brief study abroad trip to France next year, and to prepare for that, I will be studying the language independently this summer. Since I will not be attending grad school straight out of undergrad, I plan to use that time to continue working on language, perhaps by taking classes at a community college.

 

- Getting to do interdisciplinary work is really important to me. I'm a sociology and anthropology major, but I could see myself applying to American studies programs, or programs that combine visual and cultural studies. The requirements for my major don't really give me a lot of opportunities for interdisciplinary work, so I've had to carve out spaces to do that work elsewhere. By the time I graduate, I will have completed an independent study, an honors thesis, and several honors interdisciplinary classes. I am also taking classes in areas that I'd like to study more in grad school, like film studies and art history. 

 

- As I just alluded to, I'm in the honors program at my school, which has been tremendously helpful. I get to do the aforementioned thesis and interdisciplinary courses, but I also get to network with really interesting, accomplished people, and learn about things like grants and scholarships. I go to a very small school, and the resources of the honors program are super accessible. 

 

- Another benefit of going to a small school is that I have been able to establish good relationships with my professors. I just transferred to this school last fall, and I already know of a few people who could be excellent LOR writers for me. 

 

- I am hoping to take the GRE at the end of this summer. Studying for the test is one of my main summer projects, and I finally got my math requirements out of the way this year, so all that stuff is still fresh in my mind. Even if I bomb, I'll still have plenty of time to retake the test.

 

- And, of course, I've started researching grad programs, because reading these forums has taught me a lot about what to look for. My list of potential schools is still ridiculously long, but it keeps me motivated. 

[victorydance]

I would strongly advise taking a year off after undergrad. It's been a blessing for me. I knew I was applying to Ph.D. programs as early as last year at about this time. I really nailed my senior year, in terms of grades, research experience, nailing down my three recommendations, and my honours thesis. 

 

Since graduation I have moved abroad (to the region I am interested in study for comparative politics), strengthened my Spanish, found another RA position, and have been rigorously re-writing my SOP and studying for the GRE. I will also begin soon on fine-touching my writing sample, which is my honours thesis.

 

I think the best thing to do is look at your whole application and try to improve everything as much as possible. There are some things you can't control fully like grades and LORs (although you can control these to some degree). Everything else can be improved.

 

Don't have research experience? Go out and find a position, even if unpaid. Writing sample can be edited and revised to make it better. You can always improve your GRE score. And your SOP needs to be written like 50 times (I have changed mine probably about 20 times already and it keeps getting better). Languages? Move somewhere and study/learn one better.

 

Research what schools have what profs is an obvious one, but get this done early so that you don't even think about it by the time fall comes. There should be about 10 grad schools where you fit reasonably or exceptionally well, and the rest are useless. Once you find those 10, then you don't have to worry about this part. 

 

I think the most important part of your application is to have an overall focus. Someone should look over your profile and see direction. All your research interests and experience should point towards one thing, your writing sample should be on your interest, and your SOP should tie it all together. Of course, this is a bit harder to achieve for people coming from different fields, but it still applies somewhat.

[Crucial BBQ]

Well, considering this application season bombed, I'm looking at the 2015 cycle.  I was originally "supposed" to apply for the 2013 cycle, but stuff happens as they say.  I actually managed to have LORs and transcripts sent to schools/programs, but because of that "stuff" I did not complete and submit any of my applications.  I am not bummed, really.  I have spoken to a few of the programs I applied to and learned a great deal of what to do and what not to do; some of which is in direct contrast to the "advice" normally found on the Internet.  

 

I'll pass this info along towards the end of summer as students begin to gear up for the application cycle.