With application season fast approaching, I thought it might be helpful for me to provide a general timeline of my application process. Take from this what you will!

Oh PhD applications. You tried me. You really did. When I think back to this time I sometimes still cannot believe I was able to successfully make it through.

I was working my full time job Monday to Friday, my second job on Friday nights (and sometimes Saturday mornings), and working on a Directed Study as part of a requirement to complete my Master’s program. Making time to complete the various parts of my application on top of trying to live a somewhat “normal” and healthy life seemed nearly impossible.

For contrast (and some extra guidance), I found some sample schedules here and here, but you can always do some quick Googling and scroll through to see what resonates with you. I will also quickly add that Reddit and GradCafe helped me a lot when I was looking for advice. I do think it’s important to remember that everyone’s situation is different — what’s feasible/works for one person might not work for you. So while setting a schedule is important, failure to strictly adhere to it should not necessarily dissuade you from pushing through.

Here is a rough timeline of my PhD application process, from conception to actual submissions:

December 2018

I started my initial PhD program research in December of 2018. My parents thought I was a getting a little bit ahead of myself. After all, I’d only recently finished undergrad and started my Master’s program. However, it’s honestly never too early to start brainstorming.

A good way to start narrowing down programs is to ask yourself the following questions:

1. What are my research interests?
2. What schools offer programs that generally align with what I want to study?
3. Of those schools, are there multiple faculty members who I could potentially work with if I attended?
4. Are there any other factors I want to consider? Eg. Do I want to stay in a specific geographic region? Do I only want to apply to programs that guarantee funding?
5. Money and stats. How many applications can I afford to submit? How competitive are my stats? How can I build a balanced list?

I kept an open mind, but definitely gravitated to policy focused programs (specifically Social Policy programs). By deciding to stay in the Greater Boston area I was able to further narrow down my list. Ultimately, I ended up only applying to 4 schools!

—Skip to the second part of August 2019 if you want to go straight to more specific steps—

January 2019 – May 2019

I’m not going lie — after I did all my initial research, I didn’t really do anything else for a while. Anxiety and Imposter Syndrome set in real quick, and I found myself at a standstill. March came and went, and I knew I technically should’ve already started studying for the GRE, but I just…didn’t. Deep down, I knew I wanted to apply. But the fear of rejection petrified me. I was especially nervous because I felt like I didn’t have any “real” research experience. And as many people reminded me, that’s exactly what PhD programs are.

I went back and forth so much, eventually deciding that my indecision was an answer. If I didn’t feel confident about this, I should just opt not to do it. I even made a video diary to myself that month saying definitively that I was going to wait to apply. I remember just saying those words made me feel so much better at the time. But then I got some news.

June & July 2019

Early June I received a notification that there would be some changes to my Master’s program. Firstly, the required number of classes to complete the degree decreased from 40 credits to 32. This meant I had a little bit more flexibility in my schedule. My Master’s program was also changing from a Master of Arts to a Master of Science. While this might not seem like a big deal, it meant that I ended up taking more quantitative courses. I think this may have strengthened my application a little bit, but I can’t say for sure.

In July, I received an email that they’d cancelled the Fall class I’d originally registered for. Though disappointed, my advisor suggested I do a Directed Study instead. This meant that I could work with a professor on a research project. I would not have traditional class during the Fall semester, and it could help bolster my research experience! I’m a big believer in signs, and this turn of events put PhD applications back on the table.

August 2019

Talking to a few of the people in my support network reaffirmed my decision, so I actually started planning. One of my friends who I admire a great deal went through a similar situation but with law school. She managed to get everything together, apply, and get accepted (with scholarships) to multiple schools in the span of a few months. She didn’t even blink an eye when I told her I was interested in PhD applications, immediately telling me to go for it.

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Mid August, I created an ETS account and took my first practice GRE test to see what how much work lay ahead of me (you get two free scored GRE tests through ETS). I hadn’t taken a standardized test since the ACT, so I felt okay about my starting point. To help motivate myself, I immediately signed up to take the test in early November. Then I spent a lot of time researching GRE prep, purchased a few test prep materials, and organized a study schedule. I have a lot to say about the GRE in general, but I will save that for a later post.

September 2019

During September, I continued with my GRE prep and started to get organized with all of the different requirements for my programs. Once I was 95% sure I wanted to apply to the program, I made an application account and clicked through everything to see all the information I would need to provide. I copied everything into my spreadsheet. This process helped familiarize me with all my applications. I also made notes of anything I had questions about.

Additionally, I looked through all the available online information on these programs, seeking opportunities to visit campus, attend a school sponsored event, or speak with faculty. Through my digging, I found out about prospective students day, open house dates, and seminars. I attended a grad school fair as well, connecting with admissions officers and getting contact information to set up later meetings.

In addition to reaching out to faculty, I also emailed PhD Program Managers/Coordinators, Academic Coordinators, and anyone else who could talk to me about the programs from a more administrative side. It was not only informative, but a way for me to demonstrate interest and put a face to my name.

October 2019

October brought more GRE prep and networking. I definitely underestimated the time consuming nature of networking. Every meeting meant at least an hour of prep. I wanted to ensure I could speak clearly about why I was interested in the program, my research interests, and why I wanted to work with the faculty member.

October was also the month that I reached out to the three people I wanted to write me an LOR. Depending on how far removed from school you are and what your specific situation is, I might recommend starting this a little bit earlier. In my case, I asked my current supervisor, a history professor from undergrad, and a professor I had for Research Methods and a Crime Analysis class during my Master’s Program. While my supervisor immediately agreed to write my a letter without a meeting, I decided to meet with my two professors to talk about programs more before asking them. I finally scheduled some time with them, and to my relief, got the thumbs up from both of them.

November 2019

Come November, I was really burnt out from studying for the GRE, and fell off for a little bit. Long story short, I took my test in early November, was worried about my math score, and decided to re-take it in early December. Looking back, I really shouldn’t have bothered because I ended up sending my November scores anyway, but you know what they say about hindsight.

I originally planned on having the first draft of my Statement of Purpose done by Halloween so that I could spend the majority of my time in November editing my Writing Sample and studying for the GRE, but that did not really pan out. I finally started writing my SOP mid-November, and only edited my Writing Sample a little bit before deciding I had more important things to worry about.

I spent the rest of my time procrastinating by finalizing my CV and filling out all the general application information (eg. name, school, etc.) in my online portals. I also uploaded any necessary documents such as my transcripts.

December 2019

At this point, it was down to the wire. I sent emails to my recommenders to remind them of the December 15th deadline. I finished my SOP (thankfully one of my mentors was able to look over it and provide edits), polished my Writing Sample, double checked my CV, and went through everything to make sure I was ready to submit. I finally did, a few hours before the deadline.

Submitting everything felt both underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time. On one hand, all my months of stress and preparation culminated in simply clicking a few buttons. On the other, I could not stop overanalyzing about my chances of getting accepted to programs and/or kicking myself for not doing things differently. Actually submitting made everything very real. Also, I wish I could say that I just relaxed after everything was submitted. But I had to continue with work and finish writing my Literature Review for my Directed Study. Such is life.

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Albeit long, I hope that this post helped you in some way. If anything, I hope reading about my experience will help you realize that it is possible to balance applications with work and other life activities. I will definitely do more posts on specific parts of the application and my weekly study schedule soon!

If you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comment section. You can also find me on Instagram. Good luck to everyone applying this round — I’m cheering you on!

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If you have feedback on anything I said, or the way I said it, please let me know. I am still learning and growing. I know that even if I had no intention of being hurtful or harmful in my writing, the impact might be different.