5/15/09:
Finally sent in my 1040 and my mom's 1040 to Penn. Apparently they had an April 15 deadline, but there isn't much I can do about that at this point. I think they only use it to confirm the validity of what I claimed on my need access/FAFSA, so its probably not a big deal.
Also sent in a LOCI to Harvard. They apparently emailed a bunch of waitlisted applicants to interview this past week. Since I didn't get one, I assume I'm out of luck. But I'll keep on it, anyway.
5/13/09:
Sent in the housing application for Penn. Assuming I don't transfer, I'd only live in the graduate housing for the first year. But at the moment, I don't really have time to shop for apartments.
5/12/09:
Received confirmation of my withdrawal from Chicago. Otherwise, no news. I've heard some very bad rumblings about the Columbia and NYU waitlists, but I'm hoping thats just anxiety/nervousness and not substantial. Either way, I'm fully expecting to ride those out into August.
I still need to submit the housing application for Penn and send them 2008 1040s. Otherwise, I need to send updated transcripts to Columbia and NYU and write a letter of continued interest to Harvard. After that, things should settle down considerably.
5/11/09:
Withdrew from Chicago today. Hope the spot and money go to someone who really wants it. No other news to report. Still desperately waiting on Columbia/NYU/Harvard.
5/9/09:
Lost my scholarship appeal at Penn... again. Not surprised. It really does seem like they are genuinely out of money. Disappointing, yes, but about what I expected.
5/7/09:
Received my scholarship offer from Chicago today. The award is for $33,000 over three years. So its slightly less than my scholarship to Penn. Honestly, it's probably not enough to make me choose Chicago over Penn. But I'm glad I have a few days to consider it. Even though I was told that Penn's scholarship offers are final, I will see if I can finagle an extra couple thousand out of them with this award. It likely won't work, but every dollar I don't have to borrow is a good thing.
Just sent my appeal to Penn. Like I said, any extra money will definitely help. But I'm not expecting anything.
In other news, I sent yet another email to Columbia, this time letting them know that my Senior Honors Thesis was approved and that I received an A-. I desperately want Columbia, so I hope they don't get annoyed with all the emails I've been sending them.
5/6/09:
Received an email from Dean Perry of Chicago welcoming me to the class of 2012. No mention of financial aid. Just reminded me that I need to respond by May 11. Was hoping for the financial aid information. If they send it to me Friday, that only gives me a couple days to decide. And considering I'm graduating this weekend, I'm not going to have a lot of free time to ponder my future.
Received an email later inviting me to apply for a Patino fellowship at Chicago. I imagine it was sent to everyone, as it heavily emphasizes leadership, which is something of which I have shown little. The application process seems fairly heavy. Lots of letters of recommendation plus references, biography, etc. If I end up at Chicago, which seems doubtful, I'll still likely give it a shot.
5/5/09:
Penn status checker changed to "Commitment to Attend Received." I guess this means that they've received my deposit. I don't really like the phrasing, though. I didn't commit to attend. No where on the form did it require such a commitment. I did submit a deposit, though, and withdrew from every school to which I had been accepted at the time. But I'm still on waitlists and there are a few I'd take over Penn.
5/4/09:
In at Chicago via phone call! Received a call around 4:30 today informing me that I have been accepted off the waitlist. I should receive my financial aid package by the end of the week. I do have to give them a decision by Monday, May 11. Short time, but its understandable. Honestly, I likely won't accept unless they give me a very generous offer, which seems improbable.
That being said, getting into Chicago off the waitlist gives me some hope with my waitlists at Columbia and NYU. Even gives me a little bit of hope for Harvard. As to Harvard, I'll be sending them a LOCI via snail mail some time this week. I doubt I'll get in, particularly as I hear they favor high GPA applicants off the waitlist.
4/30/09:
Big day. I sent in my deposit to Penn. Which means I had to withdraw from Duke. This one was so hard. I love Duke. I felt by far more comfortable there then at any other law school I've visited (which included 8 other t14 schools). But other factors came into play. Still stings, though.
