Questions concerning all the small stuff

[jlee306]

Hello y’all, I have a few questions concerning the small stuff that goes into the application process (and yes, I know...I shouldn't worry too much about this stuff, but since I have all the big stuff pretty much completed, I wanted to go over the small stuff ). Okay, so here are my questions:

1. What type of paper are you printing everything off on? (For the SOP and cover letter, are you using regular white computer paper, or better quality? And for the CV, what type of resume paper are you using, if you are using any at all?)

2. Are you putting a header on your SOP, and if so, do you put your name, university, and page number?

3. Are you stapling your SOP together as well as your CV? If you have to send in a cover letter, do you staple that to something?

4. On the postcards you send in with your LORs and application packet, what do you write on them so they know to put it in the mail? (Ex: Please drop in mail, Thanks. ??)

5. What type of envelope do you send your application packet in? The bigger envelope so your materials do not have to be folded?

That's all the questions I have for now, lol. I know this stuff isn't all that important, but I am very meticulous about small details. I really appreciate your time in answering my questions! Thank you so much!

[socialpsych]

For my one paper app, I used regular white computer paper for both statement and CV; put my name, "Statement of Purpose," and the page number in the header; stapled the CV and SOP (separately from each other, but each one was multiple pages); had no cover letter; and sent everything, unfolded, in a big manila envelope. And I got in, so I guess it worked.

I should add: no one told me what to do. Maybe I should have worried about it more than I did, but at the last minute I guess I couldn't convince myself that it would matter! So I wouldn't be surprised if everyone else uses nice paper, etc...but as you can see it's not strictly necessary for making a good impression.

Edited December 14, 2009 by socialpsych

[fancypants09]

Hello y’all, I have a few questions concerning the small stuff that goes into the application process (and yes, I know...I shouldn't worry too much about this stuff, but since I have all the big stuff pretty much completed, I wanted to go over the small stuff ). Okay, so here are my questions:

1. What type of paper are you printing everything off on? (For the SOP and cover letter, are you using regular white computer paper, or better quality? And for the CV, what type of resume paper are you using, if you are using any at all?)

2. Are you putting a header on your SOP, and if so, do you put your name, university, and page number?

3. Are you stapling your SOP together as well as your CV? If you have to send in a cover letter, do you staple that to something?

4. On the postcards you send in with your LORs and application packet, what do you write on them so they know to put it in the mail? (Ex: Please drop in mail, Thanks. ??)

5. What type of envelope do you send your application packet in? The bigger envelope so your materials do not have to be folded?

That's all the questions I have for now, lol. I know this stuff isn't all that important, but I am very meticulous about small details. I really appreciate your time in answering my questions! Thank you so much!

1. I think regular printing paper is totally fine for applications. I've only used higher quality paper for my undergraduate thesis (we were required to use acid-free paper) and for job search materials (the fluffy & soft resume paper--the best in my opinion, but super expensive!).

2. When I applied to my first grad school (already 4 years ago!) I put down identifying information in the header. I didn't use page numbers b/c my SOP ended up being 2 pages max. If you are numbering a longer writing sample though, I'd put page numbers as footers just to be clear with organization and everything.

3. Stapling SOP = OK. Stapling CV = OK (again, not like a formal job application, so stapling should be OK). If your cover letter is 1 page, then I'd just place it on top of the stack and not staple it. Usually, I like to clip all the stapled parts together into 1 big packet with a small binder clip.

4. Not sure what you're referring to here, but with regards to anything I send to my LORs, I send them an informal cover letter, much like an email, with a checklist to help them keep track of everything I'm sending them and what they're supposed to do.

5. I don't think you want to send in more than 5 pages in a regular letter-sized envelope. If you're applying to lots of schools, I suggest that you stock up on large envelopes (8.5x11), which are pretty cheap at the mega office supply stores.

Hope this helps!

