Fall 2016 Entry Applicants

[random_grad]

On 10/23/2015, 10:47:38, HumanCylinder said:

it could be risky to name someone who might end up taking sabbatical

for the other conditions you mention, yes; but sabbatical is not necessarily a reason for not taking new students. I've seen that happen more than once. if the department to which you're applying has a practice of assigning students to specific profs from the start, then you must mention with whom you want to work.

[bhr]

Well, with the first major deadline of the year past, I assume some of us are now officially applicants. I've got two down and four to go.

[1Q84]

7 hours ago, bhr said:

Well, with the first major deadline of the year past, I assume some of us are now officially applicants. I've got two down and four to go.

It's been an unusually quiet app cohort this year, hasn't it?

[Romanista]

For those of you applying to comp/rhet PhD programs...are you also sending your GRE subject test in English scores? I took the test for the 2014 cycle back when I was a literature applicant. I'm wondering whether it would be gratuitous to include them since my scholarly interests aren't literary. My guess is that it's worth including them if you have a terrific score (which I don't...66th percentile). 

[doubledogd]

All submitted! Now patiently and/or anxiously awaiting the receipt of remaining rec letters. 

Here's hoping I'll wake up tomorrow and it will be February. 

[haltheincandescent]

My first real deadline isn't until Monday, but everything's pretty much set to go--all LoRs in, except one, and that prof just said yesterday that they'd all for sure be in on time.

I'm just holding onto it as long as possible just in case I have a sudden idea about something that could be better in my SoP (I work best under deadline pressure). 

I should probably just go ahead and submit them, though.

And then, this:

27 minutes ago, doubledogderrida said:

Here's hoping I'll wake up tomorrow and it will be February. 

 

[EmmaJava]

I'm in, too!  But...it's a slow trickle. A couple of early December deadlines put me right there in the pipeline with this quiet cohort. I have a couple of mid-December deadlines, too, followed by a majority of Dec 31/Jan 1 deadlines (half a dozen or so). SoP continues to be a work in progress (a death-grind, really), but all else feels good (writing sample, letters of rec) or else is in place and locked in and ready to rock without necessarily feeling good (GRE).  And once I get to the waiting it out phase? Throw myself into another writing project, doesn't matter what it is. When I write, time flies, period, so my strategy is to find something with a mid-March or early April deadline. No need to wake up and find February. I want to wake up to early May with the sunlight on my face.

[HumanCylinder]

I was pretty proud that I managed to get 6 applications done over the Thanksgiving break.  I have 8 more to go, spread between the first two weeks of January; my aim is to get that bunch in by December 20th so I can enjoy the holidays.  I'll be looking forward to doing more personal reading, too, after this part is over.  I wasn't able to manage any this semester between the teaching and application stuff. Good luck to all!

[bhr]

4 hours ago, Romanista said:

For those of you applying to comp/rhet PhD programs...are you also sending your GRE subject test in English scores? I took the test for the 2014 cycle back when I was a literature applicant. I'm wondering whether it would be gratuitous to include them since my scholarly interests aren't literary. My guess is that it's worth including them if you have a terrific score (which I don't...66th percentile). 

My advisor/friends have told me to include whatever helps (teaching statements, GREs for places that don't need them) and leave out what doesn't (if not required).

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

I got 4 out of 7 done today. I've also been teaching 5 classes this semester, which has really interfered with my ability to post on here. I mostly have just checked up on the Lit GRE thread, and lurked on threads re: SOP's and Writing Samples.

[greenmt]

8 hours ago, 1Q84 said:

It's been an unusually quiet app cohort this year, hasn't it?

I was thinking that the other day, too, when I randomly checked in, after a couple/few weeks away, and found nothing to reply to.  Maybe applicants are finally listening to the hype and applying in smaller numbers?

In any case, best of luck to everyone applying this fall!  

[haltheincandescent]

And off go my Dec. 7-8th apps. At this point I should for real just submit them all, because if I find a typo in one of those later SoPs.......it's probably in the ones I just sent, too.  (99.9% confident there are none, though.)

[EmmaJava]

1 minute ago, haltheincandescent said:

And off go my Dec. 7-8th apps. At this point I should for real just submit them all, because if I find a typo in one of those later SoPs.......it's probably in the ones I just sent, too.  (99.9% confident there are none, though.)

Nice. My goal is to get through all the mid-December deadlines this weekend. Just submitted one, leaving five-ish more. Then it's on to the new year - three-ish due on December 31 and/or January 1, and then two-ish more on January 15. I've got my SoP where I want it, which really speeds things up. Now I can just flip through the online systems wielding a credit card. I see this nice little signature convention for accepted/waitlisted/rejected and will take a similar cue once I know for sure which programs I have officially chosen to apply to. Strange how my list, which I've been working on for over a year, seems to be changing even as deadlines are coming up (I just added University of Illinois at Chicago, for example - December 15 deadline!). But this is fun. I'm glad that I got back to where it is fun again. I hope others are having fun, too.

