Physician's Form Take 2

Okay, so I am going to write a bunch of updates tonight and they'll show up each day for a couple days. Hopefully, I won't miss anything.

This first topic is the Physician's Form. So, this is a part of the original application process if you have certain situations, like medications or medical conditions or a couple other things. I filled this out because I have severe food allergies (I have the form posted somewhere earlier in my blog I believe), but I didn't realize that I should submit a new one when my medications changed. I have struggled with anxiety and depression for a long time and have decided to finally speak up about it. I don't want to go in depth about it, however, I want people to know that updating this information with your coordinator as soon as you can is a good choice.

I didn't think of sending a new form when my medications changed, so I had to do it when I got upgraded. Changes in your physician's form could cause disqualification, so you don't want to put it off. I've been informed that I am probably fine as the prescriptions are new (only three months old), but I (and you) shouldn't put it off, just in case.

Basically, I have posted a ton of words for one very simple point. If you have any change in medications after your application is submitted, you want to contact your coordinator and check if you should submit a new Physician's Form ASAP.

Almost Organized

I am still on my way home from my vacation at the Pennsic War, but I wanted to stop in and give a brief update on things. I will try to be more thorough and devote more time to each separate topic, however, I really don't want to forget some of the advice I have at this point.

First of all, if you are an alternate, as soon as you find out, I highly suggest going through all the forms for shortlist candidates. I didn't do the IRS form or Certificate of Health because I didn't want to obsess about waiting for an upgrade. This was a mistake. If I could go back in time and do it again, I would have filled out my IRS form back when I was notified of my alternate status and I would have had everything ready to go as soon as I got upgraded. As it is, I was traveling and had limited access to computers and payment options, so I am filling out my forms to get properly mailed tomorrow morning.

Second, Susan in Boston sent some great info (it looks like all US JETs get it) on doing the IRS form; LOOK AT ALL THE INFO! I didn't look until later and it makes me a dumbass, even if my situation was a bit difficult. Also, the IRS directions are fairly clear and picking up a phone is easy enough to do and they are just an (irritating) phone call away. But, definitely read all the information available to you and don't assume anything.

Thirdly, if you are like me and love to be over-prepared for everything, but often fail at it, be in constant contact with your coordinator about any and all changes and carry that IRS form in an envelope with a stamp on any vacation you might take. I had a change in medication, but I had assumed that I was not going to be upgraded and so I didn't contact JET. Susan doesn't think it will be an issue, but I need to get a new Physician's Form sent out ASAP just in case it is a problem and my upgrade is rescinded. As for the envelope, I really truly wish I had bothered looking at the IRS form. I think it might be my new reference letter obsession. If I had had two envelopes and two forms ready to go, I would have been in grand form to mail my stuff out the day I got the upgrade.

Fourth, and last of all, do NOT obsess waiting for an upgrade. I had moved on, I had interviewed for a shift supervisor position, I was off to vacation. I was no longer thinking about JET as my upcoming year (though it being an option was a lovely thought), so when the call came, I was absolutely ecstatic, but the wait wasn't awful because I was ready to have a great life either way.

So, I think that's my main list of things that I didn't want to forget. I will be home in Maine tomorrow evening and I will do my best to spend more time on individual forms and whatnot.

What to do....

The application is finally drawing near. Supposedly, US required docs will be updated sometime this week (I'm hoping Friday as a bday present to me <3). Lots of people have started doing things ages ago (like me) and some are just starting now.. So I think that maybe I'll talk about things that can be done right now, despite the lack of proper forms and the main app not being out yet.

First? I recommend starting the SoP. You want to have plenty of time to read examples (if you are unsure what to write). I am not a huge fan of focusing on the work of other people to create your own, for specific works like this, but when you aren't already sure, it is the best way. I admit, I was against it before, but a few people gave me crap about my douche-y attitude, so I sucked it up, read some papers and I think I am much better off. So, read examples. Then, you can start your drafting, bullet points, full writing, whatever works for you. The most important part of all this may be finding people you trust to read your SoP and rip it apart. If your family and friends can't be honest and tell you it's crap (if it's crap), then they aren't the right readers. Find someone that doesn't care about your feelings and let them at it.

Second? Order transcripts. Very straightforward.

Third? Find out if you have all your paperwork. Do you have a passport? Do you know where it is? If no passport, do you have a birth certificate? Do you have an official copy to make copies from? Also, if you have had your name changed, do you have proof of your legal name change with your birth cert?

Fourth? Proof of graduation, impending or already completed. Seriously, paperwork.

Fifth? Start thinking about your references, maybe ask them now and start grooming them, so that you can hop to it when the required docs are updated. If not this, at least think about who you want to ask.

Sixth? Figure out if you need to see a doctor prior to sending your app. I have severe food allergies and need an Epi-pen, thus I need to see a doctor to get my prescription renewed and get a Physician's Form stating that my health won't prevent me from doing my job as an ALT, if I get in.

