ashiepoo72

LeventeL - lol, awesome story. I had a similar experience this morning--unknown number in the Midwest--but it was a spam call Welcome emmd and all the new posters! Catria -- I didn't realize the English applicant pool had dropped. Do you know if it was significant? I know some history programs are receiving less applications, but the top ones still get a ton.

I used a 30 page seminar paper for my writing sample. The original was solid with lots of original research, but most programs I applied to wanted between 15-25 pages. I asked my professor (who helped guide and inform my research for the paper) tell me what parts he thought I could cut out and what I should add. Thankfully I didn't need to cut to 10 pages (that must have been tough, maelia!). I ended up with roughly 23 pages that were much stronger for having been pared down. My takeaway is, don't worry so much about writing a thesis to a certain page length (except perhaps to make sure it's not inordinately long), worry about writing a strong thesis with solid primary source research. Second takeaway--build strong relationships with professors (I know I already said this, but it's worth repeating). Seriously--my professors did a TON of work to help me prepare applications, including looking at multiple SOP and writing sample drafts, in addition to writing recommendations. Profs are your best resource.

Work on languages! I would recommend this to future americanists too, but it's especially important for anyone studying areas outside of the U.S. Languages will give you a leg up when applying to grad school or are, in many cases, a basic requirement for admission. Start building relationships with professors, especially in your field. Take several classes with the same professors, ask them about research opportunities, visit them in office hours to discuss your coursework and goals, etc. Show them you're a serious student of history so when the time comes they can give you advice based on in-depth knowledge of your work/goals and can write your recs. Don't view them as simply potential rec writers, though. Making professional connections will be important throughout your career--some of these professors will one day be your colleagues if you enter academia. It goes beyond the more transitory need of a LOR. Start thinking about doing a senior thesis. I didn't do one because I had no idea what I wanted to do as a freshmen, but it's definitely something you should do. I'd also recommend buying a Chicago Manual of Style book (I think it's on the 16th edition) or Turabian research/citing guide book. You might want to look for books on historiography--get familiar with how historians study history instead of how history is studied in high school and early college. Historians go beyond factual knowledge and delve into the history of how history was and is written, so now is a good time for you to read the seminal works in your field. It's a good idea to sign up for table of contents notifications for the journals related to your field, that'll show you what new works are being written. I'm sure others will have more and different advice, but this is basically the stuff I wish I knew as a freshmen in college. It took me 2 years in the wrong major for me to figure out history was right for me, and then I had to navigate MA apps with very little knowledge of how to study history at the grad level. Good luck!

If you're referring to this thread, I'm sure it'll heat up in like 2-3 weeks Holy crap. My heart just skipped a beat when I realized how close we are haha I've been strangely calm so far...hoping it holds for awhile longer...

I mean a paper based on both primary sources and secondary literature--this is if you're trying to study history or (to my knowledge) any area studies programs at the grad level. I can't speak for Museum Studies or Library Science and the like. So you'd look at primary source documents (like letters, diaries, government docs, film, novels, images, etc...primary sources are legion, if you are unsure what kind of things are primaries you should spend some time googling and talking to professors) and any secondary works relevant to the topic your primary source research is on. Ideally, you'd look at the most important works by historians on the topic to situate your paper within the historiography. You need to know the historiography to make a compelling argument.

If you havent written a senior thesis or primary source based paper as an undergrad, that's the key thing you should work on during your year off. Explore some local archives and dig into the primary sources. I noticed you're applying to a few Bay Area schools--are you local? The Hoover Institution at Stanford is free and open to the public, you can go to the Bancroft at Berkeley and I'm sure SF State has some good archival material. If you show programs you are self-motivated when it comes to research, that'll go a long way. Keep in mind your major GPA is more important, and yours is high. Score decently on the GREs and I don't foresee a problem when it comes to the quantitative portions of your applications. The most important thing for you is to write a compelling and focused SOP and primary source based paper, with proper engagement with the historiography. Good luck!

