natsteel

My undergrad university is huge but not the kind of huge where we have big lecture sections in which you don't get any face time with the professor. So, here it was just a matter of going to office hours and talking with professors. You don't necessarily have to be in a professor's class to use their office hours. After a little while, I just mentioned to them that if they were working on anything and needed some "grunt work" done that I was available. That approach helped get me RA positions for all three of my mentors, one of them a recurring gig, and I'm one of the most socially inept persons you will ever meet. I just sucked it up because I knew it was something I had to do. The more comfortable I got talking with them also helped me deal with other faculty, administrators, etc. in an academic setting. If you want to go to graduate school, you cannot get out of learning how to deal with people like this. I'm still very reticent when meeting or talking to people that I don't know, but it's better than it was and it's getting better. I am now getting ready for the ultimate test... an informal interview with a prospective advisor from a top 5 program in less than a week. I got an introduction from one of my mentors but I still have to go meet the prof. and not look like a totally inept, incoherent idiot. <fingers crossed> Believe me, if I can do it, so can you...

Apologies in advance for not following the format... Like the OP, I only listened to what most people call "oldies" from the time I was a little kid until only recently. However, when I say "oldies" I mean more than just 50s and 60s pop, which I absolutely love. I'm a huge fan of American roots music from folk (Woody Guthrie, etc...) to blues (Freddie King, Robert Johnson, Lightnin' Hopkins) to real country (Hank Williams Sr., very early George Jones, Louvin Brothers) to rockabilly (Elvis on Sun, etc...) and rock n' roll (Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc...) to country-rock (The Byrds, FBB, etc...) to more recent alt.country (Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Jayhawks, Ryan Adams). If it came out before 1970 and wasn't jazz, I'm probably familiar with it. However, in the last 5 years or so, I got into indie rock and indie pop. I think mostly because alot of it was influenced by 60s rock. i'm thinking of stuff like Sufjan Stevens, Camera Obscura, Belle & Sebastian, Iron & Wine, The National, Pernice Brothers, Elephant 6 (NMH, OTC, Apples in Stereo, Of Montreal), etc.... Most recently, I have been on a vintage soul/R&B kick... mostly 40s and 50s rhythm & blues (just about anything on Atlantic Records) and 60s southern soul music (Stax, Goldwax, Muscle Shoals). If you like that stuff, check out the Bear Family box sets, "Blowing the Fuse" and "Sweet Soul Music." Awesome!! I found this year's releases to be somewhat disappointing compared to the last few years, but I enjoyed: Justin Townes Earle, Harlem River Blues Tame Impala, Innerspeaker She and Him , Volume Two Arcade Fire - The Suburbs Band of Horses - Infinite Arms When it comes to reissues and the like: Bob Dylan, The Witmark Demos (Being a songwriter, I'm a Dylan fanatic) Bruce Springsteen, The Promise I can't speak of favorite records without mentioning Wilco's "Summerteeth," which is one my all-time favorites.

I have the same kind of problem but it's not only my family but mentors as well. They all seem so overly confident about my prospects. My family naively thinks I'm going to get into all the programs, but my mentors tell me that I will get into multiple choices. When it comes to my family, I keep trying to explain to them the reality of graduate admissions and that I would be happy just to get into one program. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate their blind confidence in me. I've managed to keep my expectations somewhat tied to reality, but I fear they (especially my mentors) will be disappointed when reality smacks me in the face and the actual results come in. And, FWIW, I am definitely using the GC as support. Reading about other people's worries, concerns, and, in some cases, neuroses not only makes me feel better but also distracts me from my own.

Application fees: $860 Transcripts: $128 GRE: $347 Mailing and copying: $50 Getting into a top graduate program: priceless. Couldn't help myself... sorry Total amount spent came to $1,385 to apply to 11 schools.

I don't think it looks desperate at all. Almost all the professors I was in contact with said things in our email correspondence like "Keep me updated on what you're doing" and whatnot. I actually picked up a nice achievement in between the time I had corresponded with them and when I actually submitted the applications about 1-2 months later. So, I used that as my pretext for sending them one final email. Nevertheless, it was very brief... basically, "Prof. So-and-So, I am writing to let you know that I decided to apply to xxx U. and have submitted my application. I also wanted to thank you for taking the time to correspond with me and I look forward to a decision on my application." Now, if the professors didn't leave the kind of opening for further communication mentioned above, then it could go either way. The first example given by the OP seems to be a situation in which you would not benefit from sending another email. IMHO, if you had good contacts with the professor, I don't see anything wrong with dropping them one final, brief email.

I'm only half-ashamed to admit that I've watched undergrad recruiting/promo videos for a number of institutions that I'm applying to.

