TMP

It's about a careful balance between the two ends of the spectrum. It's your choice to decide where you want to fall on the spectrum and hope that it's in your cards.

Sugars- it was on the site last fall. It appears that they have updated it since. These days prospective applicants. Should keep checking throughout the fall to be sure that nothing is being suspended. That was just my interpretation of the eoman's suggestion based on previous conversations even when I had a defied idea of what I want to do. As for your last pint, I couldn't agree more. But there are definitely advisers out there who don't have the level of confidence to let their students be the kind of scholar the students want to be. Instead, these advisers steer their students towards a path they are more comfortable with.

Relax. Hardly anyone's a super applicant. I'm surprised that this woman didn't mention that Penn State's been making a move towards not accepting people interested in US or European history. I'm not sure if the program will bend rules for 19th century. Just keep an eye on the website. I agree with Sigaba. Be your own person. You will realize that academics are truly individuals with their own paths and there are hardly any basis for comparisons. Even (good) advisers recognize that and respect the individuality in their graduate students. Also, being working with a scholar who's encouraging you to explore areas outside of your interests, that is a consideration you will have to make when you do have to decide between programs. Right now, you need to get in. The best you can do is simply show that you are open-minded while having a solid focus on what you'd like to do in the program. Also, I don't know if you introduced yourself as someone with a BA (but I am guessing yes). But the fact that you do not have a MA allows professors to make those kind of suggestions because you still do not have that broad understanding of your field and be able to determine that what you want to study is what you want to study. In a way, really make sure that Vietnam War or the Civil War in South Africa or the military dictatorships in Latin America do not hold enough of interest to you before settling on the specifics of the US Civil War. Also, I had one professor say to me, "I'd rather accept someone who has no clue what he wants to do than to take someone who's absolutely set on a topic. Someone who's narrow tends to be difficult to work with." Indeed, your SOP will be your greatest challenge.

Congrats!

German annieca, kotov, Kelkel, Ganymede18, grlu0701, hbeels (veeeeeery rusty), Orient, ticklemepink Spanish annieca, crazedandinfused, Ganymede18, grlu0701 (kind of), CageFree, StrangeLight, pudewen (very rusty and basically useless to my work), ticklemepink (reading) French theregalrenegade, Ganymede18, CageFree (reading, can speak a bit), StrangeLight, Safferz (Franglais), hbeels, sandyvanb Hebrew uhohlemonster, crazedandinfused (ktzat), ticklemepink Italian Latin Kelkel, Ganymede18 Greek Ganymede18 (New Testament) Russian ticklemepink (really, really basic) Polish runaway Romanian kotov Japanese kyjin, pudewen (sort of, it's in process) Portuguese CageFree (reading), StrangeLight (reading, swearing) Hungarian StrangeLight (swearing only) Somali Safferz Arabic Safferz (reading), Orient (MSA) Chinese pudewen (modern and classical) Turkish orient (modern an ottoman) Persian Orient (reading) Yiddish ticklemepink

Yeah the article did scare me. But I have to remember two things: 1) PhDs have the lowest unemplyoment rate over all other education groups. 2) My subfield is largely driven by donations. As long as there is steady cash flow, I don't have much to worry about it. 3) I have a wonderful nework of professors who have actually gotten their students jobs. I agree, something needs to be done for the adjuncts. I'd rather work for the government than to be an adjunct.

You've gotten good feedback over on CHE forums. What I would say is that do your research on programs and advisers. Also, do informational interviews with PhDs in non-academic jobs to find out how they got there and why. Read the curriculum and course offerings offered by departments. Make sure the relevant courses are offered on regular basis (every year or every other year). As for advisers, this will get more tricky. As I've said, look for their CVs. Nobody's going to be shy to show their community service outside of the university (makes the university look better in terms of town-gown relations). Some like doing it, others don't care. You want someone who cares and actually does something with the public. Also, find out about their graduate students. What are they doing? if they graduated, where did they go? I'll stress this: If the adviser doesn't have that kind of experience in dealing with non-academics on regular basis, you don't want that person, no matter how fabulous. S/he will only do you great disservice through poor or no guidance. Feel free to PM me. I've been through this and it was hell.

One is fine. You just don't want a trend on your transcript. Take the P/F.

They don't care as long as it's not another W.

