Application Process Perspective from a Current Student and Information Mentor

Happy New Year 2015!

The UMSI Master’s deadline is January 15 (in just 3 days!) and this time last year, I was working on my application up until that deadline. Originally I had planned on turning it in by early March, a couple months before the May 1 deadline. But in December as I read through the 2015 Prospective Student Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/UMSIprospective2015/), it seemed that a lot of people were trying to apply by January 15 for the early consideration of scholarships. I’d been looking at Funding Resources (http://msi-admissions-umsi.blogspot.com/2014/10/funding-and-scholarship-resources.html) but wasn’t thinking of applying early. Since a lot of people seemed to be applying early, and also getting questions answered that I’d had but had not asked, I figured to try and power through my materials and finish applying.

One thing that I would advise you to keep in mind is that while all applicants are considered for UMSI merit scholarships (see https://www.si.umich.edu/academics/funding-your-degree), the first round is the largest round, and coincides with the January 15 deadline.

So, when I considered the pieces of my application, I took an assessment of where I was at that point.  Would I be able to submit by January 15 AND put my best application forward?  These are some of my thoughts as I moved towards the January 15 deadline:

• I’d only started asking for my letters of recommendation in November and was worried that they would not be completed in time, so I sent them an email apologizing for the rush and asking them if they could submit sooner because I wanted to have all of my materials for the early deadline.  
• If you are worried about your letters, please see http://msi-admissions-umsi.blogspot.com/2014/11/letters-of-recommendation.html for links to two posts with advice about contacting and reminding recommenders and feel free to email us at umsi.admissions@umich.edu if you have a specific situation or question.

• I had been toying for a while with about five different starts on my personal statement and statement of purpose. I took a few nights after work and finished them. I sent them to a good friend who has a knack for editing. Thankfully she had time to give me feedback on such short notice. I considered and used some of her feedback, and was then done with my essays. After a few days away from the essays while she was reviewing them for me, I was able to look at them with fresh eyes and was satisfied that this was what I wanted to turn in.  
• See this blog post for advice about writing your essays: http://msi-admissions-umsi.blogspot.com/2012/12/writing-your-personal-statement-and.html.  
• In December, I had tried to clean up my resume but did not feel like I really had anything new to add in the time since then as it was still pretty similar as it had been for the past few months.
• By December, I didn’t have time to get an official transcript so my unofficial copy would just have to do until I could get an official one – after the early deadline (which I learned was okay from the Facebook group).
• Note: it’s totally OK to submit official transcripts after January 15 but do be sure you have uploaded an unofficial transcript in your application so the committee can review it.
• I had taken the GRE in late November with the idea of taking it again in a couple months later to try any improve my score. But I actually did better than I thought the first time (thanks to my local library for the practice GRE books!).

All in all, when it came down to it (to the wire on January 15), I had to decide – I had all my materials and could submit them now. But would I be satisfied? Would I regret that I hadn’t taken an extra month or two to try and improve them? Would I be relieved that I had finished? I was glad that I had completed everything and could make that decision. Instead of looking back later and wondering if I should have tried to turn it earlier. Take a self-assessment and decide what’s best for you.   

In the end, it did not matter that people on the Facebook group were applying by the early deadline, it didn’t matter that family and friends thought I should apply early, it only mattered that I wanted to apply and I could choose whenever I wanted [before May 1;) ] to do so because I felt confident I was submitting the application that best represented my accomplishments, qualifications, and fit with the program and field. If you’re looking for more tips or advice about completing your application, check out: http://msi-admissions-umsi.blogspot.com/2014/12/tips-for-completing-well-rounded.html