This isn't school-related:

Well it is. I am planning (hoping) to visit one of the schools I am applying to. One of the most prestigious ones. I was imagining what they would ask me during my interview. And books came up because my life would be perfect if people interviewing me would just talk about literature.

Favorites:
Fiction book: The Corrections (Jonathan Franzen)
Non-fiction book: Teachers Have it Easy (Dave Eggers) and Arc of Justice (Kevin Boyle)
Play: Waiting for Godot (Samuel Beckett)
Short story: Araby (James Joyce)
Poem: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (T.S. Eliot)

Okay, so one of those was an Oprah Bookclub book, but suck it up. It is still a good book.

Big Time Update

I changed my final recommender. I ran into someone from my last job and I asked him and he was very willing to write a letter for me. Only one school requests two academic and one professional and it is the one I am most likely to get in to. I might ask for one from another professor just to be sure, but if he says he rather not, then I won't be concerned.

I feel bad that one of my recommenders has been bumped. She was neither academic nor professional really, but she's a nice person and I really like her. I think I am going to ask her to write a letter to every school that lets you submit four letters. I almost have packets put together for each one telling them what I need and when, my SOP, my resume, and what each school says they are looking for in a rec letter (if they give guidance).

Basically, everything is complete. I need to upload some documents and I want to fiddle with some of my essay, but I am pretty much ready to send everything in and pay my fees.

I am pretty excited.

Moving Forward

Sent an email to a professor at #5.

Next week I am going to try to schedule a meeting with my potential final recommender. I hope all goes well, but who knows if he'll even really remember me.

I have like seven drafts of my statement of purpose. They all say basically the same thing in varying degrees of earnestness. All my applications are started except two. One opens Monday and one the following Monday. I think once they're all open and worked on, I will be able to focus on my SOP and what I really want from it.

I feel like I should be nervous but I'm not yet. I'm sure I will be when I push that submit button.

Graduate Schools Update

I am dropping #4 and adding another Northeast school in its place. The school rank is much higher and I figure if I am going to do this, I should do it right.

I took some time off work and really focused on the necessary writing. I wrote the analytical essay for #1 (in California) and got my boyfriend and a friend to read through it. I am sending it to someone else today for an opinion and then I will hold for a week, reread, and then submit to the student readers the school offers.

I am working on the four-page policy memo for the newest addition (new #4). It is a little short right now, but I am just adding ideas as I find them and find time to write.

My general statement of purpose is basically done. I just need to tailor it to the schools. My resume is looking good. My Personal History Essay for #1 is decent. I don't know how long it needs to be or anything, so I just wrote and then stopped when I reached the present.

My big problem is that my writing style, while technically correct is very bland. I have a decent vocabulary but it isn't extraordinary. I don't know what to do to pep up my writing some and make it really impressive.

Recommendation letters and online applications

As of today, I have arranged meetings and recommendation letters from everyone I plan to ask (two academic, one non-academic which is ideal). I also began the online applications for every school that has them available (#2, #3, and #6). The other two won't be available until September. I hope to have my applications done and sent by November 1.

I am determined to work on my SOP this week. I want a solid draft by mid-August so when I go requesting letters in September, I have something decent to show them. I have already worked on my resume, but I feel like it is lacking.

Here it is with personal information removed:

Education

University , - December 2006
Bachelors of Arts in English, magna cum laude
Minor: Mass Communications

Relevant Coursework

US government, international relations, microeconomics, macroeconomics, precalculus and trigonometry, survey of calculus, elementary statistics, technical writing

Relevant Experience

Research secretary and grant coordinator, ****************, *********, ** 2008-present
• Conducted database search for articles, reviewed academic literature
• Edited, formatted, and submitted manuscripts to leading pharmacy journals
• Reviewed, edited and submitted grant applications/proposals, renewals, and revisions to the National Institutes of Health
• Plan, organize and execute department seminar series – coordinating travel, lodging, and payment for visiting speakers, as well as promoting each session within the university

Peer Leader and Peer Leader Mentor, ***********, *******, ** 2004 and 2006
• Taught introductory class for new students alongside ** staff members
• Organized large community service project
• Led lecture of the important of community involvement
• Mentored other peer leaders during my second term of service

America Reads Tutor, **************, ********** 2005-2006
• Worked with minority and other underserved students in ****** County elementary schools, middle schools, and community centers to help them improve reading ability and comprehension
• Collaborated with other tutors to create a dynamic teaching environment utilizing the limited space provided
• Tailored program to meet school and community center needs while still meeting the goals and requirement of the America Reads program

Skills
Apple OSX, Microsoft Word, graphic presentations (PowerPoint), Excel. Dreamweaver. Adobe Suite (Designer, Acrobat, Photoshop). Strong analytical skills. Experience with scientific research and methodology.

