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Hi all! Having stalked read through the thread so far, it's nice to see some familiar faces and be in such stellar company on this board again After an unsuccessful round last year, I'm giving it another try. It feels like a late start to things, but work has been a horror show lately. On the upside, I'm hoping to work the "more years of professional experience = beneficial" angle in my SOPs. Broadly, I'm interested in war cultures and cultures of violence. I'm proposing an American history (post-Vietnam) project with the potential for transnational scope, partly because I jumped around a lot in undergrad (Russian, British, Modern European) and ended up in an international history MA, so it would be nice to find a program that welcomes that instead of considering it dangerously flighty. That said, I'm mostly looking at American history programs. My undergrad GPA is okay (the last two years are great, the first two... just okay), my GRE scores are okay (verbal is great, quant and essay... just okay) and my MA grades are okay (non-credit essays throughout the year were great, exam scores and crisis-rushed dissertation... just okay). So I'm not in the greatest position to get into a top school, but I'm counting on the hope that a carefully worded SOP and a highly polished writing sample will pull it out of the bag. For now, I'm working through emails to POIs. It's slow going, but it was such a worthwhile process last year. I think I was able to eliminate half of my long list based on POIs kindly explaining why they or the school would not be the best possible fit, and a couple even made alternate suggestions. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Ideally, you'd be able to show how studying a different area gives you a unique perspective on what you'd like to study now. The difficulty, as others have suggested, is backing that up with comfortable awareness of the historiography. Do you have anything in mind in terms of your research project? Is there anything you could (and would want to) bring in from your previous experience? This would seem the easiest way to bridge the gap. For example, something to do with Polish communities in post-war America. I'm a bit urban history dense, but there might be some thread between settlement patterns and memory/experiences of war. Or are you looking to get away from your previous interests altogether? I would imagine that the more you can show how your previous work has led to your current interests, the better. (I'm trying to do something similar, for what it's worth.) It's hard with American history because it's such a competitive field, but it could also be what makes you stand out. Good luck!

Hey all! I've been off the board since my last rejection (not so much licking wounds - more like being too crazed at work to think about grad school for a while). Back online to get in gear for the next cycle and want to wish everyone good luck with their programs! Looks like some of you have already started and everything. Hope it's all going well, enjoy it guys!

Congrats Heimat and KBHistorian!! Telkanuru, that's definitely infuriating - but if that came from the professor I *think* it did (and my info could be way off), he genuinely would care about a) making that mistake in the first place and offending anyone. (And even if it's not the person I have in mind, isn't it nice to remember that there are loads of great faculty members out there who do care? After all, they're the ones so many of us hope to work with!)

Thanks MVLChicago and Ashiepoo! (I ran out of upvotes just in time for your post, ARGH!) I would love any feedback you have the time to share MVL, that's really great advice to echo, because it's bound to help future applicants as well. All of my LOR writers also asked those questions, did anyone else have that experience?

Wow JJWS, that's a major change in direction! Are you putting academia on hold or saying goodbye? (And would a waitlist -> acceptance from Penn State change your mind?) Ashiepoo, you're totally right, I just like thinking that until they say no... well, y'know.

Thanks Gambaosaka I felt pretty great about my SOP, but on reflection I wonder if it may have been a bit too project-centric. It's good to be excited about your research topic, but I think I may have been too fixated on the little details. Next time around I'll try to do a better job with the broader context. (Another issue on that front is that there are several broader contexts, which vary by school - I guess I'm still pulled in too many directions, so maybe I need to narrow it down instead of hoping admits will decide for me.) I also dug out an essay from my MA course which connects closely with the overarching theme that ties together past and future research. It's going to need some supplementary primary material though. It kind of kills me not to use my MA thesis considering the hours spent in archives (and traveling to/from), but this paper definitely does a better job selling my "story." (You're right, it sucks, but my new job is editing marketing content. It's the grind.) This feels really cheeky to ask, but would anyone be willing to cast an eye over my 2014/15 SOP? I had a friend (finishing her PhD at Cambridge) look over it and she gave it her blessing, but my MA advisor is absolutely killing it with speaking engagements etc. lately, so I didn't bug her with it. I'd like to fix it up before bothering her for feedback! Thanks again to everyone for all the support throughout the waiting game. I wish I'd joined earlier in the cycle - it's hard not to feel like a bit of an impostor now we're all looking ahead