Otherwise, sent in LOCI to NYU and Columbia. It looks like I'll be at Penn in September, but maybe NYU or Columbia will come through for me. I certainly hope so.
Received a nice email from Mark Hill at Duke thanking me for my email and all that. I guess I'm officially done with Duke.
On a side note, I have no idea what my deadline is for Seton Hall, as I can't find the letter they sent me which contains the date. So I may officially be withdrawn at this point. I'm not sure. But I just send them a withdrawal email anyway, just to be safe. So right now, its Penn plus the five waitlists. It could be a long summer.
On a final note, I received a response to my LOCI from Columbia, informing me that Reserve applicants will hear in early June. From what I understand, they accept a tiny, tiny amount, if any, reject a bunch, and put some on a Second Reserve. And I think they repeat the process again mid-summer. I'll ride this one to August, if I have to.
4/27/09:
Waitlisted at NYU... the letter was dated 4/21. I have absolutely no idea why it took 6 days for this letter to travel 20 miles from NYU to my home, but oh well. It looks like I'll be depositing at Penn and waiting out the waitlists at NYU and Columbia, Maybe by some miracle I'll get in.
4/24/09:
Received notification from Penn that they do not have an appeals process and that their financial aid offer is final. Really makes my decision tougher. I was hoping they could give me a little bit more to make turning down Duke easier.
4/23/09:
Appealed my offer from Penn. Really need a little more from Penn to make it financially feasible.
Withdrew from Cornell. Received an almost immediate response from Karla Vargas. Hope the seat and money go to someone who really wants it.
Also called NYU today. I was told I should be hearing "very shortly." I doubt it'll be the acceptance I want, but it'll be nice to hear something.
4/22/09:
Received my financial aid package from Penn. I received a total of $36,150 in grants and Dean's Scholarship. I was hoping for a bit more and will be appealing soon. Still, its nice to know I won't have to pay sticker.
4/16/09:
Received official confirmation of my withdrawal from GW and Rutgers.
4/15/09:
Withdrew my application from both GW and Rutgers this morning. Have yet to receive official confirmation of withdrawal. At this point, honestly, its Duke or Penn, unless I miraculously get into Columbia, NYU or Harvard.
4/14/09:
Won my appeal at Cornell! I received an email today from Karla Vargas informing me that I was awarded $25,000/year instead of $0. Not bad. It's still more expensive than Duke, though. And I have to decide by April 23rd, so Cornell is probably still out of the question.
I also will apparently receive a decision on my Duke appeal in the mail shortly. To be honest, I think I'll win the appeal, I'm just not sure how much of an increase I'll receive, as I didn't have any better offer to leverage.
4/13/09:
Visit Penn today and spoke with Bayrex Marti of admissions. He was very nice and helpful. I liked the campus and facilities much more than I expected, though the drive from my home to Penn is rough. Unfortunately, Penn is apparently out of money, at the moment, so I may have to wait awhile to hear about merit aid.
Sadly, I received my reserve letter from Columbia today. This is pretty rough for me, as I was definitely hoping for Columbia. I'll certainly be riding out the reserve, but from what I hear, it's essentially a death sentence. I'll apparently receive another decision by the end of May, though that could be another waitlisting. Hopefully NYU can come through, as I really want to go to school in New York.
4/9/09:
Received an email from Penn essentially informing me that I will receive no need based aid. Nothing about merit aid though. Even though I am personally poor, my single mother with a 60k income can apparently afford to provide me with 25k/year. Go figure. FAFSA was just as stupid, too.
4/7/09:
Received official confirmation of Georgetown withdrawal.
4/6/09:
Withdrew from Georgetown today as per their new scholarship deadline. It's kind of sad, for me, as heading into this cycle, Georgetown was my top choice. But they simply did not give me enough money to make it possible. At this point, though, I'm still waiting to hear from Chicago, Columbia, Harvard and NYU. Plus the Virginia waitlist. As always, I am desperately hoping to get into Columbia or NYU, as I'd really like to stay in the area, but my chances seem to grow slimmer every day.
