ashiepoo72

I wouldn't have joined Phi Alpha Theta as a PhD student, but I did as an MA student after a very mediocre BA career. I figured being part of an honors society would help me find a more serious community of students, form a writing group and have a support network on a campus where I knew no one. I enjoyed my time with PAT and still talk to many people I met through it. Don't join because you think it'll make a difference on your CV--it won't. Most people remove PAT from their CV once they start receiving awards and honors at the PhD level. @starshiphistory is spot on: PAT's worth depends on how active the chapter is. Do they put together workshops for writing and presenting at conferences? Invite guest speakers? Do fun things together (movie night was my fave)? How involved are the mentors/professors?
Btw, PAT offers small grants to members who are pursuing a PhD. I haven't applied for one, but I like knowing it's an option if I ever need to.

So this is the relevant passage from my SoP,  if that helps:
...the majority of my time has been spent studying a collection of thirteenth-century sermons or collationes preached by the monks of the Cistercian monastery of Foigny, which I am translating for publication. It is through my study of Foigny and its sermons that I first began to be suspicious of monastic claims of stability and isolation, the central topic I will address in my doctoral studies.
Over the past fifty years, medieval monastic historians have become increasingly aware of problems within their source texts. Simply put, the goal of a monastic author differed from that of a modern historian. Through literature and legal documents, monks created a written world which reflected their internal ideals, not lived reality. With this in mind, recent monographs and articles have turned a critical eye on claims that monasteries were located in ‘deserts’, the nature and role of lay brothers, monastic ‘reform’ movements, and even how monasteries followed—or did not follow—the Rule of St. Benedict.
The narrative most scholars have constructed from primary sources (most notably monastic rules) insists that, with the exception of abbots and a few special cases, monks never wandered beyond their monastery’s walls. In the past two decades, this understanding has started to crumble. Scholars of the late Middle Ages have recently challenged this understanding with respect to women, noting that the papal bull Periculoso of 1298 constituted the first real attempt to insist on inclaustration as a necessary condition for being a nun. Based on the decree’s repetition throughout the fourteenth century, however, practice resisted the call to conform to the ideal. Moreover, there was no corresponding decree aimed at men. Did mulieres religiosae have a propensity for wandering not found in their male counterparts, or was monkish migration not a cause for concern?
In stark contrast to the ideal of stabilitas found in monastic sources, texts written by members of the secular clergy often feature monks wandering in the world. The Life of Marie d’Oignies by Jacques de Vitry depicts Cistercian monks not only outside of their cloisters, but even processing as a group through the center of town, inspiring the young Marie to a life of devotion. Through  my own work, I have found that contact and communication across the monastery walls was much more frequent than previously imagined. An examination of Foigny and its sermons provides substantial evidence for the constant flow of ideas, goods, and people through the monastery. Foigny’s monks were constantly engaged in the broader intellectual, social, and political currents of their milieu. They discussed heresy, crusade, scholasticism, the incorporation of female houses, and even the decline of the nearby cathedral school of Laon and the growing careerism of its canons. An examination of Foigny’s cartularies shows an active relationship between the monastery and distant noble patrons, mediated through the sees of Laon and Reims, as well as constant interest in the monastery among the townspeople of Laon. The frequency and nature of these contacts with the outside world constitute clear evidence for the porousness of the cloister walls. By approaching the question of the connections between monasteries and the outside world through both a traditional examination of the textual sources and the application of spatial and network analysis, my doctoral work will shed new light on the lives of medieval monastics.

I don't know if you're looking for the MA or the PhD, but do not under any circumstances pay for the PhD.  You WILL be valued less by the faculty (and fellowship and search committees down the road) than those on funding packages. Universities are getting hit but your money is just as good as any college president choosing to give 10% of his salary, which is mere $80K out of $800K (plus plenty of benefits like housing). If you want to help, get on the train to pressure administrators to cut their own salary even deeper than 10%, grant more financial aid to undergraduate students, extend a semester's worth of funding to ALL graduate students, and not lay off contingent faculty (including adjuncts).  Go on the Chronicle of Higher Education to get the latest news on COVID-19 on campus (those articles are free).

My diss committee has called this nothing less than the death throes of academia as we know it, which was a cheerful thought.

One could also read the acknowledgements in works by faculty members and its graduates. Are POIs thanked for significant contributions to a work? Are POIs heaping praise upon colleagues and graduate students? Are there signs of life changes that may impact a scholar's life for years to come?
How about book reviews? Are POIs appropriately professional or a bit too personal when writing about works they don't like?
You  could also check CVs. Do POIs serve the profession? Earn teaching awards? Present too much or just enough? Are they in a phase of their careers in which they're really going for it? (And what is the "it"? Popular works that are accessible to broader audiences? Master works of synthesis designed for academic audiences?)
IMO, worrying about standardized test scores and GPA is bass ackward thinking. Don't self select yourself out of opportunities to succeed. A year from now, a newly admitted graduate student is going to be saying "I didn't think I had a chance to get into Happyland University! My GPA...my test scores..." Why can't that person be you?

I've been taken off the waitlist at Indiana! Just received my formal offer today and I have to say that I'm relieved/emotional/over the moon. I'm going to get a PhD!
I'm still on the waitlist at Michigan and will be sending them an email on Monday to check on my status there and to let them know that I've been offered a doctoral position at IU. Fingers crossed that I can make my final decision soon and start my journey to a PhD in the Fall!