Our individual fates will be determined to a degree by what we produce in terms of research, publications, etc., but, for our collective fate, the numbers show that the majority of us will never find tenure-track jobs and many of us will end up stuck in the adjunct rut. If you're not prepared for that possibility, then you're not prepared for grad school. The best among us will probably find good employment, but, according to the numbers, many of us won't find full-time or tenure-track employment at all. I'm not trying to pessimistic... just realistic. It does none of us any good to deny the realities of the current job market, i.e., least amount of jobs in 25 years, most new PHDs in 9 years, lowest number of expected retirements in "recent times." And, it will be hardest for those who go to less-respected programs and/or go into the most crowded fields of U.S. and European history. The idealism inherent in a person embarking on a process like applying and going to grad school leads each of us to think, "That won't happen to me." But the numbers suggest otherwise. It will happen to many if not the majority of us. This is why those curmudgeons over at the CHE fora are constantly telling people not to take out loans for a Humanities PhD under any circumstances. It's too easy to bury our heads in the sand at this point in our academic careers, but if you do that you are setting yourself up for the possibility of being unable to cope with the harsh realities that await us years down the line when we've all traveled 100s or 1000s of miles to desperately trawl around the AHA General Meeting cattle calls unsuccessfully for the 3rd or 4th time returning home to launch a frenzied attempt to cobble together 5 adjunct assignments teaching survey courses to apathetic, underprepared students just so we don't lose the room we're renting or apartment we're sharing with 3 other formerly-idealistic PhDs. Okay, now I'm being pessimistic... That article really put me in a negative mood. Sorry, guys and gals...

I understand your point, StrangeLight, but allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment... In my experience in multiple history departments at a large public university, I would estimate that over 90% of the professors in those departments have degrees from what would traditionally be considered Top 10 programs regardless of sub-field (i.e., US News). As much as we want to think the quality of a program matters more than the reputation of the university, my experience doesn't bear that out. Search committees seem to continue to be impressed by "the big names" and, since most committees are not made up of all specialists in a specific sub-field, I would guess many members do not have the kind of in-depth knowledge of the subtleties of individual programs needed to make some of the distinctions that you are making. Granted, the information you are using is widely available, but I wonder how many members of a search committee hiring someone outside their field or sub-field could be bothered to search it out. DISCLAIMER: I'm not saying it's right, and I am also definitely not suggesting one forsake fit over name. But, as it appears to me and as my mentors have told me, "The big names still carry a lot of weight when looking for a job."

I'm reading for an honors research essay to be written in the spring on William Livingston. However, I'm also trying to reintroduce a bit of "pleasure reading" at least over this break. For that, I have Confessions of a Philosopher by Bryan Magee, which I have already read but am enjoying for a second time, and a novel called Fight For Your Day, a comedic (but somewhat tragic) "day-in-the-life" of an adjunct teaching Comp 101 at 4 schools Pennsylvania.

This is what I wondered... Certainly, he must have had to discuss the papers and proposals that won these awards with his advisors/mentors. It's also amazing to think, as pointed out above, that if he only hadn't tried to get the Rhodes or Fulbright, that he likely would never have been caught.

No problem, surprisecake... I have two Twitter accounts-one that I use primarily which does not have my real name attached and another using my real name which I rarely use. It doesn't matter if you use the sites so long as your profile shows up in the Google search. Make your profiles for all those sites as professional as possible when it comes to pics and the other information. The best piece of advice I could give would be to create these profiles specifically with adcoms in mind. I've read a bunch of articles about people applying for grad school or jobs and not getting them because of unflattering pictures of them getting drunk or whatnot (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20202935/ns/business-personal_finance/)... Just sign up for these sites (Twitter, Academia.edu, Mendeley, etc...) and use a relatively professional looking profile pic and academically-slanted profile information. I hope you're able to push some of that other stuff off your first page. Good luck!! P.S. - I know some people aren't too hot on Academia.edu, but it almost always comes up on the first Google page and is academically-oriented. You can post your research interests and a CV on there as well. Even cooler, it also tells you when someone has searched your name or you have come up in someone's Google search and how many views each of your profile pages receive.

I can sympathize, but there are ways you can manage your Google search results, for just this sort of situation. Of course, you won't be able to just get rid of stuff like the reviews and rejected applicant lists but perhaps you can push them back. My first results are my Academia.edu page (make one and don't even put alot on it if you don't want because they always come up very high in the first page of results), my LinkedIn profile (these also come up very high, so it's best to register and have a profile), my Mendeley profile (again, same as before), and my Goodreads profile. Facebook will almost always be on the first page, since all social media websites end up with prominent placement in personal Google searches, but by registering and creating the profiles I mentioned above and on other social media websites (even if you won't use them), you can push a few of those undesirable search results farther down and replace them with academically-related type results. Also, un-tag yourself from any of your friends' Facebook pics... all this should be done right away since it doesn't happen overnight and you have a limited amount of time until adcoms may begin Googling your name. I read an article about adcoms and search committees Googling candidates last year and began taking steps then to manage what comes up when Googling my name... For more info, see http://mycareerinvention.com/personal-seo-how-to-manage-your-reputation-online/

I know, Badger... all my mentors have told me the same thing. In fact, they think the combination of being a non-trad from a public uni may even benefit me as some of the more prestigious schools are looking to diversify their cohorts (one of them heard this first-hand from a professor at an elite university). I only listed it because I'm being terribly neurotic about the whole process. history_PhD, is there a specific reason you didn't contact any profs?