Is there anything that the iPad cannot do!?!?

http://db.tt/hdKKxmIx

Your concerns are indeed valid. I'm also supportive of "alt-aca" careers. I wouldn't have considered going for my PhD if I didn't see any other ways to use that degree. I had wonderful internships that allowed me to seriously consider the PhD and use it beyond academia. Up until this year, I didn't really want to be a professor. Now I really want to have a shot at a TT job but am open to other careers if that falls through. Like natsteel, I think most doctoral students would like to get a TT job as Plan A. The question is, really, how are their programs going to support and help them to get the skills they need? I did discuss jobs with some graduate students on my campus visits. Most graduate students at two well-ranked programs are keenly aware of the situation and are basically doing what they can to position themselves in the best way to get interviews for TT jobs. They know that the world won't collapse if nothing works out and will find some other way. One of the programs, that I am attending, already has a system in place for students who don't want to go into academia (of course that wasn't the reason why I picked it) and they've had very successful job placements in the government. But those students are very far and few so it can be quite easy to be isolated when so many want to go into teaching careers. So you'll have to learn to stand on your own throughout the whole program. As for programs, I do believe that they are changing and responding to the market beginning with cuts in admissions. You need to look at them-- I mean check the department newsletters for events gearing towards careers, course offerings (such as quantitative methods, oral history, etc), faculty's community service beyond the university (can be found in their CVs), etc. With the last point, I tend to think that faculty who are involved in the community outside of academia would be much more open to alt-aca careers because they know that the world is really much bigger than academia and it's rewarding to interact with the public. One of my mentors is more involved with a museum than I thought. She was telling me how wonderful it is to see her research evolve into exhibitions for the public, and that I should keep that option open. Definitely do not discuss non-academic careers with ANY faculty, even those with wonderful service records. Focus on getting in. Tailor your SOP. Make yourself sound like you're really interested in becoming an academic. Remain vague in your SOP, position yourself to be a teacher and a researcher. Any mention of "alt-aca" careers will get your dirty looks. You don't know who is actually going to read your file as one never knows who is actually sitting on the admissions committee for that year. Graduate students are, in their eyes, investments worth nearly half a million dollars each plus their time and energy to cultivate them. So make yourself worthy of being accepted with funding. Also, many don't have experience in guiding graduate students in those kind of careers and they HATE admitting that they cannot do this (aka be a failure). Rather, they just avoid talking about it or at least say little. Once you do get in, do ask questions. Focus on the academic job market. See if anyone mentions alt-aca careers or any kind of "Plan B." Express your fears (yes, play dumb and scared) of not getting a job. See how graduate students, professors, and the DGS respond. Show that you're going into the program with eyes wide open and with an open mind. You still need to keep earning that respect from your (new) colleagues. It's devious and annoying but ultimately it is about YOU and you want that PhD, and you've got to do what it takes to graduate with that PhD. And don't apply to PhD programs if you have any thought of dropping out. Money is too precious for everyone.

That is something you should ask to whoever offered you the funding package/TAship.

What the above said. Your adviser is your adviser. If s/he becomes a mentor, there's nothing wrong with that. I agree about the junior/senior/mid-career. My MA adviser was a senior scholar and I really benefited from working with junior faculty members because they had fresher perspectives and more eager to give advice. Now I will be working with a younger scholar for my PhD and I've been seeking out mentoring relationships with senior scholars. These senior scholars can give me insights and direction to help me succeed because they have the long view of the field and have sat on number of committees. It's good to have mentors across the career spectrum from newly minted PhDs to just-about-to-retire scholars. You get a variety of perspectives and you will choose someone who can be advise you for whatever circumstances you have going on.

THIS. I think this totally motivated me to get to class early-- just having the opportunity to talk casually and get comfortable before the heavy work begins. You also learn some interesting and new things about your professor and whatever is going on. It helps to get class started on time (which may mean that the professor can actually end class ON time or a bit earlier). It also helped me to get settled in with my notes and be prepared to hit the ground running with my thoughts and questions.

