JustChill

They definitely have to be from the same test, because they also ask you for the date of the test. I had the same problem when I was applying. What I did was to leave the GRE sections blank on the applications. None of mine said that it was required to provide the scores right there; rather, you should just have ETS send them the official score report, which will have all your scores included on it.

Your basic stats sound good, so you probably could've afforded to add a couple of top-tier schools. However, there is no one to say that any ivy or other elite is going to be "better" than the ones you've chosen. This choice, obviously, is completely up to you, so if Rutgers is your top choice, that shouldn't bother or worry you. Post graduation employment, though, is a different discussion all together...

I agree with the above comments, but should add that your ideas really are very good, and that you should simply elaborate a bit and not bunch them together. To me it seems like there is a lot going on in that paragraph, and it'd be better to dilute some of those ideas with personal evidence or background -- more stuff like your undergrad university and growing up and being educated in Russia. You should definitely stress somewhere in your SoP the fact that you have an intimate understanding of two (or more) cultures -- the American and Russian -- as you have lived there and here for a number of years (if that is true). I was also born in the former Soviet Union, and lived in one of the satellite countries until I was 13, and I definitely used that to my advantage in my SoP.

Overall it sounds pretty good, but I think a big red flag is going to be the fact that you scored so poorly on the verbal section even though one of your majors was literature, which obviously entails tons of reading.

yes, sparky, i've been accepted to Oxford, but not for history, so I'm also waiting (and probably will until March or so) with all of you guys. i didn't really expect to be accepted to Oxford for their MPhil in Russian and East European Studies program, so now i have to wait and see how the history applications work out for me and whether i want to pursue a history phd or a REES master's.

i couldn't agree with liesje more.

With transcripts and GREs, it's around $1100.

i don't see how that could hurt at all. No one is going to sit around and analyze the conferences which you attended. I think you are over thinking this.

i'm not in psychology, but don't you need more than just a 2 page writing sample for the phd programs? I'd be surprised if they accepted a writing sample that short. Most SoP are longer than that.

Thank you, I'm very happy. Nonetheless, I am still waiting (and probably will until February or March) on all of my other application. So I want to see what happens with those before making a decision. Most of the others were for Russian history PhD programs, not REES Master's. I absolutely think that it helped me that I applied before their first deadline, because, as I said earlier, I received my acceptance only about two or three weeks after I sent off my two writing samples and way before January 15th, as they had previously told me. Regarding my stats, I don't mind sharing them if it helps in any way: Graduated in May from the University of Kansas. Double majors in History and Russian and East European Studies (REES). Departmental honors in both majors. 3.70 overall GPA, 3.93 History GPA, 4.0 REES GPA. Received an Undergraduate Research Award for my History Honors thesis, which i was also invited to present at a regional conference. Was awarded a Fulbright-Hays grant to study abroad at Moscow State University. Have 5 years of advanced Russian study at the universities of Kansas, Indiana, and Pittsburgh. GRE: 720 verbal, 5.5 writing (although I didn't need to report my GRE scores when I applied to Oxford). I submitted two chapters of my history thesis (which was written on a Russian history topic) as my two writing samples. Hope this helps.

Well this is right up my alley, so let's see how I can help you. Just to tell you how I know these things, I should mention that I graduated in May with majors in History and Russian and East European Studies (REES). I'm now applying for both Russian history PhD programs, and REES Master's programs. I have already been accepted into Oxford's REES M.Phil. program, but waiting on the others. I also had the option of studying either in St. Petersburg or Moscow. The two programs, however, were with different universities. The one at St. Petersburg was through my undergrad school, and the one in Moscow was through the U. of Pittsburgh. I decided to go with Pitt to Moscow, and let me tell you -- it was a wonderful experience! Moscow, and particularly Moscow State University are great. MSU is recognized throughout Europe, and if you later want to go to grad school in this field, having studied at MSU is going to go a long ways. Some people in our program were worried about this or that, but it's not an exaggeration to say that every single one of us had a great time, and we still keep in touch and talk about our time in Moscow. In terms of choosing REES programs for graduate school, I strongly recommend that you apply mostly to the 15 Title VI Russian studies centers in the country. You can see the list of those schools here: http://www.crees.ku....inks/NRCs.shtml . I was lucky in that my undergrad school is one of these national REES centers, and I think that has been a big plus in my admissions so far (as I said, I've already been admitted into Oxford's REES program). Aside from the usual GPA, GRE, and SoP factors, some of the most important things for your application later on will be how long you've studied Russian, and whether you've been in the region (study abroad or just travel). Most of the programs that I have looked at say that successful applicants typically have 3 years of Russian. I would also suggest taking one summer to study Russian intensively at a well known summer language program, such as Indiana's SWSEEL program (which is internationally recognized), one of Pitt's intensive programs, or Middlebury's total immersion program.

basic white for sure.

