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jayray11

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About jayray11

  • Birthday March 12

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Boston, MA
  • Interests
    Latin America, race/ethnicity, slave trade
  • Application Season
    2015 Fall
  • Program
    History PhD

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  1. Thanks for all of the suggestions! No, I'll gladly befriend locals as well. There are a couple of universities in one of the cities I will be working in, though not in the other. I'll work on making contact with the departments there.
  2. I'm midway through a history PhD and getting ready to spend the 2018-2019 academic year abroad. I will spend the majority of my time in highland Bolivia, where I conducted some initial research a couple years back. Last time, it was a lonely experience as I traveled by myself and worked in archives that do not see a ton of researchers or have spaces for social activity. I'm hoping this time to find some more social outlets and wanted to see if anyone has ideas for activities, expat organizations, etc. that can provide these opportunities for networking, socializing, etc.
  3. Harvard has one waitlist (it's not based on how many decline for your subfield, just the overall history program), and I think last year there had to be six declines to go to waitlist. I would keep your spot if it's where you want to be!
  4. FIU Is not terribly consistent, but I think in theory they accept some (3-4) early admits in January and the rest of the offers are very late. I got mine for MA like April 12th. Hang in there!
  5. Harvard is on track for the same as last year - early February.
  6. I'm preparing for them now (to be taken in April or May). I'm doing Colonial Latin America, Modern Latin America, Early America (North but broadly defined with someone who studies the future US), and Race and Slavery in the Atlantic World.
  7. Premo was my MA advisor and she is the greatest! Message me if you want any specific information. But I second the idea that you also apply to the best programs, even if the advisor fit isn't quite as great. I might suggest UC-Irvine, where Heidi Tinsman works on gender and you have some other great Latin Americanists who might help (O'Toole, Borucki). Another one would be NYU where you have some people who have studied the Caribbean (Ferrer, Grandin). Zeb Tortoici in Spanish/Portuguese there does sexuality stuff.
  8. They do them by subfield with the field's rep who is on the admissions committee. So if you don't hear and others in your subfield do it probably means you're waitlisted. They do them essentially to see if their top choices will accept because they can't reissue funding packages. Then if people decline or indicate they're going elsewhere they'll move on.
  9. For what it's worth, I believe they are done and know for sure my subfield is done. Visit week is in a month so it will be any day if they haven't finished offers.
  10. I think he has three new students this year, so it may be tough applying and you would be fighting for attention.
  11. Walter Johnson is teaching the fundamentals course for incoming PhDs this year. I am so excited! I'm not a U.S. historian, so I'm super excited about a chance to work with him a bit.
  12. No, I did not address grades beyond talking about how I worked full time during undergrad. I focused on my MA preparation and what I learned and wanted to do with it. My writing sample was my major MA report and all of my recs were from MA. I certainly think it helped. Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions!
  13. Telkanuru (quote not working) - Moving out of the Boston area is the worst. You get used to everyone signing a lease 3-4 months in advance, but the rest of the world moves much slower. When I moved to Miami, management companies kept saying things like "call me two weeks before" or "let me know when you're down here." It was super frustrating.
  14. Thank you! From the feedback I received, I would say my writing sample and my letters of recommendation were the most important. I am in a very specific subfield and my writing sample showed that I can work in that field, using sources that demonstrated both paleography and translation skills. Also, my MA advisor is a rising star who has relationships with some of the people I wanted to work with (including my POI at Harvard). Her letter definitely went a long way. I didn't spend time trying to cover up gaps in my purpose statement. For the record, Harvard's application can make anyone look bad on paper. You have to list your grades in all history and history-related courses and all math courses. But my purpose statement focused on what has been consistent in my interests and work, even though I come from a non-history undergraduate degree. I was told that I conveyed a sense that I was still very open to learning and had the skills to do so, rather than being an expert in something (and therefore, potentially unteachable). I would hit hard why you are pursuing history and perhaps what about law might shape that or why those degrees might complement each other.
  15. For me, the MA route was a must. I applied for a mix of MA/PhD programs two years ago, and did not get accepted anywhere that was direct to PhD. I am so glad. Like you, I had some spotty grades, but the MA gave me a chance to show a more competitive GPA and that I could be successful in graduate courses. It also offered the chance to make new connections and earn stronger letters of recommendation. Depending on how focused you are, you may also be able to hone in on a potential dissertation topic and build your knowledge in that area. The tradeoff is that I did have to incur some debt. Also, in your case, a one-year MA would mean you would have to take a year off to really benefit. You would likely not have any grades in or any chances to get new letters by the time applications are due this cycle.
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