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Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:22 pm
by shatra
I made a desktop application to track applications and alert you via email and text when there's a change. I, and a few others I know of, tried to do it from a website but LSAC just blocked it, so I made a desktop version instead. I've done a lot of testing over the last month and haven't been blocked once, despite the fact that it used to happen all the time when I did it from the website. I imagine LSAC will come up with some way to make me take it down, so enjoy it while you can. You can check out screenshots and download it from here: http://www.lsstatuscheck.com. It only works for Windows right now, I've tested it on Windows 7 and XP. I leave it running on my computer at home all day and just minimize it to the taskbar (although now I obsessively check my email for updates, so maybe it hasn't freed me from the insanity much!). The program monitors all parts of the application, not just the status and mailings, so you'll know if anything changes. If you don't trust it, you can even open the link to the app from within the program just to make sure. It only includes Tier 1 schools right now (I was too lazy to track down more status checkers), but I'd be happy to include more if anyone wants me to. I could only test it on applications I had obviously, so let me know if it acts weird for any school.

Please don't ban me, I'm not advertising. I don't get anything out of it, just trying to help. I'm also not a programmer, I'm an aero engineer, so I apologize if there are any bugs. If you let me know I'll fix them and update it, even if you have to reinstall you won't lose any of your saved data. Hope it helps...

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:36 pm
by berkeleyman
hey I just tried this out, you did a really great job! This'll save me all kinds of time haha.....any chance you'll be adding more schools?

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:39 pm
by shatra
berkeleyman wrote:hey I just tried this out, you did a really great job! This'll save me all kinds of time haha.....any chance you'll be adding more schools?
Thanks! I'm definitely willing to, it was really pure laziness that made me not do it. It's so time consuming trying to track down all those status checkers! I'll get on it. :wink:

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:42 pm
by sstufken
Wow this is absolutely amazing- if I had your computer know-how, I'd look into programming not law school haha. Thanks for this! Good luck with all your schools!

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:43 pm
by splitmuch
sstufken wrote:Wow this is absolutely amazing- if I had your computer know-how, I'd look into programming not law school haha. Thanks for this! Good luck with all your schools!

+1. You may be going in to the wrong field.

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:45 pm
by shatra
splitmuch wrote:
sstufken wrote:Wow this is absolutely amazing- if I had your computer know-how, I'd look into programming not law school haha. Thanks for this! Good luck with all your schools!

+1. You may be going in to the wrong field.
Haha, thanks. My husband is a programmer and is constantly laughing at my programming projects, I think it's scared me away from the field.

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:46 pm
by kobebeef
amazing. the law field needs more of you guys

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:28 pm
by jonnyrolfe
This formatted for macs as well?

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:30 pm
by Knock
I wish I had this at the beginning of the cycle. Great work!

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:32 pm
by shatra
jonnyrolfe wrote:This formatted for macs as well?
I don't have a mac to test on, so I'm not sure it will work on a mac. The development environment I use, Titanium Desktop, has all sorts of problems on Linux so I'm worried it might on a mac as well. I can certainly package a distribution for mac that you can try and send you the link, but I can't promise anything.

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:35 pm
by whirledpeas86
jonnyrolfe wrote:This formatted for macs as well?
+1111111111111111

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:46 pm
by shatra
whirledpeas86 wrote:
jonnyrolfe wrote:This formatted for macs as well?
+1111111111111111
You can try it, but I have no idea if it will work! - --LinkRemoved--

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:55 pm
by njn3
works on macs...this is helpful

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:10 pm
by coreno16
Just downloaded this for mac. Works on my system without a hitch thus far. I posted a comment on the site about the only issue. Closing the window closes the program.

Thanks again

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:25 pm
by leidice
This is great!! Thanks!

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:32 pm
by ash8309
This is awesome. And you should find out how to make $$ off this.

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:33 pm
by fatduck
shatra wrote:
splitmuch wrote:
sstufken wrote:Wow this is absolutely amazing- if I had your computer know-how, I'd look into programming not law school haha. Thanks for this! Good luck with all your schools!

+1. You may be going in to the wrong field.
Haha, thanks. My husband is a programmer and is constantly laughing at my programming projects, I think it's scared me away from the field.
:P any time i write a nifty program everyone's like "wowww why don't you go work for google???" ehhh doesn't really work that way :D

this is pretty neat though. you should put a paypal link up on your site.

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:35 pm
by drmguy
berkeleyman wrote:hey I just tried this out, you did a really great job! This'll save me all kinds of time haha.....any chance you'll be adding more schools?
+1

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:37 pm
by shatra
drmguy wrote:
berkeleyman wrote:hey I just tried this out, you did a really great job! This'll save me all kinds of time haha.....any chance you'll be adding more schools?
+1
I'm working on it right now, I'll probably have the schools through 100 up later tonight.

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:40 pm
by drmguy
shatra wrote:
drmguy wrote:
berkeleyman wrote:hey I just tried this out, you did a really great job! This'll save me all kinds of time haha.....any chance you'll be adding more schools?
+1
I'm working on it right now, I'll probably have the schools through 100 up later tonight.
I imagine someone would pay to have their name plastered all over this.

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:42 pm
by shatra
drmguy wrote:
I imagine someone would pay to have their name plastered all over this.
Well they're welcome to do so. :D Honestly I'm worried LSAC is going to find some way to shut it down, so I'm waiting to see what happens.

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:44 pm
by drmguy
shatra wrote:
drmguy wrote:
I imagine someone would pay to have their name plastered all over this.
Well they're welcome to do so. :D Honestly I'm worried LSAC is going to find some way to shut it down, so I'm waiting to see what happens.
"Getting depressed by all the dings coming in? Try testmasters retake and reapply"

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:00 pm
by ocbrody
Wow... very impressive.

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 2:28 pm
by shatra
coreno16 wrote:Just downloaded this for mac. Works on my system without a hitch thus far. I posted a comment on the site about the only issue. Closing the window closes the program.

Thanks again
So I apologize for the Mac ignorance, but is there no minimize button? Or does it work differently than I'm used to in Windows? In the windows version when you minimize it goes to the taskbar, and when you close it, it closes. Is it working differently in the Mac version? I need to make a friend in Chicago with a Mac or head down to the Apple store!

I've updated it (but not released just yet) to include all the schools I could find status trackers through rank 100, these are the ones I couldn't find:
UCLA
U Texas-Austin
George Washington U
Boston U
Emory U
U Notre Dame
Indiana U - Bloomington
U North Carolina
Arizona State U
U Colorado - Boulder
UC Hastings
U Cincinnati
U Oregon
Syracuse U
U Richmond
U Missouri - Columbia
U Nebraska - Lincoln
Marquette U

These are the ones who don't seem to use an LSAC status checker:
Columbia
UMich
Northwestern
Vanderbilt
U Iowa
UC Davis
U Georgia
U Alabama
Loyola - Chicago
U Miami

If that looks right, then I'll go ahead and release it, otherwise let me know if I incorrectly list one as not existing and I'll add it to the program.

Re: Status Checker Addiction Cure (Hopefully)

Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 2:40 pm
by crumpetsandtea
Will be using the crap out of this in about a year. <3 Thanks for making it, and seconding the idea that you should put up a paypal link.