am274's Friends

LOR emails not sent?
My recommenders told me that they haven't gotten any emails from the schools I applied to.

Does it usually take a few days between submitting the app and sending the LOR emails? I've tried to figure out why by reading the schools' websites, but no such luck. I figured I'd ask here to see if anyone has experience with this, before contacting the school and asking what could be a very stupid and obvious question.

My supplemental forms (transcript, financial aid) haven't been sent in yet, and I'm worried that might be the problem, but I'm not sure -- for one app, I was able to send the LOR emails before even submitting it (and just tried resending); for the other, everything web-based is done, and I'm not allowed to change recommenders, which makes me think they're cemented in the system already.

Now I'm panicking because two of my recommenders go on vacation on the 14th, and they won't be back in time for the schools' deadlines. Ack :(

Current Mood: anxious

Do Grad Schools keep track of who emails them?
My academic advisor told me that if I have any questions about the application or about the program I should EMAIL instead of call them because they keep track of who emails them and when it's time to make a decision they can use e-mails to determine who contacted the school with relevant questions before applying. I heard they also look at who attended the information nights when deciding who is a "serious" applicant. Are any of these things true???
~Karrie

Book buy-back
Hey, grads!

I'm faced with a question as the semester closes. I'm a first year grad student in English, finishing up my first semester. In undergrad, I sold all of the books I didn't think I was going to use again. Now that I'm in grad school, I'm not sure whether I should hang on to everything or if I should get rid of the things I didn't use or don't think I'll need again. The two books in question were both for a research methods/introductory theory/grad boot-camp class: Robert Scholes' The Rise and Fall of English (cheerful reading, that) and John Hollander's Rhyme's Reason (we didn't get to it). I'm not sure I would gain anything from keeping either of these books, as my interests are in Victorian lit (mostly Gothic Vic Lit) and Rhet/Comp.

So, the question boils down to: Should I keep the books I was required to buy for class (to be safe) or am I safe in trying to sell them (because I have no use for them)?

Name-Dropping in the SOP
So one of my SOP prompts directs me to show my "awareness of the current literature on your field of interest (use citations selectively)."

What would be a productive way to go about this do you think?

Should I just say, "I've read X, Y, and Z," or should I try to be more clever about it?

Help!
One of my SOP prompts asks, "What will you contribute to our program/community?" I can only think of answers like "my mind," "ideas," and "a fresh new look," which a) sound like something that everyone would write, and b) sounds pompous.

What kind of information should you put in answer to that question?

Current Music: Glee - Last Christmas

Length of writing sample
If a program asks for a writing sample of 15-25 pages, how much would I be shooting myself in the foot to submit a 14 page paper? It's the strongest, most on-topic piece I have. I don't know that I can add another page to it without weakening the entire paper, and so am hesitant to try. What do you all think?

Also, do you think page counts like this one are meant to include the bibliography and footnotes or not?

Thank you!

Another question, this time about the S.O.P.
I bought 2 different books that discuss how to write great S.O.P.'s and they all include sob stories like how the applicant had their mother die while earning their BA, how their house burnt down while earning their BA and how they had to work 4 jobs all while taking full-time classes just to survive, or how they were diagnosed with cancer while earning their MA, etc etc. Why do I need to include a sob story and what if I DONT have a sob story to include in my SOP?
Also these books suggest adding a personal story in the first paragraph of the S.O.P. to make it "interesting for the reader" but I've been reading a lot of your S.O.P.'s and I just read my brother's that he used when he applied, and these SOP's basically just get straight to the point instead of having some kind of personal life experience story at the beginning. What should I do?

What is considered a good"AW" score on the GRE?
Is it generally anything over 5? I've heard anything over 4.5, but not too sure.

terminology question (British English)
On one of my applications I am asked to provide, under the "Undergraduate Qualification" section, "Final Grade/Result/Class expected or obtained."

I'm not sure exactly what they are asking for here. Is my GPA, degree title, or some other bit of information being requested?

FYI this is a British school.

Edited SoP
Hi everyone, I've edited it as per the suggestions (which were great) and would love it if someone took the time to take a another look.

( Read More )

lots of questions
Hello. My sister and I are planning to go to grad school. Actually she got into one in Australia and I just finished applying to several in England. With her it is a bit difficult. Both of us just came back from teaching English for a year in Prague and we do not have much saved up for grad school. We did not expect to decide to go next year in fact we were planning on teaching English abroad in another country. My question is how early should I apply for loans etc and how much should we have saved to be able to go to grad school. My sister is now thinking about deferring because she does not think she can afford the school and she will not get her loans etc till after she would have arrived in Australia. Any advice on either situation would be helpful. I hope to get a job and make some more money in order to pay for grad school in England as well as obtaining loans.

Rough Draft of SoP for English PhD
Hello! I received very helpful feedback on the first draft of my SoP, and now that I am no longer distracted by the subject and general GREs, I'd like to finish it. Any comments on my new draft would be appreciated! Let me know if you have an SoP posted and I will read through yours too. Thanks very much and good luck to everyone!

( Read more... )

how to gear SOP to specific universities
I have spoken with a few people who know people who were/were on admissions committees and they have all said that the SOP is the most important component of the application, so I don't want to mess it up! Anyway, my question:

Is it at all appropriate to say things like, "this school is at the top of my list"? Or should I just say, "I like x, y and z about this school..."?? I have no idea what I'm doing. Please help.

EDIT: I'm also looking for general guidelines on how to write this part of the SOP.

