Sigaba

Seanish-- I understand that you're concerned about your score and you want feedback. Given the fact that you need ETS's help to answer your questions, I suggest you treat everyone there with courtesy and respect. You never know when the first line of support is going to take kindly to a friendly person and escalate the call up the food chain or, by contrast, to bury a rude person's query at the bottom of a 'to do' list. HTH.

Does it matter? You've inquired; they've declined. Now it is up to you to decide on your next step. (Focus on what you can do, not what others won't.) HTH.

Crazed-- As your guy is a labor historian, more digging might be in order. There's a deepening rift between social historians and cultural historians. This rift is in addition to the debates over the relative merits of labor history and working class history. If your guy is a two time 'casualty' of these debates (that is, his approach to history has been on the short end of the stick twice) and you're applying to departments that emphasize cultural history, you might--repeat might--want to manage your risk. Hey, things could be worse. You could be a naval historian . (But I'm not bitter. ) Goodness gracious. I've become "that guy" who uses emoticons.

creacher-- Establish relationships with professors and graduate students as soon as possible (that is, while you are an underclassperson) and develop those relationships throughout your time as an undergraduate. That is, go to office hours regularly, take to heart the guidance professors and graduate students offer, and consider the advantages of taking multiple courses from the same person. Here's why. A number of threads on this BB testify to the difficulties aspiring graduate students face when they get ready to apply and realize they are going to have difficulties getting enough strong LoRs. Also, as an undergraduate, you have a lot of opportunities to have fun. I recommend that you seize these moments in your life and enjoy yourself. At the same time, keep in mind that somewhere 'out there," someone is studying/working her tail off so she can get into the same programs you would like to attend. So, every now and then, before deciding to go to a social event rather than study, ask yourself "Is this party really necessary?"

To manage your risk, consider the utility of doing some research on how often he's cited by other historians. If he's well published and his works are neglected, that could be a signal of a 'back story.' If the opposite is true, he could be an example of a hidden treasure. Also, see if you can find the types of conferences at which he has made presentations. If those conferences are policy oriented and/or interdisciplinary in nature, there could be additional angles to consider. (For example, a historian who works for .GOV.)

IMO, a professional academic historian who knows you and your work trumps a non historian who knows you and your work. (Can you find out why he's had the adjunct status for so long? Does he have other professional commitments? Is he a quirky guy? Does he have skeletons that might haunt you? And so on.)

What type of job is it? In what sector of the economy would you be working? In what area of the country is the job?

maeisenb-- Consider taking a look at the University of Southern California. Check to see if USC and UCLA have an arrangement that allows professors from UCLA to sit on doctoral committees for graduate students at Southern Cal. (USC may have such agreements with other schools as well.) A head's up is in order. You will never in your life meet a sharper historian that USC's resident medievalist, Jason Glen. HTH.

Jellybean24-- Based upon your OP, she may well have forgotten. Better for her to have sent them without showing you a first draft than for her to show you a first draft without sending the letters. An aside. I catch some heat because I think Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is the best movie in the franchise. At one point, the T-101 barks at John Connor and Kate Brewster "RELAX!" as they drive towards Judgement Day << So, you know, what he said. HTH.

Goldie-- If Safferz's recommendation does not work for you, tweaking the DPI settings of your scanner might do the trick. In either case, please consider the value of double checking to make sure the graduate programs you're applying to will accept transcripts coming from applicants.

@Safferz, if possible, try to complete the book review--or at least an outline of it--so that you have enough time to put it aside for a week or two, then look at it again, tweak if necessary, and then send it. HTH.

