Guest buzios Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 In a similar vein to this, I thought we could all use this thread to collectively vent about the app process, and maybe ask and try to answer specific app questions (instead of creating a number of separate threads). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconBeach Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 So I sent one of my recommenders a quick friendly reminder that a deadline is coming up soon in two weeks for one of my schools to submit his letter, he got pissed! Bad sign?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delimitless Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Was it in an e-mail? How do you know he was pissed? I tend to interpret text-based communication as harsher than it was meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconBeach Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Email. I know the professor well and I can tell from his choice of words that he was annoyed. Oh well, I've got bigger fish to fry, I'm not gonna sweat it too much (even though I posted in the sweat thread:playful:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnyNameDontCare Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 (edited) How to answer this tricky question: "Is it necessary for you to receive financial aid in order to enroll at the University? Yes\ No"? How will the answer to this question affect our admission decision? Edited November 17, 2011 by AnyNameDontCare Grammer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconBeach Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I guess the purpose of this question is to find out if you turn out to be at the margin for admissions decisions, whether they can admit you without funding for the first year or not. Some students who really want to attend a certain school are willing to pile on student debt (if you're a U.S. citizen or a permenant resident) in order to go the school of their choice hoping to get funded in the second year. This option is obviously not available to all students, but I guess they just want to know whether you can afford coming in as unfunded for the first year or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
economist2b Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 If you are one of those people who would pile on debt for a year to attend a certain school, and you answer yes, that you would be able to attend without funding, are you less likely to receive funding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest buzios Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 If you are one of those people who would pile on debt for a year to attend a certain school, and you answer yes, that you would be able to attend without funding, are you less likely to receive funding? Yeah, that's an interesting question. I would have initially thought you would, but now that i think about it: if a university wants you to enroll, they would likely still make a funded offer. Just because you CAN attend unfunded, doesn't mean you WILL be willing to accept the unfunded offer over other (possibly funded) offers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest buzios Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 So I sent one of my recommenders a quick friendly reminder that a deadline is coming up soon in two weeks for one of my schools to submit his letter, he got pissed! Bad sign?? It's probably just a stressful time. I'm trying to give my professors as much as space as possible, and not pester them. It's nearing the end of semester here, so I imagine they must be busy with other stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconBeach Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 @econommist2b....No, not at all. This is only if you're on the brink of either getting admitted or not, but they won't deny you funding simply because you said that you'll be able to attend without funding. Sometime when schools fill all their funded spots (in the first round or so) but they still like some candidate and can't offer them funding, they would like to know whether they can still admit that person for the first year and maybe (dependig on performance of course) offer them money for the next year and after. Most schools who admit people without funding for the first year almost always guarantee funding for years 2-5 if the student performs well in the first year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconBeach Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 (edited) It's probably just a stressful time. I'm trying to give my professors as much as space as possible, and not pester them. It's nearing the end of semester here, so I imagine they must be busy with other stuff. Thanks AV, I know it's a stressful time for everybody. I did everything I can though not to pester them too. For that professor for instance, I told him about all of this back in June! Some professors unfortunately are lazier than others. Edited November 18, 2011 by EconBeach freakin' a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnyNameDontCare Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Yeah, that's an interesting question. I would have initially thought you would, but now that i think about it: if a university wants you to enroll, they would likely still make a funded offer. Just because you CAN attend unfunded, doesn't mean you WILL be willing to accept the unfunded offer over other (possibly funded) offers. Agree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest buzios Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 So I was wondering, how are most people organizing all their application-related information (deadlines, codes, materials)? I initially tried making one of those comprehensive excel spreadsheets, but that failed quite miserably. As it stands, I just have a poorly organized pile of papers and forms on my desk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconBeach Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Definitely an excel spreadsheet. Mainly names of schools, deadlines, whether they've received LORs or not (sorted by names of recommenders), codes, and finally a comments and special instructions section to help me keep track of other stuff like; transcripts sent/received,... etc. . I also prepared a daily and weekly "To Do" list, this way I can stay on top of what I need to do for the day and for the week. This is an excellent method for keeping first things first, and for organizing your life on a daily and weekly basis, the system is not perfect of course, but it works for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bholly Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Definitely an excel spreadsheet. Mainly names of schools, deadlines, whether they've received LORs or not (sorted by names of recommenders), codes, and finally a comments and special instructions section to help me keep track of other stuff like; transcripts sent/received,... etc. . I also prepared a daily and weekly "To Do" list, this way I can stay on top of what I need to do for the day and for the week. This is an excellent method for keeping first things first, and for organizing your life on a daily and weekly basis, the system is not perfect of course, but it works for the most part. Putting in dates, rather than just ticking things off, is the key for me. Each row is a school, with columns for 'applied', 'paid', 'docs sent', 'GRE sent', 'LORs requested', and one column for LORs received from each recommender. When one of those things happen, you put the date in the applicable cell. Comes in handy for situations like last year when the Berkeley payment form didn't work for me, so my payment didn't go through - I had the date there so I could check my credit card statement and be sure before I contacted them. Then there's columns that just have info for each school - when apps are due, when docs are due, how many hard copies of transcripts, what else they need hard copies of, username/id number for the app, tracking numbers for mailed docs, and one final beautiful column to put the date in when everything is complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconBeach Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I can never keep track of all the user IDs and passwords! I must have changed them at least 5 times for each school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest buzios Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 I can never keep track of all the user IDs and passwords! I must have changed them at least 5 times for each school. And it really doesn't help that firefox sees no problem in equating all my pins when I try to save my account information for each application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconBeach Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 And it really doesn't help that firefox sees no problem in equating all my pins when I try to save my account information for each application. I hear ya. I tried to make just one password for all systems but some schools tell you "no more than eight characters", "one cap and one whatever!" My sad attempt for making a uniform password sucked...Big time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARrocket Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 I use Gmail so I've been 1) Using the "tasks" feature to keep track of the applications I've started, and making notes (ie call department about submitting GRE scores after deadline), and 2) Whenever I create a new application and get the confirmation email, usually including my username/password, I archive it. Hasn't failed me yet. Â And spreadsheet all the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest buzios Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Stupid app question: How do you guys decide what the term of entry is (i.e. is it fall or summer, when it isn't specified and they give you both options)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconBeach Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 I would do Fall. On some of them where I did Fall and after having indicated that my intended major is PhD in Economics (obviously), they came back and gave me a message saying that for this department, it is only Summer admissions. I figured this is so because of "math camp". So yeah, I would say Fall unless they come back and tell me you have to start in the Summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddavies Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 One big Excel file here. Complete with fees, usernames, passwords, due dates, etc. Hadn't thought to double check on LOR. Does anyone know how lenient schools are about late LOR? I don't what to pressure my profs too much since I already feel bad asking them to write me a letter for 17 schools! Just paid to send off all my GRE scores today. That hurt!!!:grief: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EconBeach Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 What do you guys think about the transcripts situation, i.e., do you think adcoms will make admissions decisions based on transcripts already submitted (up to the end of summer 11' grades), or do you think they expect us to send them fall 11' grades as well before making a decision? What if you mess up a class in the fall, how bad will it suck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest buzios Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I think it depends on each school. Some schools allow you to send in fall grades after you submit your initial application. I don't think it's mandatory at most places though, so if you screw up a course i don't think it would mess up your chances too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatdoido Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 So when I long into my application for Yale, it has a completion list, and transcripts are there but in parenthesis, its written have (Not Official). As far as I've read, Yale doesn't require official transcripts to be sent unless you are admitted. Is anyone seeing something similar, or have I done something wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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