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AnUglyBoringNerd

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  1. AnUglyBoringNerd
    Winter break hasn't ended so I imagine some professors are not back yet and the applications could still be with the department administration. The application form of Harvard used to have a section specifically devoted to language in great detail (at least that was the case when I applied in 2016), maybe this year they forgot to add this section and now are trying to collect that info.
  2. AnUglyBoringNerd
    Mhm...I think things might start to change from this year (I'm not completely sure, but I had a conversation with my supervisor about interviews a few months ago). If it's the History-East Asia program, then those on the shortlist would probably be interviewed (there wouldn't be many people on the shortlist anyway). I was interviewed before offered admission last year. :) Maybe it's different for those in non-East Asia fields, but it never hurts to get prepared. :) I was also interviewed by the history departments of UCSB and UPenn.
  3. AnUglyBoringNerd
    @Naito Happy New Year to you too! Glad to hear that you are enjoying Harvard! And @civitas, don't worry about the average GPA thing, many non-US universities use a different grading policy, in which case it's normal to leave the average GPA blank. And your GPA looks alright to me. (I personally don't think anyone would get admitted to humanities programs bc they have high GPAs or rejected for less than stellar GPAs, what's way more important is the SOP and the writing sample)
  4. AnUglyBoringNerd
    I am not very sure about this "tiebreaker“ thing... In my humble opinion, whether or not you have money shouldn't be considered by the committees in their decision making regarding admission to the program, which should be solely based on their judgement of the applicants' academic capacity and potential... At Columbia, if you come with external fellowships you'd have the "top-off" and "extend" options, and there is a document explaining the complexity of the fellowship policies out there; but coming without any external fellowships (to my understanding) should in no way make you less likely admitted than other applicants, although having won a prestigious fellowship won't hurt.
  5. AnUglyBoringNerd
    When I was applying to their PhD program, I also rewrote mine to meet U of T's requirement of no more than 500 words. (the original version is around 1000 words) Expressing oneself in a concise and informative way is also a skill, and going over the 500 words so obviously may leave the committee an impression that you lack that skill. If other applicants can work it out, so can you! If "bringing it down" is too difficult, think about restructuring the content, prioritizing the most important information, or even rewriting it. [I just realized my response might be too late to be useful to OP, but anyways...]
  6. AnUglyBoringNerd
    Aww definitely! My wonderland and gingerbread house it is! So glad to hear that you are doing great!
  7. AnUglyBoringNerd
    How's going at Brown?
  8. AnUglyBoringNerd
    Fellow East Asian and former applicant to History PhD programs here. No need to retake GRE unless a program specifically say your score must be over a threshold. (Honestly, GRE is the least important part in your application, and speaking for myself mine score wasn't any better than yours, and I still got in my top choice) Also, being a non-native English speaker eventually isn't the biggest challenge you'd encounter when you write the SOP. I highly recommend that you go over the relevant threads, e.g. Fall 2017/2018/2019 Applicants, and check out the advice offered by advanced PhD students. This is, in my own experience, so not true - I did my first round of application while I was studying in South Korea (being non-South Korean). If you may, please consider to examine the information on programs' websites, ask your professors for advice, and do some search online (e.g. this forum is a fantastic source). Also, I'd caution against applying to any PhD programs that don't have a decent placement records, though the US News ranking isn't really accurate.
  9. AnUglyBoringNerd
    As have been explained before, they are not nearly as important as SOP and WS. Plus, there is not any way you can change your GPA. Focus on SOP and WS.
  10. AnUglyBoringNerd
    ^I've actually never taken IELTS so I only had TOEFL scores to send. Either way, I was told that those scores only help you to pass thresholds, e.g. if the school says 100 is enough, then 101 is enough. What matters almost never is this kind of scores.
  11. AnUglyBoringNerd
    Modern Japanese history with a focus on gender and sexuality My experiences (yep, in plural ..) with PhD application can be found here, if anyone is interested:
  12. AnUglyBoringNerd
    I remember that U of Toronto asked for a no more than 500-word articulation of "a feasible program of study"... lol I felt like participating in the Three Minute Thesis competition...
