JustChill

I left all of those sections blank. There is no need to tell them unless the department asks specifically.

Nah, who uses math in physics?

They likely mean that you need to be able to read a scholarly text in a foreign language and understand it. That is the most common type of requirement for a foreign language proficiency in grad school. Beyond that it usually is much more specific to the program/field/school.

Very true. It's a never ending cycle that creates more and more candidates for fewer and fewer jobs.

Mine says the same, don't worry about it. They explicitly said not to send paper transcripts.

that's true, I was going to mention that the same person wrote both the original USSR anthem and the new one for RF.

It's true that those who are clearly qualified and are the best fits, as well as those who have no chance in hell, get notified first to get things rolling. The reason the best candidates get notified early is so that those schools can snag them before some other school comes along with a better funding offer. You'd be surprised at how many people accept the first offer they get and don't bother waiting for the other decisions to come in.

I doubt anyone here could tell you that with any certainty.

I don't know what he based that statement on, and I of course didn't ask what's wrong with those applicants. To be honest with you, I don't see myself as a perfect fit for this department as they claim. The professor who called me doesn't even work on the same century as I'm interested in, much less my specific sub-topics! It's hard to explain this, but I just wanted to tell you guys not to overemphasize pre-application contact with professors. It's important, but it's not a deal breaker or maker.

I'll admit that I'm a sucker for such lists and ranking all too often. I don't know, you're probably right.

I'm going to tell you guys what a potential advisor told me on the phone three days ago. I applied to a program, but because it's not particularly high on my list I never emailed any of the professors there. A few days ago, I started to receive emails from two potential advisors at that school (both of whom are in my sub-field) who have been telling me that they think I'm the best fit of the top applicants and that they are "really enthused by the prospect" of my joining their department. One of them called me three days ago, and mentioned something about me never contacting him prior to applying. I apologized, even though I didn't have a good excuse for not doing so, but he quickly said, "hey, it works both ways, we have students like you who never contact us prior to applying but turn out to be perfect for our program, and then we have people who have been emailing us since this summer and judging by their application are not going to get it."

No, but I think there is nothing wrong with some new discussion every now and then.

We've discussed this article about two or three times over the past few times. The general consensus is that everyone does what they think is best for them and what they enjoy -- if you really want a higher degree in the humanities, no article should stop you.

Interesting, I mostly agree. I was looking at the recent USNWR rankings (based on department chairs' opinions) and it looks pretty close to what you guys think here. In terms of tenure track jobs at, say, top 50 universities, you guys think that a degree from the bottom section of the top 15 would be acceptable? Of course, I realize that there are countless factors in play, such as publications for instance, but we all know that degrees from certain schools open up more doors than others. The more I look at various history departments' faculties, the more difficult it is to say which schools beyond HYPS are common "breeding grounds" for top faculty positions.

I'm more looking forward to doing research and writing articles/books as opposed to teaching.

What about Penn or WUSTL?

I had similar concerns, and my professors told me to concentrate on the positives of my profile in the SoP. Don't bring extra attention to poor scores, rather focus on the strong parts of your application.

I've come to expect this from my parents, especially my mom, but what drives me crazy is when my friends just brush me off with "oh stop it, we all know you're gonna get into the best schools." Every time I make the mistake of saying something about my grad school applications, they act like I'm just kidding around and it's a done deal.

So, what do you guys think are the best overall history departments in the US? I'm not asking about any sub-fields, just general history rankings. I want to get a sense for what everyone thinks. Rank the top 10.

where are you applying, gezelle?

well put, i hope everyone gets into their top choice take deep breaths, relax, and remember that none of this is the end of the world. Chill.

Of course you should still submit the application. If you don't send it in, then you'll definitely not go there, but if you at least try, then there is some chance.

Ok, why not? Double majors. Departmental honors in both majors. 3.77 overall GPA, 3.93 major 1, 4.0 major 2. Fulbright grant for study abroad. Research award for honors thesis, which I also presented at a regional conference. I was born in a foreign country and lived there for well over a decade before moving to the US, so I have native-level fluency in a language that is directly relevant to my program. I also have intermediate knowledge of French. One of my LOR's is from one of the most recognized and respected scholars in the field (I'm partly judging this by the number of grad programs which list her books as required reading). Pretty good GRE for a non-native English speaker: over 700 verbal, 5.5 AW.

I am the one who got that UNC email, and in it the professor told me that they received over 500 applications this year. And in my field they are accepting "one, possibly two" applicants. I don't consider this to be particularly positive news.

I wouldn't call that UNC email a result. He also did not fail to mention that they've received over 500 applications this year, compared to 407 last year.