When a job says, “review begins January X,” does that really mean that they won look at applications until then?
No, it usually means that’s their cut-off date and they won’t look at things that come in after that date. I know friends on committees who are constantly perusing the Inbox in their department to check out the interesting apps. Therefore, it seems to always be a good idea to get things in early, just another way to potentially set yourself apart from the bunch and/or get a closer look. Probably this process varies, though, but I have heard the above to be true at more than one place. A: Jeepers creepers–I think I totally botched things with a couple of apps. Thanks so much for responding. A: Well “review begins” is definitely different from “postmark” or “must be received by” but I think it is an implicit strong recommendation to get your materials in well before the stated “review begins” date; most times they’ll be swamped already with strong apps that they won’t need to dip into applications received after that point. I used to make the mistake of sending things in at the last pos
