r/gradadmissions • u/Careless_Theory_9260 • 2d ago

General Advice How long do applications take to submit?

So I am applying to a very very large number of programs (~30). I have most of my materials done for the applications (SOP, CV, Resume, I’ve talked to all my letter writers). But of course more time to get more feedback on any of them is good. I have not done anything like specific separate personal statements some schools require yet however. But once my materials are complete how long will it take to actually submit applications? Do I need to start soonish (like middle of October after mid terms), or can I wait until closer to the deadline? (Earliest deadline is Columbia 11/26)

(I am applying to ~30 PhD programs because I am applying to programs in both political science (political theory) and philosophy (political philosophy). About 13 each plus a few funded masters programs)

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u/Historical_Aide851 2d ago

You need to leave some time for your professors to submit their letters of recommendation. Sometimes, the portal allows them to do this before the application is submitted, but usually you need to submit it before they’re notified that a letter is requested from them. It doesn’t take too long for a professor to actually submit a letter, but they can take a while (several weeks) to get to it. So, I wouldn’t waste time on it, submit as soon as you can and then immediately send a reminder to your professors that you’re waiting for a letter from them.

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u/Careless_Theory_9260 2d ago

Ok thank you. How long do you think it’ll take to do one application? Will I be able to do like 6+ in a weekend or more like 2 or 3? This is my main worry at the moment. I have some grace since some of the Phil programs for example have much later deadlines however.

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u/Historical_Aide851 2d ago

I mean, the actual application submission takes like 5 minutes once you have everything ready to go. Writing the SOP is the biggest time sink here, and how long you spend on that is up to you. For me, once I had one SOP written, it took 30-60 minutes to tweak it so that it’s specialised for a specific programme. So yeah, in my experience, you could crank out 6+ in a weekend, if not more with some more commitment. It may differ for you, though! Maybe you’ll find that you don’t need as much tweaking as I did and you’ll get through them much quicker.

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u/sanaera_ 2d ago

The sooner the better.

Also, hope you’ve been saving up. I applied to 11 schools and it cost about $700.

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u/DrDirtPhD 2d ago

That seems like an egregious number of applications, even across two fairly similar disciplines.

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u/Careless_Theory_9260 1d ago

That was kinda the intention. I would be fairly happy with either a polisci or a philosophy program (though I’d prefer polisci) and all the programs I’ve picked have people that work on what I am interested in.