Was it a minor spelling mistake, or more like some of the ballots that went out in the 2008 election that spelled "Barack Osama" instead of "Barack Obama?" In all seriousness, it's probably no big deal. People have misspelled POI names and gotten in. If your application is strong, it's unlikely a spelling mistake will get you rejected.

Size extra fine black Pilot G-2 pens for everything...reading, editing, note-taking. I'll use the size fine in a pinch but it's too thick and bleeds through thin paper. I love em because they don't smear at all, the ink comes out smoothly (worst thing ever when pen ink stops halfway through writing a word) and are reasonably priced (seriously...a dozen for like $10 on Amazon!) I'm not a stickler for paper as long as it's college ruled.

I got them off of department websites, POI correspondence or via the results search here on gradcafe. That's why I have ranges instead of anything concrete. Most programs don't have it listed on the department website. I think it's safe to say that some schools start at the end of January, but most will start sometime in February. But we all already know that, so the date ranges really aren't useful except to feed our collective mania.

I can tell you that Minnesota tends to begin notifying at the end of January, Indiana in early February and Binghamton in late February. Some schools do admission in waves--not to mention acceptances off the waitlist--so these dates don't really tell the whole story, but I totally get wanting to know! I have notification date ranges on a spreadsheet haha

Also, I study US Cold War interventions--mostly from a US perspective but my work is necessarily global. What is your focus? I've been focusing on the Korean and Vietnam wars lately, so I've read a ton on those conflicts, mostly media-related. I also study Latin America (I can do research in Spanish), primarily the Salvadoran Civil War. One book I'd suggest for an overview of US-USSR motivations/relations during the Cold War is Thomas Paterson's On Every Front. It's a bit dated, and the first edition was written during the Cold War, but it's pretty foundational and easy to read. The Westad book you listed is one of my faves. It's so freaking good. His research is off the charts.

Leonard-- Learning to read like a grad student is a great skill to achieve before you start grad school. I'm sure others will have different advice, but I've found this is the best way for me to get what I need from a book quickly. Being that we read an inordinate amount of books as grad students, reading quickly is key. First things first, I look closely at the title, Library of Congress information, table of contents and index. The LoC info usually gives you basic information to situate the book. I like to note years, because the period a book is written can often influence the author (I recently read Nell Irven Painter's Standing at Armageddon and she admits the book was influenced by being written during the Cold War, for example). The ToC shows how the author (deliberately) structured the book--we should never take the author's chosen structure for granted. The index can give hints about what the author thinks is important, based on number of pages dedicated to that topic/person/event/etc. So if I'm skimming an index and labor and class have lots of pages dedicated to them, I know the author probably thinks these are particularly important topics in the analysis/argument. Second step: read the introduction and conclusions with a fine-tooth comb. This is where most of my note-taking comes from. Look for clues from the author. Some mention structure and methodology, so note those. Definitely figure out what the thesis is. Sometimes it's a sentence saying "The thesis of the book is...." (it's awesome when that's the case haha), and sometimes the thesis is spread over several paragraphs or kind of implied but not overtly stated. Whatever the case may be, you NEED to pick out the argument. Some authors try to be fancy and put it in the conclusion, but most of the time its in the intro. Look for any historiographical review and if the author has key terms they define in the intro and make sure to note those. Also determine what the date range or thematic emphases are. Finally, I gut the actual book. I tend to read one or two chapters closely, taking notes on specific examples the author uses to further the argument/analysis. Mostly, I skim. I like to note at least some specifics to basically "show the thesis in action" but don't spend much time on the actual chapters. Most of what I needed I already got from the intro/conclusion. Some authors structure chapters so they have a mini intro and conclusion at the beginning and end--in that case, I would read those closely and skim the body of the chapter. I also attempt to keep the historiography in mind the entire time I'm reading. For example, I recently finished Leon Litwack's Been in the Storm so Long and Heather Cox Richardson's The Death of Reconstruction. Litwack is kind of a big deal (understatement haha), and Richardson doesn't engage with his work (or much of the secondary literature in general), so I took notes on how this weakened her overall argument and where she could've used Litwack and other relevant historians. At the end, I write a precis which I view as a glorified summary. The way I learned to write a precis is like this: Title is a full Chicago style bibliographic citation, Intro paragraph notes the structure/methodology/sources/thesis of the book, several paragraphs summarizing the key themes/arguments/important information with specific examples, conclusion paragraph that discusses the historiography (a focused analysis of the book's position in the historiography, other works the author engaged with--be it as a foil or to support their argument), strengths/weaknesses of the book (basically, why it's useful) and any questions it leaves unanswered. Hope this helps! EDIT: Precis should be short. One of my professors wanted one page, single spaced. Mine tend to be around two pages double spaced, but no more than three. If you can't write a concise precis, you're too caught up in details.