I could use a boost, so here goes... Positives: 3.93 GPA (4.0maj) - In the last five semesters, I have a 4.0 overall with 4 A+'s. 3 exceptional LORs from highly-respected and well-known scholars in my field, including my primary mentor who is a Pulitzer Prize-winner. Said mentors really going to bat for me with all their contacts (which seems to have bought me some credibility with faculty). Writing sample excerpted from my junior honors research essay which is one of only 4 papers being published in a Columbia Undergrad journal and won a departmental award. I have done a research assistantship for each of my 3 mentors' next books, including 2 paid RA gigs for my primary mentor. Multiple positive contacts with all prospective advisors (thank you, mentors) including phone conversations and meetings with a few. I need these things to overcome: GRE Verbal score of 660, which is average for some of the programs to which I am applying. A horrible and somewhat inexplicable AW score of 4.5. A less-than-mindblowing SOP. I found it hard to write about myself, but many drafts got it to where it's definitely functional, but not amazing in any way. Coming from a less-than-prestigious, large, public undergraduate institution. Non-traditional student

I'm in History not religion, but, generally, self-publishing is not well looked upon in academia. If it is really important enough, you shouldn't need to self-publish. Over on the CHE forums, I have seen conversations discussing this and the general consensus seems to be that self-publishing is not "real" publishing. Of course, I don't know all the specifics of your case or anything about publishing in Egypt. However, this is what I have come across regarding self-publishing.

Don't feel bad... I'm in a kind of ancillary program at my school, which actually grants my degree but which just recently changed a word in its long name (adcoms will have no idea of this though). So, of course, like a tool, I used the old name and somehow didn't catch it until it was too late. Inevitably, I imagine a bunch of "This idiot doesn't even know the name of his program" reactions from adcoms.

I pm'd you some more info.

I'm applying straight out of undergrad... however, I didn't start my undergrad until I was 32. So I'm graduating this spring at 35 and will be 36 when I start grad school in the fall. Seeing all these people in the early-to-mid 20s would make me jealous if I could've done it at that age. However, like a number of the older students, I would not have been able to do the level of work then that I do now. Besides, I've met a number of professors in the CUNY system and beyond that got their PhDs late and ended up with tenure-track jobs...

All of my mentors said 10 was about the right number because it allowed you the broadest choice of schools, i.e., dream/realistic/"safety." In the end, I ended up applying to 11. But, I am an early Americanist, and I had excellent to good fits with faculty at all the schools to which I applied. If you only have a real fit at 6 programs then it doesn't make sense to apply to more than that.

First, for more information, you might try going to the actual program's website. Second, of course it's competitive... IT'S HARVARD!!!

Mine... Highest: $125 (for my last resort no less) Lowest: $45 I'd say the average of my 11 schools was somewhere around $70...

My band's name is National Steel, hence, my username... My favorite football club is Arsenal FC from London and I wrote a blog called "Arsenal Station," hence the London Underground sign from the Arsenal tube station.

Mine isn't as cool as some of the others, but here it is anyway...

That's a really horrible situation... Many people take time off between undergrad and graduate work, but it's by no means a requirement. Mostly, it is seen as being valuable because it gives you time to really figure out what you want to do. If you are already certain that a PhD in history, despite the perpetually horrendous job market, is what you want, then there's nothing wrong with going ahead with it. However, don't necessarily limit yourself to PhD or bust. In another post, you were a bit worried that your "numbers" weren't as competitive as you would like, so possibly you could consider doing an MA, if offered, to show you can do graduate level work, and be in a better position to get into better program when you're done. That said, the CUNY GC may not be as "highly ranked" as the others in your list, but I think that's mostly because, as a state school, their funding leaves something to be desired and their teaching assistantships are essentially adjunct positions. Nevertheless, much of the faculty is excellent as are the facilities, resources, and the location. And, if teaching is your thing, you will likely be teaching 2 classes of your own per semester at various CUNY schools by your 3rd year. Best of luck to you!!

Numbers aren't everything, EricaMarie. SOP, LORs, and writing samples, I believe, are far more important. You're in my field and applying to similar schools, so I'm interested in what sub-field you plan to focus on? Also, I've taken classes at the Grad Center as an undergrad and know some of the professors. Did you have someone specific in mind you'd like to work with?