[JerryLandis]

I stapled my writing samples, and my SOPs where necessary. I figure it will be easier to organize or go through my documents if they're independently stapled and secure. If they don't want staples, they should have specified that in the directions! As for the envelope, I sent my documents in A4 envelopes, the same size as my paper (I hope whatever files they use are long enough to hold the A4 pages - didn't think about that until the last minute, but hey, maybe it will make my application seem more distinctive!). I wouldn't stress too much about all that, since I'm sure there's someone working in the admissions office who sorts out all the paperwork before the admissions committee looks at it. I doubt one of the secretaries doing this will find the way I assembled my materials offensive enough to say anything about it to the people evaluating my application!

[fuzzylogician]

Hello y’all, I have a few questions concerning the small stuff that goes into the application process (and yes, I know...I shouldn't worry too much about this stuff, but since I have all the big stuff pretty much completed, I wanted to go over the small stuff ). Okay, so here are my questions:

1. What type of paper are you printing everything off on? (For the SOP and cover letter, are you using regular white computer paper, or better quality? And for the CV, what type of resume paper are you using, if you are using any at all?)

2. Are you putting a header on your SOP, and if so, do you put your name, university, and page number?

3. Are you stapling your SOP together as well as your CV? If you have to send in a cover letter, do you staple that to something?

4. On the postcards you send in with your LORs and application packet, what do you write on them so they know to put it in the mail? (Ex: Please drop in mail, Thanks. ??)

5. What type of envelope do you send your application packet in? The bigger envelope so your materials do not have to be folded?

That's all the questions I have for now, lol. I know this stuff isn't all that important, but I am very meticulous about small details. I really appreciate your time in answering my questions! Thank you so much!

1. Regular computer paper for everything.

2. I put my name, "statement of purpose" - program/university, page X of Y.

3. I've heard it's better to use a paper clip and not to staple because the grad school people need to make copies of the materials. I put a clip on my sop and on my cv. The cover letter is just one page and so I left it laying on top of the other things.

4. I'm not sure what this means. I don't think your recommenders really need you to tell them to put the postcard in the mail--that's obvious, isn't it?

5. A big brown envelope.

[alexis]

I wouldn't stress too much about all that, since I'm sure there's someone working in the admissions office who sorts out all the paperwork before the admissions committee looks at it. I doubt one of the secretaries doing this will find the way I assembled my materials offensive enough to say anything about it to the people evaluating my application!

I agree...I really don't think you have much to worry about. My guess would be most people print on normal white paper, and there's almost always an admin person putting things into a certain format before the adcom even sees it.

In terms of the postcard, you should be fine. If they've asked for a postcard, and you've addressed it to yourself, they should figure it out. On mine, I wrote the name of the university, and "all application materials have been received and processed" (heh the "processed" part may be wishful thinking.) You could put "please drop in mail." But honestly, I don't think it matters what you put on there. Just make sure it's addressed to you and has a stamp on it. Some admin person will just end up sticking it in the mail.

[jlee306]

Just to clear things up on what I mean about the postcard...I am sending postcards with everything I send in so the admissions people can drop it in the mail to be returned to me so I know they received it. I was wanting to know what message to put on the card for the admissions people. I figure they know why it is in there, but I didn't want to send a postcard with no message and just assume the admissions people know. I was just wondering what sounds polite enough and not too bossy.

Thank you to everyone who has replied so far...very helpful stuff!

[JMoo]

I'm a graduate secretary, and here are my preferences: The kind of paper doesn't matter, for the cv or anything else. A large envelope with unfolded pages is nicer. I don't care if it's staples or clips, but it's nice to have each section separated from the others. If you send a cover letter, it shouldn't be stapled to anything else. Double-siding is fine - save a tree. It's a good idea to put your name on everything you submit, because with the volume of paper we get, things can get mixed up. I wouldn't put the name of the University you're applying to if it's not requested, because it's too easy to get them mixed up, and it never looks good to get another school's name on someone's application. Page numbers on the writing sample are a good idea - that way it's easy to tell if there's a printing or copying error and things get missed or mixed up. I don't think they're necessary on the statement or other things, but it doesn't hurt.

[jlee306]

Thank you JMoo...very helpful!