  13. AnUglyBoringNerd
    I did the same with my application. Both Harvard (HEAL) and Columbia (History-East Asia) have this kind of joint program. And I appreciated the opportunity to study at an area study department (which can be more open to interdisciplinary approach and background) and eventually get a PhD in History.
  14. AnUglyBoringNerd
    I wouldn't say this is very true for those who are applying to PhD programs. I'm Chinese and when I was applying all of my senpai kept reminding me that SOP and writing sample are the most important material which one uses to demonstrate credentials and potential. Like lordtiandao said, there is nothing you can do about your GPA. And although I didn't have a GPA issue that warrants an explanation, I've seen more advanced graduate students on this forum advise against using the limited space of your SOP to "justify" GPA, which may actually ends up bringing negative attention to it.
  15. AnUglyBoringNerd
    I'm only a first year PhD student but I feel that one's supervisor can also be tremendously helpful. Generally speaking, my supervisor and I discuss my status + performance for around an hour every week, and my supervisor has been offering advice regarding when to take which courses (especially those offered by other departments), which workshops I might want to attend, and which email lists I might want to be added to, etc, this whole time, and now I gradually come to see how my supervisor's advice is really tailored to my needs and making my first half semester such a wonderful experience. While I also benefited a lot from and really appreciate advanced graduate students' advice, the impression I get from my interaction with my supervisor is rather something like "Ok, someone's got my back". I do enjoy independence but it feels really good to have this level of support and to have someone tell me something as specific as “you are doing good at this stage of your PhD". So, in short, while I agree with ashiepoo72, I somewhat feel my supervisor knows more about the potential pitfalls and opportunities than some of the advanced graduate students in my department simply because my supervisor knows more about my specific situation than any of my fellow students. And..to make this post more relevant to the 2019 application - I didn't get in anywhere during my first cycle of PhD application, and if I did, I wouldn't have got my current supervisor (I didn't apply to my current program the first time). So...to all the applicants, especially the not-my-first-time applicants out there, good luck to you all!!!
  16. AnUglyBoringNerd
    ....Columbia is gonna charge me nearly 1300/month for rent, and the rent on average for furnished apartment share is $1220. (source: http://facilities.columbia.edu/housing/types-accommodations) But I still think it's doable. My impression is if I use my (9 month) stipend for the entire year (and saving my summer funding only for research trips), I'd probably have around $600-700 left for food etc. every month after tax and rent. BTW, I'm actually moving to NYC this Sunday ~ Regarding something more relevant to this thread, I actually can envision myself doing other things I absolutely love (e.g. being an NGO researcher, which is my previous job) other than doing a History PhD, but training to become a historian will make me a much better NGO researcher while being an NGO researcher can hardly help me become a professional historian, and I want to be a historian a lot more than I want to be an NGO researcher. Also, my work with NGOs is related to my research interests in History (human rights, gender and sexuality, and international relations) So, in short, I'm very grateful that my PhD supervisor takes my NGO experience seriously (tbh, I didn't expect this), and that my NGO supervisor has always been supportive of my getting a PhD. Does this rationale make sense?
  17. AnUglyBoringNerd
    Congrats!!!! Which program if I may ask?
  18. AnUglyBoringNerd
    I don't know that much about Sociology, but PoliSci and History are very different programs to apply to, e.g. in terms of preferred methodology and focus, the understanding of which you will need to demonstrate in your SOP and writing sample. Speaking from personal experience, I wouldn't just casually decide between these two and start applying. I once had to write two different writing samples, one for PoliSci programs, another for History programs, the results weren't good at all and i was quite torn apart in the process. The following part may not apply to your situation, but if you studied PoliSci in mainland China/Japan/South Korea, the PoliSci you studied can be quite different from the PoliSci in the US. I'd highly recommend that you read through some of the works recently published by professors from the programs you are interested in, and see if you truly wanna apply to PhD programs in PoliSci/History/Sociology. Best of luck!