Safferz-- It would be one thing if a member who'd been around for a while had asked SL the same question. Titiritero83 joined this BB last night to market himself as a "consultant." and After being around for less than thirty minutes, he uses his second post to generate controversy in the same post in which he claims he prefers to avoid controversy. These factors, in combination with his digital footprint on the Internet, make me curious about his motivation. In regards to SL's reply to HaruNoKaze, compare post #13 to the OP. Is HaruNoKaze's contribution in the spirit of the sensibility that TheSquirrel would like to see in graduate school or does it read more like the dynamic that inspired the thread in the first place? Two last points. First, there is no "safe space" on the Internet unless you are prepared for anything and everything you post to appear on the front page of an internationally known broadsheet. Second, venting publicly about peers, professors, and students is not wise. A growing number of Americans frown upon the Ivory Tower and its inhabitants. Why add fuel to the fire when one could just as easily confide one's views to a diary or a journal?

Doc-- Then why are you trying to provoke a confrontation with a highly respected member of this BB?

My two cents are these. Develop a plan that sees you up to speed with the career paths and works of your persons of interest and initiate communication this coming February. By starting the communication sooner rather than later, you position yourself and the POI to have an actual dialog and you afford yourself an opportunity for growth.

TRR-- A suggestion. Formulate a list of issues/questions that can define the 'big picture' of your field and tie in most (if not all) of the works on your list so that they are in conversation with each other. HTH.

Please try the following. Open the PDF using Adobe Acrobat Professional. (I do not know if the standard version of Acrobat allows this option.) Under File, there should be an option for "Reduce file size." When prompted, make sure you save this reduced file with a slightly different name. For example, change <<SAMPLE.PDF>> to <<SAMPLECOMPRESSED.PDF>>. If you do not have access to Adobe Acrobat, hit me up with a PM (private message) and I'll make this conversion for you. (And if this doesn't work, we'll figure out something else.)

How are you converting the Word doc into PDF format?

meatloaf-- The RAND website has a lot of information that will answer many (if not most) of your questions if you have the patience to do the digging. For example, a statistical breakdown of the PRGS student body and capsule biographies of students by cohort is available here. Elsewhere, you'll find contact information for members of the PRGS community who help graduates get jobs. You'll also find PRGS dissertations, student testimonials, the archive of the PRGS alumni newsletter, and other information. (I'll leave it to you to find these resources.) HTH.

All kidding aside, I was thinking about the how that conversation relates to Saint Louis University's Policy on Academic Honesty, and what Brian Cameron, who teaches part time in SLU's Department of Philosophy might think of the OP.

oswic-- Thanks for your reply. A question: Would it be possible for you to turn your schedule upside down for a few days? That is, schedule a phone/Skype conversation on their time for 9 November and spend the previous days getting used to being sharp during that interval.

Scoff not! Multiple both sides by zero, you get zero equals zero, and the answer to the question is "true." (Can you believe that I tested out of math? Or that I used "geometric logic" to prove that Elmer Fudd and President Dwight D. Eisenhower were one in the same person?)

The Squirrel-- The definition of "harassment" might very well include the behaviors your classmate is exhibiting. That is, it is harassment if one feels harassed. (Or, as I overheard one city employee tell another outside of about a training session earlier today "You can't say anything to anyone.") Given that you feel you have a problem with this guy, that he's destroyed your property, and he's brought violence into your work place, I strongly urge you to not ignore the situation. If you don't feel comfortable trying to talk it out in a public place over hot wings, and if you don't want to go to the DGS, consider taking a "lateral step" and talking to someone in the university's administration. Do not delay. I also recommend that you avoid characterizations of such behavior as "childish" and "immature." Eventually, every graduate student gets to take a long hard look in the mirror. For your erstwhile friend, that time is now. For you, it may be as qualifying exams approach. Or when you get unfavorable teaching evaluations from undergraduates. By no means am I suggesting that you give the guy a "pass" or to let bygones be bygones. I'm merely recommending that one approach these kinds of situations with empathy and without name calling. This way, if your apple cart gets up ended, and/or you need to be "talked off the ledge," you'll have set a precedent for how others should treat you in a time of crisis. HTH.

FWIW, I've seen quite a few graduate students encounter the dynamic of not knowing who to ask and, with it, not knowing what to ask. IME, one can get a lot of questions answered and mysteries resolved by going to a professor's office hours. I understand that these encounters can generate anxiety but I think the effort is worth making.