[brontësaurus]

Six out of seven done! Trying not to stress overmuch...

[sarabethke]

I have three out of six done--just sent off Oregon's today (they wanted so much more stuff than the rest!) UT's is due mid-December as well, then I have one left for January and one February. I'm not even going to worry about them until mid-February because that's the earliest any have said I'll hear back! Just trying to crank out the rest of my papers for actual classes at this point.

Edited December 6, 2015 by sarabethke

[HumanCylinder]

27 minutes ago, sarabethke said:

just sent off Oregon's today (they wanted so much more stuff than the rest!) UT's is due mid-December as well, then I have one left for January and one February.

I did Oregon's last week (actually my second time submitting there), and I think their app is a little odd. They do have you submit a lot related to teaching experience, and you have to upload so many individual documents, even for something like supervisor contact info.  In this comparative vein, I will say that SUNY Buffalo had probably the most simple and streamlined app of the 7 I've submitted so far, whereas Utah's was a bear to get through on the other end of the spectrum.  The ApplyTexas system that I had to use for Texas A&M was also pretty tedious.  Just in case anyone is applying to Texas A&M, here's a heads up about submitting letters of rec -- they email you a separate pin number after you submit the app and you have to register in a different place in order to electronically notify your recommenders.  I got this login info a few days after I submitted the app....so make sure you leave enough time before the due date.   

[EmmaJava]

15 minutes ago, HumanCylinder said:

...I got this login info a few days after I submitted the app....so make sure you leave enough time before the due date.   

Similarly..the UIC app that I thought I was starting was actually the "create your account" first step, which apparently takes 5-7 business days before they email you back so that you can then get back in and complete everything. I just thought I was going to go online and slam through it. Nope. Give yourself time, indeed.

[bhr]

I've got OSU and MSU in, but the rest of mine are due until the end of the month so I'm working on grading and final projects for now, then will get on them over break.

[BooksCoffeeBeards]

Got all mine done between Wednesday and Thursday last week! Oregon's was a pain in the butt, but the rest were easily done. Now just crossing my fingers and waiting for February to get here ASAP.

Also, I have to remind my thesis chair to write her letters for my applications. My two other letter writers completed and uploaded their letters over this weekend.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

[sarabethke]

19 hours ago, HumanCylinder said:

The ApplyTexas system that I had to use for Texas A&M was also pretty tedious.  Just in case anyone is applying to Texas A&M, here's a heads up about submitting letters of rec -- they email you a separate pin number after you submit the app and you have to register in a different place in order to electronically notify your recommenders.  I got this login info a few days after I submitted the app....so make sure you leave enough time before the due date.   

 

Yes! I had thought that UT and/or A&M only used ApplyTexas for undergrad apps, but apparently not. Ridiculous. Luckily I found that out over a month ago. I got all my applications open and going pretty early so I could see if there were more specific instructions for things like SOPs and letters of rec in them.

[haltheincandescent]

Last minute panic as Duke and Stanford's rec requests went to spam (twice!) for the last of my recommenders--but it's all sorted now, and all is in for the early deadlines. I went ahead and submitted everything on my end for all of them--now just to wait for that same last recommender to send in letters for the rest. 

[HumanCylinder]

24 minutes ago, sarabethke said:

Yes! I had thought that UT and/or A&M only used ApplyTexas for undergrad apps, but apparently not. Ridiculous. Luckily I found that out over a month ago. I got all my applications open and going pretty early so I could see if there were more specific instructions for things like SOPs and letters of rec in them.

Yes, that's a great idea.  My goal is usually to get an app in at least 2 weeks prior to the deadline. 

Gosh, I can't wait to get the rest of my apps in! Maybe I'll sneak a few in while I grade final papers and work on my Spring semester syllabus, ahead of my self-imposed Dec. 20 deadline. But, I suppose I shouldn't be hurrying to worry, which I assume with be my predisposition for at least the month of January.  

[sarabethke]

Others who applied to UT Austin...if your application says "in review" it's done, right? I'm kind of thrown off by the lack of a "submit" button. My status used to say "incomplete" but now it's "in review" and that's all it should be, right?

[haltheincandescent]

1 hour ago, sarabethke said:

Others who applied to UT Austin...if your application says "in review" it's done, right? I'm kind of thrown off by the lack of a "submit" button. My status used to say "incomplete" but now it's "in review" and that's all it should be, right?

Hm. Mine says in review as well (admittedly I don't remember it ever saying incomplete, but, it probably did, I just wasn't paying attention), even though my last recommender still hasn't yet uploaded her letter. Presumably "in review" means that all the main portions are uploaded, so they're trying to get a head start on reviewing, even before the deadline?

Anyone who hasn't uploaded their writing sample/SoP yet? Have the same thing / still "incomplete"?

Edited December 10, 2015 by haltheincandescent

[doubledogd]

I didn't apply to UT-Austin, but I would assume that "initial review" or "in review" means they've passed off your materials and application to the department.