TMP

Chase and Bank of America are two big nationwide banks with credit cards attached to your account. Their credit cards are very, very good with cash-back points. Chase's program allows you to link your credit card with Amazon so you can use points to buy stuff off Amazon. See if you can live without a cell service for a while, especially if you're going to be on campus for most part. Cell services are pretty expensive in the US, especially compared to Europe. Sprint does have an international plan so you might be able to use your US plan while you're visiting your home country. I doubt that taking care of your hair will be a big issue in the dorms-- students do it all the time. As long as you clean up after yourself and use bleach (or Oxi-clean), the dyes will come off. Hair dye in the US cost about $10-$15. A lot of people use Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Bed,Bath and Beyond for their linen/towels/etc. shopping. Just make sure you're buying linens that fit your mattress-- double check the residential hall site.

Treat them as informational interviews. Also be open with your interests. Make sure you do all of your homework. Have questions ready. And... send a thank you note afterward. V. important.

Go to the program that gives you the best training including languages if the PhD is your end goal. You'll also want to know where these programs' alumni have gone.

Another critical skill to develop, @Boyar678-- understand that you are by no means the "first" to ask such questions. There have been posts about chances/applying to PhD programs in Russian history. You will learn in your first year of coursework (especially during preparation for exams) that many scholars before you have asked similar questions. It is your job to do your homework on the debates/discussions that have occurred in the past years so you can present a more nuanced question or suggestion. Also, do yourself a big favor, please refrain from being quite specific (which you have done already with professors' names and your school) when you are posting on an anonymous forum (It is anonymous for a reason). You want to minimize your personal information as much as possible as professors and current graduate students do look at this site and will make connections. The last thing you want to do is create a less-than-solid impression on these people who will judge you when they meet you (though they will try to keep an open mind). if posters want to obtain specific information from you, they will message you.

@Boyar678 Sigaba knows without being personally connected to your institution or professors because one can always Google up History departments of the institutions. In a smaller department, it's quite easy to figure out who one is/should be working with. Again, making use of the search function on this site (or anywhere on the Internet) is extremely important skill to have. I can't tell you how many times in a day that I google for my dissertation research or teaching. I'd strongly consider going to Middlebury for Russian. They have plenty of financial aid so the cost of attending should not be such a burden. It's a beautiful campus with very, very intense program (Russian 24/7). You'll learn far more Russian there in 8 weeks than you would in St. Petersburg in 4 months.

What broke the deal between two POIs were the questions they were asking. And I mean, the kinds of books/articles they'd like you to read for you PhD exams (generals, comps, etc.). Building a list takes a lot of negotiating but the list will generally reflect the committee member's interests and questions and it will be your job to suggest new avenues for scholarship, which then informs them. Your primary concern at this stage is to build a list of medieval historians in your general geographical or thematic focus and see who works in the disability studies at their universities with whom you might be able to work with as a committee member. Build a list of 4-5 scholars who you can envision working with on your project.

You will want to use the Funding Package spreadsheet thread/link to get a sense of who offers fellowships after 3rd year. Sometimes the year can be negotiated (I.e. if you need that money sooner than later, or put it off to another year).

Note that Derek Peterson graduated in 2000 and taught at College of NJ first before moving to Michigan. It takes time and interesting projects to move up in the ranks. Do your due diligence.

@Zergonomic and @historygeek and others interested in immigration history, you'll want to take a look at Michigan State. They have really been building up their Migration history program. One of my grad colleagues took a job there several years ago while I know a colleague there who is a grad student who can't stop talking about its growth.

Yes. Just a formality

To add to this, you need to apply to Columbia-- they have an incredible set of historians working on immigration. Because it's such a crapshoot, do yourself a favor, apply and see what happens.

Took it all with a grain of salt but embraced the positive feeling. Until you have a formal letter of acceptance, don't believe anyone but do roll with whatever the POIs say.

My advice to all of you anxious to get the SOP done, be open to change come September. As you continue to read works and research your projects, you may find that your interests/questions may change. If you have it done now already, put it away and don't look at it again until September. And your professors are the best individuals to comment on your SOPs as well as graduate students who have successfully entered in in the PhD programs. Also, use the time to think about what you'd like to do if graduate school turns out to be not an option for you and get yourself prepared for those opportunities, may it be Peace Corps or a 9-5 job or whatever.

I ran into that issue years ago when I was looking at PhD programs. I resolved by making sure that there were other faculty whom I would be open to being my adviser,. For reitring professors, the individual(s) can serve as on-campus support. As for assistant professors, there are two reasons for looking. 1) usually it is a bureaucratic requirement to have a tenured professor serve as a co-adviser. until the assistant professor earns tenure and 2) Assistant professors usually seeking opportunities as there are often more opportunities for assistant-professor hiring than tenured professor so there is a possibility that the assistant professor will leave (and definitely do not count on following them; it just doesn't work that way). Your approach asking for suggestions is a good one-- they should be able to tick off a few names. You should also be looking at those professors' former students (which you can find through ProQuest Dissertation database). Are you also looking in African/African American Studies departments as well?

