KTJ

Have heard from friends currently attending from the History Faculty that Clarendon and Ertegun have been decided, and those successful notified, for anyone looking for an update.

I've been lurking for ages without saying much because no one else seemed to mention it...but me too!!! Congrats! I may reach out to my supervisor, but am planning on asking some friends currently there if they think it'd be the norm.

Hi there! I have some limited experience. When I was in the UK previously (2 years ago), I set up an account with NatWest, and as far as I can remember/know there is no fee (this having had the account for around two years now). However, I also set up my account through my school during international student orientation, so I'm not sure if there was a deal between the banks/school that did away with any fees. I'm not sure where you're studying, but maybe reach out to someone at your school and see if they have any advice on this? I'm heading back to the UK this fall and while I won't need to set up a whole new account, I've noticed that my school (different from the previous one) is holding a session on banking during their international student orientation. As for the cell phones, I previously used giffgaff. Their plans are basically monthly or top-up things, and they were really easy to use. I picked a "goody bag" (basically their plan) that was around £10 a month that included 2 GB (or MB? I'm not sure the difference, whatever is bigger) and I think 500 minutes, but I also recall them offering a far more basic plan for around £5 (or maybe less?). I believe they run their network through O2, and as far as I remember the service was excellent wherever I was, even when I was sort of in the middle of the countryside.

A lot of good advice has already been given but I thought I'd add my two cents as well... Regarding your concerns about your thesis: My offer for Oxford was based on either my final GPA or the final grade received on my thesis/capstone. I also ended up using a section of my thesis for my writing sample, but as others have mentioned using any well-written paper that demonstrates your ability to think critically, use primary sources, and etc, should be fine. Advice for your personal statement, particularly if you're going for the MSt over the MPhil - the personal statement for the MSt application is sort of different from other (at least American) personal statement prompts. First off, since the MSt application doesn't require a formal research proposal, the statement is where you do lightly propose what you want to work on while you're there. On top of this, Oxford doesn't want a personal statement that is rather self-congratulatory. They want to know why you want to continue your studies there, and what you want to do with your degree once you've finished. I sort of struggled with this especially after since the professors helping me recommended I spent more time in my statement talking about the great things I had done, even though I think the application guide pretty much explicitly says not to do that. As from the application guide: "It should focus on how you see the course as building upon your previous study, and what you hope to do with the qualifications you gain from the University, rather than on personal achievements and aspirations." As for your research interests - as others have said, keep your mind open as of now and don't let it narrow your search for schools. I know you're about halfway through undergrad, but in my own experience my interests really developed/shifted from the end of my second year to the end of undergrad. Like what L13 said, its always good to take classes that maybe aren't in the field you want to study, as it can help build your base, draw similarities, or carry over ways of thinking/approaching topics. You never know what you may learn, or how a class may influence or change the way to look at things. Also for languages - while there is no requirement for the MSt, you will certainly need a language or two for any doctoral program you pursue (as others have said). While you won't need them **now** , it can never hurt to start working on them in the meantime so you're ready for when you do need demonstrate your knowledge them.

If you'd like any advice/perspective on applying to MA programs in England let me know! I'll be heading over there this fall (Oxford) and I'd like to imagine I could be of some help if you do decide to apply/take that route.

I think these are pretty common reads, but I'd recommend At the Dark End of the Street by Danielle L. McGuire, Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy B. Tyson, and Making Whiteness by Grace Elizabeth Hale. At the Dark End focuses on the Civil Rights movement through the lens of black women and sexual violence. Blood Done Sign is sort of a memoir, but Tyson is a historian and ties his experience of growing up in the South in the 60s to larger movements. Making Whiteness gets into the creation of Jim Crow and segregation, and a good way to think about the culture of segregation. I haven't read it, but Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City may be helpful. From what I understand it uses music as a way to trace/examine how White/Black/Creole/Mexican culture all interacted in the city and complicated the dichotomy of white/black.

While I was applying I automatically assumed I would use my capstone paper, if only because it was/is the cumulative of my undergraduate work and a piece of original research; and I did use it in the end. The schools I applied to (for Master's) encouraged a sample that dealt with your proposed area of study, so my capstone was also convenient in that respect because it dealt with my area of interest. If I wrote it on a different area I'm not sure what I would have done, because I also have another (older) paper that dealt with my topic but that wasn't as expansive. I did have to cut it down for one application as it was over the maximum word count, so there was a small struggle in trying to decide where to cut it off. I managed in the end however, and added a small explanation that stated what the rest of the paper explored. If you're worried about using this paper, ask your professors for their advice! My professors helped me in encouraging me that my work was good enough for a sample, and I'm sure yours would as well/give you other tips. I don't know a whole lot, but to me I would think writing about something very specific shows that your knowledge has depth to it.

Oh boy - I recently re-read my freshman year intro to history research proposal and was reminded that at one point I wanted to study the history of music. To be more specific - the history of the hardcore punk movement in D.C. I find the way music genres evolve and change overtime due to external influences (e.g. demography) to be very fascinating, and for a while I was convinced that I was going to be a punk historian. Beyond that I also have a soft spot for Tudor History and American Colonial History (particularly Roanoke). (Also - this is my first post on here! Been lurking forever, so hello!)