ToomuchLes

I made a separate column for school supplies (books, printing stuff, notebooks etc). Netflix, maybe?

Woodland is only a 10-15 drive & the traffic is practically non-existent. I would shop in Woodland, and drive up there at all times of day, never once encountering traffic. Dont live in west Davis because its expensive (that includes apt complex like Ramble). East Davis isn't bad, depending how far east you live - the further the better. I found my best living arrangement in NW Davis, close to the hospital. Its very quiet, & residential but you will definitely live with a few people. And if you live on the periphery of Davis, beware of wild turkeys. When I lived at the Ramble Apts, three turkeys camped close to my front door and when I tried to get out, they charged at me. I had to climb out my window to catch the bus >=P (fortunately I was on the first floor). I regret not cooking them...

I just devoured "Purpose of the Past: Reflections on the uses of history" by Gordon Wood this week. It was delectable

Don't pay U-haul to do it!! They're very expensive and charge you extra to install lights for your trailer. Find a local shop, or check with your dealership (they also might be expensive, but check anyways)

^ I had similar concerns when I was offered admission into Indiana University's MA History program. I contacted the DGS, and he provided some information (not alot) to ease my mind. He said additional information will be given after April 15th and if I have further questions/concerns to contact him directly.

Right there with ya! Im a native Hungarian & Romanian speaker, and Hungarian is haaaaaard (from what everyone has told me). I'd really like to make Portuguese or Cherokee my fourth, depending which way I take my research.

Extremely late... I managed to reserve a 5x8 Uhaul trailer from CA to IN for $549. I need to install a hitch on my Jeep (you'd expect a standard Jeep to have one .. >.>), and I found a place that'll do it for $130 (still doing research on this). Uhaul also provides insurance between $80-130, but I havent decided on which one I'll use. Estimating the ceiling cost of food, we'll say $200; motel (possibly 3-4 nights) for $300; and gas (again, this is an estimated cap) for $400; my moving costs to IN will be somewhere in the ballpark of $1,500 - 2,000. I looked a shipping containers, and the possibility of selling my car here and buying one there or shipping my car, and these options cost over 3K. The drive is 2068 miles, and about 29 hours (gawd...) but at least I get to see the country.

Wooooo congrats Heimat and KBHistorian!!

I've never experienced the real meaning of "cold," (unless 40F is considered cold haha) so this will definitely be an experience! I think after my time in IN, I will truly appreciate CA weather more

Thank you for starting this thread! This is something Ive been thinking about. Looking forward to reading some answers.

I guess Im old school; I like scrabble and monopoly

Thanks everyone! You'll still definitely see me around these forums. @stillalivetui, can I PM you a few questions about your time at IU? I also have some questions about convenient places to live, and other pertinent topics.

Im digging spellbanisher's answer

Its been awhile since I posted on here. I officially accepted my MA offer from Indiana University today, and quite frankly, I couldn't be happier =D! I will be working with a fantastic professor, whose work and attitude I truly admire. I had the pleasure of meeting her a few months back, and we hit it off very nicely, so Im confident our work together will be well spent. IU is providing some, but not full funding. However this is the price I pay for slacking in my undergrad studies; lesson learned. Now is the time to excel, and in 1-2 years, I will have the confidence, credentials, and the opportunity to apply to much better programs than I did this season (not to say, all the programs I applied to were lacking; in fact, a majority were leading research programs). Thank you all for the awesome community, and assistance this season! It means a lot having such an awesome support group. I know I couldn't have done it without you. Although this is a small step in a long journey, I am overjoyed to know that I am walking down the path my heart so eagerly wants. For those heading to IU, send me a PM so we can eventually meet up for a drink! To those heading to all corners of the continent for grad school, I wish you the best of luck and true happiness! Im sure, eventually, we'll run into each other at a conference unknowingly. And finally to those that have to take a year off, cheer up. Life goes on. Theres always another application season, and Im sure youll get it in the next one. Take the moment to reminisce on all of your accomplishments, enjoy the small things in life (cliche sure, but very uplifting), and go try new things in life (eat exotic foods that you never tried before, that always makes me happy xD). From CA -> IN, lets see how I handle the weather

When would be a good time to start looking for apartments? I've already found a few available on the eastern side of campus. Im also looking at southside, between 1st and 4th street, but I only found a few potential places. Living in Bloomington, does one need a car? This is something Ive been meditating on. Im currently looking at estimates to have my Jeep delivered to IN, but they are very expensive. Likewise, driving across country will take a toll. Im thinking maybe selling my car before I move, and buying a cheaper one when im IN. Thoughts? Also, how bad does the winter season get? Ive seen pictures with snow as high as 2 feet. How does this effect bike travel? And if one cannot ride a bike during winter, nor have an available car, how does one grocery shop? It sounds like Id need to take multiple trips weekly to get all my groceries.

I accepted an offer to do my Masters in United States History at IU =D! Very exciting!! Excepting for the part of moving from CA to IU ...

I looked at their program before the application seasons, and concluded that its VERY expensive. I would love a dual MA and the opportunity to work with the faculty at Columbia; however, I dont think its worth the heavy monetary loss. Also the deadline was March 2nd.

Yeah, the Hungarian language is like the black sheep in Europe. Unless you have some relations to the country or people, the struggle to learn the language is not worth the benefit (Im condemning my language xD). Romanian on the other hand, isnt too difficult to learn, but I have a lot of difficulties reading/writing it. Does fluency in multiple (relevant) languages help out in finding an academic position?