Just ask the students how safe they feel within the department and interacting with others.  Ask how women are treated.

Ooof. Brown must be doing something right, because we had double the yield we wanted. Those planning on applying for the next few years beware, as the number of slots is going to go down for a little while. 

I'm empathetic to those who want to visit campuses in person--it helped me make my decision! I'm also grateful to my department for being cautious. Our county has had several cases, including of unknown origin (community spread), and for those of us who care for elderly relatives, it's a relief to be part of a department that takes this virus seriously. As one of my professors said, even if we personally are not in a high-risk group, we need to take precautions because of the vulnerable populations with whom we come into contact who cannot effectively fight the virus due to lack of resources, underlying conditions and age. I know teleconferencing isn't ideal, but hopefully it will give you enough information to make the decision that's right for you.

Actually, ask to a diverse range of students. focusing on any one cluster of years will only give you limited advice. 

Given the circumstances in this country, I just wouldn't come from abroad. Best to keep travel to minimum, especially in a population dense place like NYC.

UC Davis has as well and will be teleconferencing. I'm happy to chat with any prospective students about the program. TMP is spot on (as usual), current grads are an excellent resource! Doesn't hurt to ask your POI to put you in touch with some of their students.

I totally agree that this is the right decision. As I am on the East side of Washington state/western Idaho, I am concerned about getting sick myself but I'm more concerned about getting other more vulnerable people sick.

I'm empathetic to those who want to visit campuses in person--it helped me make my decision! I'm also grateful to my department for being cautious. Our county has had several cases, including of unknown origin (community spread), and for those of us who care for elderly relatives, it's a relief to be part of a department that takes this virus seriously. As one of my professors said, even if we personally are not in a high-risk group, we need to take precautions because of the vulnerable populations with whom we come into contact who cannot effectively fight the virus due to lack of resources, underlying conditions and age. I know teleconferencing isn't ideal, but hopefully it will give you enough information to make the decision that's right for you.

Ohio State has cancelled visitation day as well.  We'll be moving to teleconferencing.  Just announced and details TBD.  Definitely reach out to any graduate students in your areas of interest by email and ask about doing a Skype/phone call. We don't really get the lists ahead of time and can't reach out to anyone ourselves

Re: canceled recruitment visits
Many airlines are being more understanding than usual about canceled trips and will at least let you transfer what you paid to another trip. I've received emails from United indicating they'll change tickets booked through March 31st for free for 12 months.

Re: canceled recruitment visits
Many airlines are being more understanding than usual about canceled trips and will at least let you transfer what you paid to another trip. I've received emails from United indicating they'll change tickets booked through March 31st for free for 12 months.

Re: canceled recruitment visits
Many airlines are being more understanding than usual about canceled trips and will at least let you transfer what you paid to another trip. I've received emails from United indicating they'll change tickets booked through March 31st for free for 12 months.

Re: canceled recruitment visits
Many airlines are being more understanding than usual about canceled trips and will at least let you transfer what you paid to another trip. I've received emails from United indicating they'll change tickets booked through March 31st for free for 12 months.

Re: canceled recruitment visits
Many airlines are being more understanding than usual about canceled trips and will at least let you transfer what you paid to another trip. I've received emails from United indicating they'll change tickets booked through March 31st for free for 12 months.

There are a few things you should do to make the switch (and I'm sure other people will chime in with more):
1. You need to have a well-fleshed out dissertation proposal and strong grasp of the historiography required to execute it, as well as exhibit understanding of historical research methods. Your interests are many and broad, so figure out how they coalesce into a narrow enough dissertation that makes a compelling intervention in that historiography.
2. You need to think about how your experience in political science (specific classes/research/readings) can be leveraged. How would they inform your dissertation? Sell your year as a PoliSci grad so it doesn't come off as a wasted year, but as a stepping stone to your History PhD. I'd also emphasize that you did major in history as an undergrad, so it's not like you're coming into this brand new.
3. You should do your best to get a strong LOR from your major adviser. At the very least, someone on your committee, or someone with whom you've done a significant amount of work. You need someone who can speak to your qualifications as a grad student. This can be a challenge because programs don't take kindly to investing in someone only to have them leave. Just make it very clear to them that your interests have changed beyond what the program can accommodate (in nicer terms).
However, I wonder: is there no way to inject your historical interests into a PoliSci PhD? You might want to consider that before you start all over in the application process and then in grad school if you get in. Like you said, the prospects for History PhDs are pretty harrowing.

Just received my first acceptance! I've been offered full tuition plus a TAship at Lehigh for their MA program. I've also just sent emails to my two waitlists to see if it's worth it to take this offer. Relieved I have one offer on the table now. 

Even historical sociology and anthropology are closer to the narrative form and thematic interests of contemporary historiography than political science is (or at least that was my experience taking interdisciplinary grad seminars and attending regional/thematic workshops).

Saw one acceptance yesterday on the results page for Pitt, but haven't heard anything myself yet. Starting to feel really nervous, but the only thing that's giving me some hope is a professor I was interested in working with that I met with a few months ago e-mailed me a few weeks ago saying that the Director of Graduate Studies for the department asked her to reach out to me regarding my application and asked me whether I would be willing to have her serve as my advisor. I replied back to her immediately and said yes and haven't heard anything back from her since, but took it as (hopefully) a good sign. Still keeping my fingers crossed, really hoping for some news this week!

The fact that there still exist programs like this in the year of our lord two thousand and twenty...