ashiepoo72

I think the best way to approach this is to carefully choose programs that suit your research interests. My list ranges in ranking, with the bulk of programs ranked above 30, but I chose each program deliberately after extensive research and communication with grad students and POIs. I'd be happy at any program on my list, and I know that my research interests fit several scholars in at each school. I am one of those who wants an academic career, but I also love my field and if I don't end up getting a TT position I won't regret having the opportunity to spend years studying history, engaging with like-minded individuals and completing a dissertation. Maelia is correct that not getting a PhD at a top program diminishes chances at a TT position in a more highly ranked program (in history, I would argue it's the "top tier," so above rank 25, but the top ten increases your chance even more). I know that there are reach schools, but I feel like if you concentrate on fit in choosing where you apply, then none of the programs you apply to should be reach schools for you. Some may be more competitive due to prestige and other factors, but if your research fits the department and you're a strong applicant (meet and exceed the min requirements) none should be a "reach." If I was applying to a program that had one scholar in my field who was nearing retirement and was lower ranked, I'd feel more like that was a reach school than a top 10 program where the department has several scholars studying things related to my interests.

I wasn't planning on using a cover page...it's not something I usually do. Are we supposed to? I always use Turabian, and I will include a bibliography. I was wondering if the bibliography counted toward page length but figured it doesn't. I'm treating this the same way I would a final paper (ok, maybe with a little more care and stress!), so all the things I include with a term paper i am including with the writing sample.

Woohoo! I LOVE being sick while working on the last revision of my writing sample.

In the basic information section of applications there generally is a place where you can fill in other names your material may come under. I had the same problem as TakeruK except with my last name, so I just wrote in the different iterations on the online application form. I emailed a school that does not have a space for other names and asked them if it would be a problem, and they said no. Best of luck!

They care more about it than the quant, but from what I've heard it's significantly less important than verbal because adcomms will have your writing sample(s) in front of them, so what do they care about the GRE's opinion of your writing? I think it'd still raise a red flag of its below like 4ish (3.5? Who really knows) though.

I scanned official transcripts (which were no longer official because I broke the seals) for school because my unofficial transcripts on the websites are kind of a pain to interpret. I also worried that the website transcript wasn't as "right" as a scanned version of the official transcript. What can I say, I'm a worrier. If nothing has changed since you scanned your official transcript and it shows that your degree was awarded, I don't see why you'd need to redo it. The only thing, to my knowledge, that programs give an expiration date to is GRE scores. Best of luck!

I totally get the feeling. It's always been hard for me to drop in to office hours, but it makes a big difference. I'm not saying be one of those students that's always waiting outside a professor's office and never has anything to say, but I think it's totally appropriate and helpful to drop in and talk about intellectual problems you're thinking about, papers, research, and graduate school goals. Professors WANT to help their students. I want to stress that getting close to potential rec writers shouldn't just be a means to an end. These are people who can be part of your intellectual journey long after you graduate. They can mentor you, read your statement of purpose, and point you in interesting research directions. They are training you to be part of the next generation of scholars in your field. As someone who did not get close to professors during my undergrad years, I can safely say it was the biggest mistake I made (yes, even bigger than that F I got my first quarter haha). It sounds like you've already built some good relationships, so that's great

Start building strong relationships with potential rec writers. Take several classes with the same professors and do well in them, visit office hours, apprise them of your progress and goals, etc. I did not do this as an undergrad, and it's part of the reason I applied to MA programs the first time around instead of PhDs. It wouldn't hurt for you to start studying GRE vocab, but I think you can wait on taking the actual test. You have plenty of time to study, so why not take your time and pick up some good habits? Take up reading some high quality magazines and journals in your field. Personally, I like The New Yorker and The Economist. Regardless of the GRE, getting well-versed in high-brow and scholarly writing is a good idea for graduate school. Now is also the time for you to do research for a writing sample. Try to work that out if you can. Make sure you spend a lot of time working on your research and writing. I look at the writing sample like a wine glass test for limo drivers--some limo companies make their job applicants drive the limo with wine glasses in the back seat, and if one tips over and breaks they don't get hired. Your writing sample should be the wine glass, and you're the driver. Polish it until it's clear, analytic and convincing and it won't fall flat with the adcomm. Good luck!

I think doing it earlier is good for a few reasons, none of which include a higher likelihood of acceptance: 1. Technical glitches -- I started filling in the basic information on my applications about a month ago, and have encountered glitches on two different applications. I immediately contacted the programs who quickly fixed the glitches. Can you imagine if I discovered this hours before the application was due? I literally shudder to think of it. 2. Stress levels -- knowing the application is in and done, that you aren't rushing to complete things at the last minute, will make you feel less stressed...at least until you realize your waiting period for admissions decisions has begun. 3. Last minute surprises -- I started filling out basic information on one of my applications, and imagine my surprise when I came across several hidden essays built into the application. Had I waited til the last minute, that would have induced extreme panic. Instead, I'm just slightly peeved that applications have secret essays waiting to surprise unsuspecting applicants. S'all good, though. Anyway, I'm sure many, many people wait til the day before application deadlines to submit (and who can blame them? That extra week or two or three is super useful in polishing materials), but I'm opting to submit a bit early because I'm neurotic.

