ToomuchLes

Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome sounds awesome! I already added The First Man in Rome to my Amazon list.

I was alittle confused by her usage of the word 'weak,' since the program has strong research-based POIs for my area. I would have said 'limited Americanist cohort.' I dont think she was speaking negatively about the program. Rather, she was very forthright and honest about the politics in her department, which I believe all POI should explicitly mention to prospective grad students. Now, I do not understand the role cohorts play in ones academic achievements. If anyone has more information about this, personal or mere observations, please share. At my undergrad, I mostly worked with three professors, and rarely with other students; not because I am a recluse either. Personally, if I needed help, I would reach out to people that i know can provide the maximum amount of assistance; which I rarely found to be students. But again, this was in my undergrad years. At the moment, I am unsure when and if I should contact some current students. Would I need to ask for permission from their advisers first? Is the season too busy to email now, or should I wait until winter break/new quarter?

A POI talked alittle about the graduate program at her institution, and she said something, along the lines of, "the department has a weak Americanist cohort ... with only 6 / 30-something grad students studying US history." Now, for this particular program, there are four faculty members that study 18/19th century US History, and three touch upon my area of interest perfectly. I am curious how this would effect me if I were to attend this program. Likewise, does a cohort mean faculty+grad students, or only grad students?

Darn ... And I was planning to bake 12 cakes to send to the adcoms If my application isnt good enough, then my baking skills will convince them otherwise lol

A book I am surprised I haven't already heard about - David Davis' Inhuman Bondage: The Rise & Fall of Slavery in the New World. Also, I am reading Ric Edelman's The Truth About Retirement Plans and IRAs. I promised myself that, during my gap year, one of my personal projects would be to gain a better understanding of how to invest wisely. Although, retirement, for me, is some forty years in the future, its best to start sooner than later thanks to ... COMPOUND INTEREST! Now I get excited when I hear, smell, talk, read or think about investments. Its actually a cool, interesting study.

Also, another question(s) that I've been meditating on for the last week or so. Three of my POIs, during our phone/skype conversations, told me to shoot them an email when I've successfully submitted my application for their program. Should I just send a simple 2-3 sentence email saying that I did apply, and to keep an eye out for my application? (Im over thinking this ....) In addition, should I offer my true interest to one POI by saying something like, "if I dont get accepted to your program, or any others (with the right financial package), then if possible I'd like to audit one of your classes to demonstrate my capabilities blahblahblah.." (ill embellish it more) I just want to truly express how passionate I am about my research interests, commitment to academia, and my interest in the program (which I did properly in my SOP). I read somewhere on the internet about a psych applicant that had below a 3.0 ugpa, with decent gre scores, LORS, but with a fantastic SOP. He reached out to a POI in Stanford, talked over the phone, and met one or twice for coffee. Unfortunately, the applicant wasn't accept at first. When he got his rejection letter, he again reached out to his POI, told him about the letter and said that hes still committed to study under him and would reapply next season. the prof was so mesmerized that he somehow overruled the adcoms decision. I dont know if this story is true (it was on a blog lol), but I can still see something like this happening. I could be wrong though. You're welcome to input your comments about this story. I posted a link below. But the point Im trying to make is, I'd like to maximize my chances of acceptance. Im confident that I took all the right steps with my application; however I would still like to take extra steps. http://www.howigotintostanford.com/

Hypothetically, if I am missing something on my application, will I receive a notice from said program? I only ask because some of my LOR writers have still not submitted my letters, and all my applications (except for 2) are due on Monday *horror music*

I agree with kblooms. Over the weekend, I played some volleyball under the cali sun in Santa Monica, and I completely forgot about my applications, the future, and work. It was soo relaxing. Unfortunately, the new week starts again ...

I regret sending it now =/

For those apply to Northwestern, did you send your GRE scores? I did, but Im curious if they'll care. NWU said it was "optional."

Bam! All apps paid and submitted. Now its time to hibernate until late Feb, early March. My department was the same way towards citations. They didnt specifically teach us how to do it, but usually they corrected (and sometimes docked points) essay citations. I went to UC Davis, so you can imagine how many history majors there are to history professors. Plus, with the quarter only being 10 weeks, I dont see how/when they have the time to teach citations. =/ Maybe a specific class would be helpful but how do you drag that out for 10 weeks? I mostly used easybib.org, inputted my data, fixed it for chicago style, and used what the website gave me. So far, I havent really had any problems. Question! Does anyone know the timeline adcoms follow, concerning when they start reading apps, when they move between evaluation phases, etc? I figure they wont start until early January, since apps are due Dec 1 - 15, and sometimes applicants are missing some stuff. So with winter break, it only makes sense that they start next year. This is just to satisfy my own curiosity.

The article provides very good suggestions for all graduate applicants, not only psych majors. I really did enjoy reading it ^.^ and got a few good chuckles out of their KOD examples. One of the suggestions that I wish they elaborated on was demonstrating your fit, not only with your POI but the department and the overall institution as a whole. In some programs, you might work with other departments, not just your own. For example, I've spoken to several POIs and they mentioned that I will be working with the cohort in both the History Department and the African-American Studies Department. Therefore, in my SOP I mentioned how the History Department is focusing on A, which is one portion of my research interests, but also the African-American Studies Department is focusing on B, and together, my research themes are covered in all sides. I also included a brief sentence that mentioned the archive availability at each school. I simply visited their website, looked at their library access (if they shared with other schools, their strengths/weakness in comparison to my research), and if I had questions I contacted the librarian specialist. Finally, although not mentioned in the article, I think its invaluable to mention in 1-2 sentences what you, as an applicant, are bring to the department/institution; similar to how they instruct you to talk about your diversity. I talked about how I was raised on a different continent, and with my focus being 19th century American history, I offer a different perspective than the one taught in the US. Likewise, I spent some time in a refugee camp, and understood how history can be partisan to audience its intended for. I chained together these themes with my research interests. Again, Im merely an applicant, so we'll see in a few short months how successful I've been, but these are some suggestions Id like to make. You should definitely contact the professor, and if you can, have a phone interview with them. I talked to every single of my POI on the phone/skype/email and they talked about their priorities, duties, and also mentioned the department politics. I think this part of the application is superduper important, and will provide the prof a face (or voice) to your application; thus earning you some perk points ;D

Alittle off topic, but I recommend for everyone, after they submitted their applications, watch the movie, Interstellar. Its craaaazy good. Back to working on my sample..

