Andean Pat

Hi!!! My undergrad course was pretty long too. Here you don't start with general courses, you directly enrol in history, which is awesome. In theory, the program is 4 years long but nobody does it because you have to take around 4/5 optional courses (besides the regular ones) which is another semester. When you finish sitting for all final exams, then you can start writing your thesis. Most of us here work at the same time, usually full time, so it is very difficult to keep with regular courses. I did everything on time, but it took me three years to do the research and write my thesis so I did the whole thing in around 8 years!!! I feel I have a master's degree!!! (joke joke)

Ok, I've heard from all schools now! Got my last acceptance yesterday and I have decided to attend Emory!!! Any inside US comments on this?????

Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhhh another historian!!!!!!! Here's my advice: 1. Contact the department. Do not start choosing schools by their reputation, choose them by their department. It is nice to apply to an Ivy League school but if your interests do not match, it is stupid. I wanted to apply to Harvard, besides there is generous funding from my country to go there but my interests did not even come close to those of the department. 2. Do your research. This is connected to the one before. Really investigate where you want to go, not only for the academics but also for the place. I did not apply to a place I did not want to live in. Check if your hobbies are available, for example, I checked out for field hockey teams. Ask EVERYTHING to grad students, most are happy to help you and to meet you if they have a chance. Many will advice you one the mood in the department, funding, housing, etc. Furthermore, they know very well the departments rankings/interests focus and thus can advice you to also try elsewhere. 3. Take your time to prepare your app. I was working full time so I started in July with the contacting the department/POIs and preparing GRE. I finished my applications in December. Take your time to write your SOP, show it to professors/friends in grad school. Many grad students I had met were happy to read it for me, even though I did not apply to their school. Take time to prepare for GRE. Although it's rubbish, expensive and almost pointless, it is necessary and you cannot fight the system. I had an excellent private teacher who started with the writing section and because I could write logically, I could also read logically. I got excellent results. My advice here is DO prepare it, and choose your course wisely. Work on your letters of recommendation, do not just ask for them. Meet your professors/employers, tell them about your ambitions, be clear on what is expected from them. Your SOP and CV should show the adcomms how great you are and why making you an offer is the best decision they will ever make. Now, I understand that you Northamericans are quite skillful in "decorating" your accomplishments, especially (I envy this a little bit ) because ALL your accomplishments have names. So you won the "Robert Smith Senior essay of the Year on how to dehydrate an amphibian's limb". So, do not put yourself down here. 4. Narrow your choices. Many people may not agree with this. I believe you shouldn't apply to more than seven schools. First of all, its loads of money. Second of all, if you did points 1 and 2 thoroughly then you will not be able to apply to more than 6/7. I had an EXCELLENT fit with a program I really really wanted to apply to but the POIs responded my e-mail very late and then he did not answer again. I could have applied, but how much do I want to be accepted in a place where they did not show any interest? Mmmm, I don't know. Another example, I was a great fit with a professor in a program on the west coast. He acknowledged that and was happy to talk about my application, but advised me that there was no funding and it was almost pointless for me to apply. Finally, one professor directly told me he was not taking any students this year. So, communication is basic and although I would have applied to, say, 10 programs, I ended up with 5. Which programs? The ones that are best for you. 5. Be confident. You will have an offer from a place that really really wants you. It doesn't matter how badly you wanted to go into another program. They just don't want there. I mean: be prepared for rejections but be confident that a rejection is not a bummer, it just means you did everything you had to do and the department had to choose. This is difficult because you feel stupid when someone else gets into a top school and you don't. In the end, all that matters is the acceptance, not the rejection. 6. Be realistic. Do not yield to emotional stress and drama. If you get in, great. If you don't, it is not the end of the world. Be an adult in your application, show your real potential as a historian. Be prepared to make decisions. Save money. Have a plan B (a master's elsewhere? Year abroad? You name it). Listen to those who praise you and those who criticize your work. Learn from mistakes. Get yourself published, it's awesome. Mmmmm I sound to motherly, don't I? You get more or less what I mean right?

