KLZ

If you tell us your topic or research interests, perhaps we can point you in the direction of some good historiographical sources.

A few thoughts Who will you ask to write your letters of recommendation? At least 2/3 should probably be from your undergrad institution. Get in contact with them early. Remind them of who you are and your intentions to apply for the MA. You might want to send them a "packet" of information, including the schools on your list, potential advisors (less important for the terminal MA, but still...) wide research interests and, if you have a specific project in mind, narrow research interests, perhaps a preliminary statement of purpose and/or a wrating sample. Letters will be of some importance to your application, and since you graduated some years ago, you may need to spend some extra time carefully selecting your recommenders. Of course, you could still be in great contact with professors and already know all of this. Just thought I'd add to the conversation. Your writing sample will also be very important. You don't need to have written a thesis or have published, but you'll want to use something that showcases original, primary research. You can use your statement of purpose to showcase your knowledge of your field ("such and such historian and/or book has influenced the way I think about x"). The importance of GRE scores is debatable, but for top programs I think the general consensus is that a good score will not be enough to get you in, but a bad score might keep you out. Verbal counts the most, writing score next, some schools don't even bother with the quantitative (although that's not a hard rule). I completed a terminal MA and went on to work as a grad programs assistant at my institution, working closely with the ad com and DGS for a couple of years. My institution thought very favorably of candidates with your profile type (high achieving in major, military experience, drawn back to academia, etc.). If you can clearly establish what you hope to achieve with the MA in hand, I think you'll be golden.

I'll be doing research in Cape Town, South Africa. Tough lot, I know. I feel confirmed that I chose the right program with the right opportunities for my project. Very satisfied.

I second this. Although it sounds odd that an admin would tell you that the check is already in the mail and then turn around and say that it is still in the approval process, I'd wait a while longer before giving up hope. Especially if the institution is a public institution, reimbursements can take an incredibly long time to process. If you email again for an update, you can politely ask to know where in the approval process your reimbursement sits. I know that at my home institution the process goes like this initiator > dept. business manager > dept. head > college finance > university AP. Your admin person may be the business manager, but could only be the initiator (grad programs secretary or something similar). After that, checks usually get cut during regular pay periods, either biweekly or monthly. This means that it might not be up in the mail until a normal pay period passes first.

I just started Nancy Mitchell's Jimmy Carter in Africa: Race and the Cold War. Its part of The Wilson Center's Cold War International History series.

I submitted a heavily revised chapter of my MA thesis. I chose the chapter that: 1). showcased the most original argument(s) 2). used the most diverse primary sources, including sources in my second language that I collected from overseas 3). received the most praise from my thesis committee. I should say that I really used the thesis chapter as a launching point from which I drafted a [new] 25 page article. This forced me to narrow down my argument and evidence in order to make some deep cuts. I also had to factor in that I would essentially need to add a couple of paragraphs of introduction because I had to re-frame the essay, as it could not rely on my thesis intro or previous chapters for framing. I also added some new research that did not make it into the original thesis chapter due to time constraints during my MA program. I know some people choose not to re-frame thesis chapters for their writing sample and instead add a cover page or something stating that it is a thesis chapter. This would save you time and effort. I chose to re-frame it because I thought doing so would make it easier for the admissions committee to digest. I figured that most members would not be familiar with my topic and that adding a new introduction would allow me to better position my argument within the historiography and explain why it is important right out the gate. Anything to make the application easier to read and take in. I had plenty of time to draft my writing sample and statements of purpose. I understand that not everyone has that luxury. Submit a sample that best showcases originality and primary research. Keep it within the page limits. Best of luck!

Don't feel guilty about turning down a better financial offer. Accept the school that you really want to attend! You will feel better once your make the hard choice and write a few difficult emails. Thank the department for the generous offer and write individual thank yous to faculty with whom you would like to keep in touch. I did this for three schools and everyone was incredibly kind and supportive.

I listen while I run or while I'm in the car...that's pretty much it. The only time I have difficulty listening to dense material is when I'm sleepy. I think my mind would wander if I were just sitting round...that's when I watch tv and knit.

Yes! Aside from the books I read for class and research, I listen to the rest. I actually try not to read anything that I can find in audio format I have listed to Hardcore History. Thanks for the other recommendations. I'll look into the ones I haven't heard of. This is exciting!

Sort of like reading... Wacha listening to? I would love recommendations for podcasts and audiobooks. I love to get my reading on while running, and in the fall I will be commuting to school, so I'll have plenty of time to listen to, but not read, books. To give you a sense of my tastes, I already listen to things like radiolab, freakonomics, intelligence squared (UK & US), this american life & serial, very bad wizards, common sense with dan carlin, and afripod. I'm interested in history stuff, but I also love postcasts that cover topics like religion, politics, moral philosophy, genetics and evolution. What do have on your playlist?

Thank you! I'm so excited!

I've decided to attend Duke! I'm excited and grateful for the opportunity to study with amazing scholars. I also got a summer job with Duke that I'll start at the end of May. Its in South Africa! I'll get the chance to work with undergraduates while conducting my own research. Can't wait!

I declined Georgetown. This was the most difficulty school to turn down. I loved so many things about the people and program. I really hope they admit someone from a waitlist (I believe they have one?). Again, I work on modern US foreign relations. Best of luck to those still waiting! April might get interesting.

Modern US foreign relations. I applied for the global track, not the US history track.

$15,700 for 5 years plus three years of summer funding (3k each). Its not a terrible offer, it just can't compete with my top offers -- one being down the road in Durham.

Declined UNC-Chapel Hill. So many great things about the program. That funding, though...

I declined GWU today. Very tough since it was a great fit. I work in 20th century us foreign relations.

Congratulations on your decision!

I'd say all offers. Adding information about funding is not really about telling people which offer you've accepted; the data is good for applicants to get a sense of current offers at a variety of places as well as changes over time.

Have confidence, yes...but also publish, win fellowships/awards, and network. These are the factors that can help a candidate get to the interview stage, and they will be especially important for candidates not coming from "top"-ranked institutions. Also, when you get the job talk, nail it. I agree with stillalivetui...rankings still matter on the job market.

Congrats on making your decision! Best wishes!

I think of it more like this --- Many posters name the schools to which they were accepted either on the forum or in their signature lines. If they are accepted to more than one school, we can assume that they will be turning down all but one at a minimum. Eventually, many people make their final choices known, again either on the forum or in their signature lines. Thus, if we are dedicated readers of GradCafe (which you know we are ), we can deduce which schools that they have declined. Now, we can either do the hard work and study the conversations across multiple threads in order to figure out what schools might accept off their waitlists, or we can look at this thread and see people's final decisions more clearly in order to draw our conclusions. I agree with you that people could get anxious if they start seeing schools at which they are waitlisted named on this thread; but, I think most people are reasonable enough to know that many factors go into waitlist decisions, including the declining scholar's field of study, target number of enrolled students (yes, many schools over enroll and still have a waitlist), and departmental politics. I would caution everyone who reads this thread to not expect anything. That being said, I'd like to know where people are deciding to go & where they will be declining offers.

Congrats on your decision! Best of luck with your studies!!!

This is a great idea. I will post the (3) schools I decline, but only after I notify each department. I hope to see some movement on a waitlist myself, so I hope others also participate on this thread.

Congrats, Josh J!