ashiepoo72

From what I've read, history programs rarely do interviews. When they do, it's usually informal like a Skype interview with your POIs or something. If you go to the history board, under the 2015 applicants thread TMP actually just posted an amazingly detailed timeline of what happens when applications leave our hands

TMP and catsandscarves -- thanks for all the great information! So glad successful applicants stick around to help out the newbies

I know that you're considering it for programs that don't specify, I just don't think most want to see an SOP that length. Departments that specify SOPs over, say, 1000 words or 2 pages are usually outliers. I think it's a good idea for you to call and ask if they have a general length recommendation. As a writing tutor, I can tell you that there is nearly always "fluff"

Congrats on submitting applications! And I doubt most adcomms even start looking at apps until January...either way, we are in for a looong wait

It's not that professors wouldn't correct footnotes or bibliographies that weren't properly done in papers--they did to help students see their errors. but my undergrad set a standard for us that I appreciated, and that was to find the information we needed by our own initiative. This touched on every aspect of my upper div experience, from research to class selection to citing. Whether we purchased a manual recommended by a TA, went to a professor's office hours, or googled how to cite, it didn't matter. They expected us to figure out a way to get what we needed. Maybe it's strange compared to other departments, but I have to say I'm an excellent googler now. Sure, this totally could've been because I did my undergrad at a huge state school with poor funding, but I don't think so. The department culture wasn't cold by any means, but...independent. The university itself is considered fairly (extremely) quirky.

Is that 3 pages double spaced or single? If it's single that sounds too long for an SOP. If the program doesn't specify, I'd stay somewhere between 500-1000 words, at least in my discipline. What's the average length based on other programs you're applying to? That's probably a good indicator on what a good length is.

My mistake, I didn't even think about what your non-Portuguese side is! I find that Portuguese people tend to not identify as white per se. We tend to be adamantly Portuguese haha that's not on the census though...

I wouldn't identify as Latino for the sake of diversity. If you personally identify as Latino, then by all means go for it. Don't do it based on your grandfather's Portuguese ancestry--most (nearly all, to be honest) Portuguese people do not identify as Hispanic or Latino. Do it based on how you contend with your heritage. It's actually easier to make the argument that Portuguese people are Hispanic based on proximity and shared history way way back with Spain, but again I caution you not to base identifying as Hispanic or Latino on whether you can technically get away with doing so, but on if you actually identify that way.

Why would you post this question here if you already believe it isn't a big deal, and then attack the people giving you advice you solicited in the first place? These programs are looking for people who clearly want to be a part of their department and community. Your sloppy handling of the SOP indicates that you are not taking this program and what it has to offer seriously. You may think people on here giving you advice are rude, but I have found that you think that of anyone who gives an opinion contrary to what you want to hear. Geology and oceanography may be related, but they're still different--someone seeking to study these fields should be even more aware of that. You should have specified that you're interested in the geology CONCENTRATION within the oceanography program at that program, rather than carelessly submitting the same SOP to multiple schools without actually focusing on the different emphases of each program.

No you wouldn't. You're technically white/European. Source: I'm also Portuguese

You don't need to convince me! Of the 13 schools I'm applying to, only 2 are in California! I love wearing flip flops all year round, but the archives I need are far away from the West Coast.

Honestly, no one ever taught me to cite properly, even in undergrad. The professors said "use Chicago" and assumed we could figure it out. Which, to be real, shouldn't be difficult for history majors--it's essentially research. Edit: OH! Just wanted to say...I have officially submitted applications

For anyone who wants to know what parenthood is all about, you should watch some Louis CK stand-up. Kids and parents are both terrible. However, sometimes having kids is fun, and that annoying biological connection forces us to tolerate (and -gasp- love) the little narcissists

How low? Do you have any sort of reasons for why your GPA dropped below 3.0? I'm not saying find an excuse, but if you have legitimate reasons admissions committees can be understanding. I would take the GRE and apply to Master's programs. If you eventually want to apply to PhDs, getting a Master's will mitigate the impact of your undergrad GPA. Plus they tend to be unfunded and, generally, more forgiving of peccadilloes on the transcript because of that. I would also contact the programs you want to apply to and ask them if they'll even look at your application. Best of luck!