Hi Zelda!!! DO NOT WORRY. Please, really, really, do not worry. If you worry too much, your mind may fog good ideas. The bright side is that you know you need to solve something: Are you ready for grad school? Do you want to go there? What the heck do you want from yourself? No one can answer these questions but you. Surely, help is always accepted, but you are the captain of your soul, as Mandela would put it. Let see if I can help you a little bit. I know everything looks pretty dark right now and you feel down in the dumps. Let me tell you something you probably have already heard: it is not the end of the world. Believe me. I know it looks as it is, but it really is not. I also happen to know why it seems to be the end of the world: because you had plans, sorry: you had the plan and someone blew it (not you) so now with no plan B it is difficult to see the horizon. Now, this happened to me once when I was 18 and it took me a while to find my north again. This path took me to know my best friends and my current job. Back in the day, I started four undergrad courses in one year (here you don't have majors/minors). What I would do is give yourself some time to clear your mind and answer those questions. Go out, do sports, find a job that you like. I work as a teacher and I love it but I realised that my true true passion is research. Maybe you need to undergo some experience to understand what you want. It took me a month to decide I wanted to leave my country to go to the USA to pursue a PhD. Clearly, your parents support you. Do not avoid the decision, face it. If you do not know what to do then do something that might throw some light on the matter. Your time is precious so do not waste it. I always say I am a second-chancer. I always need the second time to get in school, to get published, you name it. Maybe you also need some extra time, give it to yourself!!! I hope my message is conveyed properly: do not stop seeking what you want, the fact that you do not know it does not mean you do not want it. Give it time to gains perspective, and when you can see the big picture, analyse what might have gone wrong and/or what you could improve. And if you happen to discover that it is not the right time for grad school, then it is not the right time, there is nothing wrong with that. It is not humiliating. Really. It is not. All the best!!!!

Hi Rise!!!!! Where have you been???? Hi to the rest of you!!!!! I am going to Emory as well!!!! Because I am international student and cannot travel to Atlanta just for renting an apartment, I am probably renting a room at Campus Crossings. At least for the first months is the best option for me since I do not know the area and I could not attend the Admitted Students Weekend. The apartments may not be GREAT but they are furnished and are quite close to campus, which is what I need for the first months. Once I get to know the area, I'll probably move. Nice group!!!! see yaaa

Emmmm.... no, I meant that scores are not as important as one can imagine, at least, as I said, for the schools that I applied. What they looked into were SOP, letters and writing sample. I don't know if you can generalize this, of course, but I wanted to point out that not all adcomms evaluate applicants in the same way. The first time I sat for the GRE I got good V and Q but terrible AW , so I asked all the POIs if I should sit for it again. None could give me a plain answer because they do not have a minimum requirement. Anyway, I sat for it again hehehe and improved all my numbers (phew! ). Again, this is from my experience in only five schools. The point is that not all schools care about the same things. It is not only a matter of good numbers and the process is more complicated than we think. However, having good numbers is an excellent starting point!!!

Dear ltn, I was an international applicant last season so my advice may shed some light on your concerns. First of all, what I have learned, especially in those top-20 schools you are applying to, is that scores are not that important. Admission committees are more interested in your promise as a scholar and a suitable fit for the department. In other words, you may have excellent credentials but that does mean you have high chances. Now that the mathematical part is done (except for GRE), take you time to work with your referees on their recommendation. Contact graduate students to understand what the department is looking for and so you can tailor your statement of purpose for each school. Work on your writing sample, which should show academic maturity and intellectual originality. Furthermore, even if all of this is perfect, you may still get rejected, that is a reality. That is why be clear in you SOP that accepting you will be the best decision they will ever make!!! As an international student I applied to top 50 schools-- if I am leaving my home, families and friends, I am leaving them for an excellent school, right? So weigh all the pros and cons. I did not apply to anywhere I did not want to go (although there was an excellent departmental fit). Hope it helps!!!!!

GRE/GPA importance may vary from field to field. Adcoms DO take them into account but, at least in my field, the writing sample (which you did not mention) is far more relevant in the admission process.

I used Kaplan for everything, especially the verbal part. The activity book on verbal is very good. I used Barron's to practice. Barron's quantitative is more difficult than Kaplan so you want to use their tests a month or so before sitting for the GRE. Really. I got serious doubts about that book but found it useful in that way. For verbal, I prepared the section with a private teacher who addressed the issue based on writing. Yes. Writing. She argued that if you could produce a logical piece of argument, then you could read it as well. I did VERY good. Good luck!!!!

Hi!!! I am a schoolteacher who will begin her PhD in the fall!!! First degrees in Argentina at university level enable both to do research and teach, so I have been doing both. I love teaching and I think it is indispensable for academia: Research for your own knowledge is just undoable. So congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It does not mean anything, sorry. I got a personal e-mail from a POI asking me for the hard copy of my transcripts (they were not requested before) and did not get in there. Just go to gym, sleep a lot, and wait... good news are just around the corner!

I don't know if it happens often, but at least you know you are not going there, right? A messy department like that... I understand your rage. Accidents DO happen but still... So, are you going to send your transcripts? FYI, I understand universities cannot force you to make a decision before April 15th.

Got an interesting offer in a quite cheap city so I am OK with that.

