e_randolph
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Posts posted by e_randolph
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16 minutes ago, Ternwild said:
@elx@fortsibut Use this year to save up a couple thousand and apply to like 15 - 20 universities. They may not all be your top choice, but at least you'll be able to increase your chances of getting in next year. If both of you have the stats to compete in Ivy League, then you'll certainly fair better than I did doing that this year.
This might work if your goal is to attend graduate school no matter what, but it's not particularly good advice if your eventual goal is to get a job after graduate school. In history, there are probably not 15-20 universities that have the faculty and resources to support your unique interests and definitely not that many with reliable placement rates. I think a better strategy is to sharpen your research interests, continue building relationships with prospective advisers, and keep pursuing top-tier programs that will allow your work to flourish.
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My last two acceptances hit me right in a row. As I was about to leave work on Monday, I saw a message pop up in my email. I read it, silently freaked out, and ran down to call my mom from my car. As I was on the phone with my mother, I went back to the email to read it back to her, only to find another acceptance waiting in my inbox. I was so surprised that I swore loudly, not realizing my mom had me on speaker phone.
Oops!
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26 minutes ago, DanaJ said:
ohhhh, Stop would have been vital to my application process!!! I used a sample thesis chapter, but the thesis is still in progress. I have been back over these pages more times than I would like to count, and I did find a MAJOR typo! Luckily I fixed it after two applications, I staggered mine due to fees. The program that accepted me did not read the same sample as some of my earlier applications.
I'm having a hard time determining what you're trying to say. But I think my advice stands. As I said, once you've submitted, STOP reading your submitted materials. If you haven't submitted, keep proofreading and sharpening your work. It's destructive to stew over materials you no longer have any control over, particularly during the month(s)-long waiting period.
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I'll parrot most of what has been said above.
The keys to a strong application lie in the SOP and the writing sample. The SOP is your opportunity to elucidate not only what you want to study, but also how you want to study it. Absolutely tailor your SOP to each school (and probably more than tossing in an obligatory "I want to work with ..." sentence at the end).
In the writing sample, clearly demonstrate your use of primary sources, but don't slough on analysis.
Finally, don't leave anything on the table when you're applying -- proofread, write confidently and honestly, and secure strong rec letters. But, for the love of god, once you've submitted, STOP. Do NOT reread anything until you have a response in hand because you will inevitably find a typo and spend all your time obsessing over it.
This process is capricious. There are things you can do to make yourself stand out, but it is not an exact science. Who knows which way the wind will blow from one year to the next? Be kind to yourself and remind yourself that your worth has nothing to do with any school's admissions decision.
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9 hours ago, villageelliot said:
Trying to focus on my work but it's SO hard. And my early American drink of choice is madeira.
Speaking of whiskey, have you had Washington's whiskey brewed at the Mount Vernon estate? They use his recipe and 18th century tools and it's quite good (albeit quite expensive).
Madeira is an ICONIC choice. Unfortunately, when I was most recently at Mount Vernon, I was oppressively hungover and barely made it through his distillery and gristmill, to say nothing of drinking his whiskey.
- I_Am_In_Paine and psstein
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6 hours ago, federalist51 said:
Pardon the redundancy in my post. "Interesting" probably isn't the best adjective to use in describing "interests." ?
This is a judgment-free zone! Americanists supporting Americanists.
So far we have a great array of interests! How’s everyone doing with the wait? I’m maintaining sanity solely by the grace of good American whisky, just like GW would have wanted.
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2 minutes ago, Dark Paladin said:
We have similar interests, although your focus is a fair bit broader than my own. I look forward to reading your work one day ?
That's very kind! Yes, I suspect I'll have to to narrow my interests down quite a bit in advance of my dissertation. If you don't mind me asking, what're your primary interests?
