TMP

Start subscribing to Inside Higher Ed if you haven't. All of these funding cut news don't surprise me though I'm very skeptical at the claim that Harvard cut down from 20 to 6. Although my program has very slowly reduce the cohort size (from 20 to 15), the University just told us, one more cut. Whee. As for @Sigaba's comment... this is only the beginning of many, many funding cycles you'll go through. How am I killing time as I await my writing fellowship news? (Deadlines were back in October/December... for March/April announcements) By reading, reading, reading, And oh, writing. Days go by. Get lost in the past.

That you've got the grit just like them. Can your passion, persistence, and work ethic show themselves in your application? They're looking for deep commitment to the discipline and to work with students who ask similar research questions as they do. They want to be able to run their graduate seminars and expect their students to enroll and enjoy the questions and readings being engaged. Remember, a significant portion of your exam list readings will be "suggested" by the POI and the rest of the committee. To make through the grueling process leading up to the exams, the students better enjoy reading and studying many of the works that their professors find valuable.

Very few, Usually the History of Science programs do. Don't even worry about them. If you want to look more, go back to last year's thread around this time of the year a year ago.

? My adviser pretty much taught me to shut up on this "if I were" thinking through her facial expressions and, occasionally, remark of BTDT and how it might work out for me.?

@urbanhistorynerd Keep your eye on the writing sample and SOP. Other stuff are just sprinkles on your pretty cake. The most important thing for you in your professional development is that you got a taste of AHA and the overall conference experience.

Give this one a try: http://cgpmuseumstudies.org/museum-studies/

No. Move on. Busy yourself with something else. You didn't waste anyone's time by throwing your hat in the ring and hoping for the best.

not important at all. Focus on your research and producing a compelling, strong writing sample

Short answer, no. If you haven't heard anything by March 1, it is safe to e-mail your programs to check in on the status of the overall admission process.

Eh, I *have* seen occasional typos in books by top notch scholars..... And they had copy editors Didn't stop reviewers from raving about the books (although I recall one unfair reviewer of one book in the American Historical Review who complained that the author (French) had a terrible editor. And the book was published by Cambridge. Seriously? Didn't this reviewer have better things to do?).

Dec 1 is a big deadline for A LOT of things like graduate students' and colleagues' fellowships and job applications and those are of higher priority. Those tend to be less forgiving of late letters.... I've been very fortunate that my letter writers get their stuff in before the deadline but I have heard of one colleague who was immediately rejected because her adviser didn't get his letter in before the deadline. So, yup. Just a reminder to your letter writers will do. I've been contacted by grad administrators in January about missing materials "just to complete the application." This is exactly why your SOP and writing sample are so important-- the LORs are very important but they serve as a supplement to round out your application. If the POI/committee is already convinced by the SOP, writing sample, and the first 2 letters, the 3rd oen is just a formality.

Congrats--- always tell your family first though! Trust me, even if they don't understand what "grant" does, just say "I got money!" they will immediately understand and celebrate

I cannot LOVE this enough. So much truth in here. Also, please, please enjoy your senior year of college. You'll never get that excitement again (no, no, your final year of the PhD program will NOT look like it at all.)

In addition, I'd change your username if that is your real name. This is an anonymous forum.

What do the instructions specifically say for letter of recommendations? How many letters are from academics do you have already? Why did this professor change her mind when she already agree to write you one?

Everything becomes risky from the time you make your choices regarding PhD programs. Evey step you will take as a PhD student is a risk because you are trying to set yourself up for a good path to your own success. There will be many, many elements out of your control. As you contemplate your final list, also consider what you will do if you don't get in anywhere this year. Will you be okay? What will be your plan? Many applicants don't think about this element of the PhD admissions because they *expect* to get in somewhere. People have been applying for 2-3 cycles just to get in including myself. You need to be emotionally and mentally ready for this possibility (as you will need those coping skills later on when you get rejected from fellowships/grants enabling you to focus on research and writing and you end up having to teach, which can suck up a lot of time).

In the last round of PhD applications, I used my journal article as my writing sample. At the time, it was "revised & resubmit" and I think I put a note on it to give context (that it's just a chapter from my MA thesis that had been revised into a journal article.)

I agree with Sigaba. My POIs ALL read my SOP and commented on it. In terms of my writing sample.... my adviser most definitely read it-- the whole damn thing. My other accepted program...I don't think my POI really read the whole thing as he commented that he liked the questions I raised in my SOP. I'd still put in fair amount of work into the writing sample as it gives your POIs a chance to see how much "work" you need to do to be better trained in the PhD. If you show that you know how to do research, they'll probably be a bit more hesitant. The SOP is what they want the most because you're arguing for why and how you belong in their program and they want to be convinced that they can work with you and help you grow as a scholar in productive ways.

@gsc, all I can say is... unbelievable. Who do these people think they are??? To add: DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Do read every page on the Department's website. Do consult university student resources. Do some Google Mapping to see where things are and what's available in the area.

Take a break from the writing sample. Don't do another one; your job is to polish what you've got already. I finished my own writing sample for a dissertation completion fellowship 3 weeks ago and never looked at it until 2 days ago (deadline was yesterday). I printed out the whole damn thing and then found all the small mistakes. Now I have no doubt that it's perfectly fine and acceptable. If your professor has spent plenty of time with you and thinks well of the sample, breathe. Move on.

@ashiepoo72 Truth! I wasn't told at first that one might not get dissertation research fellowships at first or the big ones at all and one must cobble together many small grants. I had to learn the very hard way to believe the advanced graduate students. I was then prepared to be flexible about how my dissertation would look if I didn't get the major dissertation fellowships the second time around (thankfully, I did and I am getting the dissertation that I want). So.... many.... things out of one's control.

Hmmm have you reached out to Alice Conklin at Ohio State? She did a book on the Museum of Man (in Paris) during the Third Republic which she focuses on issues of nationalism, racism, and colonialism. She's a historian interested in anthropological methods and she might have ideas for which directions you could go with the research questions you have.

two words: search function; old threads

I've reapplied to PhD programs. As long as you've improved aspects of your application and demonstrate why they are really great fits for you, I don't see why you can't.

I never cold e-mailed grad students. I reached out to those on these forums (some of us do have telling info). I also asked my POIs about their graduate students. Most will be happy to give names and offer introductions. It's less awkward that way. In my six years as a PhD student, I've never been cold e-mailed.