stillalivetui - there is something strangely invigorating about the stress and uncertainty! I told one of my professors that I'm getting more excited as deadlines approach and asked him if there's something terribly wrong with me haha LeventeL - if it makes you feel better, I stopped watering my lawn so your many showers balance it out

Obviously, as I said in a response to your post (so you did receive advice other than just to retake) you can call the programs and ask them for their suggestions. You can polish apply and hope for the best. You might get in regardless of your scores. You can wait a year and be diligent in studying for the exam so you can raise your score. Honestly, I did not want to retake the GRE, but I took the exam in June to give myself several more months to do so if my scores were really low. If you do not get in this round I suggest you do the same. This process is stressful and terrifying at times, but as I approach my application deadlines I've realized how much of it actually is in our hands. We write a statement of purpose and can take as little or as much time on that. We can show it to as many or as few people as we want. We can edit it once or ten times. Same with the writing sample. Yes, we can't control our past grades, but if someone has a bad GPA they can take a year off and take open enrollment grad classes to show they can handle grad level work. My undergrad GPA was mediocre--not terrible, but nothing special--so I opted to get an MA before applying to PhDs. Taking several years off also distances an applicant from a mediocre undergrad record. We get LORs. We don't control what our rec writers write, but we do control our performance in their classes, how we maintained relationships with them and who we choose to write LORs. We take the GRE, which we can study for as much or as little as we like. A professor encouraged me to take the test seriously. She said it's not the most important aspect, but not to underestimate it. I studied for it for at least 3 months, focusing on the areas that matter the most to my field, and gave myself plenty of time to retake. Had I waited until November and bombed it, I would've applied to programs anyway and hoped for the best. I also would've been proactive and contacted the programs to get their input. As someone finishing up an MA, and from what I've read everywhere on this board as I began my (sometimes obsessive) research into applying to PhDs back in January (yes, I treated applications like I was planning a wedding and gave myself a year), graduate school is HARD. It's sometimes demoralizing, always stressful and time consuming. There were times I felt I could not cut it in my program, other times I felt on top of the world. One thing remained constant: my desire to do whatever it takes to get into a PhD program and continue my intellectual journey. Applications are just one small, short-term step in an extended journey that will be challenging on the best of days, and much more challenging than a standardized test. If you really want this, you need to be proactive and grab the proverbial bull by its horns.

OP - I agree with bsharpe269 and peachypie. Regardless of how we personally feel about the GRE, to a certain extent it matters and if you want to give yourself the best shot you should try to retake it and send the verbal/quant scores to your programs with a promise that the official score will come shortly. The fact that you've never bombed a test before indicates you were just nervous and perfectly capable of doing well on the GRE. Call up those grad admins and see what you can work out. Do all your programs have an early Dec deadline? Columbia09 - I know you're upset about the GRE, but trashing it is not going to help you or the OP succeed during application season. No one forces anyone to apply to graduate school. It's an entirely voluntary process. No one need waste their time or money on the GRE if they don't want to. Much like mandatory fingerprinting and TB testing when working for a secondary school, the GRE is just a hoop every applicant has to jump through.

Since I'm taking a break from applications, I thought I'd post a question here for funsies. I tend to get stuck on certain songs or bands for a few months at a time, so for every single big research project I've ever done I have an associated album of music that just triggers the time period for me. This even works for when I'm not doing research. For example, I listened to linkin park during my middle school DC trip, so now whenever I think of the Civil War Meteora plays in my head (don't judge me!!). My current project = somekindawonderful and the glitch mob. Yes, I'm the person with headphones in jamming at archives haha Do any of you experience something similar? Or do you have research rituals?

Your structure makes sense to me. I wouldn't worry about it too much. You need to feel good about what you've written. It's gotta sound like you, know what I mean? Just make sure your experience and interests are the central focus of the essay and you'll be fine In the heading on the left hand side I put my name, the term I'm applying to, and the essay title ("Statement of Purpose" or "Personal Statement" or whatever the program calls it) plus page number. I wanted the information to be there but not be obtrusive. It looks like this: 1 Ashiepoo - Fall 2015 Statement of Purpose

I mention it in my second paragraph. My essay is structured like this: My "hook" paragraph comes first and is related to my research interests. I state "20th century U.S. history" in the second paragraph. My third and fourth outline my research experience, fifth talks about my more specific interests within 20th century US, sixth is my "personal" paragraph which really just shows why my personal experiences make me a good historian, last paragraph is why I fit. My approach was to make my interests clear in each paragraph, but I've heard it's necessary to state it explicitly early on.

