TMP

LaraAnn85- I have to tell you that I LOVE your decision signature!

Yes I agree... but am I the only one who feels paranoid that the e-mail might end up in my spam?! I always feel the need to check my spam on top of my regular inbox.... :oops:

LOL that's almost exactly what a friend said when I told her how Fulbright was letting people know via e-mail! She wanted a hard copy letter... sounded so much more formal. Yeah I'm getting all angsty too especially that this last school si my dream school and I'm being forced to apply for two MA programs (one app done, one to be sent int before bedtime if internet cooperates) as these programs had passed deadlines and they were doing me a BIGGGGG favor.... Oh Dream School, why are you dragging your feet? It's not that hard... Just call me up and ask me if I'd still accept their offer if it's a MA instead of PhD and I would absolutely say YES! I do have some kind of e-mail relationship with a potential advisor and another professor who I might be interested in. I e-mailed the latter about a new research idea (b/c an archive had just been opened that I want to check out) and well, he hasn't gotten back to me. Uh oh? I'd much rather e-mail the potential advisor... We did speak on the phone before... is it kosher in my situation? I mean this school has very close connections to some people writing the LORs.

Don't worry too much about your GPA. Some of us got feedback from grad school profs and NOT one of them mentioned our "low" GPA. They don't care about it as much as your SOP (Statement of Purpose essay), writing sample, and letters of recommendations. What can you do? SOP- You might not find yourself interested in Colonial America two years from now but you will be expanding your interests in other areas as you go through your major. When I was a sophomore, I thought I'd go in for Holocaust/Modern European history. Now, I'm still interested in the Holocaust but with an American pespective... so namely, 20th Century US (the most competitve PhD field but I'm marketing myself as a Jewish historian). You will connect your interests over time to develop your reasons for studying that field in graduate school. Also you want to think very hard about WHY you want to go- WHY should these people invest in $300K in you for five years? And yes, I agree with Cornell07- get some languages under belt, particularly French and German. Also, I agree. Research experience helps. If you can't get it one way or another, it won't hurt you. It only helps if you can get your hands on the archives. I've had professors comment on my CV (2-3 research internships) but wished that I had stronger focus. Writing Sample- Try to sign up for a senior seminar in your junior year so you can get a very good thesis together in time for fall admissions in your senior year. I knew that I wasn't going to finish my thesis (I was abroad spring of my junior year) so I did a major research paper while abroad to compensate. Of course my senior thesis was absolute crap by the first deadline. And now I'm getting feedback from professors saying I should've sent in my senior thesis instead of a regular research paper (in other words, should've applied for Fall 09! LOL) but now I am giving some of them my thesis for MA consideration. You need to demonsrate "compelling" research with lots of different sources. And of course, great writing skills. Ugh. LORS- If you haven't declared your history majo yet- Pick a prof who's interested in Colonial America as your advisor. Not noly he'll get to know you as a person (as an advisee) but also as a student as you take more and more of his classes (especially seminar). That person will be able to be your main spokesperson and speak of you as a whole person, not just "he was in my class for one semester..." Furthermore, this prof will have connections to other schools with your interests and that will help quite a bit. (Academic politics is very nasty and high-schoolish) Know that from reading the main thread that admissions for PhD is horribly competitive. Professors have to fight for students when making admissions decisions and the focus is very much on "fit" nowadays. The process takes a lot of persistence and drive...and time. So you want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into, especially that the application itself is like a part-time job on top of your schoolwork and activities! Breathe... and good luck!

Yep. Not only that I go to a small school where they don't send off too many students in my department straight to grad school... my profs are also learning quite a bit too! *shrugs* At least I'll be applying for another round for PhD in two years or so...so I have this experience to learn from. I was talking to a prof yesterday about the admissions numbers and she was just shocked! Like how the freakin' are you supposed to get in those places?

*raises hand* I can prove that weather has a big impact on your ability to study. When I was in Israel for seven months, it felt like a vacation! I was far too interested in going outside and play on the beach rather than to stay inside and work on my monster load of Hebrew homework and archival research work. It was often just too beautiful outside to be studying inside. I don't know how people in California do it. Heck, thank goodness I never got into Stanford for freshman admissions! I'd probably would rather train for a marathon than be in the library. I do really need cold weather. Fortunately, all of my choices are right in the North so no weather dilemma (except that i'd like to be out of this extremely cold weather that my school regularly gets for being in middle of the state). My dilemma will be who will freakin' get me in a top PhD program