Lol. Things change with time, and yes, I remember my heated post a year ago. Ashiepoo72 does have a point. Its hard imagining your life in .. say ... Indiana, or somewhere north. I've grown quite comfortable under the Cali sun, and prefer to remain here. *Please UCI/UCLA accept me, and give me a good financial package!* Im the same way. When I write, I only provide crude citations until the final revision process. I only asked because on my original essay I used MLA. For some reason the prof wanted MLA over Chicago. *shrugs* Anyways, time to read over 51 citations. Haha the pleasures of a history major.

Hmm ... I dont normally use a cover page either; however, for the specific sample I am using, I have a cover page since the assignment demanded one. Excluding my bib and 2 pages (at the very end) with graphs on it, I am within the page range. Also, do you think adcoms care which style you use - Chicago, MLA, Turabian? And, would they mark you down if you dont properly cite?

Ahhh the writing sample - speak of the devil. Are you including a cover page, ashiepoo72? Also, which citation style are you using, and do you include a bibliography, even if it goes beyond the page limit?

Excellent question! I too would like an answer.

Im willing. PM me yours and I'll send you mine.

It probably will not meet the Dec deadline. Im retaking mine on Nov 17. I spoke to a representative for ETS and she told me, it will be late for my Dec 1st deadline; however I spoke to all my programs, and they accept all gre scores, as long as its before Jan 1.

Personally, I cannot focus if theres music blaring or if the tv is on. Then again, I usually have the tv on (just for some background noise) when Im writing an essay, or looking over my sources at home. At libraries though, Im that guy that will give you an unapproved look if I can hear your music. I do have a quirky research ritual that I believe is facilitating the drought in California. First, I work on my paper for as long as I can, which can translate to 30mins or 4-5 hours. When I finally feel stuck, frustrated, brain-dead, unsatisfied, annoyed, or I just need that break, I take a hot shower lol. For my first research project, I started writing a little late, so I shut myself in my apartment, one weekend, just to get something done. Im pretty sure between Saturday and Monday morning, I took around 5-6 showers. Luckily, in that apartment complex, our utilities were included in the overall rent and did not fluctuate. Therefore, I hope, where ever I go for grad school, I'll have a similar leasing contract; otherwise, I need to find a new ritual.

Sounds good! I will definitely use your format.

Another question! How did you format your essay, in regards to name, title, program? I was thinking ... _____ Name : SOP Program: [Tab] Essay... ____ However, some of my SOPs are 1-2 pages, so I lose 3-4 lines right there. I also thought about including it in my header : Name (far left); SOP (center); Program (far right). Do I even need to include this information on my SOP? I structured it in the following way : Intro, background (unless that program as a Personal Statement section, then I dont include this), academic qualifications, research interests & why its important to study it, POI's research and other POIs, why this institution suits my academic needs, and my fit. This is the format I used for my longer 3-4 page SOPS. I do mention in my first paragraph, "...thus, inspiring my interests in Antebellum American history, which is the overall topic I'd like to further explore in graduate school." Then I hold off on my research interests until paragraph 4 For my short ones, its more or less the same, but I shortened my academic qualifications and background info. Im not sure if I should switch my background info to the very bottom, or leave it. At the moment, its almost following a chronological order of how I became interests, my undergrad and research experiences, what I'd like to research in grad school, and why Im a fit and what Im bringing to academia/institution.

Quick question for everyone .. How early in your SOP should you mention your research interests? (in terms of paragraphs) This is something I've been having debates about, whether to mention it early on, or discuss your qualifications, and background first, then your interests.

For this particular program, the word limit is 1200 and in total (with a few minor tweaks) it came out to 1147. My other SOPs are 1-2 pages (with one being 500 words), so I did cut out a lot of personal stuff. Regarding mentioning your research interests early on, I've heard similar comments about it. I think I'll revisit this particular SOP and see how I can modify it, so it flows but also mentions my research topic in the second paragraph, or at least a hint of what Id like to do in grad school. Then I'll go more in depth in paragraph 5. Many thanks guys ^.^ If you need SOP editing, youre more than welcome to PM it to me

I've had a similar feeling a few days ago, and I was ready to submit all my applications ahead of my (early, personal) deadline (Nov 15). However, what Im doing now is, I'm relaxing more and reading fun literature to calm myself. Then every single day I print out one SOP designated for one program, read it over with a red pen, and afterward I correct it on the computer and label that file as (done). I think if we keep revisiting our SOP - making corrections, purposely finding faults - we'll drive ourselves crazy. Which isn't good since we're expected to go crazy while in our PhD program, not before. When I read your post, I laughed cause in some respect, its true. I tried rehearsing my SOP template and I came pretty close in getting it word for word. Lol. I think for now, (speaking for myself) its best to peruse our applications with a fine comb to make sure we've checked and added all the information requested on the online applications. I know I accidentally made a mistake on one app inputting my birthday. I somehow switched the last two digits of the year I was born. I bet the adcoms would be perplexed in understanding why someone born in 1929 would be inclined to attend grad school. Soon the waiting game begins ...