Hey all! Anyone still playing the waiting game? I'm hesitant to make contact with Davis, if only because it's nice to cling to hope. Congrats to all the new admits and final decisions. It's been a hell of a ride, guys

Gah I accidentally downvoted you sneezing during an upvote, can someone fix please? U of T's history department really is great, despite the current drama.

Apparently full-time work is the best thing to kick a Grad Cafe/email checking habit. Congrats to everyone who's had good news (or made their own by choosing a final destination) this week! I've still got my fingers crossed for all of us hoping on some good news. Once this new routine settles in a little, I'm really looking forward to hearing more about everyone's decisions

What Chiqui said. I kept bursting into tears for a week after getting the "no" from Northwestern. The pep talk stuff is just cos you deserve some credit for everything you put into this, not because anyone thinks you should be peppy. It's a sucky day.

Agreed with Gambaosaka, this process has serious swings and roundabouts. Today will suck. You probably don't want to hear how awesome we all think that teaching job sounds (at least I wouldn't). Just look forward to drinking ALL the beer tonight. You've earned it. Tomorrow (and today, if you're up for it) we'll still be here to cheer you on towards the next cycle, if that's where you're headed, and to support you pursuing your many awesome options in the meantime. Remember you're awesome and you're way further ahead than many just for getting through this process. It takes guts.

Josh, fingers crossed UCLA may yet have some good news for you. At this point, I get how no news seems like bad news... But hell, I'm hoping for ya. As for job stuff, I'd recommend anyone looking for temporary but relevant stuff check with the US equivalent of a Canadian vocational college (skilled trades ie culinary school). They often have 5-6 month projects on the go over the summer, whether it's parsing survey data or new program launches, etc. Try a speculative letter explaining your current situation and the kinds of work you'd be interested in (ie research focus). Also, some of these institutions offer humanities courses, so it's an interesting chance to see if you'd be comfortable seeking a teaching post in that setting one day. All about the back up plans...

Awesome JTE!! Congrats!!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/why-u-of-t-york-strikes-are-more-than-labour-disputes/article23279298/ They've got a lot on their plates at the moment, I wouldn't be worried just yet...

Sorry to hear about Austin, JTE and Jezzlin. That notification... I have no words.

Ah thanks Gambaosaka! Just got the no from UCLA. Looks like it all hinges on Davis...

Congrats on the new plan, it sounds like a really positive alternative. There's been so much chatter lately across my social networks about where academic career paths are headed (because of the Toronto TA strike). It's not surprising; grad students and adjuncts and even my letter writers have initiated really frank conversations about how damn hard this life will be. There will always be other options for those who seek them, though. It's just a matter of figuring out which aspects of academia you're most passionate about and finding - or making - an opportunity that suits. Most of us are probably gunning for TT positions, but it helps (I think) to go into this with a long list of backup possibilities. Then again, I did articulate this on one application that ended up rejecting me. So maybe I'm way off

Congrats on UCSB Gambaosaka!! That's awesome news! Also wanted to echo others' gratitude for the helpful posts, Professor Plum. Your points put so much of this process into perspective. Ashiepoo, your response was so articulate and spot on, as always. (Your ideas always tie together so neatly; you might actually benefit from outsiders stumbling upon this forum!) In total agreement with the others, you've rocked this cycle from start to finish and it'll be great to hear the final choice. It's strange, the echo chamber thing. I'm among those who have used this forum as a place to vent about personal neuroses, because it was such a relief to find a community that could relate and sympathise and offer feedback. But it's true that this is all publicly available. Maybe part of maturing for the next cycle will be keeping a tighter lid on it. In any case, one of the best things about this forum is living vicariously through you all. It's been exciting to see all the acceptances come in and I'm so excited to find out where everyone ends up. Is it just me, or has there been a sense of things winding down this week? I guess it's about that time

That sucks, fingers crossed the next school getting in touch has better news. In the meantime, it's nearly beer o'clock. Congrats, amazing!