Finally received my waitlist from Chicago. I really never felt good about this application. I didn't like the way they treated me when I contacted them with a question in January and I wonder whether they hand out fee waivers to people just to build up their selectivity. Either way, I'm not terribly disappointed. I just hope it doesn't bode poorly for Columbia and NYU. I'm not going to withdraw, but I'm not sure whether I'll follow up with Chicago.
In other news, I received my financial aid package from Cornell in which they offered me a full $0 in merit-based aid. From what I hear, they're basically out of money at this point in time, but it still sucks. With Duke's offer, it would be pretty much impossible for me to consider Cornell at this time. Cornell is already the most expensive school I applied to and they aren't doing a thing to alleviate that expense. I'm going to try an appeal in a day or two, but my guess is that Cornell is out.
So, I'm currently 7-2-1 with 3 outstanding. I'm fairly indifferent to the Chicago and Virginia waitlists and I think Harvard is just keeping me around to torture me. Columbia's "hold" is basically just a glorified waitlist. They'll give me an answer (which may include waitlisting) before they give the waitlisted applicants an answer. But at least its winding down. As of right now, I'm probably going to Penn, but I'd love to hear something from NYU or Columbia.
4/1/09:
Received an email from Georgetown today. They've upped my scholarship from 10k/year to 17.5k/year. I'm getting more from Duke already and could possibly win my appeal and get even more. So I think, at this point, Georgetown is pretty much out of the picture for me. I've gotten into better schools that I can go to for less money. I'm not in love with Georgetown or DC, so I can't really see the point in attending. My new scholarship deadline is April 6 at 9 am. I think I'll send them an email in the morning telling them that I can't attend at that cost and withdraw my application. They could miraculously try and offer me more money, but its not likely. I don't really care, to be honest. I liked Duke a lot more.
In other news, I haven't heard back from Penn or Cornell about scholarships, despite the emails I sent. I also never heard back from Rutgers, whom I have been contacting about extending my deadline for acceptance (which is today). I guess I'm being forced to withdraw. But there isn't much I can do about it.
3/30/09:
Sent an email to Cornell about scholarships. Also sent a follow up email to Penn on the same subject as I never received a response to my query of last week. No responses as of yet.
3/29/09:
Not a whole lot to report over the weekend. I appealed Duke's scholarship offer. I don't know how much more they'll give me, but every dollar counts. I also received my admissions package to Cornell. It might be the least unimpressive one yet. I've heard good things about the Cornell admissions package, though, so maybe it's just a preliminary one and more will follow.
I never received a response to my Penn email. I'll try them again on Monday. I'll also email Cornell on Monday and ask them about merit aid. Things are really starting to wind down now. Most importantly, though, I'm still waiting on NYU and Columbia. Harvard is a huge long shot. I've pretty much given up hope on Virginia. And who knows what's going on with Chicago?
3/26/09:
Okay! Big day today. I noticed that my Cornell status checker changed from EA Deferred to EA Complete as of 3/24. So I called the admissions office today and I'm in! My second Ivy (and probably my last)! I should be receiving my admissions package shortly. For those interested, I still don't have access to the admitted students link.
In at Seton Hall! I received my admissions package dated 3/25, which is a pretty quick turnaround. Though, admittedly, I live very close to the school. They also offered my a full tuition scholarship. That amounts to roughly $128,970. Of course, unlike Rutgers, which requires a 3.0 to maintain my scholarship, Seton Hall requires a 3.4. Which, from what I hear, is rather hard to maintain at Seton Hall. One good thing, though, is that Seton Hall has a graduated system. So if you slip below a 3.4 but still maintain greater than a 3.3, you receive a 30K scholarship. And it goes down in increments of 10K for every .1 on your GPA until you're at zero. I mean, I think Seton Hall is pretty much out of the question, but its nice to finally be accepted.
I also received my Penn Law acceptance package today. It's a nice big package with a lot of information. I sent the financial aid office an email today asking about merit scholarships. From what I can tell, most named scholarships went out already, but there are a fair amount of unnamed scholarships, so I asked how the process worked. I haven't received a response yet, but it's understandable.