If my native language is Hungarian, would that fulfill a language requirement even though its not relevant to my area?

Thank you for starting this thread! I've actually been thinking about my language requirement for grad school. Considering the fact that my focus is on 19th century slavery, I dont really know which language to study. Maybe Portuguese, but I still have some meditating/studying to do before I make a formal decision. For you, I would definitely pick Spanish. The Spanish language is deeply ingrained into the American West, so the likelihood of reading a Spanish text is higher that any other language. I used Rosetta Stone for a number of years to polish my Spanish, and I'd highly recommend their service. They are rather pricey, and I'm very confident that you can have a cheaper substitute. When I used it their service was $99, but now its $299 which is a big difference X.X Also, I think Spanish would be beneficial for you outside of academia.

If IU's DGS emailed me more than a month ago, informing me that I was waitlisted and "next in line for admission," should I email him again asking for a status update? I dont want to be an annoying pest but at the same time, it has been more than a month since our last communication.

Did you read works by those authors before you made the decision to study history as a profession? I have never met a layperson that read books by those authors because its fun and/or interesting. I read Gordon Wood's "Purpose of the Past: Reflections on the Uses of History" in a lower division undergrad class (we assigned certain chapters for class, so not the whole book), and I remember alot of students, taking that class to fulfill gen. ed. requirements, hated it. The authors that you listed are readable for us. We actually need to test it out to see if it is, indeed, readable (and this means, the reader enjoys and understands the text) for the layperson. Neither one of us, on this site (or more specifically in the history section), can say for sure that the works by these authors are readable. We can definitely say that Zinn and Diamond are readable for the layperson because of the number of sales and how widely these scholars are known. And because the high number of sales, we can most definitely say that People's History and Guns, Germs & Steel are not at all arduous to read.

But isnt the absence of historical thinking, and principles what make pop history fun and interesting for the layperson? Zinn is great because he's readable for everyone. I wouldn't put Zinn and Diamond in the same category, but I would definitely put Zinn's "Peoples History" and Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel" on the same shelf of recommended reads for those interested in pursuing history. These are elementary books. They demonstrate what history really is about, without providing the arduous historical thought process. That is what turns people off. I agree that being a generalist or writing to a lay audience are not at all valid excuses for sloppy work, but are you saying that Zinn and/or Diamond produced sloppy work? I think, they achieved something that most historians have difficulty doing. When someone has a vast library of knowledge about something, they weave together the small stuff into a large big and therefore, its harder to produce a general history because you have so much the say. Then if you attempt to say everything, it'll evolve into a text that is too cumbersome for the layperson to read. Maybe thats why Diamond's book is so popular with a lay audience? But also because he thinks like a scientist, which is a general way most people think. In order to understand a historian, you need specific training or be a historian. This can be detrimental to a country's history because the lay audience will misinterpret the text, and ta da.. pseudo-history. I never watched Bill O'Reilly's show so I don't know if he does this, or what exactly he doesnt wrong.

If you emailed IU, asking when applicants will be notified, let me know what they said! I realize that MA applicants will be notified only after PhD applicants, but Im sooooo anxious to hear from them! When I emailed the DGS, he said "in a few weeks time" which was 3 weeks ago >.<!

A.rev and ashiepoo72 pretty much said what I was thinking. Zinn and Diamond are publishing BIG histories. This, as ashiepoo72, points out is a great way to make history fun for the laypersons. If you introduce "Inhuman Bondage" by David Brion Davis to someone that is not a historian, or a student of history, they will be overwhelmed by the esoteric information, background info, and analysis. Likewise, most historians publish works meant for only scholars. This can be very intimidating for the reader if he is, in fact, not a scholar or still lacks the proper knowledge to fully comprehend what that historian is arguing. Think back to when you first started reading text about your area. I think, scholars (maybe more specifically historians) should produce big, general works to make history fun again. I realize that most historians do not like these general monographs for a variety of reasons. BUT, if you introduce these books to a high school student (which is when I read Zinn and Diamond's work), those readers will grasp a better understanding of basic history, and then, they can start reading more detailed works. I didn't want to sound like a Diamond groupie (can historians have groupies? lol i think so), but he was one of my ... first ... historians to provide information that is not usually taught in public high schools. I cant think of a specific example from Diamond's work, but I can from Zinn's "Peoples History." Throughout my pre-college education, I was never ever taught about the Arawak/Columbus Exchange. I learned very very very little about their interactions. In "Peoples History," I think the very first chapter is about the Arawaks, and what Columbus did to those people. For me, that was very eye-opening and from there, I had established a solid foundation to further my knowledge about that particular history. I could have totally picked a different book, something more comprehensive from a historian that specializes in that area, but the question is : as a new student of history, would I enjoy and understand it as much as I did when I read Zinn's book? I would like to say, I have NOT read Zinn or Diamond in many many years. I have their books in my personal library, so maybe one of these days I'll revisit their text and see how I like it now. Im sure that Chapters 9-10 will frustrate me because its about slavery, and Zinn probably left out things that I find important, but this information that I claim to be important was only gained through years of study. Dilettante "historians," do not have our academic backgrounds, which is why Zinn and Diamond are so popular. There are obviously more history-dabblers than actual historians. If you were to go to a university campus and ask random students if they heard of Alan Taylor (or some other Pulitzer winner) vs Zinn/Diamond, I think, most people would vote on the latter. I like the gif too lol very cute