Honestly, without asking the students of those professors, there is really no way of knowing what kind of feedback you will get. Your adviser's list are people s/he knows who will do his/her job dutifully of providing appropriate criticism and approving your thesis. Your own list is also worth considering and sharing with your adviser. Your adviser may know some of those people and had chosen not to share those names for particular reasons (won't be a close reader, gives no positive feedback, too busy, etc.). Just pick a name. The worst that happens is that the person says no, and you just move on to the next person on the list. Don't take these "nos" personally-- it's them, not you.

Well, I've just literally travelled around the world for my dissertation research (and back abroad...). I was fortunate that the seasons were similar-- end of spring/beginning of fall and summer. I took only one big suitcase and 2 carry ons. I shopped for some clothes-- mainly because the weather got too cold (i.e. a conference in London in January) or too hot (needed more tank tops). I would definitely pack for the weather that your school will be in for at least two months. You will start seeing fall sales when the weather gets a bit chilly (usually after mid-October's Columbus Day weekend). I recommend taking a rain jacket/light jacket to start with. if you are not familiar with the cold climate the school is in, you will want to wait until you get there. I do find U.S. clothing brands made for outdoors to be of excellent quality and long-lasting. They're a bit pricey but you will get so much wear out of them. Coats will definitely go on sale around then too with deeper discounts by mid-November with the really good coats just before/after Thanksgiving. If you can hold out to Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) when the stores are slashing prices by 30%-50%, all the better. Shoes! It's not uncommon for people to find that shoe brands in another country not fit their feet well. If you've never tried American shoe brands before, you'll want to have several pairs of shoes with you. Cosmetics and toiletries might be worth it if you're not using international brands (i.e. Dove, Nivea, Colgate, etc.). You'll eventually have to adjust to those and/or American brands. Better buy those international brands now so you know your skin feels good with those before you leave (I had to experiment with several body lotions to find one that was right for me during my journey and it was hard!). Make sure you have the necessary plug adapters and that your phone is unlocked. If you can't use space bags for whatever reason, ROLL UP. ROLL UP. You will save a lot more space than you think!

One of the critical things you will want to think about is the potential for funding. I'm not sure what field or discipline you are in. Certainly, if you are in humanities or social sciences, you will need a compelling, interesting project that has the potential to change the way the society or/and the government thinks about the problem. Just remember, whichever project you use, you will be married to it until defense and potentially until published as a book.

Agreed. I passed through B1 in German but my reading skills are higher. I've been working a far amount of 1940s documents including Nazi bureaucracy. I can read newspapers a bit more comfortably but going through government materials is another thing.... Figuring out proficiency is not so much about quantity of time spent studying but the quality of time. I've always found that spending summers at Middlebury Language Schools beat any regular university-level courses because I'm engaged with the language more hours in the day than just a few within the classroom setting. I wouldn't stress out so much; do your best. You will figure out what is the best path for improvement once you get to Russia for preliminary research. For me, once I got to Germany, it was about nailing down bureaucratic language.

1) Definitely ask the program, the sooner the better. 2) I've moved between East Coast and Midwest. Basically, I took whatever I fit in my parents' car (clothes, cooking stuff, books) and slowly built up my apartment(s). It'll be really basic at first but I know you will have a budget so you can eventually buy other furniture after the mattress. With a PhD, you will definitely be around for a good while so whatever you buy will be of good investment 3) Stay away from credit cards and loans if possible. Don't start your PhD with unnecessary debt.

Remember, COL in California is ridiculously high. Private schools can also afford to offer highly competitive stipends. Public schools do not as some of its budget is constrained by the state legislatures (*cough*NC*cough*).

Before you jump in that one, do you have the linguistics skills? Those are your first hoops.

@Studiosusreipublicae, I suggest taking time off. I'm in a similar field and have been watching the job market. There are just no jobs. I urge you to look at H-Job Guide and AcademiaWiki to get a sense of what's happening in Jewish Studies market. So if you want to do your PhD in those areas, make sure you are doing it with a very open mind and two very open eyes that you will not wind up as a professor. It's a very, very long shot, is what I am saying. Also, Parker hasn't had a student in a long time. He is quite close to retiring but sticking around because he loves research... and everyone respects him. So, just one of those cases. @Sigaba Your astute observation cracked me up! I was told-- informally-- that admitted students in my program generally have a GRE Verbal higher than 89% and GRE Math above 54%. That should give you all a bit of a baseline to work with.

Oh there was a short piece by William Glenn Gray in the latest anniversary issue of Central European History on thinking about Germany's economic development contributions. I someone said that Mary Nolan is retiring from NYU.

I know it sucks. It's hard to move back to the US after some time in Europe! Best of luck with your applications and we'll look forward to hearing about your progress

You realize there are more PhD programs with Russian history, right? Those are very, very competitive programs. Most European/Russian history programs can only take in one student in Russian history per year if they're looking. You'll want to look into universities with Title VIII area studies centers-- those are where you want to be because of resources and faculty. Professors and students go where the money is.