Yeah, it seems counterproductive to put life on hold for another stepping stone to the end goal, right? Did you do a GRE prep course? It was my first standardised testing experience, so I did Kaplan and tried to follow their advice to the letter. Spent ages studying the "best" examples of essays. My work is mostly for big brands, so enforcing "template" style writing/tone of voice - basically, replicating a formula - is literally my job. Figured I had that shit down. Super impressed by your languages, by the way. So that's a no?

Oh man, guys. This. All of this stuff is twisting me up like crazy. I want to teach and write history more than anything else in the world. I get paid to write about eating, drinking, hotels and travel. It's fun, but it's not satisfying. I bloody love the eureka moments when you're reading a text and an idea comes to you and you fill up a page with tangents before finally articulating that one really satisfying thing you're going to contribute to a discussion. And teaching. Those moments when a student really gets it and you want to jump up and down and fight back a few lame ass tears pricking the back of your eyes. After a long, rocky job hunt, I can tell you this: if you're gonna fight for a job, make it the job of your dreams. I'm starting my new role next week and I feel heavy and tired and awful all the time. Without an acceptance to focus on, this next step just sucks. (I tend to get a little too intense about this stuff. I am aware.) I fully intend to apply again next year because... well, what else can you do? The problem is, I don't know how to fix the things that might be holding me back. 1) Undergrad GPA: started out mediocre, finished strong, balanced out to a meh GPA. (Friggin U of T and their science credit requirement...) 2) MA grades: really great essay marks all year, but those don't count towards your final. It's all exams and dissertation. I suck at exams and screwed up my dissertation. A very medium finish. 3) My background's pretty all over the place. I'm kind of switching fields, too. My project carries on a post-war memory/identity theme I've based most of my academic choices around, but the US-specific context is new. Considering how competitive American history spots are... I'm probably not ideal. 4) The only language component of my project would potentially be French. I'm Canadian, I lived in Switzerland, I've had French clients. There are no French courses on my transcript because I already had a pretty solid working knowledge. 5) GRE scores. I got a 168 verbal, the exact same as my first diagnostic score. A 152 quant, a hell of an improvement but maybe not enough. And the kicker: 4.0 on the essay component. Apparently my exam writing skills haven't improved. Not what a committee wants to see, right? I don't know what to do at this point to make myself a more attractive candidate. I can't turn back time and fix the bumps in my past, only learn from them and come out stronger. And there are good points, too: teaching experience, an undergrad publication. Maybe I should use a different writing sample, one that did well the first time around? I mean, should I be considering a second MA? And then how much further down the line does the PhD actually happen? I'm stressing guys, sorry. It's just nice to put this out there to an audience that may actually have some answers.

Amazing!!! That sounds like such a dream course to teach. Congrats Heimat!!! Awesome to see another rough day finish off with some good news. How's everyone doing with holding it together this week? I really don't envy you guys waiting on U of T results at the mo. According to TA friends back home, the administration is being really underhanded (i.e. putting a 15 minute time limit on terms issued at 2:45 IN THE MORNING) and it's just a bad scene. Fingers and toes crossed for a good outcome that benefits you all should you choose to go.

Eesh, very sorry to hear that Harvard's not been kind to this board. I still really admire everyone who had the guts to apply. Can't believe it's March. C'mon, late surge of acceptances...

Have a great time Ashiepoo! Good luck (and enjoy the free beer!)