I also emailed Duke today about my scholarship application as I have not yet received notice of any offer. I hope to hear soon, as I have to give Georgetown a decision soon and can do so much easier if I have a good scholarship from Duke.
I got an email back already from Duke! They've offered me $24,000/year. I was hoping for a little more, to be honest, based on the offers made to other people. But it's still a great offer that I'll have to seriously consider. I may appeal, but I haven't decided yet. Still a very exciting day.
3/20/09:
In at Penn! Received the phone call around 3 pm! Very awesome. My first T-10 and my first Ivy all in one!
Also went to "Decision Pending" on my Chicago status checker. I never really felt good about that application, but we'll see sometime next week, I imagine. At least things seem to be moving. Two decisions, a waitlist, a decision pending, and communication from two others this week. Pretty big week!
3/19/09:
Finally got my rejection from Yale. It doesn't hurt or sting and I'm not disappointed. I never in a million years thought I'd get in, so it doesn't bother me at all. It's nice to know, at least. That makes five decisions, so I'm finally getting somewhere.
In other news, Cornell sent me an email today telling me that they won't be able to give me a decision for another couple weeks. I'm not honestly sure why it's going to take them so long. The email asked me to respond if I'm still interested, which I did as soon as I saw the email. I also took that opportunity to send them some updated information on what I've been doing recently. I'm hoping its a form of yield protection, making me re-affirm interest before they accept me, but I'm probably not so lucky.
3/18/09:
Received a request from NYU for updated transcripts today. Not so good news as my Fall semester lowered my GPA a bit. If I wasn't good enough before, I won't be with a lower GPA. Either way, I sent off my transcripts and can just hope for the best. Given that I can commute to NYU, it'd be a great option for me.
3/17/09:
Finally got the waitlist email from Virginia. It was really only a matter of time. It's just a lot harder for out of staters. Anyway, it actually came last night, but I didn't get it until today. Will send out a LOCI when I can, but I'm not confident of getting off the list. Oh well.
3/16/09:
All is quiet on the western front. I haven't heard anything from anyone for quite awhile. But there are some notes of import.
I visited a few schools in the last week. I took a tour of Duke and loved it. I spoke for quite awhile with someone from financial aid who told me to email her to expedite my scholarship application, as I have a deadline approaching. I did so, of course, and hopefully she can push it through.
I also visited Georgetown. It's also very nice. I met briefly with Dean Cornblatt. Last week, I sent both admissions and financial aid an email asking if there is a scholarship appeals process or any way I could get more money. No response as yet. But I really need more money to attend Georgetown.
Finally, I visited UVA. I loved it. Beautiful campus, great atmosphere, nice area. But I met with Dean Trujillo, who told me that, if I'm out of state and haven't received a decision yet, that means they really like my application but have no room for me. I'm not sure why they don't waitlist me, but it seems like I basically am. If a spot opens up, they'll look at those of us who have received no decision yet first, I guess. Very disheartening, either way.
I sent out a slew of emails asking schools if there is any way to expedite the decision process on my application because of the binding Georgetown decision on April 1. I emailed Columbia, too, where my application is held. I received two separate emails saying that they'll put my request in my file but can't promise anything. One of the two said held applications aren't generally reviewed until mid-April. Very disappointing. I'd drop Georgetown for Columbia in a heart beat. I also emailed Cornell, asking how the review process for EA Deferred candidates works and whether I could be considered for regular decision as my application was never actually reviewed with the other EA candidates. No response yet. No response from anyone other than Columbia, actually. I'm hoping all the schools are looking at my file and deciding whether to accept me presently. But either way, definitely a disappointing week.
So I'm still waiting on 9 schools. I can't believe its mid-March and I'm still waiting on 9 schools.
3/3/09:
I'm home for the first time in a couple weeks. Apparently, I received a bunch of stuff from Duke that my mom didn't mention. Nothing special, just some information packets, a letter, and so on. No mention of scholarship money yet, but still a pretty nice presentation. Duke definitely knows how to market itself. Now if they'll just swing a good chunk of money my way, I'd happily be at Duke in the fall.
