Sigaba

When it comes to buying backpacks, you live in arguably the greatest country in the western hemisphere. https://arcteryx.com/ca/en/

FWIW, in addition to the guidance/feedback you're getting in this thread, the topic of commuting to grad school has been discussed over the years. https://forum.thegradcafe.com/search/?q=commuting The calculation for the cost of driving is approximate $.59/mile, every mile, back of the napkin, that's $112 for you each day you drive to campus and back. This figure does not include parking. https://www.usf.edu/administrative-services/parking/parking/permits.aspx USF Parking [and] Transportation Services has alternative transportation opportunities here https://www.usf.edu/administrative-services/parking/transportation/alternative-transportation.aspx FWIW, part two, I agree with those who are asking about the impact of a long commute on your ability to focus on your graduate school experience. From a social perspective, it's unlikely that you'll get the full measure of a bull session, a quick bite to eat, or anything else because in the back of your mind, the prospect of a long drive home is soaking up bandwidth. I would add that the fact that you already have a master's in hand may not be a mitigating factor. Even if you busted hump as a master's student, doctoral work is significantly more difficult because you are expected to create new knowledge while continuing to master existing knowledge. The kind of thinking that you're expected to do may not play well with operating a vehicle safely, mile after mile, day after day. With respect, the intellectual obstacles and emotional pitfalls that stalk doctoral students are perils one has to experience first hand to understand. Unfortunately, there is no way to know if one is going to get the support one needs until one is in a third or fourth moment of need. I very strongly urge aspiring doctoral students to put aside notions of certainty and absolute self-reliance as soon as possible. Assume that you're going to have moments of profound crisis, especially when you're in the process of preparing for qualifying exams. With this assumption in hand, you can start building up a support system from day one.

@historygeek, you are getting more than "feedback." You are getting excellent support from people who want you to succeed. I think that you would be well served if you were to reread your posts over the last year and a half. Over that interval, your "interests" have arced back and forth without clear statements of how they revolve around any approach to academic history to which you're committed. IMO, the absence of a committed approach is a significant obstacle that should be addressed immediately. If you're going to focus on intersectionality, then (maybe) a place to start is with a very deep dive into the evolution of the concept, then an assessment of its impact on professional academic history in general, and your fields of interest in particular. In regards to intersectionality and the study of history, you probably should prepare answers to questions like "Is this really a new approach to the study of the past?" (If you follow this course of inquiry, you should be able to argue different variations of "yes" and "no" and "sort of.") To circle back to the question you asked in your OP. A way to know the answer is through the close study (not reading) of key periodicals and pivotal monographs in your areas of interest. The footnotes will lead you to the langauge you need to know.

FWIW/IMO, the note suggests that you would benefit from figuring out the key differences between American studies and English and then chart an efficient path that allows you to bridge the gap. A way to figure out the differences is to look at a topic/subject has arced back and forth between American studies and English to see how the participants have talked to (or past) each other. A potential starting point is the politics and expertise interdisciplinary scholarship. Another tactic is to figure out what the professors you want(ed) to work with at Davis think about American studies. Have any of them sat on dissertation committees in American studies? Have American studies professors sat on dissertation committees that they've chaired? Another avenue of approach may be to contact the American studies department at UC Davis and see if anyone can give you some insight. HTH.

These two generalizations may be overly broad. If a younger scholar is seeking tenure and the primary criterion is a significant publication, that scholar may not be as invested as advising as her students hope. "Personable" is not necessarily the same thing as "collegial" or "professional." If you have a good interpersonal relationship with a younger professor, how is that dynamic going to persist or change when it's time for her to stand on your head and what you need to know is vastly different from what you want to hear? An additional consideration. There's a difference than being an SME in a cutting edge field than being an expert teacher. A person who is the former may be right there with you as you tease out a theory/interpretation. A person who is the latter may be better suited to getting the best out of you so you can express that interpretation in a way that makes sense to others.

Okay. We're done here.

Ok.

"Terrible advice" because it worked for you once at one institution. And since then how successful has your approach to applying to graduate school been?

Is Harvard investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in your education so you can be an activist (for any cause) or so you can learn the craft of professional academic history? Also, IRT your working class background. I recommend that your pride in your achievement against incalculable odds not get in the way of the fact that you're attempting to join a profession that has rules situated in a different constellation of social and cultural assumptions and values. While the constellation has shifted over the last half century, certain values remain fixed. While it is unlikely that any one or two professors are going to sit you down and walk you through the "rules of the road," you are expected to adhere to those rules--even if BTDTs appear not to themselves. (Or maybe because they don't.)

The point that I'm trying to communicate is that historians may interpret the kinds of comments you're making much differently than you intend. They may double check their interpretations with each other; it's less likely that they're going to get to the heart of what you're saying or advise you that you're stepping on your crank in a way that resonates immediately.

Ultimately, the questions are: Does a graduate school/parent institution have policies that provide guidance on matters centering around recreational drug use? https://www.hupd.harvard.edu/drug-and-alcohol-policy https://handbook.fas.harvard.edu/book/drugs-and-alcohol Will members of a department, regardless of their past or present practices and habits, look fondly upon graduate students who get buzzed, drunk, or high if such activity becomes a distraction when it comes to year-end evaluations? Will future employment opportunities include a background check that includes questions about recreational drug use? Are your intellectual skills such that you can afford the "time off" from getting lit and then getting your head back together? A consideration. Those not in the circle of knowledge may never know if a department has had a hard time with a faculty or staff member or graduate student over drugs and booze. There can be an unspoken agreement to take steps in the future to cut ties sooner rather than later with such individuals in the near future.

Congratulations on being admitted to Yale. I recommend that you dial down your apparent contempt for Harvard unless you're absolutely sure you're not going to be interacting with academics who went there or were taught or mentored or supported by those who did. The Ivory Tower is a much smaller place with much thinner walls than one would think.

This is the kind of question that gets a graduate student on the outside looking in when sensitive conversations are taking place in a department. If job talks are by invitation, it's also the kind of question that sees a graduate student not knowing they're taking place.

I recommend that you explore opportunities at private think tanks.

I would say nothing about your spouse applying to other departments or for jobs if you're applying to universities in the United States.

Making such a recommendation would be extraordinarily bad form.

Based upon the information in your posts on this BB, it's hard to assess how invested you are in history. IME, the ability to communicate commitment to the craft goes a long way. Keep in mind that no decision you make in the near term is etched in stone one. If you decide to focus on other pursuits for a spell, you can always apply to a graduate program down the line.

Of the eight programs, how many offered degrees in history?

Consider carefully the sources of the guidance you're receiving before taking action.

LoR's help to answer a question "Can the applicant do the work at the graduate level?" An LoR from a professor one knows as a graduate student is arguably more beneficial to an applicant than a reference letter from a professor one knew as an undergraduate.

I would recommend that one not under any circumstances "use" advisors, professors. Accept their support, follow their guidance, make use of their experience and expertise, but don't "use" them. They will see through it right away and adjust accordingly. Do you understand why he may have suggested that you manage your expectations?

@Nilandia , it's easier said than done, but be patient.

Not having a LOR from your advisor will raise at least as many flags as having a LOR from a professor you had as an undergraduate.

@historygeek you're getting exceptional guidance in this thread. You might benefit if you were to take a couple of days to read and reread and think and rethink about what you're being told before commenting further.

One of the things you learn at Cal--my UG institution-- is to ask every question at least twice. However, how you ask is vitally important. "I am calling/emailing to confirm the information I've seen at source 1, source 2, and source 3..." is better than "Is it true that..." or any question that gives a hint that you are going to be that grad student.