Wanna hear a crappy story?

[LateAntique]

A lot of things can go wrong with this whole application process. Fortunately, most things have gone pretty smoothly for me. I haven't had any major glitches with paperwork or recommenders or anything of the sort. However, this weekend I had my credit card stolen from my car. This was not really that big of a deal (my fault, actually) and I wasn't too stressed about it....until today.

I got a call this morning from a community college at which I had taken a few classes after high school concerning my payment for transcript requests. I filled out and sent in the paperwork last week, but they finally got around to processing the payment today, using the stolen credit, which naturally did not go through. This wouldn't be so bad if I did not have Dec 1 deadlines at two of the schools to which I'm applying (that's next Tuesday, by the way). So tomorrow I have to get up, go to class, then race to this city (about a 2 hour drive), go to the office at this school, pay for the transcripts, then go to the post office and send them priority to make sure they're there by Dec 1.

Thank you, guy who stole my credit card.

[piccgeek]

That SUCKS. Is there any way you can communicate the extenuating circumstances to your schools in case the transcripts don't get there in time?? Last year some of my GRE stuff got lost-in-translation and all my schools were very understanding about it when I explained the situation. Try not to freak out!

[JerryLandis]

Could you possibly give cash to a friend and ask to use their credit card for the payments?

[modernity]

Ugh. I had similar issues last year... all sorts of last minute things that broke out of nowhere. Its the reason I started much earlier this year, but I will probably still encounter some of it. Some things you just can't plan for. Hope things work out for you though!

[LateAntique]

I'm not too worried about it. It seems like this will work. One of the schools to which I'm applying has been pretty relaxed about stuff anyway, so I don't think this is too big of a deal.

[fred987]

Some schools also have grace periods of up to a week after the deadline in which they allow for circumstances such as these.

[grad_wannabe]

I had a miniature very-last-minute freak out of my own last night!

I'm applying to NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. An optional part of the app is a creative portfolio, which they said on their website they prefer be submitted as a URL (which makes sense, considering the nature of the program). This portfolio's not required, but since I'm applying from an arts background, rather than a programming or professional career, I thought it pretty necessary.

So, Dec. 1 was the deadline. Last night I was pushing it - still hadn't submitted the URL. I'd been working on that site for months, and had been going at it non-stop for the last week or so (pretty much since the last bite of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving). I'd already submitted everything else: I'd priority-mailed the transcripts to get there 11/27, both the rec letters were done, and the Apply Yourself part was submitted and paid for on 11/30. All I had left to do was submit the URL in an email to the admissions office. Got to be around 8 last night. Getting down to the wire and I'm not qquuiitte done yet. You know the feeling? I still had to make the list of required plug-ins .... and then I remembered I'd promised to drive a friend to the airport. I planned to be back home again about 9:30, so I still had a couple hours to get it in before midnight.

I left the house, drove over and picked her up about 8:15 ... and then remembered the time difference. The app was due at NYU. I'm in California. December 1st was going to be over in forty-five minutes, not fours hours, and I was in the middle of the 105 heading into LAX. I started freaking out. "OH NO!! I missed the deadline! What if they don't accept it if I send it after midnight their time?? That's December 2!! They won't take it! What have I done?!? I've jeapordized EVERYTHING!!" That's when my friend suggested I just use my phone to send the URL to the admissions office.

So, that was what I did. I pulled off the freeway, pulled out my phone, and -cursing the rudimentary email formatting on the piece of shit- sent a very short, simple letter to the email address, listing the URL. I said out loud, "I can't believe I'm sending my application to NYU while sitting in my car in a Stater Bros. parking lot." But hey, I got it in at 8:35 - technically still Dec. 1 in NY. That was, anyway, until I got home an hour later, rushed to look online, and realized I'd accidently sent the email to the personal email address of the admissions director, and not to the general office address listed on the application. And I hadn't included the list of plug-ins. Blerg!

I hurredly sent a follow-up email with all the requirements (at about 10:30 my time, so well into Dec. 2) but stressed about it all night... But, very happily, woke up to an email from the admissions director - "Great! Thanks!"

So, they accepted it, but of course I'm going to stress that my last-minute confusion over the email will affect their appraisal of my application ... oh well! nothing to do about that now!

Thanks for letting me vent!