Yes this board is very, very addictive. I swear that my producivity level for my thesis has gone down major time. :mrgreen: We're actually thinking along wthe same lines for plans after May. I am graduating... I already am planning to spend my summer in Israel and take intensive Hebrew. I did that last summer and spring (when I studied abroad). I will tell you that those language intensive courses are no jokes! I had planned to study for my GRE and write my research paper for an internship/seminar while during the ulpan in July and oh man, guess what i had to abandon? Yup, you guess it- I bombed the GRE So don't expect a lot of research done if you want to stay on top of your class in Chinese. The only question is- when do I come back to the US? That'll definitely depend on whether I'm definitely going to grad school or not (c'mon, guys, I have airfares to be on the watch for!!!). But yup, yup, I'm putting that in front of my mind now in getting through all of this (oh the beaches, warm nights of hanging out in the city, camping and sleeping in the desert... haha). But beyond August? I have no idea if I don't get in anywhere AT ALL. Anyway, I say go for it! You'll learn SOOOO much. If anything, I'm pretty much slacking off in my Hebrew independent study course this year because I know that I'll cover most of the material again and finish the level in four weeks.

Oh great. How should I spend my weekend? Trying to get through another 30 pages of my thesis or checking my inbox every 30 minutes? But my impression that NYU program is solid but probably not so as Michigan. What I really like about MIch's program is the fou or-five required fields of knowledge and one of them has to be outside of your field. So it would be an opportunity for me to study Soviet history whereas at NYU, I'd be stuck with US and Jewish history. Obviously, it means having a wider net of professors that you want to work with. So you'd better hope that you get in Mich and then free up a spot for the rest of us! :mrgreen: But for ME, if I had gotten in both programs, I'd turn down Michigan because of the joint-program option and the other department is the top in the country so it'd bouy my degree quite a bit. NYU is solid but not the very top program and I think that you'd really have to work to be competitive as those in the top program. So that's why I have this joint-degree option. Not expecting anything especially that the decision won't be coming from History department per say. But the big question is.. how long will it take for the History department to relay its message to the other department?!

Hmm BA at Smith College (where I went in my first year) and a PhD from Michigan? Not too shoddy for me. Heck you're already at UMich- call her up and say you're from there! Never fails. What are you interested in her for- the accusations against her and her husband in the 1950s for Communist activities or just her work? j/k Good luck with your decisions!

I gotta say, I did think about applying to Museum Studies programs after working in a DC museum for two summers. But after my third summer with a museum in Israel, I decided that after that summer and the previous summer in DC in research, I'd much rather go straight for the PhD . Skip over the MA in Museum Studies part, find a school that offers museum certification, and just get the PhD at the same time. Unfortunately, I've been attacked slightly on my SOP about wanting to work in museums with my PhD. Some implied that it's just not a good time to apply for PhD when there are so many other jobs in the museum that doesn't require the PhD. But my god, it's the jobs with the PhD that I WANT! But that was just the school that didn't offer anything related to museum studies while the other two I'm interested in are taking me seriously- they do have museum studies certification programs. So they know that I'll do fine. Nofia, what did your grad programs say about your background in museums?? I applied to NYU- that was a very tough choice there since the grad school said you can't apply to more than one degree program at a time, per cycle. I went with joint degree in Judaic Sdies/History. Ugh but at least I explained in the "fit" paragraph of all the opportunities at NYU that I could take advantage of.. it's literally my dream school.

I second the "Holy Crap." Sheesh. And Michigan had only 300-400 applications? Must be the Ivy prestige Oh maybe that's what is taking NYU so long... and i should be happy that I applied to a joint-degree program!

Strange, I posted and it never showed up. I can speak about museums as I interned in museums 3 times for significant period of time. Museums are a LOT of fun but can be slightly boring at times, depending who you're dealing with. I really believe that the museums have a big responsiblity of educating the public properly about its focus because it's often the first time people learn about such things. I used to work in a Holocaust Museum and I was astonished by how many visitors who came to me at the info desk (I volunteered once a week for the summer) and just had no idea what the Holocaust museum was about. So it was up to me to get them all excited about learning. Because I have such natural passion for the Holocaust, they pick up on it pretty fast. Now if you work in the research/exhibitions/education, you can hang out with pretty academic minded people- they do a lot of research and writing. After a while, you do become a "walking encyclopedia." When I asked for feedback on my PhD apps, the professors at Penn were awfully impressed with my CV in the sense that It demonstrated that I had deep background of the Holocaust and questioned my SOP which did NOT talk about the Holocaust (I wanted to "switch" fields). I think that if I had talked more about the Holocaust, who knows? I'm trying my hand at this angle for the MA program. So anyway, it's a great thing really to be working in a museum for a while for the sake of knowledge. I mean, I swear that I can probably teach a Holocaust survey course without even looking at lecture notes and I think that usually impresses people hehe. Though I will keep trying for grad schools, I am already subscribing to the job posts database for a certain group of museums so I can stay on top of what's out there that i can dabble for a little while.