Unfortunately, programs need a way to evaluate students across the board. Applicants come from myriad backgrounds and undergraduate institutions, some are domestic applicants and others international, and one of the ways to have a standard metric for all these very different applicants is the GRE. I personally don't think the GRE is a good indicator of ability, but there have been studies that show a correlation between students who succeed in PhD programs and higher GRE scores. Here's what I would do. First of all, when was your test? I believe there is a waiting period between when you take the GRE and when you can retake. If you are able to retake it by, like, no later than November 20th, you'll still have enough time to get your new scores to schools with a Dec 1st cutoff. That gives you around a week and half to two weeks to study for the exam. You need to be really smart about how you study. I've said this a bunch of times on this board, but I think the best way to study for the GRE is to take as many practice tests as possible. For the verbal, the thing that raised my score the most was studying vocab like crazy and practice tests (I ended up with a 165). I didn't do terribly well on the quant (151) because my field does not weigh it heavily, but ETS has math study guides that list every single concept they cover on the exam. If I was you, I would spend the next 10 or so days acting like studying for the GRE is my 9-5 job. If that's not possible, then try to study as much as you can. You CAN raise your score. Secondly, it looks like you are applying to MS programs. In general, their expectations will be lower than doctoral programs. You should certainly apply to safety schools, and make sure you apply to several programs at the very least. Thirdly, if you REALLY want this, you have to try to not feel sorry for yourself when things tank. We all have moments of utter desolation and defeat, and that's fine, but if all you do about it is rage at a standardized test, you are going to shoot your own foot. If you really want to do graduate school--which means you're in for the long haul--you need to take the long view and not get stuck in a rut. Fourthly, adcomms DO take a holistic approach, so the GRE is not the end all be all. Don't let it destroy you. If you don't have time to retake the test, polish the rest of your application like you've never polished anything before. You need to be your biggest supporter right now, and that means working extremely hard to make the aspects of the application you can control as good as possible. If it makes you feel better, you should contact the programs you're applying to and ask them straight up if they will toss your application because of a low GRE score. If they say yes, that's money saved on an application. Best of luck.

Glamdoll and LeventeL - I went over my SOP and managed to find an error so false alarm! Editing one essay a day is a great idea. At this point, I'm so close to being done that that's really all I should need. If I keep obsessing I'm going to start adding a word then removing it then adding it back again. 1929...that has to be some kind of record for oldest grad student if I switch the last two numbers of my birth year it'd be the same. aren't i special? I'm a Reagan baby by a few months ('88) T minus 9 days....

I sent my rec writers a copy of my statement of purpose and a spreadsheet that had every program I'm applying to and application due dates. Some profs might want to look at assignments you've done in their classes (with their original comments), your CV and/or a transcript. I would at the minimum send your SOP, then ask them if there's anything else they need. I told my professors that I'd be applying around November 15th (ahhh! 10 days!) and would send them a reminder email after I submitted all my applications. I have the benefit of still being at the program where all 3 profs are, so I can also tell them in person which might be a nice gesture if you can wing it. As to the information on where/how to send the recs, you should check each program's website and see if they want a paper or digital copy. I lucked out in that all my programs want recs submitted online, so it streamlines the process for my profs. Best of luck!

You guys...I think my SOP is done. I edited it a tiny bit today, saved the document, then had this odd moment of calm. I feel good about it...and that makes me feel like something is terribly wrong haha

It takes about a week to 10 days for the analytical writing to be scored, then about 10 days after you order for them to send the scores to schools (although I think ETS says this long to have a cushion, it's all sent electronically so once you pay it should be pretty fast). You should contact any Dec. 1st programs and ask if you can send them a copy of your score report for now because you're concerned the official scores won't get to them on time. Make sure you plan what programs you want to use the 4 free score reports so you can fill that info in right after your exam, so those scores are sent ASAP.

I'm also applying to PhD programs in history so I'm not an expert on getting in, but I've worked as a writing tutor for several years so hopefully this helps. I'd go through each sentence looking for redundant words and phrases (for example, you say things like "my project," "for this project" and "in this project" pretty frequently). Also, minor detail but you switch between "Roe v. Wade" and "Roe vs. Wade." Some words can be cut out if you remove the passive verbs ("my studies at UIUC prepared me..."). Active verbs sound better, too. Third paragraph, you say "women of the time believed produced abortion," but I think you mean something like women of the time practiced abortion or something like that. In the same paragraph, instead of "in the second class..." You could say something like "Another class, Gender, Health and Popular Culture, examined the history of..." To cut out some words and make it less confusing. I would personally change the order of your last 2 paragraphs. It's important to explain hardships that affected your undergrad career, but I think it's not a good idea to end on a note where you're explaining things that held you back. It's important to end on a strong note, and talking about how you fit the department is a good way of doing that. Best of luck

IU is my top choice so many great scholars. Plus I've heard the department culture is awesome.

Everything I've seen says the writing sample is double spaced, but you should carefully read the admissions information on each department's website just to be safe.

Also, try focusing on the parts of the application you can improve, like the writing sample and SOP. Polish these until you can't polish any more. Best of luck!

Have you looked at the ETS math guides? Those might help. You can pull them right off the website. As for verbal, focus on vocab and learning the tricks of the test. Take a TON of practice tests. Seriously, that's what raised my score the most. I studied a bit for reading comp using Manhattan prep, but the practice tests made me comfortable with the test and, most importantly, taught me how to pick up on where the test tried to trick me. For anthro, does the quantitative matter that much?