[Fall 2015 Applicants]

I figured this might be a good place for me to start, since I'm new to this. I'm currently halfway through my MSLIS and preparing to do my second round of applications to PhD programs. I applied to 5 last year and didn't get into any, so I went through with my "backup" plan of Library School. I'm nervous about applying this year, because I'm now more constricted by needing funding (which is hard to find), and I don't know that I'll get accepted anywhere.

 

I'm trying to narrow down my area of interest, US inter-/post-war looking at youth culture/social movements/public history, and match up to schools with faculty and programs that support it. I'm also working on studying to retake the GRE, but I'm not sure how much that will help or how much weight is put on those scores. I'd love to know if anyone has any recommendations or opinions.

 

A few more specifics would help you determine what the best plan of action is. Keep in mind that it's a very, very subjective process so your credentials might be stellar and for whatever reason (perhaps the fit with the department isn't great, or it just can't accept that many students) you can be rejected.

 

What'd you get on the GRE? Verbal and AW are wayyyy more important than quant, and perhaps verbal is most important of all (the adcomms will have at least one piece of your writing sitting in front of them, and won't need the GRE to tell them if you are good or not). If you need funding, above 85th percentile is the cut-off for most of the UCs. And another question would be, where are you applying? Different schools have different expectations. GRE scores won't get you into a school on their own, so keep that in mind--if you have a stellar writing sample, SOP and strong LORs, that matters more than GRE scores by far.

 

Something to consider, however, IS how the rest of your record looks. I knew I wanted to break 90th percentile on verbal because my undergraduate record is good (I got like a 3.77 in history coursework) but not great (3.44 overall), and I'm in an MA program, but I don't have a 4.0 (3.85). So I figured I NEEDED to not give them another reason to second guess my record, as I'm not an impeccable candidate. If you have some minor peccadilloes on your record, a strong GRE score has the potential to smooth those over (a chance, not a certainty...basically, don't give them another reason to toss your application).

 

Make sure and spend a good deal of time on your SOP and writing sample. These should represent your best and most thoughtful work. If the adcomms see something special in these, something that intrigues them, you're likely to get in regardless of what the rest of your app looks like (let me qualify that with, as long as the rest of your app meets the minimum criteria for admission--and even then, some people with below minimum GPAs have gotten into doctoral programs). There is no set formula, just make your application the best you can. Consider the package as a whole, note your weaknesses and try to strengthen them, and if you can't then augment them elsewhere.

 

Best of luck!

[Fall 2015 Applicants]

So, after doing more in-depth research, my list has shrunk a bit to Harvard, Brown, UCBerk, UChicago, and UToronto. I'm... moderately intimidated by this list. I've gone only for professors who were very near my area of interest, but I've ended up with a short list of heavy hitters. Two questions:

 

1) Does anyone have any tips on how to not freak out about this?

 

2) The UCB program says it takes a history cohort of 32-40. This seems absurdly large. Is this perception accurate, and can anyone here comment on how the cohort size influences the internal department dynamic?

 

1. Stay organized, and set reasonable completion goals! For example, I recently completed my basic, bare-bones SOP that I will personalize once I finalize my list of schools. Next on the list is GRE prep (I'm taking the test this month, so I've set mini goals throughout the past few months). Make sure you step back and take a breather sometimes, as well. This process is overwhelming and it's so easy to get consumed by it.

 

2. I kind of figured they accept around 40 students, but only 25ish matriculate.

[Fall 2015 Applicants]

Hello everyone! The excitement (and dread) are beginning for me. I'll be applying in December 2014/January 2015 for the fall 2015 season, I'm currently finishing up my MA at a local state school, and trying to fit in some conferences during summer. 

 

My area of interest is 20th century U.S. History, with a focus on World War II and the Cold War. I want to look at social, political and transnational implications of propaganda and political spin during World War II and in the "hot" periods of the Cold War. I'm a native Portuguese speaker, but less fluent in writing and reading (although I feel like Portuguese is kind of a random language for my focus...but hey, I'll take it!)

 

I've put together a rather impressive spreadsheet of potential schools and scholars, and I'm whittling away at those between studying for the GRE and writing a 30 page research paper that I'm hoping to get published over the summer.

 

Definitely applying to: UW-Madison, NYU, Rutgers, Ohio State University, UC Davis, SUNY at Binghamton, UC Santa Barbara, and CUNY, but will probably choose between 3-5 more schools. As of now, UW-M is my top choice.

 

Best of luck to you fellow prospective grad students!

[Can I get into a PhD program in history?]

Hello all, I am new to the site but, in my frantic google searches as I've begun to look seriously at potential advisors and schools, I came across thegradcafe and it has been a true godsend. 

 

I went to UC Santa Cruz as an undergraduate, received my BA in History of the Americas and Africa (I never ventured far from the U.S. in my studies, however), and graduated with an overall history GPA of 3.7 (it's a bit higher in my final 2 years, still in the 3.7-3.8 range). I am currently in my 2nd year at a state school (CSU) getting my MA in U.S. History. My current GPA is a 3.75, however I'm confident by the time I'm sending in applications it will be up to a 3.85. 

 

I'm working on a research paper that I hope to get published (not in some illustrious history journal, but in one of the several journals I've found that publish graduate student work), and a professor has expressed his desire to assist me in this endeavor. I was the first recipient of a new fellowship offered through my department, after being nominated by professors, and to fulfill my obligation to the fellowship I tutor undergraduates in the humanities. 

 

I'll be taking the GRE in the summer, giving myself another shot at it before applications are due if I bomb. Vocab flash cards are currently my best friend, and I'm powering through a test prep book every weekend.

 

I'm looking to apply to mostly mid-tier programs across the country, and several top-tier programs (at the behest of the graduate advisor, who encouraged me to do so). I have three professors, and perhaps a fourth after the end of this semester, willing to write me strong letters of recommendation as well.

 

I guess what I'm concerned about is not being a 4.0, decorated student from a top-tier university and how this will affect my chances. I'm aware that doctoral program admissions are a lot more personal - writing samples and recommendations matter a great deal - but maybe I'm just having flashbacks of all the number crunching I did when applying to my undergrad program, and how it felt like GPAs and test scores mattered most.