Relevant Honors

Dean’s List 2004-2006
President’s Honor Roll – 2006
*********Scholarship for Academic Excellence – 2006
Magna Cum Laude honors including senior thesis – 2006
******* Member (Classics honor society)
***** Institute for Leadership Development – 2006

Recommendation Letters and Contacts

I had a great 24 hours. The professor I was working with here referred me to a couple people at the schools I want to apply to. I also mentioned to him that I am planning to apply to the Maryland school so maybe he'll know someone there too.

I downloaded articles from the people he mentioned and put in requests for their books. I hope to contact them in mid-August. I will also contact people I found on my own, since his contacts did not cover everywhere I want to apply.

I also contacted my potential recommenders today which was really awkward as they all have English degrees and I am looking for something entirely different, but I played it as best I could (asking for any help they could give) and one got back to me right away saying he doesn't know much about policy but would gladly write me a recommendation which is fantastic. I could not have hoped for a better or easier response. I was told that teachers know what you want when you contact them like that, but it is nice to have that taken care of. I still am waiting to hear from another professor and I hope I hear soon. I will have to contact a professor who doesn't know me and just beg for a recommendation if this guy doesn't come through. I am not above that though. My first two letters will be good. If I have one "she took my class, got an A" letter, I should still be okay overall.

I really need to get working on my statement of purpose though. It really needs to shine in light of my awful analytical writing score. I plan to have everyone I can find read it before I turn it in.

I am thinking about dropping my safety school off the list. What is the point if I have a shot to get into a better school in the future? I am sad I wasted a free GRE score report on them, but it was a $20 mistake. Better then wasting a bunch of time and money on completing the application.

Updates

I add another mid-Atlantic school to my list, #6 Maryland. I also received my official GRE score report that confirmed my score (I had myself convinced I was wrong about it) and I got my writing score which was really disappointing. I got a 4.5 (or the 58 percentile). My verbal score was in the 96th percentile and my quantitative in the 79th. It doesn't seem right, but hopefully, I can offset it with my statement of purpose.

We'll see. I'm going to start contact professors at the institutions soon.

Contact from Professor

The professor at my current school that went to school #2 emailed me back and was very positive. I emailed him more details and I am excited about him getting back to me. I didn't think it would go this smoothly. I honestly thought it would be very awkward (the only awkward moment was me noticing I used a homophone of a word instead of the correct one, but he overlooked it!).

What I said basically, is:
Dr. His Name

I was looking through the public policy website here and noticed your name. I am planning to apply to [your alma mater] and I was wondering if you could sit down with me to discuss the school.

I saw on the faculty biography page that you are interested in [stuff] and I am too. Have you seen [tv show relating to stuff]? It is excellent.

Worked very well. And he offered to put me in contact with people at every school I am applying to (if he knows someone). So I emailed him back more information, honed in on my interests, and am waiting on another response. All in all, a success!

I also emailed a former supervisor, caught her up on my plans, and asked if she will write me a recommendation letter. I am planning to use her as a 4th letter. All the schools require three, but I will send four in case someone flakes. At some schools, it could hurt me because you need two academic references and neither that I asked so far is academic, but I would at least like to get three letters there, you know? Maybe they won't notice they are not academic since they all work for my university.

Also, I can just see 10 months from now posting that I got in nowhere. VERY POSSIBLE. But if so, I will tell you why so you can avoid my mistakes.

Graduate School

I am in the process of applying for graduate school (specifically a master's in public policy) for the Fall of 2009. I will be using this here blog to keep track of what I have to do, when I have to do it, and how it went. It is July 14 and I am submitting all my applications by the earliest deadline which is December 1. That is 140 days from now.

Stats:
UG GPA: 3.69
Major GPA: 3.91
Upper Division: 3.89
GRE: 690V/730Q, 4.5 AW
Recommenders: No one you've ever heard of.
Resume: Pretty awesome, but also kind of lacking
SOP: It will kick ass
Other: We'll see what comes up.
Costs: INSANE! So far $140 on the GRE.
Schools to which I am applying: I am keeping it a secret but #1 is in California, #2 is in Pennsylvania, #3 is in Wisconsin, #4 is in Oregon, and #5 is in Massachusetts, and #6 is in Maryland.

So far I have identified people I would like to work with at schools #1, #2, and #5. I am planning to rework my resume today (I have been applying for jobs, so it needs to be tailored for schools). I am meeting with one potential recommender for lunch (we're friends). I am contacting a professor at my school who went to school #2 who I hope will be willing to sit down with me and tell me all about policy programs and the school. I have a rough draft of my statement of purpose (SOP). I also work with someone that went to school #2 so I am going to chat her up some.

Applications don't become available until September so I am kind of spinning my wheels, but I am trying to get done what I can.