Seventh? Maybe find something else to do with your time, rather than obsessing over JET. I've been much better off since I stopped obsessing and last year's obsessing was brutal...

Anyways... Those are some of my suggestions, if anyone is new to the process or just not sure what to do right now... A lot of this stuff is repeated from old posts, but it still stands true now. Good luck everyone ^_^

Name Troubles

In my time examining all the things that could have gotten my app last year disqualified, I found something really obvious and stupid on my part. My name. I got married last October and that meant that I did not have the correct documents to submit with my name. For my proof of citizenship (or whatever that is), I used my birth certificate, clearly, this has my birth name on it, not my married name. This year, I am hoping to use my passport, which I want to renew and, thus, would have my married name.

If you are in the same situation, you can submit your birth certificate as your proof of citizenship, but you need to provide documentation showing your name change. Things that can prove this in most situations are the paperwork from changing your name at Social Security (I needed this for my license) or just your marriage certificate. You probably want to spend the extra dough to get a real official copy of your marriage certificate from town hall, just in case photocopies are not official enough.

Please, don't be stupid and mess these things up. You don't want to be me and realizing eight-ish months after the application that something as dumb as your name not being verified correctly got you disqualified from such a great program. So, correct documentation of your name, do it, it's not hard.

Woo!! Helping People!!!

So, I just wanted to put a big thank you out there because today, I got my first paper that someone wanted me to help with! I hope that I was helpful to her and I hope that other people will use me to improve their writing too! ^_^

Here are some helpful things, if you want to ask me for help. These will help me edit better for your needs and limit my feedback, so that you get more of what you want.
1) What country you are from, also, if you give me the prompt for your country, that may help as well.
2) What kind of editing you want. Do you want just grammar? General feedback? Both? I can do a full edit, which would include grammar, a comments section, and some general tips.
3) Rewrite help? If you want help writing a section because you know something sounds funny, you could send me the sentence with the paragraph and I could give suggestions for the specific section to make your writing better. However, I will not do this for a full paper because it is a LOT of work and then there would be too much me in the paper, when JET wants you.
4) Which sections. If you want me to read your whole paper, but focus on specific paragraphs, numbers the paragraphs and tell me what you want extra help with.
5) Just so you know, when I read and edit papers for people I consider to be peers, I treat it like a writing workshop. I read your paper once and make comments (the comments section). I read your paper a second time for grammar and a couple comments on weird/difficult to read sentences. I skim your paper a third and final time to check for final edits. I then add a couple comments on things that I think in general about your paper. I can be very harsh, my family thinks that I am the high school teacher everyone hates, but is much better off for having. I definitely don't hold blows for peers, unless you ask me to; I want your writing to be the best it can be and coddling you doesn't help anyone.

And here are some general writing/editing tips from me, in case you don't want my help, but you do need some help on your own.
1) Read aloud. Checking for commas this way is easiest. In fact, when I write, I speak under my breath, so that I know where I pause and need commas. Also, this makes it much easier to catch weird/difficult sentences.
2) Show, don't tell. Don't tell me a list of things you did. Show me a story, paint the scene, so that I see you, not listen to you talk about you.
3) Cut excess words. Rewrite sentences and see if you can remove words by changing verb tense or sentence order or whatever else, just cut the excess, so that you have room for the important stuff.
4) Use details! Details make it about you and not a motivational speech. No one wants your generic paper about the necessities of teaching and uniqueness of Japan; JET already knows all this crap and now they want to know about you, your experiences, and what you have to bring to the table.

That's it for yet another post about edits and SoPs and my writing opinions. Please, more people send me papers ^_^

And again:
THANK YOU FOR USING ME!!!! I enjoy helping out and having something useful to do with my time! This is a perfect opportunity for people who want feedback on last year's SoP because I am currently unemployed and have tons of time to read and edit your papers.

ID Number

This post is ridiculously early as there will be no application for months, but I didn't want to forget and this was a little thing that a lot of people miss.

Your ID Number when the interview list comes out will be your application ID Number on the online application. On the off chance your SASE doesn't come back or whatever, this is it. Now, you just have to wait to have an application in a few months :P

Make It Easy

Everything you end up writing on your application needs one thing: it needs to be understood. If you are concerned that it is difficult because it reads funny, make it clearer. You just want to make it easy for the application reviewers. Add a sticky note to be clearer, list it in multiple lines if it is an option.

Also, when you start the application process, make sure you are previewing your application before you submit it. You don't want anything to be cut off or strange looking in the actual set-up.

This also applies in short answer questions. If you want to write full sentences, just make sure it is clear. If you want to use bullet points, just be clear. All you want is to make sure you conveyed the info without ruining the reviewer's day ^_^

Useful Tidbit

Sometimes I find useful tidbits on the forums and I thought this was a super-duper great suggestion. Before putting your application in the envelope, put it in a plastic bag, like a ziploc bag, to protect your application. Hopefully nobody drops your application in a puddle or anything, but this is a great little thing for extra safety.

Sorry for the bland little post today >.>