MrMomo

Anyone here applying to Northwestern? If so I'd be happy to help regarding programme/life/pros and cons. I'm currently a first year. Feel free to PM me!

I'm in Chinese history - to the best of my knowledge admissions are based off sufficiently passing departmental cutoffs regarding your grades (which I think you definitely have done. Your grad GPA makes up for your sub-par undergraduate GPA; GRE's are excellent) and after that it is all about the research proposal. That is kind of hit and miss, since it is purely subjective when placed before the admissions committee. It would depend on how convincing you are, how interesting your project is, and whether or not there are other more interesting projects out there. All you can do is perfect it grammatically, write eloquently, and hope someone is interested in it enough to argue for your case. This is why emailing professors in advance is important, as it is the best you can do to gauge whether someone is interested in your project. Don't be too downhearted if you don't get into the top programmes. I applied for 9 schools and only got into 2. At places like Princeton and Stanford they admit 1 Chinese history student per year (told to me personally after I inquired why I was rejected), and with 300-400 applications for 15-20 spots I would wager there are probably 30-50 people applying for one spot in Chinese history. Broaden your schools (I advise top 20, discipline rankings first and overall rankings secondary, no lower) and go to the one with highest rank/funding. Hope that helps.

Going to Northwestern! Amazing funding and great placement history but my field (East Asian history) is a relatively new program there with only a few placements. Hope I made the right decision...

Thanks! It is an excellent offer and I couldn't turn it down.

Added my Northwestern offer!

Hey all I've just accepted my Northwestern offer to start this Fall. Good to know there's a thread going already. Wow, you got a place already? I just had a look at the site and it does seem quite pricey, but you mentioned getting a roommate and splitting the cost - did you know the roommate beforehand or did you just blindly find him/her?

Thank you! I apologise if I seem ungrateful it's just that I am not from the States and not that many people are aware of NU's prestige and reputation, and since I am open to working anywhere in the world that has played on my mind for a bit.

Thank you all for your comments! I am definitely leaning towards taking it, but have been advised by some people to be careful when selecting schools as the last thing I want is to go somewhere when my heart isn't fully it in. Grass is always greener and all that... I would think that reapplying next year may give me better a better chance at the "top" schools (as I am currently in my Master's and haven't got any grades back yet), but it seems too risky and as someone has already said it's a roll of the dice and I am not sure I can take that. Either way, it's a pretty good dilemma to have and I am aware of the privileged position I am in. Really don't want to work yet.

Seems like complete rejections across the board except for Northwestern (waiting to hear back from UNC and Chicago). Am I too elitist for deliberating whether or not I should take the NW offer? I am an international applicant, and not too many people have heard of Northwestern or are not aware of its reputation. I am realistic about doing a PhD but would still love to have employment after coming out with one...

Would like to second this post! Does anyone have any idea which department does the offers for these, and whether or not they have finished the shortlisting?

Turned down by Michigan and Princeton in the same week. Not too hopeful. Do you know whether this applies to the History and East Asian Languages program too? Thanks!

Just got accepted into Northwestern! Makes up for the Berkeley rejection haha

Just got rejected by Berkeley. Sad start to the cycle

Well, my scores are official, and it's 163V 147Q 5AW. Anyone advise a retake? Still getting mixed responses from PhD candidates/profs alike....

Would like to know if anyone else has anything to suggest. I'm going for history programmes (aiming for top 10) and got 163V and 147Q, and of course with that horrendous Quant score I am worried about admissions committees being iffy about my application, I'm worried because I heard top schools care about both scores, and some people have suggested that a high Q score is a measure of brilliance. Not sure how true that is though...

Thank you all for your replies. I am just paranoid that having such a low Quant score would make the admissions committee think negatively of my application or, worse, preclude me from getting funding if I win a place. Does anyone know how the cutoffs work? Are they done by individual scores or amalgamated ones? Would anyone advise a retake? Although I do not want to spend so much extra money just to increase my Quant score a few more points. Also, is my verbal score high enough for top programmes? The last thing I want is my application to get thrown out because my GRE scores were not sufficient to meet the baseline!

Hey all. Just took my GRE today, with a 163V and 147Q, and AW pending. I'm pretty worried that my quant scores will let me down; since I am applying for some top schools (Berkeley, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford etc.) do you think a Quant of 147 will let me down? Thanks!