Otherwise, I'm still waiting on nine schools:
I'm simply complete at Seton Hall, Yale, NYU, UVA and Chicago.
I'm "Under Review" at Harvard.
I'm "Under Committee Review" for the second time at Penn.
I'm "Early Action Deferral" at Cornell.
I'm "On Hold" at Columbia.
So I've still got 9 schools to hear from, and, aside from Seton Hall, they're all big ones. I'm starting to get anxious though, as we're into March and I haven't heard a peep from 8 of those schools. I'm just worried that I applied too late and am wasting some good numbers as a result. But we'll see what happens. Re-applying next cycle doesn't appeal to me. I don't know what I'd do for a year. My current job doesn't pay nearly well enough for me to put away some major savings and the market is bad enough that I likely couldn't get a considerably better job. *sigh*
2/26/09:
I received my admissions packet from Duke Law, still telling me that I'll be officially accepted once I submit by scholarship application, which, of course, I already did. Either way, its a fairly nice packet. Nothing too fancy, but it does come with a copy of Duke Law Magazine, which is fairly nifty. I have no idea when scholarship offers roll around, but I like Duke a lot, so I hope they can make it feasible for me to attend (unlike Georgetown). Otherwise, I have nothing much to report. Still waiting on decisions from 9 schools and the Duke scholarship offer.
2/25/09:
I finally got my scholarship offer from Georgetown today. I have to say, I'm pretty disappointed. They are offering me $10,000 a year. Which brings the cost of Georgetown down to a still unmanageable $140,000 or so, give or take. I don't know if I'm willing to take on $140,000 worth of debt, even for Georgetown. So right now, I think George Washington remains my most likely option, at least until Duke swings a scholarship my way or I get into another school with money. And I still really dislike the April 1 deadline to accept Georgetown's offer. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that I can wrangle some more money out of Georgetown. So as much as I love Georgetown, I think its out of the picture.
2/24/09:
I have absolutely nothing to report. At all. I never received an email from Georgetown, even though yesterday's email from Dean Cornblatt promised that we would hear by the close of business today. It seems like a number of people heard, some alternates, some rejected and some given money. So I seem to have been left out for some reason. I know it takes time to send emails out to so many different people, but I have to say, I'm very disappointed in Georgetown. The problem is, Georgetown told me I would hear by February 23rd. But nobody heard then. So they said they'd tell us by February 24th. Some people heard then, but not me. I still love Georgetown and am hoping for a big scholarship, but I can't say I appreciate how they've handled the situation so far. I have to say, I'd be very upset if I did not receive a big scholarship offer tomorrow after all this waiting. Of course, unlike yesterday, I didn't even receive an email telling me to wait until tomorrow. So I have no idea if or when I'm going to hear. To say I'm a bit frustrated would be a rather massive understatement.
2/23/09:
I received my official acceptance to George Washington in the mail today. It came, from what I understand, in a large envelope. I also received a normal sized envelope from GW with my scholarship information. GW has offered me $30,000/year, contingent on maintaining a 3.0 GPA, plus free housing on campus for my freshman year. This is really an amazing deal for me. GW is a great school (20th in the country!) and now it'll only cost me about $7000 a year, plus an extra $28,000 for housing in my second and third year. $49,000 debt is pretty good for a T-20 legal education!
In other news, Georgetown's Committee on Scholarship has pushed back their initial offers until tomorrow. Dean Cornblatt sent out an email today letting scholarship applicants know that we would receive our initial offers by "the close of business tomorrow." Oh well, I'm at work all day tomorrow, so I guess I'll just have to wait it out until then. Since they pushed back the date, I decided to send the Committee an email informing them of my acceptance to Duke and George Washington's scholarship offer. I have no idea whether they'll consider it at this time, but I figured it was worth a shot.