mollifiedmolloy -- I feel your pain so much right now. My family immigrated to the U.S. in the late 70s--"pulled up by the bootstraps," total salt of the earth, so they just can't understand why I need so much school. My aunt, the first person to get a Bachelor's degree in the fam (so far I'm the second and last...here's to hoping my brothers don't get stuck in community college for life!) is the most supportive, but most of my relatives think my major is useless, graduate school is useless and I should have been a homemaker. It may be the 21st century but tradition dies hard. I keep telling my grandpa that he will have bragging rights when I get the PhD, first doctor in the family and whatnot.

I'm using a research paper based heavily on primary sources, but it also includes a short section on historiography and secondary literature throughout the paper. I think the best advice I've read on this board is to send your best paper that shows you know how to think and write historically.

You should also check out Loyola University Chicago.

Snapchat and selfies

I'm going to give you bigger picture suggestions because I think those are more important at this point than the grammar/structure. You can fix that once you've got the big picture done well. In the second paragraph you should "show, not tell." That is, describe examples of your broad knowledge, don't just state that you have broad knowledge. Give examples of the skills you've learned and how you learned them. In paragraph 3, you shouldn't talk about what you haven't accomplished. You should focus on what you have. Whatever research or methodological skills you've obtained are what you should focus on. Don't point out any weaknesses. Google the writer's diet, or go look for the link on the history 2015 board on this site, plug your SOP in and it'll point out passive voice to you. All passive voice isn't evil, it should just be used judiciously. I'd recommend a careful read through of the SOP (I recommend reading it aloud slowly) because there are several places where it sounds like you forgot words. Best of luck!

Don't contact POIs unless you have important questions that cannot be answered by the department website (this goes for PhD applicants too). If your program admits people directly to an advisor, and said advisor needs to approve admits, then you should probably contact the person you're interested in working with and see if they are taking on new students. I'm in an MA program now, and when I applied I did not contact any professors. All I did was discuss my area of interest in the SOP and experience with historical research/methodologies. You should read the department website in detail and see if they recommend contacting POIs. If you're still unsure after doing that, it wouldn't hurt to contact the graduate advisor and ask their advice. Best of luck!

I've never seen American Horror Story, but I'll have to check it out now that I've discovered the wonderful capabilities of my laptop. Congrats on submitting applications!! I was thisclose to being done with apps, just getting last edits from a friend on my writing sample, when I realized I butchered citations of a source I use a lot in the sample. Now I have to dig through thousands of pages of said source and find the information I didn't include. I'd like to reiterate to all history majors, past, present and future--cite correctly from the very beginning! Don't be like me! It's utter torture fixing citations on a paper written over six months ago.

Usually the application asks outright if you require funding (some even say "will you be able to attend without funding") or how you plan to fund your education, so you should check there first. Otherwise I would try to tactfully say it in the SOP, maybe along the lines of you've reached a point intellectually and financially where you feel ready to pursue a doctorate. I don't have your (awesome) problem so I have not thought about how to say something like this. I'm sure the schools would love to read that they don't have to find funding for you, especially with budget cuts!

For someone who spends so much time on the computer, I'm woefully bad with technology. I don't have a TV, so whenever anyone recommends a TV show or movie that's what I tell them. Yesterday my friend turns to me and says "you have a laptop..." Wait, you mean my paper-writer and research-organizer and gradcafe-stalker machine also plays moving pictures?! I may or may not have watched several hours of New Girl last night

Properly cite!! Honestly I'm terrible at citing because I usually do crude citations to not break up my thought process while writing, then correct them later. It's a bad habit. citations are important though! A huge part of writing history is giving credit to and showing the threads connecting other historians. I highly recommend Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses and Dissertations.

From what I understand, only Chicago and/or Turabian are acceptable citation styles for history. As a Californian, I totally get why it's hard to imagine living anywhere else! My friends think I'm nutty for only applying to two CA schools