brithistorian
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Posts posted by brithistorian
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just a quick post here. I was accepted to 2 ivies including yale so my advice is:
Don't worry about scores. Worry about the qualitative aspects. letters of recommendation are probably one of the most important things, if not the most important, followed by your statement.
for the GRE, aim for anywhere above the 90th percentile in verbal, math anywhere above 60th percentile. But really GREs and GPAs are really secondary to the qualitative aspects of the application.
Thank you
I'll have a ponder as I've not done anything like verbal reasoning or maths since I left school! -
Why Yale?
Because they've got an entire archive relating to my proposed thesis, a supervisor who's highly prominent in the field, it's on the East Coast and the funding's good
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Thanks all - the whole GPA/GRE/everything else that they require is rather confusing. I thought the Brit system was bad but I won't have to worry if I get funding. I'll just enjoy the possibility of a year at Yale without even having to apply directly to the uni
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One last piece of advice: I believe the OP mentioned choosing between sending in a 10,000 and 15,000 word writing sample. Nobody is going to read something that monstrous. Either send in a chapter of your thesis, or, even better, send a seminar paper that uses primary sources and has a cogent, tight argument.
Good luck.
Oh I wouldn't send in that much - I was just saying that I would have something more substantial than a normal essay to send in as a writing sample that documented research and argument.
Saying that, 30 pages which is what someone mentioned is about 8000 words double spaced!
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GRE scores -- out of a total of 1600. Other people should chime in here, but my impression was that, beyond a certain score, it doesn't really matter. So if you get more than a 1450 or so -- you're fine. If you get less than a 1350, that might be an issue. Either way, it's really something that backs up the rest of your application -- and isn't the defining part of it.
Am glad it's not the defining part of it as haven't studied Maths for 6 years!
Letters of Recommendation -- generally need three. Harvard lets you send four. Should be from people who have a close knowledge of your work. At least one or two should be from history profs. My impression was that they need to complement each other -- i.e. don't choose three people who will say the same thing about the same stuff (unless it's along the lines of "this was my best student, EVER")Personal statement/SOP -- very important. basically works as both an intention of study as well as a writing sample. It took me four months to come up with a good enough one. Not supposed to be particularly personal -- basically an academic history with an explanation of what you want to do, why and with whom. Some places (like U of M) require both a Personal statement and an SOP. Then the personal statement is more...umm...personal.
Exactly the same as what I've had to do already. Am only asking about 2010 entry as I'm currently waiting on a funding decision. If the decision's no, it's a forced year off and I know I'd have to do the GRE this summer.
Transcripts -- Of all post-High School classes taken, ever! Sealed, signed etc. Yale doesnt require you to send hard copies -- just upload them onto the online application.So from a UK perspective, does that include exams we do at 16 and then again at 18, plus BA and MA transcripts? (would explain why my current uni asks for A-level certificates for the US exchange programme though)
Writing Sample -- This is where Yale gets to be a real pain. They require a book review -- which I personally thought was a pain to write. Most other places generally want a writing sample that is about 20-30pgs. Much better if it's on a historical subject and uses primary sources. Works as both a demonstration of your knowledge of the field, and of your writing skills. I sent a writing sample AND a book review to Yale.Am used to writing stuff like that and a piece of work demonstrating research skills would be fine as would have a 10 000 word and a 15 000 word dissertation to choose from.
prestige of school -- really, I have no idea. If you're doing an MA at a London college associated with Yale I think you should be fine. While also an international, I did my undergrad in the states. That said, I looked at a lot of professor CVs over the last few months. Most professors teaching at top thirty universities/colleges went to the top ten history grad programs. Most of them also went to top 20 undergraduate institutions. Donno what the correlation is.It's a funny world academia - one of my tutors has put down prestige as to why I was rejected from Oxford, over my degree result.
GPA -- I would say a 3.2 would be on the lower end of applicant pool. But wouldn't cut you out of the running. Again, not sure on this. From what I've heard, the important thing is your history GPA. Though if you did your undergrad in the UK, does that mean you only did history? The additional information section would be the place to talk about those mitigating circumstances. [Also, grades in the UK are generally lower than in the states -- donno how that would change stuff] Same goes for geigwm6. I don't think 3.6-3.7 in history is bad. Again, other people might be able to help. My GPA was 3.68 (overall) and 3.89 (history).I don't know whether it IS a 3.2 though (my knowledge of the GPA extends to 3.7 being equivalent to a first and a 3.2 being around the base line for the 2:1. My actual average was 64/65 and going on the basis of 3.2 = 60 and a 3.7 = 70 (UK classification bands) mine would be a 3.5 ish. I've got a 70(first) for my BA dissertation AND work experience as well.
p.s. I applied to Cambridge and the LSE -- and I just want to say, those were AWFUL applications!!
I did Oxford and the 13 week wait to be rudely told I wasn't going was not fun. Thanks for all your help
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Hello, I'm new to this forum so forgive me if this is in the wrong sub-forum or anything.
I was wondering whether anyone could care to enlighten me on applications, admissions requirements et al for the PhD program at Yale as an international student? As I understand it, I'll need to take the GRE exams (the UK system is far easier
), have letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose/research outline, transcripts and a writing sample of a book review (from what it says online). What I would really like to know is what sort of GRE mark is required? Top mark is 1600 isn't it? Also I'm slightly concerned about "prestige" although this could be a UK thing. I did my BA at a relatively unknown small institution in the UK, let alone abroad and am currently studying for the MA at one of the University of London colleges (it has links with Yale currently). My BA classification would be equivalent to a GPA of 3.2 (minimum/roughly) (would have been higher had it not been for mitigating circumstances through the second & third years) and two of my references would be from well-known academics in their respective fields. My potential PhD topic is quite original, hasn't been studied in detail before and it's a relatively new field which is taken far more seriously in the US than the UK (hence why I'm thinking of heading across the pond
) Also funding and teaching opportunities are that much greater compared to the UK system, especially now the research money requirements have changed for universities (some of the best History departments in the UK haven't been given any research money this year! It's a very bad time to be a potential History doctoral student :shock: ) And now I'm rambling - sorry! Any advice and your own experiences of entry into doctoral programs would be much appreciated
2010 U.S. News History Rankings
in History
Posted
Out of interest how many doctoral students do these unis take on every year? Are we talking 50 starting but only 20 finish of that year, or is more 25 start and 20 finish?
As an international perspective - Oxford take on around 80 students for DPhils EACH year! I'll see if I can find out how many complete