Finally, I haven't received confirmation that Duke has received my scholarship application. To be safe (and show my strong interest in Duke), I'm likely going to send the scholarship application by mail tomorrow. Coming in to this cycle, Duke, Georgetown and Virginia were my top choices (great schools where I could get some decent money). So far, I've heard back from Duke and Georgetown.... UVA you're lagging! But so are eight other schools. Oh well, here's to a good week. It's already started off pretty nicely!
2/22/09:
Accepted into Duke! Got the email around 8 pm Sunday evening! I'm so stoked! The email says, to be exact, that I will be accepted when I submit the scholarship application. Kind of a unique way of yield protecting, if I do say so. I will submit the application later tonight. What a great way to start the week!
2/20/09:
Nothing in the mail today. The date for my Penn Law status checker updated from "Under Committee Review" for "2/5/2009" to "Under Committee Review" for "2/20/2009". From what I can tell, this is pretty standard and happens to most people before a decision is rendered. I guess it means I'll likely hear in a couple weeks. I certainly hope so. Three decisions (if you exclude the Columbia hold) out of thirteen is a little rough. I mean, I'm assuming a couple rejections from Harvard and Yale eventually, but I'm still eagerly waiting on NYU, Columbia, Penn, Duke, Virginia, Chicago and Cornell.
2/18/09:
Got the acceptance email from GW. It featured pretty standard stuff. Congratulations on the accomplishment, a mention of admitted student events, etc. The email also mentions that all admitted students are considered for merit based scholarship awards. If selected, I will be notified by mail no latter than March 15th. That's fairly reasonable. As I've said before, GW with money is a pretty strong option for me.
Georgetown also sent me an email letting me know that I can make changes to my scholarship application if I am so inclined. Initial award offers will be made on the 23rd (this upcoming Monday) and everyone, even those not chosen, will receive an email. They render initial offers and choose alternates, whom I guess will get the money from students who choose another school over Georgetown with the scholarship money. Alternates will hear by April 3. I'll say it right now -- if I get a substantial offer (and I do mean substantial) from Georgetown, I'm almost certainly going. I've been very impressed with my experience with Georgetown so far, and I appreciate the transparency of their merit award process. The one thing I don't like is that the acceptance date for scholarships (assuming you are in the batch of initial offers) is April 1. Even though I think its fair to assume that if I haven't heard from a school by April 1, I'm not terribly likely to get in (and even less so with the requisite money), but with about $700 dropped in scholarship applications, I want to know my decision. I mean, I know I won't get into Yale. But I paid to find out. I want to find out. That being said, I wouldn't turn down a strong offer from Georgetown on the chance I might get into Yale (especially since Yale at sticker price is cripplingly expensive for someone in my situation). The email emphasizes repeatedly that Georgetown has limited scholarship funding and many qualified applicants, which, I guess, is their way of saying "don't get your hopes up." I don't expect to get anything from GULC. But my hopes are up already. :P
2/17/09:
Received a letter from Columbia today informing me that my application is "on hold." From what I can tell, this is either different from their waitlist or is a higher tier than their waitlist, as the letter mentions that people whose applications are held may either be accepted, rejected or put on reserve (waitlisted). I thought I had a fairly good shot at Columbia (note: stats in profile are not entirely accurate), but I'm glad to see I wasn't flat out rejected. Columbia makes a lot of sense for me, so I sent them an email last night detailing a couple of the activities I have been involved in this semester as well as re-emphasizing my interest in Columbia Law. I guess I can only hope for the best. But this marks just the second time I've heard anything from a T-14 school, though I still have just the one decision.
In other news, I can log on to the George Washington admitted students site, which I couldn't do a couple days ago, so I assume that means I was accepted. But I have not yet received official confirmation of acceptance (either via mail or email) so I won't consider it official just yet. If GW can swing some money my way, it'd be a serious consideration.
2/16/09:
I haven't posted anything these last 10 days because there has been absolutely nothing to post. I submitted the Georgetown scholarship application on the 13th. According to the letter accompanying the application, Georgetown will be making initial offers on the 23rd. I can't wait... I'm really hoping for good news. I mean, I know there's a huge difference between Rutgers and any of the T-14, but its so hard to pass up a free legal education in favor of nearly $200,000 debt.
