fencergirl

I know this is a month old, but I have to speak out and say I noticed you have copied very specific phrases as well as the general format of this sample statement of purpose provided by Berkeley http://ls.berkeley.edu/files/statement_of_purpose.pdf In the sample: "In lieu of a formal introduction of my research interests and aspirations I offer a summary of my senior thesis..." In the sample: This first venture into serious historical..." Whether you realize it or not, this is plagiarism, which I think is about the worst thing you could do in a statement of purpose. Furthermore, trying to fit your statement to the format of the sample has made your statement rather bland and generic. I suggest you scrap this completely and write YOUR statement of purpose, without looking at someone else's. Don't even think about using it as is; if I could tell you plagiarized parts of this, I am certain committee members will be able to as well.

For undergraduates/students going into graduate studies I think it's fine to include things like "relevant courses" and "research interests" that a more experienced scholar would probably leave out. I wouldn't put references as there will be a place on the application already, plus they have your letters of recc. I also included (relevant!) work/volunteer experience. And I think it's good to include any research projects even if they weren't published or presented at conferences! Of course I'm a newb at this too so take this all with a grain of salt.

Yeah relearning math for the GRE was tough! Actually the math isn't that complicated but the questions are. Emailing POIs and grad students is super helpful but also pretty stressful for me. I don't want to say the wrong thing and make a bad impression! I know I'm overthinking it though. Yeah, let me know what you think of the books! I've heard the first one mentioned a lot. Of course location matters a lot! You'll be living there at least 5 years, it's not going to work if you're miserable. It's not the only factor, but it is still an important one I think. I have a question about hobbies: is there any appropriate place to mention these in an application, or is it unprofessional to even include it? I ask because my hobbies (ceramics and kendo) are at least tangentially related to my area of study (Japan).

How is everyone doing with their applications?? I'm still contacting POIs and have had a couple positive responses so far which is great! Also working on a statement of purpose, though I think it'll end up being very different from school to school. I'm not sure if I'm behind in the process or doing fine... There's definitely still plenty to do! At least I've taken the GREs already.

So, how many schools are too many? I have 10-11 now (8 doctorate programs, 3 masters programs), but do plan on narrowing down a little based on what I hear back from POIs. Since some departments take such small cohorts each year, it seems to make sense to apply to more schools. But I am a little worried about getting all the statement of purposes done (and what ever else they require..) and the work it makes for my letter writers.

Thank you! That's really good advice. I emailed both of my advisors and they both recommended not writing something from scratch but perhaps just making some relatively minor changes based on the requirements for specific schools. That reassures me a little that I don't need to write something from scratch. I think focusing on the SOP is going to be really important for me. I like the idea of turning my interdisciplinary background into an advantage as well!

Thank you! Well the paper I was thinking of using (my undergraduate thesis) doesn't use that many primary sources except artworks/photographs. I wonder i I should try writing something from scratch. I am a fairly fast writer, and living in Japan now, so perhaps I should try writing something new using the resources here? But the research would definitely take me a long time (to be honest my Japanese reading skills are not that strong), and I do have a full time job. I have looked at UCSC and considered applying but am worried a bit about the strength/reputation of the department and how that might affect job opportunities further down the line. But perhaps it's still an option worth considering.

Hello everyone! Hope your applications are going well! I'm two years out of school (teaching English in Japan on the JET program) and applying for graduate school for the first time. My B.A. was in Asian Studies but I'm applying to mostly history programs for modern Japanese history (particularly the Asia Pacific War/WWII, historiography, and museums). Very interested in hearing from anyone who knows about this area. I'm looking at Boston College, Columbia, UCLA, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and maybe Princeton. (As well as few MA programs in East Asian Studies and University of Toronto for the East Asian Studies Ph.D). I have a good GPA (3.97) and decent GRE (167V, 155Q, 5AW). But I am a little worried about my writing sample as I don't have any undegrad papers that are strictly history papers. I did take some history classes but not a ton, so I'm not sure how to address this potential weakness in my SOP as well (or if I should?). Would appreciate any advice!

There are quite a number of them - are you looking for a complete list? Some schools that came up in a quick google search that offer Ph.D programs in EALC are NYU, Brown, Berkeley, U of Chicago, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, UCI, and UCSB. There are probably more. Some programs offer a separate MA and Ph.D program like University of Toronto. But I think it'd be more effective to focus on those with professors you'd be interested in working with long term at schools with strong programs overall. I suggest asking your professors or people you know in your area of focus what programs they know of/recommend.

Hi, thanks for getting things started! I graduated in 2014 but have been doing the JET program for 2 years and am applying to grad school for the first time this year. I am mostly applying to History Ph.D programs, but also a couple EALC and master's programs. (I am interested in modern Japanese history primarily). So here's my list at the moment: Boston College (History Ph.D)Columbia (History Ph.D)UCLA (History PH.D, maybe East Asian Studies master's)Northwestern U (History Ph.D) Oxford (MPhil in Modern Japanese Studies)University of Toronto (East Asian Studies Ph.D)Yale (East Asian Studies MA)I am worried that my language skills are not up to snuff yet - I passed N3 last December and am studying for N2. My undergrad GPA was 3.9 but I was not at a very competitive school. I did do a 50 page undergrad thesis which I presented at a local conference. I took the GRE before coming to Japan and got 321, which I think is fine. I found Magoosh pretty helpful (they have video tutorials and lots of practice questions, and the site tracks your progress). Like I said, it's my first time applying and honestly I'm not sure if I'm very competitive, so I really appreciate any advice!