L13-- that sounds terrifying yet hilarious. Good on you for having a contingency plan! I have to say, I'm so glad my rec writers didn't put me through that kind of torture. I've been peeking at the LOR forum and it seems like a lot of people suffer in agony over at least one rec writer submitting close to the deadline or late. I'm also glad I'm so busy prepping for the MA exam and next semester's classes, I have yet to feel stressed out about applications...*knocks on wood* Hope you all are enjoying the holidays!

I think it's fine that you use some of the information in your old SOP, but I'd be sure to give it a major update and revision. Add in stuff you've done in the past year to further prepare for the program, make sure you don't have any silly mistakes from your previous application cycle, and edit the crap out of the SOP to make it sound amazing. This would be my concern...if you were rejected last year and you send them essentially the same (or very close to the same) SOP, how is that going to help your chances this year? Make sure you show growth between now and then. Best of luck!

Happy Holidays I hope everyone gets in some time for relaxation!

I would be happy to look over your SOP, send me a PM. I'd like to read it before I form an absolute opinion on McCullough. My instinct says it's better to not include him, but I think if you form the SOP the right way it could work. My undergrad mentor suggested I not naively mention how at a young age Howard Zinn inspired me (that's an embarrassing admission but sorry, not sorry! Pop history piques many future historians' interests!) so I focused on some scholars I read in a senior seminar course instead (also inspiring, just not my first entree into questioning the validity of rah-rah history like Zinn did). Anyway, send me the SOP, but also try to think about some academic historians you might include instead.

I think saying that the "department is among the best *** research institutes" is vague and sounds like pandering. You should be specific, like "the department's strength in [insert methodology, field, etc here] makes it particularly suited to my research focus in [insert research interests here and why they connect]." You wouldn't say "faculties," that implies multiple departments. Say faculty--"The department's strong faculty, particularly Dr. X and Dr. Y whose research in [blank] [insert how their research is relevant to yours]" Don't vaguely say "matches my interest," but SHOW how your interest aligns with their research. I would not write "last but not least" because it comes off as juvenile--I would say something like "In addition, resources such as X research center make Y University the best location for my graduate work." Your last sentence is unnecessary and also somewhat juvenile. The programs don't want to hear about their wonderful atmosphere, unless you connect it to how wonderful the research/professional opportunities are. Your statement should be professional and focused on your graduate school work and goals.

Glamdoll -- no idea...I've never heard of that. Maybe they just want more time to go through applications? It probably won't delay the results by much, because most schools don't even look at applications until after the holidays (although some start going over them as they come in). I would just be glad that you have it done with early! LeventeL -- I didn't, because I'm currently completing an MA. I would imagine the essay doesn't need to be long since they already have your SOP and stuff. I'd write about how an MA will help build your skills for a future PhD program. I pulled this from the IU website: NOTE: if you wish also to apply for admission to a terminal MA, then you must submit a separate statement of no more than 300 words that identifies the terminal MA track and provides a rationale for the terminal MA application.