Otherwise, there's nothing new to report on any of the other schools. Still complete. Still waiting. I know it hasn't been that long, but patience was never one of my virtues.
2/6/09:
Received my admissions package from Rutgers and lo! They've offered me a $24,000/year scholarship. As I qualify for in-state tuition, that's roughly a full scholarship. Tuition is just under 20 grand a year, but with fees and what not, it's probably about even. Rutgers may not be my first choice, but money is a huge issue for me, so having the opportunity to get an almost free legal education is a great feeling! The scholarship does require that I receive at least a 3.0 each semester, but I think thats a pretty reasonable cutoff and, honestly, if I can't maintain it, I don't deserve the money. I wish I'd hear from some other schools (ahem, UVA, Duke, UPenn), but still an excellent day.
2/5/09:
UPenn status check went to "Under Committee Review." I really hope I get in... I didn't do the Why Penn? essay and I'm really regretting it. I visited subsequently and loved it. I hope they don't hold it against me.
2/4/09:
Accepted into Rutgers! Received an email telling me that I was accepted and would be receiving an admissions package shortly in the mail. Pretty nice surprise while I was checking my email during class!
2/3/09:
Received the scholarship email from Georgetown. It's a short questionnaire with a few essays (combined 2 pages) due by the 13th. They apparently render initial offers by the 22nd, which is a pretty fair turnaround. I really hope Georgetown gives me a big one, because I'd love to attend, but I need a scholarship.
I'm finally complete at Chicago. The status checker went to "Application Complete" this afternoon. Still no email from them, but either way, I'm finally complete everywhere, and hopefully the acceptances (and rejections) will start coming in soon.
1/30/09:
Finally received a completion email from Cornell today. But it makes sense that it took so long, as the poor guys got three separate LSDAS reports (a first one, plus one for each of the letters of recommendation) plus the dean's certification. So it's a lot to put together. I hope they don't hold it against me!
Received an admitted student's package from Georgetown. It featured a very nice booklet on the University's various faculty. It didn't contain a scholarship application, so hopefully they email me about it soon.
1/29/09:
Received an email from Harvard stating that my application is complete. It's odd, since my application has been "Under Review" for two weeks. But I think there's some lag in their system. Either way, its nice to know I'm officially complete.
My status at Cornell has finally changed to "Early Action Deferred." Now I wasn't deferred in the normal sense, but because I applied early action and my application wasn't complete in time (it was due by November 1 and I didn't get my first letter of recommendation until December 24), I'm still considered a deferral. Either way, the text of the status checker says that my "application is ready for review by the Admissions Committee" and that I should receive a decision in "8-12 weeks." I certainly hope it doesn't take that long As that could take us into the end of April. But either way, it's nice to be complete.
So that just leaves you, Chicago! I'm at least complete everywhere else.
1/28/09:
Received a completion email from NYU today. So that just leaves Cornell ("Applied") and Chicago ("Application Received") as my incomplete applications. As I said yesterday, the folks at Cornell are apparently in the process of reviewing my application (and many others) for completeness, so hopefully that'll change shortly. I have no idea about Chicago. All I know, from the email I received, is that my application has not yet been processed.
1/27/09:
Sent out a couple emails today. The first was to Georgetown asking about the scholarship application. I received a very friendly email in response explaining that I should be receiving information on scholarship in the next week or two. Georgetown keeps going up in my book.
I also emailed Chicago as I never received confirmation that my application was received. In response, I was sent an email stating that I received confirmation of application receipt on 1/6/09 and that it contained my username and password. I didn't receive that email (I double checked when I got this), but either way, at least I now know that they have my application. They also said that my application has not yet been processed and, indeed, my application status check (to which I now have access) says only "application received." I also noticed that on the status check, where Harvard and UPenn (which use the same system) say that I was sent email acknowledgment of application receipt, Chicago's does not specify an email but instead refers to it as "mail." So, honestly, I doubt I received an email. But either way, at least I know whats going on at Chicago now.