MOVE OUT!!!! What are you still doing there??? Anyway, here's some advice so that you avoid this snowball from happening again: two boys, right? 1) Communicate!!! Sorry, this is a girl advice, but it seems to me you could have prevented some of these things or at least you could have foretold them. Next time, instead of moving someone's things, ask "hey, may I make some room here for my food?". That way you let them know that is not mere coexistence: common places are common and, as such, you need to communicate in order to use/organise/clean them. It is your living room as well, WTF is his GF doing there all the time? You don't care, perfect, but it is your place too so if you want to watch TV yourself, do tell. People cannot guess. 2) Really, communicate!!!! A friend told me that the obvious is not always obvious. It is perfect that you don't mind about their ins-and-outs, fine. I'm with you there. But you must explain (and I mean, explain) that she living there is not part of the agreement, that you find it distracting and/or you are not OK with his not telling you. Honestly, if you did not demand him making room for you, or any of the other things, why should he consult with you anything else? I am like you, I tend not to say things first, because they are unimportant, and then because I have other things to worry about. YOU ARE RIGHT, you have other things to worry about and you definitely do not deserve this. Now, anybody else knows? The first person that should have this very clear is your room mate, and he can only know it if you tell him. If his dumb enough to be with a drug user, get her pregnant and bring her to your place, then you need to be plain clear. I hope I am not too harsh, it's only that I am so furious!!! I cannot believe your situation!!! I BTW, I am moving to Atlanta in the fall!!!

I don't understand, is it a matter of funding or academics?

I got the acceptance letter on line on Feb 8th. It was followed by e-mails from POIs, graduate students, DGS and an invitation to admitted student weekend.

hi Elise!!! I am not in grad school yet but I have some tips. I tend to get easily distracted and the more I force myself on doing things, the more I rebel against my own method. So this is what I have learned about my own studying style: * Do not try to work two hours in a row. We people cannot concentrate more than 45 minutes. If you plan anything, plan your breaks but respect them. It is easier to respect your breaks than your working hours, right? Every 45 minutes you should have a 15-minute break. It has enhanced my time-efficiency. Sometimes you are 'inspired' so you can work, for example, 1.5 hours and then have a 30-min break. * Set objectives that work for YOU. At the beginning I used to say, "OK, from 8 to 10 I read". It backfired. The fact that I was reading did not mean I was actually studying/working. So I started setting off objectives for specific days. For example, today I must finish reading this paper and making notes. Tomorrow I should write three chapters on X topic, by the end of the week I should have Y topic ready for oral presentation. Clear short-term objectives can be very helpful. Remember to be realistic about these. * Plan backwards. This is an excellent technique I learned at work (I am a teacher). Start on your due date and plan backwards. The week before you want your paper almost ready. The week before you should finish the conclusion. The week before that you want section three finished, and so on until you arrive to today. It will help you A LOT. In this sense, it works to have a visual aid such as a monthly/weekly planner at sight. It helps your organise yourself. * Know yourself, do not just pretend. I used to force myself to work after lunch. IMPOSSIBLE!!!! That is nap time and nothing good can come out with me thinking of sleeping. So after lunch I knew I had one hour to sleep. Glorious. I really slept thus really rested and thus really worked afterwards. Know when is the best time for you. Some people work better at night because it is quieter. Some people prefer to rise with the sun. * Be busy, especially exercise. You probably know that part of a healthy balance between work and life is exercise. Having busy hours gives you the opportunity to take advantage of your time more efficiently. Allow yourself to do something every day. At least some walking. Go shopping, cook, watch a movie. But also plan these leisure periods so that you take advantage of them. Sometimes it happened to me that I was so worried about working that I did not actually relaxed in my free time, and when I went back to work, I couldn't put two words together. * If you work, you work. Your working environment should be comfortable. Check the light, the chair, the cleanness, everything. Maybe things around are distracting you. Turn off you mobile phone, you are working. Don't even think of opening Facebook (come on, we are adults, we can do this!). If necessary, turn off your Internet connection and every time you need to find something on line, just note it down and search for it later. Sometimes I get tired of my desk and I have some spots in some cafés that I enjoy a lot. It gives me the chance to get out and also to change perspective (in a way). I hope it helps!!!

Hi Rise! My prime concern is housing at this point... There are some complexes with good ratings around campus, but they are expensive... I mean, more expensive than Clairmont or Briarcliff apartments. I do not know what I am going to do since I want to wait until I am there to rent something not furnished. On the other hand, university complexes are also available for undergrads which I find unattractive. I am big girl now hahaha

I only applied to schools that fund graduate students, but I understand there are graduate schools which do not necessarily do so and the application process is different. Luckily, I was admitted and fully funded