AP
-
Posts
862 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
26
Posts posted by AP
-
-
No, it will look incredibly suspicious if absolutely none of your letters come from anyone in a teaching capacity somewhere. One of these “friends” can write the third letter and outline their experience working with you aFuer you left the abusive situation. Did you graduate?
-
I don’t think it would be rude, but it would completely inappropriate and most likely they wouldn’t share that information with you.
I don’t think people would necessarily tell apply “anyway”. When I was looking for programs, several professors told me they were not accepting students or recommended not applying BC of how low my stipend would be as an international student.
The best way to get a sense of deferrals is to see how many students there are in this year. If cohorts are typically 10 and now there are 5 students, you can assume some have deferred.
You could also contact the graduate school and ask them how they envision balancing admissions for 2021 and deferrals from 2020. When you have a broad idea, you can then follow up with the program, if necessary.
Remember that no one will have these policies in place right now. This semester is uncertain for everyone.
-
I had campus jobs because money.
If you receive a stipend from your program as a full time students, you want to be careful if you take a job. One thing is babysitting, another thing is working part time at a coffee shop.
That said, I know people in my program who got really cool "side gigs" and ended up leaving the program. For one, they couldn't keep up with dissertation writing. Two, they really liked these side gigs. In all cases, these became what they actually wanted to do and the program often called them back to talk about non-academic jobs.
-
My best (academic) editos are historians ?
-
I don't know how active it is, but check the H-Net Commons for Film Studies.
-
I got the iPad pro 12.9 when I graduated and it was a life-changer. I use it to read in the actual page size (and annotate, etc), for grading, for note-taking, for prepping classes, and to present. I am not familiar with the difference with the other version from the top of my head, but make sure you have enough memory.
That said, I did extensive international research and I carried my laptop around without any issues. If you don't need to type much, then go for it.
-
What's your field?
-
As faculty, let me tell you this: assume your classes will transition online at some point in the semester.
I would start ILLing and scanning books, or checking out books if you can.
As far as dress code, I used to take grad school as a job. You sometimes interact with UG and they see you as part of the department. Grad students in my current program TA or work in other capacities with UG so they tend to dress relatively professional (they tend to avoid see-through shirts, men don't wear shorts, etc). In my grad program, I dressed with jeans, shirts, shoes, etc because I had a public-facing job. Some friends of mine dressed in jeans, snickers, and a T-shirt. Usually, younger students dressed up to appear older so that they wouldn't be infantilized by the staff or UG.
Re: imposter syndrome, yes. It's there and it is common. Remember you are there like everybody else and you bring a specific set of skills and questions that only you can address. Do not allow IS to drive your performance. i.e. don't read for the sake of reading. Read with intention, with questions, jot down your thoughts and try ruminate on them as you read other stuff. Talk about them in your seminars. Rather than trying to read monographs, I'd suggest finding some annotated bibliographies or group reviews.
For reasons that are unimportant, I am somewhat familiar with your field. I would suggest reading on critical heritage studies and critical methods. Given the world we are in, I think these will prove instrumental for your crafting a thesis project.
-
Do you want to defer?
-
Can you give an example? I'm not sure I understand you question.
-
-
On 7/8/2020 at 3:27 PM, coffeehum said:
I have been planning to reach out to faculty and program administrators within the next couple weeks.
Just a reminder to everyone who is applying this year.
You had a difficult first half of 2020. We, faculty, did too. Grad students did too (many lost summer stipends, many doing international research saw their projects disappear). Staff did too. Admin, believe or not, did too. Our situations are all different, some with kids, some with visas, some with racial justice concerns, some with loneliness, some with illness.
This year, you are anxious about applying, but also anxious about applying in the middle of a pandemic. You have many questions for which there are no answers. We have many questions for which there are no answers. I have no idea how I will teach in the Fall. I have no idea how I can re-structure my book project so that I push going to the archive.
All this is to say that in the same way the pandemic is making you anxious about the unknown, it is making us worried. This might translate into people taking longer to respond to your emails as some folks are WFH with kids or caring for others, or they are simply just taking some time off. People might not have an answer for all of you questions or that answer being contingent on many variables. People might understand your concerns but might regrettably not be able to do anything about it (I really wish I could unilaterally abolish GREs).
In other words, be patient. While the summer is usually a good time to write to faculty because we don't have any meetings or deadlines (we are just out in the field going to archives), this summer is way different.