Congrats!!! I was sure too that they'd give you funding if they liked your application. I can almost see how your undergrad professors are telling you all this- take Michigan over Yale! Especially that you're up for a scholarship. I feel the same way- just sent off my MA application an hour ago to Michigan for MA in another department and got an e-mail back today from the professor that I want to work with thanking me for the follow up with what I was planning to do with my MA application. So I'm trying not to hold my breath here that Michigan will give me a second chance because it'll be another committee reviewing it (though this professor is the head). I agree with the job market/grad school applications. Law schools, from what I've heard, are going through this too- very stiff competition this year. I have YET to meet a law applicant who is truly passionate about law and who I can see will pursue law and pay off that crazy debt fast. Louiselabe was just saying that it seems like grad/law school is the new thing to avoid the real world. I am partly doing it to avoid the real world but I do have set goals that I'd like to accomplish while in grad school- PhD or MA. I can see myself finishing all of this and actually having a career that I want. But am I willing to take a yaer off and reapply to PhD programs again, hoping that next year will have better numbers? I don't think so- the more research I'm doing for the PhD and credientials needed for professorship and such, I have decided that at this point I should just get my MA first so I can have a firmer grounding for the life beyond this degree (especially languages!!!). So I'm just applying to any MA program in Jewish Studies wherever I can at this point and take the offers and go in the fall. Then I'll reapply in a couple years and by then I will have a much stronger research focus and at least two languages under my belt. One thing at a time and slow down. Right now the circumstances aren't that great for me to get my PhD- competition-wise and preparation-wise.

I e-mailed the administrative assistant a couple days ago- said that decisions will be out "shortly" and apologized for the delay, it took longer than expected. Yeah. I wonder. i'm getting burned out of this process as each day goes by without news b/c it's my last school. I'm almost ready to make a wager that NYU won't get to us until next Wednesday or something like that. I just want something before my spring break.

I think it depends on the program and how the SOP flies by your readers. It's really so close as I've learned. But in terms of making or breaking the decision, I'd probably say the SOP.

Ouch. My sympathies to all Columbia people. That Results page should make you feel better to see only very few people who got in (I know it did when I didn't get in Penn). At least you guys can be at peace after driving yourselves crazy for the past 5 days. At least...go out and drink or something. Forget that grad school even existed.

I also want to say that I am AMAZED how some of us are still down to ONE school. And we're scrambling to get our MA applications together (I'm working on a SOP as we speak). :shock: I mean, I did contact the administrative assistant at NYU on Monday to see what's up and she said that decisions would be out shortly. I mean, I'm reading that as in another week. And I feel as if when that 5 PM rolls around each day without news from NYU, it means... back to the drawing board for a bit that night. I am moving forward just so that if things fall apart there, at least I'm already doing something to get in somewhere next fall. You know? If somehow we manage to get in that last school, I feel as if they owe us something for driving us nuts into making Plan Bs instead of us owing them with our dedication and labor. I wish I can believe in that irony of getting past the month of February but when my school has yet to reject or accept any applicants, it means nothing. But i do think it'd be true for Penn.

I do wonder about option 2 and 3. I know that universities have policies on how much benefits their employees can get from their services. I mean for example, my local university won't allow any staff member to give their children half off the tutition until they've worked at least 5 years or something like that. That's something to consider if you're only doing these programs only because you'd be applying for jobs there.

Congrats on UVA too The weather should be much, much better... What's your field, may I ask, that made UVA your top choice/program?

I must say I agree too! Like Cornell07, I'm re-working my new SOP for the MA to really demonsrate my interests and address some of professors' concerns at schools that I was rejected at. They were curious to know why after spending so much time on the Holocaust I switched over to American Jewish history. It hit me the reason why I did it not only began with that class I took last spring but the idea of my thesis topic stemming from one of the projects I had to do on my Holocaust research internship. D'oh. I really didn't tell the whole story in my original SOP. Instead I was too focused on my reseach experiences that my CV could very well show for me. Yeah one of my level-headed professor is pitching in to help me out with the SOP- he saw the original (and thought it wasn't that great actually and I ignored him b/c no one else complained haha). He's doing whatever he can. Even my new professor this semester wanted to help out but I told him that my LOR bank is already full so he's better off contacting the faculty member he thinks should know him LOL. But in terms of differences in vagueness, I'll say that the school that helped me the most with my SOP was the most vague- I had been suggested to it at the last minute. I think my top choice was clearer especially in explaining my "fit" with them... I wonder if that's why I still haven't freakin' heard back! They must be deciding "Oh my gosh, she's such a perfect fit for our program but dammit, she has no focus... why did she dump the Holocaust? Shoudl we admit her on the basis of fit or interest, folks? Remember she can always change her mind when the dissertation comes...On the other hand, are we kidding ourselves if we admit her?" Cornell07, I gotta tell ya, you're more obsessive than a lot of us about getting into graduate school! But I do think that the Columbia-LSE MA program is terrific- I got the flyer in my inbox a couple weeks ago from my history department secretary. Tempting until I saw its actual mission statement- not for me AT ALL. I wonder how many people will end up applying to this new program?

