krystasonrisa

Thank you for the lead! One of my thesis advisors went to UChicago, and I really, really admire his scholarship and the way he frames his work.

This is amazing advice; thank you!

YAY! Bonus points for recommending a school without winter!! Thank you so much!

Oh! I never thought of that, but that is clever! Thank you!

I definitely appreciate your observation and advice! I am not planning on staying in North American academia. I actually want to work in the Costa Rican academy. I really wanted my PhD from UCR or UNA in Costa Rica, but after long talks with advisors both in the States and in Costa Rica, prestige politics are what they are, and a U.S. degree holds more capital than one from Costa Rica, even in the Costa Rican market, UNFORTUNATELY. That said, a lot of the UCR and UNA faculty are coming from IUB, UCLA, and Pitt. I would apply to UCLA, but Wilkie doesn't take new students anymore and I don't know if I'm a good enough fit for their program. I applied to four programs last year, and I was still too early in my research process to have a super competitive application, and four programs is not a lot of applications. But yes, thank you for the tip to look more closely at program strength rather than topical interest matches. That said, do you think I should sort of conform my interests to fit those programs? Or just be sincere and hope for the best? Thanks!

Oh my this is so helpful! Thank you! I'm on the fence about Tulane for other reasons, but your advice definitely confirmed I should focus on other places. I had the opportunity to speak with Premo yesterday, and YES SHE IS SO KIND AND ENTHUSIASTIC! Dávila did one monograph a few years ago on the intersection of identity, schools, and public health in Brazil, so it's a stretch but yes, he is an AMAZING professor and he always made me feel very confident, which I think is very important in a mentor, so I am very biased toward him. I've had a few advisors suggest Columbiar/Barnard and I think Milanich was one of the names, so thanks for that tip! And YAY! I have never come across Hunefledt (idk why!?), but I'm definitely partial to schools without winter because SAD. You've been so helpful! Thank you!!

Hey everyone! I'm Krysta, just finished my MA in Latin American Studies at UIUC, but I'm centering on History (and maybe Education/Cultural Studies) for my PhD. I research 19th and 20th-century Costa Rica, and finding POIs has been my major struggle. I applied to a few (4) programs last year and didn't match, so I'm back to try again. My goal is to apply to six programs this year, with a more strategic application. I also started a thread specifically for Latin American History applicants. It's good to be back!

Hi everyone! My name is Krysta and I just finished my M.A. at UIUC in Latin American Studies, but my research was historical and my advisor was Dr. Nils Jacobsen. I'm starting this thread to create a space for prospective applicants to talk about the various steps in their process, but also because I'd like some input while I look for matches. I study social/cultural history from 1850 in Costa Rica. Moving forward, I'm interested in questions of children's history, identity formation, and the evolution of notions of children's rights and agency. I'm also looking to expand into a comparative lens, looking at experiences in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. I have the budget to apply to six programs. So far I have picked: 1. Premo at FIU 2. Putnam at Pitt 3. Ghould at IUB 4. Wolfe/Pentzer at Tulane 5. Wills at UCRiverside (not in History, but I like him.) 6. Dávila at UIUC Thoughts? Advice? I'm open to anything. Thank you! Also, I've been looking for matches for over a year, so if anyone else is having trouble finding matches, perhaps we could mutually help each other.

It may be productive to think about how rank is a constructed bias that functions in a problematic framework of unequal distribution and access, and which does not necessarily reflect quality and in no one influences the kind of scholar a student becomes. Rank is valuable to consider in terms of resources, like which programs have the best facilities and libraries, whatever. For other purposes, talking about rank can be a little insensitive to people who don't have a lot of options. Just something to think about.

Oh don't worry! I think, pure speculation, but based on the context and the tone of the gossip I got from a prof, it has been an issue with ideological matching. So if you did your research and picked a POI that is ideologically compatible, you have nothing to worry about. (This is my way of gently saying I think the issue is they let in a couple of right-wing scholars and it's not going well.)

What is your field? If you don't get a chance to visit but want to know more about student life in general at UIUC, I'd be happy to chat.

UIC or UIUC? I'm at UIUC now in the Latin American Studies program, but my field is in history. The History department is super unorganized this year because they admitted too many candidates last year and everyone regrets it. (Some were not that great, according to the professors themselves. I only know like 3 new admits and they seem fine so idk what the professors mean necessarily. So this year there was a lot more caution. Professors talk a lot here, by the way.) Anyway, that's to say that UIUC is scrambling to organize. Expect delays I'm waiting to hear from UIC. Hopefully they send out notices next week. oh! And if anyone else is waiting to hear from UMiami (Florida), they are sending out notices between the 15th and 31st of this month.