I feel like Oxbridge sometimes accepts more than the usual because they know that people from North America are not as likely to attend even if admitted because of the distance and price. I just got accepted to Oxford today for their MPhil program in Russian and East European Studies. I'm very happy and excited, but also very surprised, because I seriously just sent off my hard copy writing samples to them two weeks ago. Did they really compare my app to all of the others in such a short period of time, when it takes American universities until February or March to make a decision? I don't know, but it feels strange.

I'm a US citizen and have lived here for the past decade, but I was born and raised in the former Soviet Union. All of my professors tell me that this is going to be an advantage for me in the applications process, because elite American universities love to admit students -- be they foreign citizens or simply "heritage" Americans -- who have a unique understanding of other cultures and, maybe more importantly, a native-level knowledge of a language. Foreign students are always going to have a different (but by all means not necessarily superior) vantage point from domestic students when conducting research into a country or culture with which they are intimately acquainted. So, I would definitely say that being a foreign applicant is not going to hurt you in the least, and in fact should work in your favor.

Thanks, I'm excited for March to roll around. I find that not having a real top-choice helps to ease the anxiety.

I think Notre Dame is more reputable than UNC for PoliSci.

I think for any of us who have not been on any admissions committee it's very hard to predict how much weight they give to these individual components of an application. From what I understand, the Verbal and Writing sections are fairly important, especially at those programs that receive 300-400 applications per year. I took the GRE twice, the first time scored 550 on Verbal and 5.5 on AW, the second time I scored 720 on Verbal and 4 on AW. My advisors claim that this should not be a huge problem for me, since I've demonstrated my potential to succeed on these sections at least once. I suggest that you also talk to your professors and advisors, and see what they say. I do think, though, that you are wrong about the need for historians to know advanced vocabulary, because extensive good writing inevitably uses advanced words.

I doubt a few typos, especially in a foreign language, are going to be a deal breaker.

I am wondering what other regions people are going for besides US history? Seems like all I read about on here is americanists. Anyone doing Russian history? I guess it'd be cool if there weren't as many Russianists, but I somehow doubt it. Anyone know how many people (of the supposed 300-400 history applicants a year) apply for Russian history?

if your apps are due Dec. 15, which I know some history programs are even due the 1st, I don't think you're gonna have enough time to get all of the stuff done. Better cram for the next few days and take it on monday than risk missing deadlines.

no, as far as I know these are still in the experimental stage, and ETS just wants to see how people handle them. if you do see these on the gre, you can be confident that they don't count as part of your score. i took the gre twice, and the second time a clearly identified section came up that said that it was experimental and that those questions wouldn't count, and that section had those fill in the blank questions... i answered two or three and then skipped the section. no big deal.

quite the opposite. you seem to have solid stats, and american elite universities love foreign students with backgrounds like yours. i know little about math phd programs, but i know that in my field - history - students with your background would be very attractive to many of these programs. as im sure you've heard before, i would recommend emailing a couple of professors at the schools you're considering. you can check usnews.com for the best math programs in the states.

s takimi dannymi, kuda xochesh'.

My professors have suggested to exclude the GPA from my CV (even though I graduate with 3.93 and 4.0 in my two majors) and replace it with any graduation-related honors, such as latin honors or departmental honors. Things like scholarships, grants, and any academic, merit-based award should go under a single Honors and Awards section. No matter what you do, however, don't over stuff your CV with fluff that you can reasonably assume most of your competitors are also going to have. The committees are not going to be impressed in the least if you submit a three page CV if it is full of run-of-the-mill crap like some freshman year essay award from English 101. You want to be selective with the information you include, in order to highlight the most important and impressive accomplishments.

haha