Application Time Line

Creating effective applications for schools and scholarships is no trivial task. The criteria for an "ideal application" varies. It is critical to know your audience, what they are looking for, and the deadlines by which you must submit your application. Here is a my application time line:

Making the decision to apply: June - July 2009
Deciding whether or not to apply for school abroad was probably the hardest part of this whole process, emotionally speaking. A past professor, family and friends were a great support. Once I finally made the decision, I felt so great about it.

Research schools and funding: July - August 2009
With my new life plans in mind, I made a detailed list of the applications I needed to fill out, the dates they'd become available, due dates, required documents and qualities that they were looking for. When I had questions, I contacted program administrators.

I also registered for the GRE (Graduate Record Examination). It was required by one of the schools I was planning to apply to. I got my GRE study book and began preparing. After discovering that I did not meet the minimum course requirements for that school, I canceled the test.

Scholarship application: August - October 2009
Scholarship applications became available in August. Gathering official documents and filling out the application form is easy. The more challenging task is writing personal statements and acquiring high quality reference letters.

Well thought-out personal statements are crucial. If a personal statement is poorly written it is likely to be quickly forgotten. I re-wrote my personal statement several times, sometimes with help from friends, family and past professors.

When it comes to reference letters, you don't have control of the content. All you can do is find relevant referees that are willing to write you a positive letter and give them plenty of notice. A word to the wise: Don't assume that your referees will remember the application deadlines. Polite reminders may be necessary. I even had to chase down one of my referees in person. In the end it was worth it.

Prepare school applications: September 2009 - November 2009
This process was pretty much the same as the scholarship applications. I gathered documents, adapted my personal statement to the schools I was applying to and got more reference letters.

Wait... wait... wait....: November 2009 - March 2009
Whew! Finally.... done applying! All I had to do was wait.... and wait.... and wait some more. Just like making the decision to apply, waiting was emotionally trying.

In December, some progress. One of my scholarships made it past the first round of decisions. Yay! More waiting.... In January I received news that I had been accepted to one of the schools. Hurray!

More waiting... February came with some disappointment: 2 rejections. What a blow to the ego! Fortunately, March was much kinder to me: I was accepted into another school and awarded two scholarships, one of which was a full scholarship to one of the schools. This made my decision easy... This fall I will study for one year in the Netherlands, then one year in Sweden.



Get ready to go!!: March 2009 - now
The last few months have involved receiving and sending documents, arranging a one-way flight, arranging accommodations, researching the Netherlands and Sweden, amongst other things. It has been a year since this application process started. The hard work and waiting were worth it. I can't wait to board my flight in August!