  19. AnUglyBoringNerd
    Hi there, I have also been working in the non-profit sector. I agree with ExponentialDecay, being a non-profit employee wouldn't get you special treatments at graduate school. That said, I don't know which specific issue area is your focus, but if your work pertains to human rights, inclusive/sustainable development, democracy etc, you might be able to find grants created to support specific research/advocacy projects and/or individual researchers. Maybe you can combine what you are gonna study during your Master's program with your current nonprofit work, and try applying for this kind of grants? You mentioned that you work for a nonprofit under a big national brand, so maybe you'd want to talk with your colleagues who do outreach work and have more connections for information about this kind of outside funding opportunities. In short, there might be more funding opportunities for you from the non-profit sector than from graduate school/academia. Just my two cents.
  20. AnUglyBoringNerd
    I second this - I was actually lucky enough to receive this piece of advice from @AP last year when I was applying and it helped me a lot!
  21. AnUglyBoringNerd
    I'm actually leaving China but Peking University is my alma mater so pm me if you've got any questions about the campus, our "style", or the city of Beijing, though I'm afraid I may not be helpful when it comes to scholarship and funding for non-Chinese citizens.
  22. AnUglyBoringNerd
    I also share information related to my advocacy work and academic interests, etc, on social media, but never really "accomplishments". I think sometimes the response of one's audience could depend on one's approach to "sharing". e.g. a person was invited to speak about their advocacy/academic work at an awesome international summit, then one way to share it is to introduce to those who couldn't attend what happened, what were the implications, and what could be the useful takeaways and reflections, etc, so others could benefit from that info. This kind of sharing is professional and not about this particular person but about the advocacy/academic work itself. I see lots of fellow activists do this, which seems quite common and actually would provide a precious opportunity for people to exchange notes, which potentially helps with future collaboration at work. On the other hand, I personally share (and do so shamelessly）info in a "my accomplishments!" way only with very few ...mhm special people, and in a bilateral and private way, e.g. sending a message with pics to my significant other that reads like "Ahhhh it's Me! At this awesome international summit presenting!!" sometimes in a "little girl at Disneyland" style. And here "special ones" don't even include my parents bc if I do so they'd reply with explicit or implicit lectures on how one shall always stay humble.... (i come from and am educated in East Asian countries, so this might make a difference) So, in my experience, once you find the balance between personal sharing and professional sharing, you'd feel comfortable with sharing in general. I second Sigaba's advice, everyone has their own (and probably) different approach to sharing things on social media, you just need to find the balance to make you feel comfortable.
  23. AnUglyBoringNerd
    In my correspondence with POIs, one professor suggested that I choose my writing sample "carefully", and the criteria they gave is that the writing sample should show both one's "existing knowledge of the field" and one's ability to "carry out original, creative analysis". In an interview with another POI, I was informed that my writing is "expressive" (I feel very much flattered), so I guess this is also a good thing. Hope it helps~
  24. AnUglyBoringNerd
    1. There is a History forum here: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/38-history/ Definitely check it out! 2. Regarding funding, sometimes you can find detailed information on the website of each programs. Also, you can use this thread as reference: (somewhere in this thread there is a link to a google sheet where people post info of the funding packages they got from different programs) 3. I was also an international applicant though the universities I attended are probably not "less known" in my field. That said, I don't think your grades or the university you studied at would play against you. (None of my recommendation letter writers got their degree in the U.S. and I don't have a degree in History. Still, I got offers from 4 out of the 7 PhD programs I applied to, including my top choice) Also, I was repeatedly reminded that what matter most in one's application are SOP and writing sample. Don't worry much about your grades (or other factors, such as GRE and TOEFL) if they are already decent (and cannot be easily changed). You may want to focus on something that's "up to you". 4. I would also recommend that you read through this thread: I found it highly helpful when I was applying (last year), somewhere in this thread some good advice were given re: how to choose programs. And personally speaking, I would encourage you to prioritize programs based on your research interests and the strengths of programs (= the "fit"), not on geographic location, unless you have to, e.g. family obligations. 5. I second AP's advice. Contacting POIs are very important and can be quite helpful - you may also ask if (given your background and research interests) they can give you any advice on how to improve your application/further develop your research interests. I did this and most of the POIs I contacted replied with detailed advice. (I revised my SOP based on their advice, as you can imagine) Best of luck!
  25. AnUglyBoringNerd
    This picture^, is that Sungkyunkwan Scandal? XD
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