Affairs of Honor is WONDERFUL -- My first major project in undergraduate was roughly modeled after the way Freeman marries violence and politics in the book. She is such a skilled historian and I was lucky enough to meet her in the fall when she was giving book talks
- Dark Paladin and Jericho
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29 minutes ago, villageelliot said:
I work on the intersection of the early American and French Atlantic. My most recent project was a comparative analysis of American local declarations of independence and French Cahiers de Doleances. In the most basic terms, I looked at both as lists of grievances at the onset of revolution to try and get in the mindset of how common citizens on both sides of the Atlantic viewed the potential changes to society that were at hand. I also wanted to see if common Americans influenced common French citizens via their conception of rights, liberties, etc. My research grew from a frustration with the fact that seemingly all history comparing the American and French Revolutions focuses on elites.
For my next project I'd like to study French Azilum (an area that remarkably has little to no scholarship) from an Atlantic lens.
Oh, and I'm currently reading Apostles of Revolution by John Ferling which is quite good, despite my desire for my own research to move away from the comparative study of revolutionary elites.
Your research sounds fascinating! Both spotlighting understudied experiences and focusing on understudied areas are such valuable tendencies. I'm trying to do something similar -- studying early American borderlands and urban centers through a political lens, especially focusing on the slaves, women, freedmen, farmers, and Indigenous people who bore the brunt of American expansion, both physically and ideologically.
Right now, I'm reading Joanne Freeman's The Field of Blood, which I got my hands on this fall but am only tearing into now. As expected, it's amazing.
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15 minutes ago, villageelliot said:
Anyone know what's up with NYU? I find it curious that there's a few waitlist results being posted despite there being no wave of acceptances yet.
Not sure whether NYU is sending out all responses, but I did get a waitlist email from the program admin fairly early this morning. Best of luck to both of you, hopefully they don't keep you waiting long!
- frantz, I_Am_In_Paine and historygeek
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While we wait to hear back from the schools we've applied, and per an earlier suggestion in the Fall 2019 applicants thread, I thought it would be nice to have a place for early Americanists to congregate. If you fall into this category, I'd like to know what your research is -- or will be! What are you reading right now? Whose work have you learned from the most?
- I_Am_In_Paine and Karou
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26 minutes ago, WhaleshipEssex said:
American History
- R_Escobar (20th century, American Indian),
- crazedandinfused (antebellum, intellectual),
- hopin'-n-prayin' (southern, religious),
- stevemcn (transnational),
- Simple Twist of Fate (early American),
- zb642 (20th century, labor/working-class culture),
- BCEmory08 (19th-20th century Catholicism, labor),
- irvinchiva10 (20th century, immigration/immigration reform)
- natsteel (early American political culture and intellectual history)
- unforth (19th century US political and military history, US Civil War)
- hbeels (colonial, early national, 19th century, transappalachain west, historical memory of these eras/areas)
- thedig13 (20th century U.S.; built environment, modern consumer culture, race, and immigration)
- Weepsie (North American Mapping, Exploration and Trade, Anti-Communism/Socialism in Interwar period, bit of a mixed bag)
- lafayette (19th c. [with a dash of 20th], urban, intellectual)
- vtstevie (Revolutionary/Early Republic New England, infrastructure/economic)
- macmc (Feminist, gender, and LGBT history)
- HistThrift (early America, indigenous history)
- junotwest (19/20th century African-American, Cultural/Intellectual, Gender & Sexuality)
- calhoun&caffeine (19th cen. Southern [political])
- tampopo ramen (19th-20th century capitalism/business)
- BookishVixen (late 18th-early 20th ce maritime communities, cultural, gender & sexuality)
- hardtack&coffee (19th Century American Social & Military History, American Civil War)
- spellbanisher (economic and cultural history of the gilded age, progressive era, and the 1920s)
- ThisGreatFolly (intellectual, religious, political violence, rhetoric)
- lily9 (Indigenous history, social history, public history)
- ashiepoo72 (Cold War foreign policy and intelligence agencies, decolonization, transnational history)
- e_randolph (citizenship, politics, culture, early republic, borderlands)
European History
- Kelkel (Modern Germany, political),
- goldielocks (Britain),
- SapperDaddy (Eastern and Central Europe),
- kotov (Modern Romania, Holocaust, labor),
- RevolutionBlues (Modern Western Europe/France labor and leftist politics),
- theregalrenegade (18th/19th cent British Empire/environment),
- jrah822 (19th century Britain; emphasis on colonial relationship to India),
- grlu0701 (Intellectual & cultural history,fin de siecle Germany and Italy),
- naturalog (modern European [mostly German] intellectual and cultural/sexuality and gender/political radicalism),
- runaway (Eastern/Central, memorialization & visual culture),
- Sequi001 (Modern France, gender and sexuality, colonialism/imperialism)
- Abetheh (19th/early 20th century Germany and France, religious politics vs secularization)
- NeutralKate (Modern Russia, modern European economic history)
- Crackerjacktiming (Modern Germany, gender and sexuality)
- GloFish (USSR, Stalinism, Soviet-American Relations)
- jamc8383 (19th/20th century France, interwar culture, relationship between body, mind & place)
- Heimat Historian (19th/20th century Germany, migration, settler colonialism)
- AshleyJuneBug (Early Modern France and Britain, gender and sexuality)
- maelia8 (19th/early 20th century Germany, imperialism and colonialism, travel, exploration)
- BookishVixen (Victorian and Edwardian English imperialism/gender & sexiality)
- episkey (19th/20th century France, gender and sexuality, Holocaust)
- AngesRadieux (18th/early 19th century France, cultural history, music)
- ManifestMidwest (modern France, colonialism & imperialism, Pacific worlds)
- DGrayson (early modern Western Europe [focusing mostly on England right now], economic and religious history)
- Ziggysunshine (19th/20th century Belgium, architecture and urban planning, intellectual history)
African History
- Oseirus (precolonial/early colonial West Africa),
- Singwaya18 (20th century East Africa),
- Safferz (20th century Horn/Northeast Africa),
- The People's Scholar (Spanish colonialim in Africa- i.e. middle/West Africa)
- Jogatoronto (Psychiatry in early colonial West Africa)
- ronwill06 (Social and political radical movements)
- Heimat Historian (German settlements in Southern Africa)
- thekatieladybird (Post-independence conflict and social histories in Central Africa)
Latin American History
- CageFree RIP (20th century, Southern Cone)
- BH-history,
- The People's Scholar (18th-19th century Colombia)
- StrangeLight (20th century Central America)
- Heimat Historian (German settlements in Southern cone and Mexico)
- Mujereslibres (German informal colonization of Peru, Brazil, and Chile)
- AP
East Asian History
- alleykat (Modern China)
- getitlow (Modern China: Republican, Women, Gender and Sexuality)
- kyjin (Pre-Modern Japan)
- aec09g (Modern Japan)
- pudewen (Late Imperial China)
- kdavid (Modern China; focus on the Republican period)
- Minion.banana (late imperial China, Islam, intellectual networks)
- qkhitai (Medieval China and Central Asia, literature and ethnicity)
- lordtiandao (Imperial China: political and fiscal)
Near/Middle Eastern History
- uhohlemonster, (modern Israel, Iran, Palestine)
- oswic (modern Egypt, gender)
- Conmel (modern pan-Islamic thought/networks)
- Baloch (Oman)
Atlantic World
- sandyvanb
- crazedandinfused
Global/World History
- cooperstreet (Cold War)
- melissarose8585
- Heimat Historian (German settlements throughout world)
- ashiepoo72 (Cold War foreign policy and intelligence agencies, decolonization, transnational history)
Jewish History
- uhohlemonster, (modern Israel)
- hopin'-n-'prayin,
- kotov (Holocaust),
- naturalog (sometimes modern European/Holocaust),
- runaway (memorialization & visual culture),
- ticklemepink (20th c. Germany/U.S)
- awells27 (Late Antiquity: Roman Empire/Palestine/Byzantine)
Science/Technology/Environment
- shaxmaty1848 (Cold War)
- StrangeLight (environmental history, ecological distribution conflicts)
- sukipower (20th c. forensic science & anthropology, 19th c. science and medicine)
- Neist (19th/20th c. biological sciences)
- seh0517 (scientific illustration, ancient egyptian science & medicine, astronomy, mortuary science)
- lily9 (Indigenous science and how it fit into architecture and urban planning (especially astronomy)
- WhaleshipEssex (18/19th c. horology, timekeeping, and temporality)
Social
- annieca (Cold War and Post-Cold War East and Central Europe)
- BookishVixen (Spheres of influence, Progressive Era reforms affecting immigration)
Classical and Medieval
- Hogs of War (Monastic Studies and Conflicts in Authority)
- telkanuru (high Medieval intellectual and social history, Cistercian studies)
- AbbeyRoad (Monastic History, Gender, Cistercians)
- Kirialax ("Dark Age" Byzantium; the Komnenoi)
Cultural
- StrangeLight (gender, race, ethnicity, and religion)
- hbeels (race/ethnicity, religious, masculinity/feminimity, print/literature)
- crazedandinfused (race, nationalism, performance, rhetoric)
- alleykat (religion, race/ethnicity, cultural relativism)
- Heimat Historian (German culture in transnational context)
- nhhistorynut (20th century US, African American, race/racism, Black nationalism)
Canadian History
- truthfinder (New France, religious)
- lily9 (Indigenous history)
South Asia
- pakhistorian (Pakistan/Bangladesh,cultural, social, political, women, public history, digital history)
Southeast Asia
- kxlx (early modern, colonialism, port cities, Islam)
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6 hours ago, federalist51 said:
@villageelliot and @darkpaladin Good to see some fellow early Americanists on this thread! I am also anxiously awaiting decisions from the programs to which I applied, although I suppose we will all hear back soon enough. In any case, best of luck!
Also an early Americanist!
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@Karou I’d say don’t worry about the GRE scores. I shot them an email about it way back and I got a response from the admin there. She basically said not to stress and that the committee will consider your self-reported scores if they’ve still failed to match the scores when they review the applications.
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Hi all! This waiting period is an absolute nightmare so I had to share my good news. I got my first acceptance today from UVA through an email from their DGS with my prospective advisors CC’ed! Honestly, I’m relieved and thrilled.
- canadianrockies, elx, fordlandia and 5 others
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**BUMP**
While I'm doing my best to maintain sanity during the wait for my rejections, I've loved reading about other people's success. Hopefully this will give the thread some exposure as 2019 acceptances start rolling in!
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There are a lot of similar questions that have been asked on the forum that address this. It seems like the consensus is that GRE scores are usually the least considered part of the application. If you have a strong SOP, writing sample, and strong rec letters -- which it sounds like you do -- those carry significantly more weight than the scores themselves.
- historygeek and TMP
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Rest easy about Princeton, as well. My POI there assured me that recommendation letters are late so often that there's a pretty substantial delay before the letters are even expected. It definitely won't affect your chances this soon after the deadline.
Next year
in Waiting it Out
Posted
The point is, it's actually not worthwhile in the current market to apply to programs that won't fund or that aren't top programs. Again, the goal is not simply to get into grad school, but to get a job after the fact. Furthermore, history is a highly specific discipline. I can absolutely find 20 universities that will allow me to study American history. I guarantee you that I can't find that many with robust resources and more than one scholar who focuses on the cross section and time period I'm interested in working on.
As anyone who has applied to PhD programs in history knows, a major key is fit with the department. It's impossible to argue compellingly that your work would fit perfectly with 15-20 departments unless you're over-generalizing your work or altering it wildly to fit each department. In either case, rejection is almost assured.
You might think that what I've said "seems highly unlikely," but even if I'm not a credible source, this is a solid reflection of the advice being given by past and present history applicants in the history forum.