tingdeh

Congratulations, all the best!!!

I think I'll throw myself into this mix, now that the dust has settled and I'm off to make my decision between two excellent schools very shortly. Long story short, I have quite the non-traditional background coming into being a historian, so I'm happy to share. I finished my undergraduate as an English literature student. But my thesis work was far from just literary--I got travel grants to do archival work across the Pacific, and while I had wanted to dig up early literatures of the American occupation of the Philippines, it led me to learn all about migration and labour history in the long 20th century. Got more funding to learn ethnography and oral history on a beautiful Pacific island. My first round of applications was just not meant to be. I tried to fit in what I felt was an eclectic but exciting set of interests in to English and American Studies, but I didn't have a strong enough application to do so. But just before I graduated, a dear mentor (and an accomplished historian and high-level academic at my school) directly took my under his wing and introduced me to a new research centre under the history department. I got to know a historian of empire and slowly, through a series of not unfortunate events, was introduced to the biggest names of the subfield in which I currently work. I finally found the words for what I had stumbled upon as a bumbling English lit student, and all these sets of words end with "history." This second round, I applied to three schools (Harvard, University of Washington, and University of Toronto), and got into the latter two. I had planned to work in an application to Brown and NYU, but simply could not afford them. International application fees were the death of me, and not to mention that just a couple of weeks before I geared up to compile applications, I had to get a new phone. All that verbosity aside, here are my pieces of advice: 1. Write your SOP as professionally as possible. Especially for folks with less-than-stellar backgrounds in undergraduate or masters history (or, for that matter, neither an undergrad nor a masters in history), you want to make up for these check-box deficiencies by showing exactly how you can conduct yourself in the field. Lay out your project with sharp, clear prose, allude to previous literatures if necessary, and really piece together a narrative that makes you as irresistible as possible. I applied to Harvard "just to see," but also because a there was a scholar there who really wanted to work with me. Unfortunately, the overall narrative didn't pan out as well as it could have with Washington and Toronto. 2. Leverage as many connections as possible. My current advisors and mentors are quite connected, to the point where a POI in both schools into which I got accepted are dear friends. One recommended the other, and they speak highly of each other all the time. Furthermore, you never know what kinds of political battles are behind the scenes. From the little sprinklings I've been told, at one of my schools, the decisions were made very difficult because of my nontraditional background. But once again, connections helped everything along. 3. Don't be afraid to write a totally new writing sample. I used my undergraduate thesis (in English lit) for one application, because it was strong in cultural analysis, and my POIs worked in those kinds of methods anyway. For my other application, I audited a course in the precise topic I wanted to pursue, and used that class to write a second sample from scratch. I echo what others have said above: use primary sources, and flex your language skills. I deployed both Tagalog and Spanish in that particular writing sample, on both primary and non-English secondary sources. 4. Numbers only matter as much as you let them. My senior year undergrad GPA was a 4.0, but I never took a single course in history all my life. My GRE scores were not anything spectacular, either. The things I could control much better--writing samples, statement of purpose, and good choices for LoRs--really, I think, shaped the meat and potatoes of the application. 5. Most importantly: surround yourself with positive energy and wonderful people. This has been the most stressful time of my life so far. And so, I made time to check in with my closest friends for coffee, beers, and long walks in our big city. I've made sure to do some physical activity. My girlfriend was--and remains--nothing short of incredible, for all the love and support she gave me to pull me through this time. When I got my acceptances, rest assured that she was the first person I freaked out to. I am now deciding between two amazing Direct-Entry PhD programs. I've been told by many mentors and friends (and Jiminy Cricket) that neither decision is a wrong one. I am deciding between two very correct, but distinctly correct choices. It's a wonderful place to be in, and I really wish for the best for everyone else. Abbracci!

Agreed with the above comments. In the end, besides higher (top 20) rankings and a large department, it came down to advisors. I met both sets at my two choices, and in the end, there was just one clear choice in terms of who I wanted to work with. It also helped that the professors at one university are all endowed chairs who have (according to their current and former graduate students) provided VERY generously for research, travel, and RAships for extra funding. I sacrifice gorgeous West Coast weather and check-mark perfect supervisors (in terms of topic) for advisors who I could connect with much more on personal and intellectual levels, and who have the resources to support graduate research, even if the living stipend isn't as hot.