( @coffeehum this is not to you specifically, but you made me think about how I would react if a student sent me an email this week to discuss admissions. So, thank you for the inspiration!)
- killerbunny, Manana, AnUglyBoringNerd and 8 others
-
2
-
9
-
On 7/6/2020 at 5:08 PM, Cryss said:
Important stuff, thanks for posting. I wonder where that leaves those just starting with new visas and wanting to do a first semester remotely online then start in-person in the spring.
My understanding from what I have read beyond this announcement is that even if you have a visa stamp and are already in the US, if your institution goes online, you must leave. Of course, it is a two-fold attack. On the one hand, it attacks Asian students who compose the majority of international students. On the other, it seeks to force schools to open, which has been the message from the WH in the past two days.
-
15 hours ago, coffeehum said:
Does anyone have a good sense of how many programs will actually stick with the GRE requirement this year? I know there is an at-home version but the nature & number of requirements to take the test at home seems incredibly prohibitive and I have a hard time imagining that most applicants will be able to take the test. Seems incredibly out of touch to be requiring scores at this point. I am becoming very anxious because there is no way I can make the at-home test work with my living situation/tech equipment, but I don't want to be viewed as a "problem" if I bring this up in my first communication with departments in the coming weeks...
For the short answer, see @Sigaba's suggestion.
I'll address two things that are more long term. [These are things I usually comment on: basically an invitation to leave the undergraduate mentality and transition to that of the graduate student]
1) One of the things few people tell you about graduate programs in the humanities is the autonomy you are given and are expected to use. This means that it is your responsibility to communicate with the right people in a professional and timely manner. As I always say: your graduate career begins with your application (not when you are admitted). Show that you are a professional scholar and ask for the information that you want. You will probably get better answers that will ease your anxiety (even if the answer is "we don't know") than asking in this forum to speculate. (I completely agree with your take on the home GRE. I think GRE are prohibitive altogether, even without the pandemic. Man, I think all standardized tests should be banned!).
2) I understand what you mean by not wanting to be a "problem." Believe me, I have a great relationship with my advisor and still walk on eggshells and write emails like a million times. However, I'd invite you to take a different approach with an example. I'm faculty, and if an applicant sent me an email in the middle of the summer asking about GRE requirements and lashing out their situation and their opinions, you are right. It wouldn't cause a good impression on me. However, if you first email was: "Dear Dr. XXX, I hope this email finds you well [lame, but you have to]. I'm writing because I'm interested in applying to the History Program at Y University. My research interests are [two sentences]. I have experience in../conducted research on.../I would further examine... . I wonder if you have any insights on the application requirements and the process, especially regarding the impact of Covid". That alone will get you a response without venting on someone's inbox. At the same time, check with program administrators and/or DGS because they will have the most updated administrative answers. Remember that GREs are usually (but not always) school-wide requirements so professors often do not have the bits and pieces of these. In short, if you do not want to be a problem, then don't be a problem, which is not the same as don't do anything or don't stand up for yourself. You SHOULD ask questions.
-
FYI
There are many things that remain unclear (like, what is "fully" online). But I thought you international folks want to read this and contact your ISOs cc'ing your programs.
-
55 minutes ago, ExponentialDecay said:
Not commenting w/r/t the specific situation with your visa, but I wouldn't attack @PokePsych for trying to be helpful and saying something that is very true. Moreover, not only are departments usually clueless about visa policies, but HR, legal and even the ISO can make mistakes and give bad advice. From the State Department's perspective, you and you alone are responsible for maintaining your visa status, so if you have problems because of some bad advice you followed - from your school, your lawyer, who cares - you are screwed. So just as a general piece of advice from someone who has spent a decade on F1, by all means listen to your provost and the international office, but double check everything they say with a second (qualified, of course) opinion or by reading all of the relevant legal documents yourself. Most visa stuff is handled on the USCIS website, but you may need to look up tax treaties etc for financial matters. Seriously, your visa status in the US is serious shit, especially in this administration. So stay vigilant and don't get nasty with people who try to help you out
Absolutely agree.
Departments are not obliged to learn the legal framework of your status. Always, ALWAYS verify their information with HR, Lega, ISO. In my institution, ISO was not very good (they catered for the rich international undergrads rather than the poor international grad students). As a result, my program and my school were better allies in helping me figuring things out. What I did was CC'ing them in every conversation about my status, taxes, etc. Even leading to my graduation there were some hiccups that they helped me resolved with their advocacy and because I had kept them in the loop for seven years.
