maelia8

Exactly like you, Missmend, I have a double BA in history and German, and I've taken two years off between undergrad and applying for my Ph.D (I didn't do an MA). I graduated in Spring 2012 and have worked as an overseas English language teaching assistant with Fulbright and with the German government for the last two years. I managed to do one history-related internship during the summer last year, but that was it, and I managed to get accepted into a good history Ph.D. problem, proving that you don't necessarily need to publish papers or do a history MA to get accepted for your Ph.D. Your qualifications sound pretty good, so I wouldn't worry about padding up the resumé. Just spend some time lovingly crafting a beautiful SOP that highlights all of the great live experience you've had since graduating, as well as your good undergraduate record (don't worry, it didn't expire after you graduated )

@Moderatedbliss, no, I did my undergrad at a small liberal arts college in Oregon - even worse for answering that "So where did you do your undergrad?" question. At the visit day for "Big Name California Research University" last week, almost everyone else admitted in my department had received their undergrad degree from an Ivy, and I got a LOT of those "wow, how did you get here?" looks from the other admitted students (not in a mean way, but it was still pretty humbling).

i am in a similar situation to you, moderatedbliss - I went to a small, not very well-known or high-ranked private liberal arts college and will now be going to a top-ranked research university for my grad degree. For me, I'm much more in awe/worried that I am going to look stupid in a group of people who mostly attended more prestigious institutions for undergrad and are used to a more competitive environment. At my college I felt like I knew where I stood and when my work was good enough, but now I am a bit afraid that I will land in a group of people who are somehow much better than me and i won't be able to complete with them. Makes me a bit afraid to open my mouth! I know this is probably a silly thing to be worrying about, and I'm sure I'll feel better once I know where I stand after spending some time with the other grad students in my cohort. Right now I worry about being the DUMBEST person in the room and thus finding out that it's the wrong room

I applied to six schools, which I think was about the right amount - my advisor told me to go big or go home, so I only applied to programs at schools where I could honestly see myself living and working and researching, even though they were all technically "reach" programs. Applying to a lot of schools to make you feel more secure about getting in when some of them would rank low on your preference list just isn't worth the time or money in my opinion.

Yeah, after I got my two acceptances, my two wait list notifications, and my two rejections all within two weeks of each other, I was wondering why I still hadn't heard from the final program either way. The explanations posited here are enlightening, and I now suspect they are one of those programs that doesn't have an official wait list and just keeps everyone not in the first wave of acceptances in the dark as long as possible in order to keep their options open.

I love the foreign section on Netflix. I binge watch Bollywood movies and Korean dramas (Playful Kiss, Boys over Flowers, My Princess, and I'm currently working on You are Beautiful). They are campy and overdone but oh such a delight when you want something simple and light and amusing! Also I like to pretend that it's improving my foreign language skills … and it's definitely broadening my cultural horizons

Industrialization of England + Victorian Period (19th century), Wilhelmian Germany just after unification, Medieval Japan (ca. The Tale of Genji), Scramble for Africa (1880s), China ca. the Boxer Rebellion

I'm from Oregon, and for me, OSU means Oregon State University, so I was super confused the first time I saw it used here to refer to Ohio State University … and if I'm really unlucky, it might even mean Oklahoma State University … so confused.

I am from the US but live in Germany. My contract for my current job ends on June 30th, so I'll be going home for the first time in a year! Everyone else seems to want to leave home and go on a trip to Europe, but for me it's just the opposite I need to be moved in and ready to start grad school by August 20th, so I'm expecting that my six weeks at home are going to be busy as I go through all the stuff I bring back from Germany, all the stuff I left at home, and decide what the heck to bring with me when I move. My new university is 6 hours' drive from my hometown, so there will probably be some going back and forth between the two places as I look for apartments during that time. I'm assuming I'll be pretty busy, and I don't think it will be possible to get a job at home for such a short time, so when I'm not packing, apartment hunting, or selling stuff on Craigslist, I was planning on just enjoying time with my family and reading fiction for probably the last time in the next 5 or 6 years

Brussels sprouts (SO delicious with a little sea salt and olive oil on top, especially after you boil them halfway through and then fry them a bit to get them crispy), fig-flavored vodka, 19th century British novels by written by women besides Pride & Prejudice and Jane Eyre (ex: the other Bronte sisters, George Eliot), being under 30 and not having a smartphone, eating the entire fruit including the core and carefully removing the seeds (ex: pear, apple), peeling an orange in one long unbroken strip, being in the airport at dawn after waking up at 4 to catch your flight and seeing the sunrise from the airplane window as you take off.

-Pizza (almost any that you can buy, unless it's homemade/from a small local alternative thin crust place where they don't drown everything in grease and melted cheese) -grilled cheese sandwiches (for the same reason) -living the the pacific northwest and scorning to use umbrellas (I live in Germany now and I LOVE how people of all ages use umbrellas and it isn't scornworthy) -any comedy film made in the last ten years whose jokes revolve around excrement, alcohol abuse, getting high, being a 40ish overweight man-child, getting tattoos that you regret, and impregnating people accidentally/finding a baby on your hands accidentally (I'm looking at you, Judd Apatow)

The most awkward part of my interview with my future grad advisor was when I walked into the room, he stood up from his desk to shake my hand … and I realized that I am almost a foot taller than him (I'm a tall girl, but he was really quite short!) We both hastened to sit again so that everything was at eye level rather than boob-eye level … the interview went well, and now I know never to wear heels around him again.