Thank you very much for your responses! Regarding the Quant score, what would you consider an "abysmal" score? Would scoring 140s in the Quant section preclude one from getting into, say, the Ivies or any other top 10 programme? I ask as I think quite possibly the weakest part of my application would be the GRE, and it would be a shame to miss out on a place simply because I did not study it hard enough, since I have been getting mixed signals as to how important the GRE actually is.

Hey all, I am new to this forum so excuse me if I commit any unnecessary faux pas. I am an international applicant who will be applying to PhD programmes for entry in Fall 2016. My specific area of interest is transnational history in the context of early modern China (1800-1949), particularly focusing on intellectual history. I am aiming for the elusive tenure track job (anywhere in the world, really) after my PhD studies. I have contacted POIs and identified which schools I will be applying to. As this forum seems to focus heavily on North America, I will therefore only focus on NA universities. Here is my current list of schools that I will be applying to: Harvard (History or HEAL) UC Berkeley (History) UBC (History or Asian Studies) Princeton (History) Stanford (History) UChicago (History or EALC) UMichigan (History) Yale (History) A little bit about myself: I graduated from the University of Hong Kong with First Class Honours (GPA of 3.75), and will complete a Master's at the University of Oxford by June 2016. Consequently, I will be an international applicant. For my PhD, I would like to focus on the intellectual history surrounding the late Qing and the first half of the 20th century, more specifically Republican China. Key issues include Chinese intellectual developments, Western influence on China, and the coexistence of Confucianism, Marxism, and Liberalism during Republican China. My stats: Undergraduate: Graduated with a BA in History and Philosophy from the University of Hong Kong; First Class Honours (3.75 CGPA) Graduate: Currently in a Master's programme at the University of Oxford; dissertation will specialise on Western intellectual influences in early twentieth century China and Hong Kong Research Experience: Worked as a research assistant for three different projects with three different professors at undergraduate level (2 history, 1 law - although law is still a legal history project) and hopefully will be on board for an assistant position during my year at Oxford. At graduate level the research projects will be more in line with my proposed research topic, however GRE: will take in late September, aiming for V: 160+ and Q: 150+; is this a reasonable score? I am quite weak in Quant, so weak in fact that I worry I might be in the 140s. Given my list of desired schools I fear this might be a barrier, since I have heard about cutoffs regarding GRE and GPA scores. Writing sample: one area of worry is that I do not (and will not) have writing samples that are completely in line with my proposed research topic. Even though my history papers have all received high grades, some of them are, although relevant to China, completely unrelated to Chinese intellectual history. I may be able to spin it in my SoP that they are connected and helped me refine my research interests (which they did), but the writing sample itself (my dissertation, which is perfect for a writing sample in every way but the topic itself) is quite different from my intended area of research for the PhD (diplomatic history vs. intellectual history). As such, I am wondering whether I should submit it as is, or find another writing sample more aligned to my proposed PhD topic? Publications: I have none of note in this regard, will this drastically reduce my chances? I have publications in undergraduate journals and such, and MAY be publishing at peer-reviewed University-run journals, but none in world recognised, ranked journals. Will this be an issue? I would love some advice (on statement of purpose, GRE, etc) on how to make my application look better. What should I stress? Should I talk about my grades? Research experience? The reason why I picked these schools is that where I primarily want to work (Asia) puts ENORMOUS emphasis on school name, and I figured that unless I get into an elite PhD programme, there is no point pursuing an doctorate and I might as well work instead. I would be grateful for any advice on getting into these "Tier 1" schools. Thanks!

Hello all. I will be applying for entry this autumn for programmes commencing in Fall 2016. Having done quite a bit of research, I have come up with a list of schools that I am planning to apply to. However, given my research interests (modern Chinese intellectual and transnational history) I am struggling to decide between whether to apply to East Asian departments, or simply go for the History programmes. Since I am heavily focused on history rather than literature, but much of my sources are lit/manuscript heavy, I am wondering whether anyone on GradCafe could give me some advice. Here is my current list of schools that I will be applying to: Harvard (History or HEAL) UC Berkeley (History) UBC (History or Asian Studies) Princeton (History) Stanford (History) UChicago (History or EALC) UMichigan (History) Yale (History) A little bit about myself: I graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a GPA of 3.75, and and will complete a Master's at the University of Oxford by June 2016. Consequently, I will be an international applicant. For my PhD, I would like to focus on the intellectual history surrounding the late Qing and the first half of the 20th century, more specifically Republican China. Key issues include Chinese intellectual developments, Western influence on China, and the coexistence of Confucianism, Marxism, and Liberalism during Republican China. Any advice and help would be much appreciated!