-
7 hours ago, cladthecrab said:
-What makes for a good SoP introduction? This is the section I worry most about, since it will ideally set the tone for everything that follows and since I'm not sure how to approach it.
-Should I mention my job in my SoP? I've been the undergrad version of an assistant for a while now, and while my advisor is not a historian (classics), I got to do some useful things in that job and it played a big role in me deciding to continue my education rather than going for a job post-BA. However, I don't want to clutter my application if it isn't worth mentioning.
-Lastly, do we have any sense of how (if at all) COVID will influence applications and admissions for 2021?
1) Unfortunately, there is no formula for a good intro paragraph. I am not good with first paragraphs, so when I applied I used this annotated sample from Berkeley. Notice that the first paragraph does not linger on the author "passion" for history. If you are applying for grad school, we can agree you are passionate about it
.
2) I think you should mention your job as formative to your research experience and research questions. Remember the SOP is an argumentative essay, so use your job as evidence to support your argument (that you have interesting questions and you have the potential of becoming a great scholar).
3) Anyone who is saying they know, they are lying. Nobody knows. We barely knows what's happening in the Fall (and we are preparing multiple scenarios).
- history110 and TMP
-
1
-
1
-
If you found syllabi in these faculty's websites, programs, etc. (even Academia.edu), you can borrow what you want. Syllabi don't typically cite or read "inspired by" sections because part of your authority as an expert in whatever you will be teaching is that you know where to find that information. I think all of us, when we share our syllabi, we assume people are going to pick our brains one way or the other. At my institution, our best assignments usually came out of teaching-brainstorming sessions.
What I would suggest is do take note on a separate document of what you are doing, whose work you are "citing", and how you are constructing your course. If your field will take you to anything remotely related to teaching and instruction, it's always handy to go back to these notes in preparation for the job market. It's always a good skill to explain how you build the rationale of a course/class/program/workshop, etc.
-
Maybe provide a little bit of context? Are you talking about discipline-specific tests? About international students' tests?
-
7 hours ago, Sleepless in skellefteå said:
I will also try to build a relationship strong enough for a LOR during the last quarter. We do not have any concept such as office-hours or undergrad-research at my institution, so I have found it hard earlier (I really enjoyed the opportunity to interact with professors more closely in the U.S), but I will be writing my senior thesis this quarter so hopefully it will work.
I know. I mentioned it because the same was in my home country. Being faculty now, I would still found it really odd if you didn't have ONE letter from your institution. Of course, you will not have the same relationship or familiarity to them as you probably got in your exchange program, and that's fine.
-
21 hours ago, Sigaba said:
As an Americanist, I respectfully disagree. Because of the level of turmoil in the United States today, I think that @Sleepless in skellefteå would benefit from submitting application materials that reflect an understanding of the current relevance of the religious experiences of immigrants from Northern European countries towards the end of the long nineteenth century, an interval of U.S. history that saw the spreading and deepening of racism.
@Sleepless in skellefteå, this isn't to suggest that you need to change your intended course of study / fields of interest or take a teleological view of the past. I am suggesting that you may benefit if you prepare your materials with the understanding that a wider range of factors beyond an applicant's interests, skills, and potential can come into play--especially when a season is intensely competitive. How can you demonstrate that you will make a positive addition to a program in an era of turmoil that may soon match the late 1960s?
Please consider the benefits of considering some "big picture" questions including:
- Why is religious history important today?
- How does your take on religious history align or differ with the way social and/or cultural historians view matters of faith?
- How did the religious experiences of Northern European immigrants help them to endure the intensifying grind of everyday life in modern America?
My $0.02.
Well, as usually happens @Sigaba, you are far more eloquent and effective in wording what I meant
-
On 6/7/2020 at 1:56 PM, Sleepless in skellefteå said:
Worries
-I had a really amazing exchange year, and I felt that the university-culture in the U.S offered so many more opportunities in regards to building relationships with professors and extra-curriculars. Right now, most of the things I plan to mention in my application is stuff I did during my exchange. In regards to recommendation letters, I have two professors from the U.S who have offered to write one for me, and I could possible get a third one. I am a little concerned that the application commitees will view it as weird that I have so little to show from my home-university other than my GPA. I still have one quarter left in Sweden where I will write a mandatory honors-thesis, and I could perhaps build up a relationship strong enough to ask for a recommendation letter during this time.