I sent all my professors my SOP, mostly because I wanted their feedback on it and for them to know exactly what my research interests are. Also, with the SOP in front of them they could touch on important things (like how their classes/mentorship prepared me for future research and PhD work) that I did not include due to space restrictions. I included some personal information in it--nothing too specific, I think it's best to be somewhat vague about that kind of stuff so the essay doesn't dwell on the personal--but I wanted to see if any of them thought what I put in was inappropriate. I don't know what personal information you included in the SOP, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think it's a fairly safe rule that if you wouldn't want trusted profs to read it you probably shouldn't give it to the adcomms. Maybe it differs by discipline, but I was told that the item to for sure give to professors is the SOP.

I ended mine with a paragraph describing why I thought the school was a good fit for me, which professors I want to work with and why their research relates to mine, and included why the university/location as a whole was particularly suited to my research interests--like if there's a huge archive in the area or centers for research in my field, etc. I tried to be as specific as possible about why the program and I fit. (Not vague statements like "this program is strong" but "The department, with its strength in [X field] and [Y methodology], as well as Happy University's extensive [archive, collection, library], is an ideal place to support my research in XYZ. Best of luck!

If the rest of your application package is stellar and the department really wants you, this won't destroy your chances. If the admissions committee is vacillating between admitting you or not, it could act as the tipping point. You just can't know how it's going to pan out. Either way, it's just not useful to you to obsess over it--although it's SO difficult not to! You should treat yourself to something nice, and try not to focus on this error. If you have other applications to submit, go through your SOPs with a fine-tooth comb. Good luck!

Ahhhh! Just got the reading lists for classes next semester. Why am I so excited?!

My program is structured so that there are roughly three branches of students that enter--I'd say about 1/2 are teachers hoping to raise their pay grade, 1/4 are professionals who have since retired and now want to study their "passion," and 1/4 are so-called "serious" students of history who want PhDs. That isn't to say that the best students in the class are in the third branch--some of the most intelligent people I know come from the other two branches that, on face value, are less academically driven. I place no value judgment on why individuals chose to attend my program--some people are total trolls, others will never get it and some become stars when initially they seemed lackluster. When I started, I felt like I didn't belong in the program at all! Now I'm one of the stronger students and feel like my department is a second home. In Master's programs, you're going to get your fair share of people who have no idea what they're doing. This should be expected--a Master's is training! A lot of people come from very different backgrounds and don't know the lay of the land yet. I've always been a history major, so when the new cohort comes in I can spot someone who did another undergrad major a mile away. In time, most of these people figure it out and there is no difference between who got what major when we all graduate (this is discounting the people who don't give a shit about the program and have a specific agenda--they never, ever learn anything of value in the field because they never wanted to anyway). Because of my own experiences, I feel that you are missing something in your discussions. You don't know enough about this field to be so arrogant about the intelligence of your classmates. In fact, the strongest people in my program are great at what they do because they listen with open ears, take everything in and use even the weakest of arguments/discussion to hone their strength at disproving such things by grounding their opposition in air-tight facts and analysis. I'm a firm believer that "you get what you put in." Instead of pooh-poohing your cohort, maybe you should consider doing something productive like that instead.

I think 3 profs looked at mine closely, I sent my aunt about 10 drafts and my classmate (who is an excellent writer) did the final outside edit. Then I proceeded to tweak each SOP for individual programs. I printed out all the SOPs, sat there and line edited them, read em out loud to see if I caught any more mistakes, filled in my corrections in word, then printed them out again. At that point, if I found nothing more to correct I went ahead and PDFed them and let it go. You just can't go on and on forever, you will get to the point of diminishing returns. I had to reach the point where I literally removed words then put them back in before I said to hell with this. Writing is a never-ending process--it ends because we run out of time or the will to write anymore. I suggest you take a long, in-depth look at yours, see if there are any other things that need correcting, and let it go.

You may want to explain what happened to your profs, let them know you called the programs and tried to waive after the fact. Not waiving can give them the impression that you don't trust them to say awesome things about you without reading the letters.