Berkeley admitted over 20 this year - I was at the visit day and there were at least 25 people there (and maybe even a couple more were admitted who couldn't make it). I was told at visit day that on average, there are about three people per field who enroll each year, and only 1 or 2 people who start the program fail to complete it.

Thanks for starting this post, as I've been wondering the exact same thing about Chapel Hill - I haven't heard peep from them either way, and I was starting to think I was the only one! Maybe they just don't believe in wait list notifications ...

Have I missed something, or has UNC Chapel Hill STILL not sent out a formal wave of rejections?I haven't seen more than 1 or 2 in the results postings. I haven't heard from them one way or the other and I'm assuming rejection, but it would be nice to know. Do they have a wait list? Haven't seen anybody posting that they are on that either ...

My visit day on the 14th was great, as was spending the 15th (Saturday) wandering around Berkeley I loved the atmosphere and the members of my cohort were super nice, friendly people I'm so excited for August!

Conversation with an average German about grad school admission. (I live in Germany) Me: I got into Berkeley for my history Ph.D. German: (vague smile or blank stare) oh, that's nice, where is that? Me: in Berkeley, right next to San Francisco- German: (interruption) OMG San Francisco that's the most beautiful, amazing city ever! I went there on my West Coast road trip back in my carefree youth when I went to Yosemite and the Grand Canyon and Hollywood and Los Angeles and Death Valley and I thought it was amazing! You are so lucky to be moving there! Me: yeah, I'll be lucky to be going to Berkeley because it's a top-ranked program and they gave me a full fellowship offer for five years. German: Wait, you would normally have to PAY thousands of dollars per year for your degree? That's crazy! Me: that is typical of the American higher education system ... German: that sounds shitty, but at least you'll be in SAN FRANCISCO, the most amazing city on the planet!! Send me postcards/cheap Levi's/a snow globe! Me: …. Sure, I'm on it.

I'm still waiting on my very last school, and it's incredibly trying. I know that they sent out all of their admissions notifications over two weeks ago, so I'm waiting for my rejection. But I was told by a previous applicant that this school doesn't inform you if you're still in the running on the wait list but just tarries until the last minute to see who is accepting their offer and who isn't and then sends out acceptances for the next people in line in the three days before April 15th. Chances are that I won't get an acceptance or a rejection from them before the beginning of April … and by then I will have made my choice between the other programs regardless! It's kind of a Catch-22, so I'm probably just going to eliminate this school from my list and get over it.

Mine is next weekend as well, mainly on Friday the 14th So excited!

@thedig13 I also thought I was more likely to get into lower-ranked programs than higher-ranked ones, but the schools where I've been wait listed and/or admitted are all the most prestigious on my list, so I would totally believe that the practice you mentioned exists, because it makes sense based on my experience. Even if it has only a small amount of influence, perhaps it's enough to tip the scales in a lot of situations.

How hard is it to get into a coop like HIP or The Covent as a grad student coming from another institution? I've heard that the coops have a system of points and if you don't have very many due to prior residency it can be hard to get in. Is it worth it to apply regardless?

This may seem insignificant, but I thought I'd ask anyway: I study German history, and I do almost all of my research with German-language sources. I've lived in Germany for over three years, I speak the language extremely fluently, and I wrote one of my undergraduate theses in German. I am going to a visit day next weekend, and the professor I will be meeting with (a POI and potential advisor/mentor) is a professor of German history as well as being a native of Germany. Would it be appropriate to ask if he'd like to chat in German or in English? Should I take my cue from him (what language he addresses me in)? Would suggesting or offering to speak in German come off as pretentious/rude, or friendly? Normally when I meet native German speakers in the USA I immediately start speaking German with them (because it generally makes a favorable impression), but I'm not sure what the etiquette is in this case.

Congratulations and hello everybody! I got my official acceptance to the history Ph.D. program on February 10th, and my funding/fellowship offer on the 13th. I was so excited when I found out I'd been accepted! Mayhap some of us shall meet at Berkeley in the fall

@hj2012, I was worrying about some of the same things in terms of cost of living. I would also prefer a spot in a roommate situation for under $1000 within biking distance from campus, and I also live abroad right now and am having a hard time getting a feeling for what the costs/environment will be like. I will, however, make it to the visit day in my department the weekend after next, so I'd be happy to let you know about anything I find out @davidipse, I was wondering if it's realistic to hope I can live entirely on the stipend I've been offered ($22,000/year). I looked it up on a comparison site, and that apparently only covers about 92% of the average cost of living in Berkeley as a student. From your experience, will I be able to live on that sum (rent/utilities/food/transportation/personal expenses), or should I start looking for outside funding/a side job asap? This is honestly my biggest concern about choosing Berkeley.

Hi, I see that this post hasn't been active in nearly a year, and I was wondering of any of you are still around to answer questions. I was notified of my admission to Berkeley for grad school about two weeks ago, and I'm going to the visit day in two weeks. I live overseas and this will be my only chance to see the city/university before I possibly move there, so does anybody have recommendations about what I should see/do/ask the current grad students about while I'm there? Most of my questions center around housing, shopping opportunities, and getting around without a car (I will be bringing a bike, but I don't have a car and don't intend on buying one before I move). Is it hard to live in Berkeley without a car? I've heard that the parking permits can be really expensive, and that there is a fairly good public transportation network, but is it cheaper not to have a car?