I applied online under the advice of the career services at my university. After completing the extensive application 4 weeks before the deadline, I received an automatic email saying I should hear back in 4 weeks or less. After 8.5 weeks of hearing nothing form them, I emailed them asking if everything was okay and I got a rude email back saying that I haven't waited long enough and that they are processing all the applications. About a week after that I received the standard email saying the position had been filled.