time_consume_me

That threw me off too. I think Harvard at this point is just applicants hearing from their POIs -- very case by case. Last year some mentioned they got the email saying they were 99% in and that their file was "going up" to the DGS that week, etc. We could be approaching that stage now.

Small question but where exactly can you see "Ready to Review" ?? Edit: found it under the checklist heading -- note that not all the schools who use this web-based submission client show this info

Congrats to those who got UPenn interviews!

I applied to a number of the same schools you did and would take @WhaleshipEssex's advice re: timelines (and interviews! I'm going to do this asap -- thanks) .... It's too early to expect anything from any of those schools. Perhaps Berkeley has such an early start because it's a state school with more rigid and institution wide regulations? I was shocked to hear someone there was looking at applications on the 1st or 2nd ... Finally, the email from the POI this early sounds like their own initiative. A great sign but maybe not an department-wide practice. Either way, I think it's really early to expect anything from the other schools. Edit: an email for interview this early is probably an exceptional case - wanted to emphasize that Edit2: just got an email direct from POI at a private uni (one w/ a Dec 19 deadline) asking for skype interview!

Harvard just sucked up an extra couple of hours of my time -- typing out the relevant classes taken (from as far back as 2008!) and employment history ... for two apps! Of course I left this to the end and sure enough was sweating it out in the dying minutes copy and pasting and clicking the drop-down lists. Only one left now. How is everyone doing?

Make a massive list then cut? Then cut: those with even a shred of doubt about funding like @ashiepoo72 said (compare with the vaguely worded department pages, spreadsheets here, and what you can see late-stage PhDs there doing on the web) Then cut: ones with only one person who is clear fit to guide you. This one can be tough because some of the best and most exciting (young) scholars are at these departments (having just got out of their top-five programs after absolutely killing it). Those whose works have influenced the way I think about my field on the daily are at departments where, for me, they are the absolute only person there I could get help from. It hurts but you gotta let these ones go. Then cut: places you don't want to live That's what I did. It sure took a long time and I might reassess the approach next year if necessary - but it's what I know at this point. What do you guys think?

The second guessing and checking and re-checking file names of what we uploaded and sent -- I guess this is life for the next little while. In the meantime, I've got a thesis a bunch more applications to finish. Good luck to everyone

Well, the first deadline day (Dec. 1) has come and gone. Who submitted? Getting a start adapting one aspect of an application for another, I have already found one typo!!

I am doing precisely this as we speak -- I think it is really important that the writing sample showcases your ability to work with your second or third languages.

Would love to know what happened to you -- I could be in this situation next year and I am sure there are many others in it even now.

I've always been curious about this award. Is it usually public policy/sociology fields that get them -- that's the image I have of it in my head. Good luck to all applicants!

Do you mean to say that you would leave the current MA to attend the PhD if accepted? Just trying to sort your timeline here. Unless you are sinking into deep debt for that second year, I don't know how this would look either the application or later ... anyone have thoughts about that? I will say that I have seen it done when the person moves across the world to the country/region DIRECTLY relevant to the PhD research they are taking up.

Also thought about this after reading up on the Frank Knox Fellowship. I did see at least one recent recipient listed who was in history (a program that guarantees funding) - I think I might email them, actually. Did you learn anything?

Canadian aiming at US PhD programs (2020 start) here. Fullbright Canada has me all confused. I can take the award (15k usd) to the American institution I list in my application (enter three in a dropdown, maybe list more in the actual written part itself?) -- I get that part, except maybe if I get in only somewhere I didn't list in my application. The problem is I am planning on applying to maybe 8 or more schools. Should I just append a list in the SOP? Maybe in a footnote? Also, the deadline is Nov. 15 which is causing me some troubles. Some schools aren't due for a month or more after that. What's more, I actually have plans to meet with POIs sometime likely AFTER Nov 15 but before those schools' deadlines. But Fullbright Canada asks for proof that your application has been submitted by Nov 15 for their internal deadline. Do all the Canadian applicants deal with this every year? Good luck to everyone.

Jason Dittmer's Diplomatic Material: Affect, Assemblage, and Foreign Policy, Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint (hilarious), and a work on Global History (Historiography) in Japan by an amazing prof at Tokyo University named Haneda Masashi.

Is there a reason for that? Maybe I will try to make a copy out of the changelogs.

Was the document culled to reflect only 2018 offers? The chart is much, much shorter than I remember.

I would be careful when explaining Japanese immigration laws as 'favorable.'

If you take a MEXT scholarship, getting into a Japanese uni get much easier. How about TouDai? You get full ride and guaranteed stipend for the duration of your programme - it carries through from an MA to a PhD, both of which the university would have you complete. The MEXT application process includes a research proposal. Apply for it through a JP embassy in your home country. There is also the 'university route,' but that is a little more complicated and the particulars seem more of the 'case-by-case' variety. Alternatively, where did you have in mind?

You would have to write the entrance examination, in addition to all the steps of obtaining MEXT. If you can make it through all the rounds though, the security is unmatched -- the scholarship continues for the duration of your studies in Japan and is automatically extended if you move on from MA to PhD. Moreover, you are given up two years as a 'research student' to prepare for those entrance exams while taking advantage of affiliation with that institution. I would add to @hirosh's post that an 'in' with your prof can help big time on the entrance process. At another national university, for example, the interview provides a great opportunity to make your case to your supervisor and a few other faculty members. This might allow you to make up for a weak showing on paper. It's all about who you know.

I will add h-net to this to create the perfect combo of self-updating info-feeds. Even a quick glance while on the train, in line at the bank, etc, can spark a future interest or opportunity! Good post @AP

I am very glad that this thread enticed so many great comments. Thanks a lot for your opinions, everyone.

Thanks for the input guys. I'm gravitating towards academia.org so its not really an issue of time. I guess I was just waiting for someone to say that its sort of arrogant to put a cv up that shows your scholarships/etc while still in a department with your peers. Then again, I quit making friends ages ago ...

I have been thinking through the pros and cons of having your CV up online (on your private homepage or academia.edu, for example) as a current grad student. Is there a good time and a bad time to do this? What does everyone think? Is your CV out there already or are you keeping on your hard-drive, only sending it out when necessary, at least until that PhD is conferred. . . ?

There seem to be only about 10 schools in all of North America that have paid for access as of yet. None of them are in Montreal. I am done in a few months and it would take farrr too long to have my library begin the process of purchasing access right now. And you are right about ILL - the problem is, citations I have as entry points are old as hell and vague at best. I would need to browse. Anyway, thought I would throw a line out.