Well... it sort of went like this. I had been in touch with this prof before, way back in the fall. Then I really got into her work over the winter and decided that I had to work with her if i could. So while I waited for the decisions to be made in the PhD, I pursued the website for another department that she's also very, very involved in and discovered that they had a MA. Either my memory really failed me or I was just stupid not to think that I could also send in a MA application to this program at the same time i sent in my PhD apps. So once I got rejected, I e-mailed the professor and asked for her feedback on my PhD and "admitted" that I was SO wrong, I should've applied for MA to deepen and broaden my knowledge in that field before applying for PhD. She replied and said that it would be great to get a MA and supported my decision to move my application over. Also she hinted that she would like to see my senior thesis to really believe that i can think and write! (Now I think this is where the LORs played a role...) But the actual technical process is far more complicated and is really best done by your programs- the department you were rejected from and the department you want to try MA for. There's a lot of paperwork involved for them so that you don't have to fill out a new app or pay another $60 fee. I suggest talking to the professor that you want to work with and see what s/he thinks, and then talk to the secretary/director of grad admissions in your department... I just basically had to say "Look, I really, really want to go to your school. I realize that I should get my MA so I can improve my chances for a PhD later. So is it possible to move the application over for MA consideration?" A little sincerity goes a long way. Like a friend said, they're probably already impressed that you even tried for the PhD.

My theory? It's similar to law. You present yourself to your professor that you want to work with along with like 50 or 100 other people applying for the same spot(s). This is a court case with many, many lawyers and lots of people wanting to join the Ivy Tower. You are judged by how you set up your crime. Did you do your crime and should do you do your time? The Professor looks at and listens to each one of you. He picks a couple of interesting ones who will kick butt in the Supreme Court. The Professor keeps you behind the bench and goes up to the 9 judges and presents your crime of why your case should go in favor of him. In other words, if you're in jail, he's responsible for taking care of you. And there are only so many cells to fill. Those 9 judges represent all other professors with Chief Justice being the Director of Grad Admissions. They have their own interests in mind (Who hasn't heard of swing vote based on personal interest???) and they have to be convinced to go against their personal interests (the students THEY want to bring in). All the judges submit their verdict. Either you're guilty (admitted/rejected) or innocent (wait-listed). Then they decide on your sentence which as follows: Life without parole- Straight, full-funded PhD admissions (in other words, they owe your ass for a long time) Life with parole- Straight PhD, some funding. 30 years with parole- Straight PhD, no funding. 25 years with parole- MA without funding but you may appeal for a PhD later. 25 years without parole- MA with funding 10 years with parole- MA without funding And... Death Penalty- Rejected. --> Clause: You may appeal your decision by re-applying in the next round to avoid getting the Chair. Accepting this would mean you're out of academia forever. oh I amuse myself. But i think this story can use some tweaking...

I am sorely hoping that I don't have to deal with Plan B. I still have ONE more school to hear from for PhD. Then it's time to switch gears to work with it to see if I can be considered for MA. I've already done it with one of my other schools and they've giving me a second chance by allowing me to send in a new SOP and my senior thesis for new writing sample. I am SO giddy over this. Like Cornell07 said, we'll see how much all of the feedback really helped. To be honest, when I wrote my new SOP, I thought about my old one. Now I'm like AH SHIT!!! I didn't really tell the whole story of why I suddenly switched interests within my field- which was a concern for some of the professors. They saw a lot of experience in one of the interests and just didn't seem to understand why dump it. Now this should be more focused. Also it now really shows that I can be incredibly engaging in the right kind of envrionment and demonstrate why I *think* I'm different from others in my field. But I guess my Plan B was always to go back to Israel, pick up more Hebrew, and take some grad courses at Hebrew University and re-apply. Uh oh, the deadline for that program is in 2 weeks... and i have yet to lift a finger on this. Sometimes it's what I don't like about my field- the fact that I have to use my own resources to improve my application because of all the language requirements and unless I want to say "Fuck PhD" I can't really do anything else like teach history in high school or English in South America in the meantime.

Not so much of an "appeal" but more of asking for a second look at my application by a different department Actually I like this new SOP much, much better than my old one. Now polishing my thesis for them... that's a different story and I should be on it now instead of procrasinating!

^^ I know I'm in process of "appealing" my decision by shifting my application from one department to another at one of my schools and I have to write a new SOP and spend this weekend polishing up portions of my thesis to be submitted for a new writing sample (b/c the professor mentioned that she would've liked to see it when she gave me feedback for my PhD and she's on the adcom in the other department). And I'm still waiting out on one more school that will actually cause me to flip out when I finally get the news!