I called Cornell to ask about my application, as I am still incomplete there and was concerned. You see, I applied to Cornell early just for fun, so they should have received three LSDAS reports and my Dean's Certification, so I wanted to make sure they got everything. I spoke to a very friendly lady who explained that my application was in a pile on someone's desk to be reviewed for completion and that the office would contact me if anything was missing. So hopefully my application was be completed soon.
1/24/09:
Received a letter from Seton Hall via snail mail. They were pleased to inform me that my application is now being reviewed. Major put off. Why waste a letter to tell me my application is being reviewed when a simple email would suffice? They sent an email to confirm reception of application... seems like a gimmick to keep their name out there. Very annoying.
1/23/09:
Accepted into Georgetown! Came in a small, thin envelope and included a handwritten note from Andrew Cornblatt, Dean of Admissions. And more impressive, the note actually included something of substance, relevant to my personal statement, instead of some stock congratulations note. Georgetown is one of my top five choices, so hopefully they swing some money my way to help me with my decision.
1/21/09:
My status at Georgetown went from "Complete" to "Decision" around 12:15 am this morning. I guess someone was working late. So I will hopefully be getting some good news soon. At any rate, it'll be my first decision.
I received a completion email from Yale around 1:30 today. Yale is really a long shot for me, but I figured it was worth the money to find out.
As of today, I am still incomplete at Cornell, NYU and Seton Hall. I'm not sure about George Washington. As I said, I received an email saying that my application has been forwarded to the Committee for review about a week before they received the LSDAS report.
I haven't heard from Chicago at all. Not even an acknowledgment of an email. Oh well.. I only applied because of a fee waiver. But it is odd, since they use the same program as UPenn and Harvard. I'm not sure what the problem is.
1/16/09:
Harvard status checker went from Applied to Under Review. It skipped over Complete, but I assume that they won't review it if it isn't complete. Didn't receive an email either way.
1/14/09:
Columbia status checker went to Complete. Didn't receive an email.
1/13/09:
Application received by Seton Hall.
Georgetown status checker went to Complete, apparently as of 1/9/09. Didn't receive an email.
Received a completion email from Duke.
1/12/09:
Received completion email from Rutgers.
1/9/09:
Received completion email from UPenn.
1/8/09:
Finally, my first completion! Received a complete email from Virginia.
1/6/09:
Applications received by Harvard and Yale.
1/5/09:
Received application receipt emails from Harvard, UPenn and Rutgers.
1/3/09:
Received application receipt email from Duke.
12/30/08:
Received application receipt emails from Columbia, George Washington and University of Virginia. Curiously, the George Washington email stated that my application had been submitted to committee, but my LSDAS report hasn't yet been sent out... so I'm not sure what to make of that.
12/29/08:
Finally guilted my second professor into submitting the letter of recommendation. It only took him 10 weeks. Submitted applications to Chicago, Columbia, Duke, George Washington, Harvard, UPenn, Seton Hall, Virginia and Yale.
Received application receipt email from Georgetown.
12/24/08:
Sent in applications to Georgetown, Rutgers - Newark and NYU. These are the only three I'm applying to that will require only one letter of recommendation.
12/23/08:
Finally received my first letter of recommendation tonight. I can't believe it took so long. I also can't believe I still only have one.
11/02/08:
Received an email receipt of my application to Cornell.
11/01/08:
Submitted an application to Cornell, just to pass the time. Still waiting on my letters.
10/15/08:
Requested letters of recommendation from two professors (a business/law professor and the director of the University Honors program).
I don't have much in the way of EC's. Was captain of the mock trial team for a year, some clubs, some student government. I've had retail jobs for a few years. But thats it. Nothing special. I don't have any connections to any schools, actually. I have legacy at Seton Hall, but thats it. As for my personal statement, I wrote about the most difficult experience in my life. I really had nothing to write about so I emphasized it as much as I could.If you give me your full email address, I can send you more details, if you like.