The Post-Application Blues
Welcome to the first late update of the year! Of course, this is to be expected, especially after last week's update. For those of you not paying attention, last week, I had not one, not two, but three applications for graduate school due. Well, technically one was due Sunday; another one was due Monday (ie today); and another one on Friday. But I want to get all of them finished and sent out by today. Well, I'm happy to report that as of right now, I've all three are finished. The third is being printed as I type this right now. The one that was due on Sunday has been submitted online (no mailing, yay!). The one that's due Monday was sent on Friday. No worries, in only had to be postmarked by tomorrow. And later today, I'll get the third one sent on its merry way. But, I feel somewhat uneasy.
I think I should feel happy or relieved. I mean, I've already submitted four applications. That's much better than last time, when I submitted not one and collapsed into a shattered husk. In general, everything has gone much better this time. I actually feel really good about some of the applications I've submitted too. I feel a little bad about the first application. It was rushed, and it could have been much better than it was. But it was an important first step, and I don't regret it. If I hadn't applied there, I wouldn't be in the good shape I am in now with my other applications. I also don't feel so good about the application I'm sending tomorrow, but that has more to do with the nature of the program. I just didn't feel like it really connected to me, so my essay for it is somewhat generic and blah. I'm going to send it in anyway, cause I already have the letters of recommendation for it, and I've paid the fee already, so I might as well go ahead and send the rest in.
As for the other two schools I'm applying to, I feel mostly good about their applications, except for one thing. See, every school requires me to submit a statement of purpose essay. Content-wise, I feel very good about the essays I wrote for these two programs. However, spelling wise isn't so hot. I tried, I really tried to proofread these the best I could. But I STILL found errors in them, AFTER I already submitted the applications (ie, I couldn't fix it). I'll admit, I didn't write these things from scratch. After I finished one, I took it, gutted it, re-arranged parts, and wrote up a new section. Then, I'd rewrite the whole thing to make it seem like one. I works really well, and it saves time so I don't have to keep writing the same thing over and over again. I didn't do this for the one I'm sending in tomorrow, so maybe that's another reason I don't feel so confident about it. All I did was take the last one I wrote, cut a section, wrote a new paragraph, and changed any mention of the schools. Anyway, in doing this, I find errors. Mainly, these are cases of wrong words, or I'm just missing a word. I mean I've only found one or two of these errors, but they're there, and they upset me. I guess I fear that the people who look over these applications are going to see these errors too, and reject them because of it. Of course, I'm probably blowing this out of proportion.
I guess the only thing I can do is try harder the next time. After all, half the point of writing these updates is so I can practice proofreading myself. I've got two more applications due, but not until the end of February and then another the middle of March. I'm going to take a week off, then start on them afterwards. I'll start hearing back from schools in April, so I'd like to finish this process by the end of February, so I can just sit back and relax in March. I'll probably be reflective again once I finish everything. Anyway, the next update should be on time again next Sunday. And it's going to be awesome.
Cause it's going to be about Pokemon.
I think I should feel happy or relieved. I mean, I've already submitted four applications. That's much better than last time, when I submitted not one and collapsed into a shattered husk. In general, everything has gone much better this time. I actually feel really good about some of the applications I've submitted too. I feel a little bad about the first application. It was rushed, and it could have been much better than it was. But it was an important first step, and I don't regret it. If I hadn't applied there, I wouldn't be in the good shape I am in now with my other applications. I also don't feel so good about the application I'm sending tomorrow, but that has more to do with the nature of the program. I just didn't feel like it really connected to me, so my essay for it is somewhat generic and blah. I'm going to send it in anyway, cause I already have the letters of recommendation for it, and I've paid the fee already, so I might as well go ahead and send the rest in.
As for the other two schools I'm applying to, I feel mostly good about their applications, except for one thing. See, every school requires me to submit a statement of purpose essay. Content-wise, I feel very good about the essays I wrote for these two programs. However, spelling wise isn't so hot. I tried, I really tried to proofread these the best I could. But I STILL found errors in them, AFTER I already submitted the applications (ie, I couldn't fix it). I'll admit, I didn't write these things from scratch. After I finished one, I took it, gutted it, re-arranged parts, and wrote up a new section. Then, I'd rewrite the whole thing to make it seem like one. I works really well, and it saves time so I don't have to keep writing the same thing over and over again. I didn't do this for the one I'm sending in tomorrow, so maybe that's another reason I don't feel so confident about it. All I did was take the last one I wrote, cut a section, wrote a new paragraph, and changed any mention of the schools. Anyway, in doing this, I find errors. Mainly, these are cases of wrong words, or I'm just missing a word. I mean I've only found one or two of these errors, but they're there, and they upset me. I guess I fear that the people who look over these applications are going to see these errors too, and reject them because of it. Of course, I'm probably blowing this out of proportion.
I guess the only thing I can do is try harder the next time. After all, half the point of writing these updates is so I can practice proofreading myself. I've got two more applications due, but not until the end of February and then another the middle of March. I'm going to take a week off, then start on them afterwards. I'll start hearing back from schools in April, so I'd like to finish this process by the end of February, so I can just sit back and relax in March. I'll probably be reflective again once I finish everything. Anyway, the next update should be on time again next Sunday. And it's going to be awesome.
Cause it's going to be about Pokemon.