ltr317

What kind of turntable do you play vinyl on?

@Undercommoner thanks. I was away from this forum during the holidays and missed reading some postings. The explanation makes sense.

Congrats to the person who was accepted to Illinois/Urbana PhD program on Jan. 5th. That's really an unusually early decision, is it not?

@ramey thanks for bumping this year. Very helpful info.

I hope you meant Purdue, unless you're looking to get a PhD in chicken production.

"some type of simple historical topic" There are no simple historical topics. All history is complex, multifaceted, and messy. The difference is that the typical question in the History subforum is specific, so if someone is asking about a certain period, theme, or perspective in say, Latin American or African history, I'm not going to answer because my specialty is 19th century United States history. Same reason why I don't answer if the question concerns graduate history programs outside my field of interest.

I want to wish everyone Happy Holidays! It is a time to rejoice and be in the company of family, friends and loved ones. Forget about school if you're done; the semester is over for most people. Worry about applications due in January after the New Year. For now, I raise my glass and offer everyone here a deserving toast!

Then you're one of the few. Lol.

I'm afraid I have nothing worthwhile to add for the OP, but I think the advice already given is sound and truthful. I do want to add my two cents to this running dialogue. No one is perfect. To be human means we have hubris, but we can all strive to be better human beings everyday. I've only been on this forum for about six months, but I've gain a lot from almost everyone who have responded to my inquiries. I hope some have gained insight from my long experiential knowledge in answering their questions. This place really is volunteer driven and without the longtime members this forum would not last. In just the short time as a member, I read through a lot of threads, and noticed that most new members spend a short time here, ask a bunch of questions, get what they want and leave. They just pick a member's brain and take without giving anything in return. Some don't even say thanks. I don't expect everyone to stay on this forum indefinitely or even give back in some way. Just show some respect. Maybe even come back in a year or two to provide fresh applicants during the cycle with some sage advice, and that doesn't mean they have to be regulars. Not enough people do it even occasionally. When I first registered, I came with no expectations and an open mind. I was new to the study of history and really did not know what to expect. I was glad to receive advice, whether or not I eventually agreed or not agreed with it. Some were pointed and direct, but I knew that the opinions were based on experience and was possible. I may disagree but I didn't get angry from someone's opinion. The only time I got angry was when someone attacked my character because of my opinion. I caution anyone not to do that because it oversteps the boundary of decency. What everyone says about the job market is real. It doesn't pertain to me because I already had a career, and am applying to PhD programs because I need the credential to write professionally. For anyone looking at it as a career move, then I echo telkanuru to think long and hard why you want the PhD.

As a 19th century Americanist, it is misleading to suggest that German is necessary when pursuing a PhD in American History. For students in early American history, it is much more important to learn either French or Spanish, depending if their focus is the American Revolution, New France, New Spain, or the nexus between the U.S. and French or Spanish Caribbean Islands. There weren't many Germans or anyone else in the American West or Midwest until the 19th century westward expansion, but they were only one of many ethnic groups migrating in search of work and farming. Even the growing Northern and Atlantic cities which had a heavy concentration of Germans only had one or at most two German newspapers during this period. Of course a few students who are interested in regional studies, or in U.S./German diplomacy, or some other connection may need to learn German, but they are in the minority compared to the many whose second language has to be French or Spanish based on their interest.

I would also add that Columbia's separate MA in history is very limited in scope and is a terminal degree. It's basically a cash cow for the university. Admitted applicants to the PhD program can earn an MA en route to the doctorate.

As fuzzy said, this seems really odd since it is an important criteria for any school. Sometimes the required statement could be worded differently on the application, and you may have overlooked the section. If you can't find it, I would contact the program.

I assume you're referring to Sarah Lawrence in Bronxville and Rutgers U in Newark. Both campuses are pretty accessible by public transportation. For SL, the Metro-North train is convenient to get into NYC (where you can do anything). It's just a short taxi ride from campus (or you can bike) to the station. SL has been a liberal place for decades and you shouldn't have any problem fitting in. Rutgers-Newark is also easy for transportation. The University has a shuttle bus to the Newark train station where you can hop onto the PATH to get to NYC for entertainment. The school has a large minority population and being a state university has a open acceptance policy.

Congrats to all those who have submitted Dec. 15 applications. I want to caution anyone who is applying to programs which are using a third party website (such as Interfolio) for the submission of supplemental materials to send everything before the due date if possible. I almost missed the deadline for Temple because I was waiting for a LOR and by the time it was sent to Interfolio, they had server issues and I only made it with a minute to spare. Now on to the apps that are due in Jan. It will be over fairly soon and everyone will be able to relax a little bit.

Some programs look at applicants holistically, while others focus on GPA and GRE as factors in deciding whether an applicant gets pass the first round. I would check the websites of the four MA programs you're applying to determine which approach they take. Based on your selections this time, I think several of the programs are not that competitive, especially at the MA level. How do you get a .5 on the GRE? Verbal and Quant scores are in whole numbers. Unless you included the AWA in the total (which you shouldn't) that's not possible. Anyway, good luck this cycle.

If your GPA shows an upward trend, many M.S. programs would view that in a favorable light, especially if you do well on the GRE, write an excellent SOP and get sterling LORs. One step at a time, study hard and earn your undergrad degree first, then do well in your master's program before even thinking about a doctorate.

In addition, the first verbal and quantitative section has questions with levels of difficulty from 1-5, so it's a complicated algorithm.

Thanks for the advice and good luck studying for the comps. Hope you can drop in from time to time to provide answers as another veteran of the PhD process.

I originally wanted to apply to about 15 programs and while some don't have a specified limit, no school wanted more than two pages, single-spaced (approx. 1,000 words). I'm curious, which program allows up to 2,500 words?

I didn't realize how expensive professional graduate programs have gotten. It was a quarter of HKS's cost when I completed my MPA at another Ivy. If you decide to apply there, you should also apply to less expensive programs in case you don't get a full free ride.

If there's no specified length, I generally keep the SOP to two pages, single spaced. Adcoms have a lot of applications to read, so you shouldn't be too long-winded.

Of the schools that I'm applying so far, Temple U. actually requires that materials be submitted on Interfolio.

Good for you. Sounds like you're well on your way to completion of the application process. Good luck with acceptances. I'm a little behind you in the process as I just started the SOP. My research paper and prepping for the GRE the past month set back my schedule somewhat but I should have Dec. 15 application deadlines done a few days early. The bulk of my apps are due Jan. 1 - Jan. 15 so I still have plenty time for those.

I didn't say other colleges/universities were not competitive grade-wise. You read too much into my posting. I was only pointing that out because it was relevant to the OP's case, since we're both Ivy grads. It was encouragement for him to apply somewhere. YMMV, so it's your opinion versus mine. Please don't put yourself in my shoes. You don't know when or where I graduated. One of my former classmates who now teaches at our Alma mater told me there is some grade inflation but it's still difficult to get an A, so students are generally studying harder for that elusive grade.

I have the same problem with fatigue. For a three hour class, I usually have an energy drink after the first hour. This seems to revive me somewhat for the remaining two hours of class. For my upcoming GRE, I'm planning to take a couple of practice tests the week before, and take an energy drink at the two hour mark to simulate the day of the test. On test day you can take a ten minute break, so I plan to use the bathroom, wash my face with cold water, and have an energy drink. You might want try that the week before to see if it'll work for you.