Kelkel

You're welcome (forgive my horrible repetition of the fact that he's an Ottomanist stuyding Ottoman history... it's that time in the semester). He's super easy to approach and talk to, so don't worry about emailing him!

I'm a student at Binghamton University, and we have an Ottomanist, Dr. Kent Schull. He specializes in Ottoman history, and has a book coming out shortly about Ottoman prisons during the 19th century. Can't help you with Harvard though, but I hope this helps!

Plus administrative staff is not limited to women! There is a man in our office who I and other grad students would be lost without. /twocents

They might put you in contact with another graduate student, possibly in a similar situation, that could help you know where to look for houses/apartments. The schools themselves might also have resources, such as apartment lists, room share requests, etc. It really depends on the school and area though. I attend a university where a great part of the student population lives off campus, so the resources are immense for both graduate and undergraduate students. If you are offered a package that includes health insurance, the school will set that up for you. You will need to sign a few documents at the beginning of the year, but you will probably do that with the rest of your employment papers. I would probably make sure you ask human resources about the health insurance details before you accept an offer so that you know who and what the insurance will cover (for example, our student insurance is very cheap, but once you had a spouse it skyrockets, and since I don't have any dependents I don't know whether it would adequately cover a family or not). Good luck!

Lies, definitely wear pants. You never know if you might accidently push back in a chair and reveal yourself. Some of my grad professor revealed that this has happened before when they were interviewing job candidtates. Also I was told by a professor to put your computer on some books (if you're using a laptop), so that they aren't looking up your nose the entire time. Good luck!

I, too, am already here (and have been for a while). I met with my adviser already and it got me super excited about everything to come. Now I'm just waiting on everything to pick up!

I just want to add to the ruling out large parts of the country convo: The first year I applied, I only applied to schools below the Mason Dixon line (pretty much anyways). The South is where I am comfortable and I much prefer behind unhumanly hot to freezing cold. I barely had any luck. I also want to add that I am very liberal. While yes, you will encounter people with whom you do not agree, you shouldn't let politics get in the way. Knowing people that you don't agree with can broaden your horizons so much. It will up your level of discourse. Don't forget where ever you end up teaching, you might have to deal with students who have different views than you, political or otherwise. And the outspoken ones will want to debate you. I saw it all the time at my school. But we all got along. Anyways, back to my original point. The second around of apps, I applied all over the country. Now I'm living in New York state. I'm terrified of winter and I miss the South dearly, but I'm starting school in a couple of weeks, and couldn't be more excited. Edit: BTW, I don't want it to seem that I got into a school because I expanded my area of application. I think that was part of it, but I also had a stronger application this time too.

Oh yeah, knowing what area you signed lease in would be great! Luckily I found an alumn from my college that's currenting attending BU, so maybe I'll get some insider info that way.

I have an iPad and a Nook and I don't regret either purchase. My vision sucks, so I much prefer to read on eInk for extend periods of time.

I recently finished Robert Edsel's The Monuments Men. It was fabulous. He took liberties by writing out conversations that probably didn't take place, but it wasn't too often nor about important things (and he stated this fact in the preface). It was a wonderful exploration of the quest to protect art and monuments during WWII. If you're interested in either war or art history, I'd suggest giving it a read. Or watching "The Rape of Europa" (I have not read the book of the same name which the movie is based on).

Speaking of the recent flood, I found this on another website that could prove helpful when looking for a place. http://broomegis.co.broome.ny.us/website/gisweb/maps/flood/br_damage_assessment.pdf

I got into Miami Ohio and Binghamton University, both funded MAs, for Modern German history!

Oooh thanks for the tip!

Hey Cici, at least you're (relatively close). I'm so anxious about this whole process, I'm barely sure where to start!

I just finished The Monuments Menby Robert Edsel. It was so good! It's a must read for people interested in art/art history/history/war. I'm also on Goodreads. I love having it as a way to keep track how much and what I should read.