Managing the grad school application process is stressful and not easy. I’m going to share with you my system for doing it. Heads up, I really like the computer so its mostly computer based. I’m sure you could easily adapt the idea to a paper binder system.
Get Organized
This is so important: get a system and stick to it! You do not want to miss something because you thought it was done, you lost track of a date, or you simply forgot.
Personally, I have a master excel sheet (which I’ll show you below) to track the big picture. Then, I created three folders inside my “Grad School Applications” folder on Dropbox. One folder is for my top choice schools, one for my 2nd choice schools, and the third for my 3rd choice schools. (Side note: I’d be more than happy to be accepted at any one of those school especially given the stiff competition; regardless, I still have my preferences and you should too!).
In each “choice” folder, I have a subfolder for each school. In the school’s folder is where I keep all of the related documents. The first thing in each folder is the research / info document I gathered. Here I’ll also keep customized personal statements, receipts of payment, confirmation emails, etc.
Create Quick-Reference Cheat Sheets for Common Info
Many applications will ask you for the same information over and over again, and you can end up wasting a significant amount of time if you have to look it up time and time again. Here are some ideas for cheat-sheets you’ll want to have close at hand as you fill out applications
- Education History: If you have credit from multiple universities (including AP, dual-credit, summer classes, etc), you’ll have to input your dates on enrollment and GPA over and over again. I typed up a simple word document with all of that information so I didn’t have to think about it each time.
- Transcripts: If your schools accept unofficial transcripts, have those ready in PDF format and saved in a folder called “Unofficial Transcripts.” Name each document after the school its from so you can quickly upload them. For the official documents, you can have the request form saved and ready to go in a similar way.
- Resume / Curriculum Vitae
- Contact information for recommenders
- GRE scores
My Master Excel Sheet
I am using excel to manage all of my applications and make sure I don’t miss any details.
Each row is for a different school which is listed in the first column. Next I have a space/column for notes about things I want to remember. Next is faculty I’ve identified as possible mentors (this is to mention in my personal statements).
Other columns are more of a checklist of the following:
- Application username (for logging in)
- Application password (because you never know if you’re going to forget it)
- Due Date
- Unofficial Transcripts OK (if they university accepts them for the app process)
- App Submitted
- Application Fee Paid
- Personal Statements Uploaded
- School 1 Transcript
- School 2 Transcript
- School 3 Transcript
- School 4 Transcript
- School 5 Transcript
- Letter of Rec: Name
- Letter of Rec: Name
- Letter of Rec: Name
- GRE Score Sent / Receivedd
If you’ve used a spreadsheet before, you can look at the example I created of my excel sheet here on my free downloads page. Hopefully it’s helpful to you! If you create a copy of your own, you’ll be able to edit and customize it to your needs!
Daily Goals
After you’re all organized, you’ll want to set daily (or weekly) goals for finishing applications. Be sure to check in on your master tracker list regularly to make sure you don’t miss anything!