Woohoo, congrats!

Welcome to Toronto! I can speak on sushi spots (no idea about Grad House, I'm fortunate to be living with a friend from undergrad through the first part of grad school). Yasu (down the street from Graduate House) is really excellent, and their omakase is stellar. I agree with the JaBistro recommendation; you might enjoy Sushi Kaji as well. Not to mention that there's a Morimoto opening in Toronto soon...

Currently in Toronto. Which university/campus are you moving to? You might find it useful to live along a transit line to make life easier. Definitely possible (albeit a healthy dose of searching)--use the WalkScore app to look around the transit lines.

Unofficial email from DGS!

AND THERE'S UOFT, YES!!!

Ah, a Toronto rejection...here it comes...

Silence from the department...but loud outcries on the streets with the strike. It's quite thrilling to see.

They'll be taking in students--at least on the department level. I think the decisions that we're all waiting for are just being tossed around at the grad school level.

...how did I forget about factoring this in? (It was my undergrad school and I've kept up to date.) Welp. Time to sit tight

Congrats!!! All the best with you. Who knows, we might be fellow Canadian cohort! What are you studying?

Nail-biting...really nail-biting.

For PhD. Also applying to one more on the east coast, and I got into one in the west coast. Great offer...but I've got my fingers crossed for UofT. Research funding is just impeccable.

Anyone else noticing how strangely long University of Toronto is taking with their responses...?

Unusually late...they should have come in ten days ago. My POIs here havent been helpful in terms of time, either.

Got word from Harvard American Studies, we should expect to hear back late this week or early next week into the wee days of March.

I'll share my own personal answer to this question. I came out of an American Literature degree in my undergraduate. During that time I got grants to do research and I opted to travel across the Pacific to do archival work. This led me to look at migration and empire, and led me to more beautiful islands in the Pacific to do ethnographic and oral history techniques. When I got around to writing my honors thesis, my advisors would not have any of the material I collected as co-textual to the novel I was doing, as a way of looking broadly at a larger cultural question. I finished the thesis and pushed out a small publication, but was frustrated in the approach. This led me to compose a conference paper that drew from that summer research and historical methods, where it won best paper and garnered the attention of the History Department (not lightly...this is a top 20 school and an incredible department). Since then I've been an RA with them, doing some amazing work and about to enter a PhD program. Tl;dr: English Lit as a discipline didn't work for the kinds of questions I always asked. Cultural history does.

Gonna reply a little tongue-in-cheek. Here's a joke course description I composed for all my fellow Drake fan friends and Torontonians. OVO424: Special Topics in Drizzy Studies: The 6ix. This seminar course explores Drake in relation to his city and its culture. Students have an option between an intensive research paper and an event proposal for a Drake concert (service learning). Possible topics include: Drake and Degrassi, Aubreyotics, Young Money Macroeconomics, the cultural politics of the 6ix, ethical representations of Scarborough in pop culture, Comparative Forest Hills (with a special focus on J Cole), and translocal studies of Toronto and Memphis.

Anyone else still waiting on Toronto? They're taking a strangely long time to reply to PhD applicants...by last year's record, they should have responded by last week.

Whoever's waiting for Toronto to release, the committee met about a week ago and from what I'm feeling out, decisions have been made. If it's already been a week since, there might be complications...or it's just the stupidly heavy bureaucracy that is the University of Toronto.

Noticed a good handful of them over the past few days, congrats to all of us! I'd just thought it'd be nice to get a scope of a potential cohort, and who might we see on campus visit day. I'm an international student so I'd probably have a pretty different background and potential experience at Udub than most would. But then again, don't we all?

Thanks for this! I've confirmed my campus visit already, and I've been writing questions. Glad to know that there's a shortcut...

I wonder, too. I'm one of the Udub admits and I consider myself an Americanist...but in the loosest sense of the word. (À la Amy Kaplan and beyond in American Studies.)