Everyone's timeline is different. Focus on yourself-- work at your own pace. Let your mind work on its own. But I do urge you to just do some free writing on your SOP. Don't worry about grammar mistakes, whether or not the sentences make sense, etc. Just write down everything you ever want to say about your intellectual journey, questions you have, your influences, etc. Just write it all down. It doesn't matter if it comes to 6 pages. And put it away, somewhere where you can't find easily. Make sure it's out of your sight (out of sight, out of mind). Enjoy your summer! Just let whatever was on your SOP simmer in your mind. Then when fall comes around again, pull out that SOP and read it over. Now some time has passed and you've had your summer experience, you probably will have much better idea of what's really important to you on that SOP. You'll also be able to see a bit more clearly how your ideas are connected to each other. From there, you can begin looking at programs (and let your bookshelf be your guide too). Find programs and faculty that will allow you to explore the kind of questions you're asking. For example, if you're interested in US diplomatic history and you love that Wisconsin has a strong US history faculty, but look closely, none of them are asking questions about Cold War international security! (Well, Jeremi Suri left) You're better off looking at UVA, Georgetown, OSU, maybe Yale, etc. Cross of Wisconsin (if not with a heavy heart). Sometimes you have to make hard choices but rest assured, you're saving yourself $$ and the faculty the time. Same goes for Yale- don't apply to Yale unless there really is a real fit there. If there is no strong fit there, don't waste your time working on that book review. I've never applied to Yale. Contact POIs to see if they are still taking students (especially those who have received their PHDs in the 1970s). It's still not a guarantee that they will be around the next academic year- some may be applying for jobs elsewhere and won't know until the spring. I find that October tend to be the best time. November's pushing it a bit. But if you are going to attend a fall or December/January conference that they're likely to be at, get on their schedule ASAP. They are very busy but won't pass up an opportunity to meet a potential student face-to-face in a professional setting. Make sure you thank them for their time. I usually ordered my materials around mid-October to allow time for mailing and any goof-ups. Same goes for LORs though I didn't send in any materials until beginning of November once I got closer to finalizing my SOP prompt for my LOR writers to use. I think I spent more time on my writing sample on anything else, really. Spend more time on that writing sample than studying for the GRE, seriously.

Yipes! I am going to move in 3ish weeks to start looking for housing and sign on something for June 1st. I wish I could take a 2 BR apartment and get a roommate but I'll be off the Internet over the summer. Just can't risk not getting a roommate before the end of June but if someone is looking for a roommate already, definitely PM me Otherwise, I'm looking at studios/1 BRs. I'll be in the History PhD program SO excited!

Times have really change in academia. Even professors cannot believe how much support Ph.D. students are getting these days. Back in the 1970s, very, very, very few female academics got any kind of funding support, and they've had to pay their way through. It will be a while before the public catches up. It's incredible how much my parents' views of the PhD have changed since I received my funding packages and explained how this or that works. They just realized that Christmas is likely to be the only time that I can be home for more than a few days- summers are already booked for research and language study. As professionals in their industry, they already understand the importance of conferences as networking and professionalization opportunities. Things like that- the three of us try to make connections between our worlds (they're in finance/investments). They've been incredibly supportive. Even they already have a lot of respect for my (new) adviser because she's taken such good care of me already and going to be responsible for my career. They've been so surprised by a number of things what really goes in the "Ivory Tower." Like, they didn't know that professors take a huge pay cut when they go on sabbaticals. They've been really open to learning as much as possible about academia. Now, my grandfather, on the other hand.... well, hopefully my experiences will change his perceptions a bit (professors make too much money, etc). The only thing they wish is that academics would connect better with the public, like shake off that elitist attitude and speak plain English. There's a reason why there are a number of people who don't or can't stand listening to Obama.

YAY! You're back! And you're funded! Congrats!!!! (we kind of missed you around here...)

Let time heal. It can take a week or so before you can move on. After I told one of my choices "no," I did spend like a week agonizing over my decision. I loved, loved the program, the university, and the location. Funding wasn't much of an issue but there was a certain perk in my fellowship that was a guarantee. My adviser there was cool. But deep down, I knew that my current university was the right choice. As a number of people reminded me, "There is no bad decision here, only a good one." It's been almost three weeks since I accepted the offer and now i realized that it was truly the very best decision I could ever make. It was really just my nerves talking and emotions still unsettled from a visit at the other school that I didn't expect to be so amazing. I think you need some reassurances from your colleagues and adviser(s) that you made the right decision here. Their positive encouragement helped me to move past that "no."

Bad idea at this point. It's a small world out there. You got in for the PhD. So, why would you put yourself through the whole process again? You can always leave after the MA in hand. (so says someone who's applied 3 times and finally made it)

Okay... now I have a question: Kindle or iPad? Ugh.

Third! I'll buy used but will read the comments carefully to make sure they're "like new" inside.

Just wait for anything from the DGS. Otherwise, remember you're on your own with housing. But it can't hurt to reach out to any grad students whom you've met for suggestions and help.

I wouldn't recommend it. Parking is seriously impossible, even in like 5 different garages near/on the campus. My best friend lived out in Ypsi during her first 3 years and she told me that if she had to do it all over again, she'd love closer to the campus. Granted, she didn't have a car until her third year and things did get a little easier but it was just far better to take the bus. It's better to shell out the money to be close to your peers and the lab- they're important part of your graduate training.