Honestly I don't even think you have to do the pre-application.

Go right up to the CLEAR personnel inside the airport and they can get you signed up with fingerprint, picture, etc in about 15 minutes. Done on the CLEAR computer.

You will get your KTN emailed/texted to you within 3-5 days.
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It's been a long time since my initial process. For some reason I think it might've taken three weeks or so after I applied. I could be remembering wrong, though. Also, the process may have changed since the quaint olden days when I did it with a newspaper in hand and my horse and buggy waiting outside.

It's worth it. 90 percent of the time I cruise security in 1/4 the time of the normal security, and with less hassle. I always disliked having to take my shoes off and pull my computer out.
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I walked into a Staples and did it in a couple minutes

Think I waited a week or so for it to fully process
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Not long. They just make sure you arent a terrorist. Its a pretty awesome deal especially at bigger airports
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The mandatory body cavity search usually takes forever...
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For TSA I scheduled an appointment at the airport. It took 3 weeks. For Global entry it took a couple of months.

I have TSA, Global entry and Nexus for Canada. I swear sometimes the lines at Denver TSA are longer than the normal "take your shoes off and your computer out of the bag" line. We had a couple of people travel to South Carolina this past week. They were thru normal security before I was.
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Fat E was already going to sign up, you don't have to keep selling him on it.
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I’ve noticed the same thing lately. It’s a bit frustrating, but it’s only been a few minutes difference. if you travel internationally, global entry is a must.
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As long as it's not WAY longer, I still prefer it so you don't have to deal with taking shoes off , taking (non metal) shit out of your pockets, it taking toiletries/laptops out of your bags.
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When I came back from Japan, they had just moved to facial recognition, and it was INSANELY fast with Global Entry. I'm not exaggerating when I say I barely broke stride going through immigration. Probably like 3 seconds at the kiosk, and the agent yelled my name and said I'm good to go on through.
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Yeah I have Global entry myself and that also comes with the Pre. I think it took around a month for it to show up after I went through the song and dance. DEFINETLY worth it.

On a side note, I screwed myself out of another knife last week. I always carry a knife and I forgot to stick it in my checked bag. I remembered just as I was at the point where I had to start sticking my stuff in totes. If I would have noticed it earlier, I would have tossed it into my backpack and hoped they missed it. When I handed it to TSA the guy says "Do you want to surrender this?" I said "**** no, but I assume I don't have much of a choice." I did that one other time here at the local airport, but figured it out just before going through security. I jumped out of line and buried it in a plant pot. It was still there when I returned from the trip.
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:-) I've done that. I carry a pocket knife that I've had for almost 20 years. It was a gift for being a groomsman in a friend's wedding, and it happens to be the perfect size for me. I only got all the way to security with it once, but thankfully they had one of those little "ship it to yourself" stations, and I think it cost like $25 to mail it back to my house.

But aside from that, I've hidden it at least a half dozen times outside of the airport, concerts, etc. Never had an issue getting it back, thankfully.
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