How do schools look at your GRE score if you took it many times?
I know it depends on the school, but usually what is the way they look at it from your experience? I ask cause I took it once a couple years ago and bombed! And so I took the GMAT and did okay but I only found 1 school that accepts the GMAT in lieu of the GRE and what if I don't get in there? So my college advisor told me to retake the GRE so I registered for the end of this month BUT what if I do bad again? and then if I retake it a 3rd time and do great.....
Will schools look only at your highest score? Or will they look at your most recent score? Will they average scores????? And -- if it is true that they are changing the format of the GRE completely in 2011, and lets say you take it then and do great, what are they going to look at? Your score from the new design and compare it to the old design? I'm just confused about that. And -- how are you supposed to prepare for the new GRE if I want to prepare from now? When is ETS going to make one of those prep books for the new design...

~Karrie

Major Changes to GREs Scheduled for 2011
FYI for those that may be able to wait a couple years before taking the GREs: A New Look for Graduate Entrance Test

Summary of major changes:
- Exam will be three and a half hours
- Can skip and come back to questions within a section
- New grading scale of 130-170 with one-point increments
- Elimination of analogies and antonyms on verbal section
- Onscreen calculator on quantitative section
- "More focused" prompts on writing section (whatever that means)

SOP
Hi all,

I'm applying to grad school (obviously). I'm Canadian, and I primarily want to do my master's (in English Lit - Modernism) in Canada right now, but I am also applying for a PhD to a sampling of schools in the US. Right now, I'm more than a little lost in my SOP (below the cut). Any criticism of any kind would be appreciated.

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Hi, the whole application thing is super stressful (I applied to 9 schools T___T), but if anybody could look at my statement of intent and tell me if this is ok, I'd be really grateful. Every time I read this, it seems to not be very smooth....

( SOP. )

Help! I'm filling out an online application and it's asking me...
Yes! I am filling out an online application and there's a portion that asks me to type in a responses to questions they ask. Are you required to use full sentences or just get straight to the point?
EXAMPLES:
Do you plan on living on campus?
"Yes, I plan on living on campus." OR just "Yes."
How do you plan to fund your degree?
"I plan to fund my degree through personal savings and student loans." OR "Personal savings and student loans."

And is it just me or is everything about the application process designed to make us all get stressed out and worried about little things that probably don't matter much? LOL

Personal History/Diversity Statement
Hello Friends,

While I have tried to move past my discomfort with the general idea of these statements, everything I write just feels off. I welcome any and all feedback. Thanks in advance.

( Personal History/Diversity Statement )

What kind of stuff do you include in the part of an application that is called "Additional Info"
On one of my app's it has a section called "Additional Information." It says: "If you would like to provide any additional information to the Admissions Committee in support of your application, please submit it here."
I have a low GMAT score so I was definitely thinking of including a brief statement that discusses why. Do you think that's appropriate?
Also I was thinking about including a letter from the chair of my department that he sent me a few years ago when I was invited to join Phi Beta Kappa. Do you think that's appropriate and will help?
This is a really competitive program and I'm trying to do ANYTHING to help improve my chances!!

Thanks guys & gals!
~Karrie

How much should the Gift Card be??
Well I've been reading about the etiquette on what to get the people (Professors) who wrote you Letters of Recommendation for grad school, and it seems like a lot of people suggest gift cards to bookstores? So what should the amount be? What is the etiquette here?

SoP Help!
Hey there,

I am applying to PhD programs in creative writing this fall and in desperate need of critical feedback on it. Would anyone be willing to take a look? I fear I am taking on to much academese and not enough personal voice. PM me and I will send it to you asap. Peace and happy applying to everyone!

HERE

I am almost a double major because halfway through my bachelor's degree I decided that I liked chemistry better than biology, but I am not officially a chemistry major. My university wont allow me to get a double major due to a max credit cap they have.
I am applying to a chemistry program and they have told me that they aren't sure my chemistry background is enough for the program (even though I am only 3 classes short of a chemistry degree).

Due to this, if I get rejected from graduate school, I am planning on moving to the city where the school is after my graduation and find a part time job and offer to do volunteer research in the lab I eventually want to work at for my graduate work.

Do you think this is a good idea? I thought that maybe by doing the research, I can show them that I am really good at what I want to do and that my background is enough, so that when the next round of applications comes, they already know me and I have a better chance of getting in. I have thought about considering other schools, but this particular one has the exact program with the exact subject I want to work on.

Diversity Statement?
One of the schools I'm applying to asks for an optional "diversity statement, which constitutes "socio-economic status, race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality or place of origin, disability, unique work or life experience, etc." I'm a currently middle-class-ish mid-twenties straight white girl, but I grew up poor, lived in a trailer, single mom with drinking habits, first one of my family to go to college, etc. Of course, I'm worried this will sound like a manipulative sob story if I use this as a diversity statement, especially since I'm doing fine right now. Do you think something subtly-worded (ie, nix the alcoholic mommy back story, keep the trailer) would still sound tacky? It's not like I grew up in a ghetto or on an Indian reservation. I'd prefer for them to opt out of the statement altogether if they'd interpret my "diversity statement" as a jeremiad about how sad my childhood was! Thoughts?

SOP's on here?
Why do some people post their SOP's on here? I remember hearing something a while back where schools use a computer program to identify which students copied and pasted portions of their SOP from stuff that is online (plagiarism). And so when someone posts their SOP on here, technically they are making their SOP "online" and they could be accused of plagiarizing it. I don't know. Is that even real? I'm just thinking about that. Any comments?

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