Application Timeline
First let me stress this -- apply as early as possible for the following reasons:
1) if you're in college, you really don't want to be working on applications during finals or end-of-term work, if possible.
2) be ready for something to go wrong
3) the sooner you get your application in, the sooner you can have the school track what information has arrived. Don't assume that if you submit everything right before the deadline it's all going to make it!
4) you will have more time to work on your personal statements
5) professors need time to write letters and yours won't be the only one; make your request the first one they get
6) sometimes schools start reviewing applications early, in which case earlier applications are usually at an advantage.
Disclaimer: This application guideline is for someone who wants to get everything in early, who is very busy, and who is applying to a lot of schools. Do NOT panic if you see this website and you are way behind. This is not the "average" timeline -- it is just an optimized timeline.
June-August
Research graduate schools and potential advisors. Look up departments' websites and read the profiles of the faculty members at each school. Are their research interests compelling to you? Also, check out the program requirements and the typical time to earn the PhD. You should have a very good idea of where you want to go and who you want to work with by the time the applications come out.
Also, you may wish to start working on your personal statements. You do not need to see the individual schools' questions in order to start on these. Visit this page for advice on how to write the personal statement. Thinking about this now means you'll have a lot less to do later.
Another thing you can get started on early is your curriculum vitae. (Visit that page for an example c.v.) Write a rough draft to bring to a professor or career services once you get to school in the fall. If you're no longer in school, e-mail your c.v. to a professor supervisor you feel close to who is familiar with academic c.v.'s.
If you haven't taken the GRE, try to take it over the summer when you are likely to be less busy than during the fall semester. Spend about two months preparing. Taking the GRE early is good because a) you don't want to spend too much time on studying for it while you are writing applications and b) if you don't do as well as you hoped, you still have time to take it a second time.
August-October
Applications will start becoming available. Start checking graduate school websites in late August. Most of them will not be available, but occasionally you can have the school send you an e-mail as soon as the application becomes availble. Just keep checking.
Set up a spreadsheet to organize your schools, even if you are not sure of the final list. I cannot stress this enough -- this process is extremely complicated organization-wise. Some schools require you to send materials to the graduate school; some to the department; some to both. Most schools have at least part of the application online, but many have a paper component as well. Transcripts and GREs may be sent any number of places. Some schools have different requirements. Go to the downloads page for an explanation on how to organize your spreadsheet, and to download the template of the one I used.
As soon as the applications come out, start downloading forms for recommendation letters, financial aid, and application checklists. Start writing down what your requirements are for each school (in an organized fashion -- using a spreadsheet is best!)
September-October
Ask your professors for letters of recommendation. It is preferable you do this by late October, to give them at least one month to write the letter. However, they will probably not start until you give them the materials, which you will hopefully be able to do in mid/late October.
September
Finalize your c.v. as soon as possible and write a first draft of your statement of purpose or at least a research interests statement for your letter writers to use. The more information you give to a professor about yourself, the better.
If you haven't already taken the GRE, take it this month. Note that you are able to send up to four score reports FREE when you take the GRE, saving you up to $60. Before you go into the test, decide on what schools you want to send the scores to. Then, look up their instructions on where to send them. It may be the department OR the graduate school. If you choose the wrong one, you will have to pay for the scores to be sent to the other place later on. I learned the hard way.
October
Get in touch with potential advisors at schools on your list (see downloads for an example), and see if they are taking on graduate students. This step is optional, but highly recommended for the following reasons:
1) You may discover that some of the people you were most interested in working with are not in fact taking students. Indeed, this might be enough for you to cut a school off of your list. Better do this now than find this same information out in March via a rejection letter, after you've put in all of the effort and money.
2) You will get your name out there to professors, and some might start getting very interested in you coming to the school! Professors are pretty objective in the application process, but name recognition always helps, especially if you also get the chance to discuss research ideas with them.
3) If you can have a conversation with a professor either over the phone or in person as part of a visit, your statement of purpose will be much easier to write, because you'll know what research to focus on. Believe me, it's a lot easier than trying to wade through research papers or decipher inadequate information on their websites.
However, you might find that if you are applying to schools in the humanities, getting in touch with professors is less helpful or important.
Get application packets out to your recommenders this month, as soon as you have finalized your list of schools. Include a checklist for them with every deadline and method of filling out the form (online, paper to be returned to you, paper to be sent directly.)
As soon as you have your information off to to the recommenders, send all other supporting materials. Order and send your transcripts (can take a week). Send your GRE scores (will take two weeks -- be ready for this delay!) You should be ready to take these steps as soon as you have finished your list of schools.
October-November
Work on your statement of purpose. You should spend a LOT of time on this. On the other hand, don't let it stress you out -- remember they are considering the entire application package!
November
Start to, and if you're lucky, finish submitting applications. I worked on applications in parallel, completing all of the mindless stuff first, and then filling out the statements of purpose. I think that this method is a waste of time. It is much faster to have your SOP in hand (tailored to that school and its particular question) and to fill out the school's application from start to finish in one sitting. Just make sure that if you take this method, you don't realize at the last minute that one of your schools required an extra essay that you don't have time to complete. Also, leave at least an hour for each school, even if you have your entire c.v., transcript, and statement of purpose ready. Websites take a while to load sometimes. Application forms can be difficult -- sometimes they give you only 100 characters to describe all of your research experience. Be prepared to summarize your c.v. a few times! (Then again, remember to send it to every school even if they don't specifically ask for it.)
December and January
Don't think you're done as soon as you've submitted and sent all of your applications. After about a week has passed on an application, you should check its status to see if anything is missing. You may find a delinquent letter writer. You may find that your transcript was lost and you need to send another copy. Don't stop until every part of every application is accounted for!
RELAX AND CELEBRATE, YOU'RE DONE!
You'll start to hear back from schools as early as January. Click here to continue onto the next phase of the application process: the notifications and decisions stage.
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