-My main interest is the religious experiences of the European immigrant communities of the late 19th-early 20th century. The American University where i studied is in a city with a lot of Scandinavian history, and most of the achievements I have listed are centered around Scandinavian-American history in some way (like the undergraduate research). I am not sure if this will be perceived as me having to much of an narrow focus on the history of people from my own country. To me, it mostly was a result of the fact that I had access to a lot of primary sources in Swedish that my professors encouraged me to explore, but I am not sure how I should frame this to show that I am flexible in regards to interests.
I am still trying to figure out how important it is to define your area of interest and goals when applying for an MA or MTS. I know you are supposed to basically have it figured out when applying for a PhD, is is basically the same for an MA?
This ended up a lot longer than I originally planned. Good luck to everyone!
I have a couple of comments,
1) I think you still need to ask a professor at your home institution. They are the ones that know you as a student for the longer time. You can help them to this. I am not familiar with the Swedish system, but I can assure the US American system was very foreign to all my letter writers. However, I found some resources online for them to use and guide them into how to address LORs. It is very important that you use people that know you well. (In my case, I had a professor from my institution, my thesis advisor from another institution, and my boss at my then current job). If I received your application from X University with not LOR from that University, I'd be puzzled.
2) I'm reading your second point as if you are trying to excuse yourself for having done Scandinavian history. Remember that at a graduate level you don't need to please anybody's interests or fit into them (I know this is different in many parts of Europe where you apply for a spot in a project). When you craft your application, think about the larger questions. religion and migration are two very important human experiences, frequently intertwined. What interests you about this? What are you curious about? How does your experience in archives brought you to this moment? How has your experience in the US equipped you for answering this questions in a US American institution? You don't have to show you are flexible with your interests. You have to show that you have really cool, interesting questions worth pursuing.
MA and PhD applications are different because there are different things a stake. For PhDs, you usually compete for a determined number of spots while MAs are more "open" (if you don't apply for funding). (I know this as a member of a department and through grad school friends, I haven't applied for a MA myself so do follow other people's sage advice on this forum).
Finally, I'd also strongly advise you to reach out to students you have met during your year abroad. Ask them to read your SOP. That was a game changer for me!
-
6 hours ago, kapuzenernie said:
lol
So? The more you practice talking/writing about your research, the most polished it will be in your application materials. @Sigaba invitation to think about that was useful advice.
Also, I think this distinction is very important:
7 hours ago, AfricanusCrowther said:Statement of purpose = how do I want to advance the field, what will I do to get there, and why is this university the best place for me to do it
Personal statement = What about my background/life story led me to apply to your PhD program
Personal statements are mainly intended to boost the diversity of life experiences in the graduate cohort.
This is good advice (starting with what you have and then look for the vignette that helps you the most):
On 6/4/2020 at 12:57 PM, how15 said:I am starting to think one of the biggest mistakes we make with writing PSs/SOPs is we pick life events or a narrative structure to use as the centerpiece of our essays, and then try to sprinkle in the points we are trying to make around those.
However, I would discourage people to use anecdotes. I am not saying that you won't be accepted because of opening with a life event (many here have), but I'd encourage you to open with a research vignette rather than a personal one. Like @AfricanusCrowther said, the SOP is about research.
-
15 hours ago, Sigaba said:
Arguably the most important skill you will need as a graduate student in history is the ability to say "While I think A, B, and C are good ideas, I prefer to pursue X, Y, and Z."
13 hours ago, telkanuru said:"I think A, B, and C are good ideas, and I will incorporate them into my thoughts on X, Y, and Z."
(and then you don't, but thank them in your acknowledgments for their engaging discussions)
Exactly.
And when someone at a conference asks you why you didn't talk about them, this skill comes in handy: "I think that is an important question/point that I will note to incorporate in my article/book" and then you don't.
Unusual problems with rec letters. Advice?
in Questions and Answers
Posted
Basically, you need people that know you. I came from abroad as well* and I had a letter from my employer. I don’t why industry ppl couldn’t work if they have worked with you.
Is the BSc from the same institution or could you reach to them?
I’m assuming you are not mentioning the master’s in your CV?
* I know you don’t mean it that way, but when you say stuff like “I’m from a third world country so this was bound to happen” you perpetuate stereotypes that other of us are working hard to undo. My accent accompanies me to every class and every meeting, promoting people to ask where I’m from. I understand you want to contextualize, but I can assure you shit like this happens in the global north as well.