Have you thought about doing ESL? It's great if you're adventurous, but there are also great ESL jobs in the States. The benefits: teaching experience. Travel. International research opportunities (even if informal). It pays decently and isn't too much work so you'd have time to beef up your applications. It takes like 6 weeks and $800 to get certified usually. Also, your positivity is inspiring! Keep moving forward!

I would second that advice. Definitely don't stress over your alma mater. It's more about match than you think. Don't pay for grad school. Just don't do it. Wait it out. Work on your application and reapply. (You want to aim to be in at least the 80th percentile on qualitative and writing, and have a very strong writing sample and statement of purpose.) Or, depending on your research interests, consider applying abroad as well. But also, don't stress it yet! There is still time! And these decisions in no way reflect your ability to do this. Timing and luck are huge, scary factors. I wish you the best of luck!

So exciting!! Congratulations!

Thank you! Best of luck to you as well.

Thank you!!

I'm feeling really good about this coming week! (No empirical evidence, just positive feelings.) I have no admits yet, but let's all keep our heads up. There's still time. And remember, we are not finished.

Congrats to the UCLA admit! Yay!

I think it depends on your region and experience. I use MLA and APA because I started in Lit/Critical Theory and APA is standard in Latin American social sciences. I personally don't like Chicago. It's too exclusive for my tastes and needs.

While I think this might be true for some l, I don't think it's generally true, especially not for Latin Americanists. (Not sure about other fields, though.) Scholars (Latin Americanists) are usually loyal to their region and/or period, but work on a lot of different historical questions. I think the strongest scholars have worked on a variety of projects, but there is logic in their transitions from one project to the next. (Robin Derby 4ever <3) So please don't think you have to define your entire life this year. You do not. You are expected to ask questions, and get progressively better at engaging with them. (And it seems like you are asking great questions!)

It has been my experience that apart from academic record, research matching is the primary factor for admission. I think it's necessary to be very familiar with other work, because historical work is, essentially, a conversation that transcends time and place. Even if you haven't developed very clear and specific personal research interests, be very aware of potential advisors' past and present work and their interests. Good matches generally are thematically compatible and theoretically compatible. Definitely prioritize YOUR interests and passions over those of any potential advisor, but as far as having clearly defined research projects for applications, I think it's only necessary to have defined thematic and theoretical interests rather than a concrete thesis. I come from a liberal arts background, too, and I found doing an interdisciplinary MA (in Latin American and Carribean Studies) to be the most beneficial phase in my professional academic development because it allowed me the freedom to explore my interests for two more years and really define what I'm passionate about with a bit more maturity. (In undergrad, I was passionate about popular literature and social history, so coming out of undergrad, I applied to both literature and history programs, and ultimately settled on interdisciplinary.) Research projects, though, are fluid and changing, so don't stress it too much. (The best way to find a project is to be in conversation. Read everything. Talk to everyone. Find what's missing. Do it. Obviously that is impossible, so just do your best to approximate the model.)

-complaining ahead- I've applied to UCLA, UIB (Indiana), UIC (Illinois), and UMiami. I do 20th century intellectual/social Costa Rican history, so finding matches was stupid hard. (I didn't do Pittsburgh because they won't take my MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, so Putnam, the ONE DOMESTIC HISTORIAN Costa Ricanist, was out.) My back up plan is going back to Costa Rica and just doing my PhD there because there would be 0 issues with matching interests and they produce excellent academics, but I like the idea of stipends and free tuition, and that's not a thing in Costa Rica, so I felt pretty okay about four applications. But after getting rejected from IUB, which low key was my safety because the fit was solid and Gould seemed sincerely interested in my research, I'm feeling less confident about it. Despite available data from the forums and the last few years of the results search, I'm optimistic about UCLA, but I still haven't heard anything, and the wait is pretty awful. (Don't rain on my optimism, please. It's calculated optimism.) I have only seen one relevant post from UIC and I haven't seen anything on UMiami. Is anyone else waiting to hear back on these programs? Any info to add? Thanks in advance! (And hi.)

Any more news for the history department at UCLA? Do you mind if I ask if you plan on taking your offer?

I'm just guessing here, but it seems as if schools would immediately reject incomplete applications or applications that do not meet minimum graduate school requirements. After that, departments go through the applications. So, it seems as if you made it past general requirements and you had a complete application. Step one: check.