Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Just want to wish you all good luck on this cycle! Here are some friendly reminders, tips, advice about the application process!
-Spend extra time going through your classes to make sure they are all typed out correctly. If anything if off when you submit it your application, they will come back and have you fix it which will stall your the processing of your application by a week or two.
-On that note, make sure you get your application submitted at LEAST a month before your first deadline to give yourself a safety net just in case anything does need correcting!
-Start getting in touch with your contacts RIGHT NOW for your observation hours and recommendation letters! Especially recommendation letters. If you get to a point where your ready to submit your application and your rec letters haven't been submitted yet by your contacts, go ahead a submit it. Unless if things have changed this year, your rec letters can be submitted after your submit your application. My contact unfortunately waited until the very last few days to submit my rec letter and I started nagging her about it a month before PTCAS even opened last year.
-TAKE YOUR TIME ON YOUR ESSAYS. For some schools, the essay portion IS your interview. For other schools, the essays portion is as important as your interview. Take your time on these. Go to your local university and have them read by someone who specializes in graduate personal statements/essays. Have them proof read at least 3 times and by different people if you can!
-Be prepared to spend lots and lots of money. Sending GRE scores, the PTCAS application, the individual application fees....it adds up fast. This is kind of off topic but something you guys should be aware of but IF you get accepted somewhere, be prepared to spend $100-1000 PER SCHOOL for a Confirmation Deposit to secure your seat. (The most common amount I have seen has been $200-300 but have heard of some requiring $1000..). Most of these schools give you 2-3 weeks to come up with the money and some schools will give you an extra week if you ask. I didn't know about this deposit until the day i got accepted. Most of the time, these deposits are non refundable too...so if your unsure about where you want to go or if your trying to secure a seat and are uncertain about getting in anywhere else, be prepared to lose lots of money here...🙁
-(This one is slightly depressing..) Believe it or not, a good number of the applicants each year are students who dont even meet the minimum requirements. As soon as the admissions committee sees these applicantions, they are thrown out instantly. So double check to make sure you can even apply. If your planning retaking courses, GRE etc this fall to try to improve, then ignore this. But if your GPA, GRE, etc are below the minimum required for your schools, DONT APPLY. I know you want to and its heartbreaking, but I can 100% guarantee that you wont get accepted..even if your GPA is a 2.999 and the minimum is a 3.0. They will not even look at your application. 🙁 I am telling you this only so that you don't hope for a miracle and to save you hundreds of dollars. If you don't meet the requirements, take the next year and IMPROVE what you need to improve! I believe the farthest you can take classes to apply this year is through the fall. So if you have to retake classes this spring, I am pretty confident you will not be able to apply this cycle...(CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG..I dont wanna give wrong advice on this) At any rate, If this is what your really want to do, you can retake classes, observe more, do research, etc...to make yourself a better applicant for next year! So dont give up if this point applies to you!!! 👍
-Finally, drink lots of coffee and be prepared for the extremely long wait to hear back.
(Unless you do early decision of course!) And when your finally done with your application, get a beer...😛
These are just of few of the tips that I encountered last year when I applied. I got in to 2 of 7 schools and was wait listed by 1. Current students and re-applicants, please add to this list if there are any other recommendations or tips for these new applicants!
Good luck new applicants!!
-Spend extra time going through your classes to make sure they are all typed out correctly. If anything if off when you submit it your application, they will come back and have you fix it which will stall your the processing of your application by a week or two.
-On that note, make sure you get your application submitted at LEAST a month before your first deadline to give yourself a safety net just in case anything does need correcting!
-Start getting in touch with your contacts RIGHT NOW for your observation hours and recommendation letters! Especially recommendation letters. If you get to a point where your ready to submit your application and your rec letters haven't been submitted yet by your contacts, go ahead a submit it. Unless if things have changed this year, your rec letters can be submitted after your submit your application. My contact unfortunately waited until the very last few days to submit my rec letter and I started nagging her about it a month before PTCAS even opened last year.
-TAKE YOUR TIME ON YOUR ESSAYS. For some schools, the essay portion IS your interview. For other schools, the essays portion is as important as your interview. Take your time on these. Go to your local university and have them read by someone who specializes in graduate personal statements/essays. Have them proof read at least 3 times and by different people if you can!
-Be prepared to spend lots and lots of money. Sending GRE scores, the PTCAS application, the individual application fees....it adds up fast. This is kind of off topic but something you guys should be aware of but IF you get accepted somewhere, be prepared to spend $100-1000 PER SCHOOL for a Confirmation Deposit to secure your seat. (The most common amount I have seen has been $200-300 but have heard of some requiring $1000..). Most of these schools give you 2-3 weeks to come up with the money and some schools will give you an extra week if you ask. I didn't know about this deposit until the day i got accepted. Most of the time, these deposits are non refundable too...so if your unsure about where you want to go or if your trying to secure a seat and are uncertain about getting in anywhere else, be prepared to lose lots of money here...🙁
-(This one is slightly depressing..) Believe it or not, a good number of the applicants each year are students who dont even meet the minimum requirements. As soon as the admissions committee sees these applicantions, they are thrown out instantly. So double check to make sure you can even apply. If your planning retaking courses, GRE etc this fall to try to improve, then ignore this. But if your GPA, GRE, etc are below the minimum required for your schools, DONT APPLY. I know you want to and its heartbreaking, but I can 100% guarantee that you wont get accepted..even if your GPA is a 2.999 and the minimum is a 3.0. They will not even look at your application. 🙁 I am telling you this only so that you don't hope for a miracle and to save you hundreds of dollars. If you don't meet the requirements, take the next year and IMPROVE what you need to improve! I believe the farthest you can take classes to apply this year is through the fall. So if you have to retake classes this spring, I am pretty confident you will not be able to apply this cycle...(CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG..I dont wanna give wrong advice on this) At any rate, If this is what your really want to do, you can retake classes, observe more, do research, etc...to make yourself a better applicant for next year! So dont give up if this point applies to you!!! 👍
-Finally, drink lots of coffee and be prepared for the extremely long wait to hear back.
(Unless you do early decision of course!) And when your finally done with your application, get a beer...😛These are just of few of the tips that I encountered last year when I applied. I got in to 2 of 7 schools and was wait listed by 1. Current students and re-applicants, please add to this list if there are any other recommendations or tips for these new applicants!
Good luck new applicants!!
Last edited:
