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Fart_of_War

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  1. Upvote
    Fart_of_War reacted to Happybuddha in Way-Too-Early 2022 Pre-Application Season Predictions   
    Well it seems incredibly likely that there will be more spots total next year versus this year, simply because I think a lot of those schools that closed their PhD applications will open up again, and so even if schools continue to have reduced admissions that would open up at least a few more spots. 
     
    It also depends on whether GRE requirements are reinstituted since it looks like many more international students applied to US programs than normal because of this (though I got amazing GRE scores, there did not seem to be a correlation with the places I got into this year and the places that allowed me to submit my GRE scores, so my guess is most admissions committees are not taking them as seriously at all and probably will not again). Of course whether or not this makes it easier for YOU depends on all sorts of factors like your country of origin, test taking aptitude, etc. Overall it would be better in terms of accessibility to do away with GRE requirements all together, so even if it means more applicants overall I am strongly in favor of this route. 
     
    There definitely will be people who got shut out this year applying, and anecdotally I get the sense that this number is higher than in most previous years, but not like 100s of people. I imagine a lot of people who got shut out of PhDs got into MAs so won’t be applying for two years, and then a lot of people who got shut out because they decided to apply on a whim probably won’t apply again. 
     
    Applications also almost always go up in a recession (and even though getting a Philosophy PhD might be somewhat of a strange choice to make in a recession, it does seem like that played at least part of a role), so if the economy continues to improve and the US is doing well economically by the fall, then I imagine that would predict a decrease in applicants relative to this year. However, if other countries are still in a recession due to lagging vaccine rollout, etc., then there may still be an increase in applicants from international countries. 
    So I guess if I was forced to take a guess, I would say it will ALMOST CERTAINLY not be AS bad as it was this year, MOST LIKELY will just be marginally better or around the same (slightly more spots, slightly fewer or around the same # of applicants overall), and COULD BE BUT PROBABLY WON’T be significantly easier (I think the only way this would happen is if all programs open up and returned to 2019 level of admissions combined with a thriving economy leading to 100s of fewer people applying).
    So yeah overall I’d say brace yourself for about the same level of anxiety, maybe slightly less, as we collectively went through this year ?
  2. Like
    Fart_of_War reacted to tingdeh in Lessons Learned: Application Season Debriefings   
    I think I'll throw myself into this mix, now that the dust has settled and I'm off to make my decision between two excellent schools very shortly. Long story short, I have quite the non-traditional background coming into being a historian, so I'm happy to share.
     
    I finished my undergraduate as an English literature student. But my thesis work was far from just literary--I got travel grants to do archival work across the Pacific, and while I had wanted to dig up early literatures of the American occupation of the Philippines, it led me to learn all about migration and labour history in the long 20th century. Got more funding to learn ethnography and oral history on a beautiful Pacific island.
     
    My first round of applications was just not meant to be. I tried to fit in what I felt was an eclectic but exciting set of interests in to English and American Studies, but I didn't have a strong enough application to do so. But just before I graduated, a dear mentor (and an accomplished historian and high-level academic at my school) directly took my under his wing and introduced me to a new research centre under the history department. I got to know a historian of empire and slowly, through a series of not unfortunate events, was introduced to the biggest names of the subfield in which I currently work. I finally found the words for what I had stumbled upon as a bumbling English lit student, and all these sets of words end with "history."
     
    This second round, I applied to three schools (Harvard, University of Washington, and University of Toronto), and got into the latter two. I had planned to work in an application to Brown and NYU, but simply could not afford them. International application fees were the death of me, and not to mention that just a couple of weeks before I geared up to compile applications, I had to get a new phone.
     
    All that verbosity aside, here are my pieces of advice:
     
    1. Write your SOP as professionally as possible. Especially for folks with less-than-stellar backgrounds in undergraduate or masters history (or, for that matter, neither an undergrad nor a masters in history), you want to make up for these check-box deficiencies by showing exactly how you can conduct yourself in the field. Lay out your project with sharp, clear prose, allude to previous literatures if necessary, and really piece together a narrative that makes you as irresistible as possible. I applied to Harvard "just to see," but also because a there was a scholar there who really wanted to work with me. Unfortunately, the overall narrative didn't pan out as well as it could have with Washington and Toronto.
     
    2. Leverage as many connections as possible. My current advisors and mentors are quite connected, to the point where a POI in both schools into which I got accepted are dear friends. One recommended the other, and they speak highly of each other all the time. Furthermore, you never know what kinds of political battles are behind the scenes. From the little sprinklings I've been told, at one of my schools, the decisions were made very difficult because of my nontraditional background. But once again, connections helped everything along.
     
    3. Don't be afraid to write a totally new writing sample. I used my undergraduate thesis (in English lit) for one application, because it was strong in cultural analysis, and my POIs worked in those kinds of methods anyway. For my other application, I audited a course in the precise topic I wanted to pursue, and used that class to write a second sample from scratch. I echo what others have said above: use primary sources, and flex your language skills. I deployed both Tagalog and Spanish in that particular writing sample, on both primary and non-English secondary sources. 
     
    4. Numbers only matter as much as you let them. My senior year undergrad GPA was a 4.0, but I never took a single course in history all my life. My GRE scores were not anything spectacular, either. The things I could control much better--writing samples, statement of purpose, and good choices for LoRs--really, I think, shaped the meat and potatoes of the application.
     
    5. Most importantly: surround yourself with positive energy and wonderful people. This has been the most stressful time of my life so far. And so, I made time to check in with my closest friends for coffee, beers, and long walks in our big city. I've made sure to do some physical activity. My girlfriend was--and remains--nothing short of incredible, for all the love and support she gave me to pull me through this time. When I got my acceptances, rest assured that she was the first person I freaked out to. 
     
    I am now deciding between two amazing Direct-Entry PhD programs. I've been told by many mentors and friends (and Jiminy Cricket) that neither decision is a wrong one. I am deciding between two very correct, but distinctly correct choices. It's a wonderful place to be in, and I really wish for the best for everyone else. Abbracci!
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