March 06, 2009
How to manage your applications
While I was applying to various universities for my Master’s I came across a plethora of information, such as the application deadlines, financial aid requirements, application documents required, VISA formalities, etc, etc, etc. In fact there was so much information that at one point I thought that it would be great if someone had a small little Google managing and searching only application information. Well since there was nothing like that I took it onto my head to organize this information properly so that I don’t miss any critical point or date and so that I could use any and all the information for my benefit.
Well after I was done with all my standardized tests (which was such a relief, phew!), I started short listing universities which I wanted to attend. Well the list was never ending. So I fixed a number to which I would limit the list. One of the factors to limit the list was to monetary as well since each application required around $100-$150, including everything from official transcripts to score reporting to international couriers. Once the list was finalized I prepared a spreadsheet for managing and tracking my applications. The spreadsheet looked something like the one below:
Through this spreadsheet I was able to keep a track of the things I had done for each application and the things that were still pending. Each column depicted tasks and each row depicted an application, also each cell showed the status of the task.
Once you have your application process under control, you can easily manage your applications without missing out on critical stuff or missing any deadline.
Posted by malhar at 11:09 AM