runaway

Some of this might have to do with them often hiring previous interns. Look at the people doing research as fellows and you'll see some very different names. It also definitely depends on the museum, although the schools that are the equivalent of 'ivies' might change based on the job you're looking at and the museum. Especially in New York, names like Bard and Pratt suddenly get you very far.

They're switched in the UK.

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) 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) African History Oseirus (precolonial/early colonial West Africa), Singwaya18 (20th century East Africa), Safferz (20th century Horn/Northeast Africa) Latin American History teachgrad (20th century, Southern Cone), BH-history East Asian History alleykat Near/Middle Eastern History uhohlemonster Atlantic World sandyvanb Global/World History cooperstreet (Cold War) Jewish History uhohlemonster, hopin'-n-'prayin, kotov (Holocaust), naturalog (sometimes modern European/Holocaust), runaway (memorialization & visual culture) Science/Technology shaxmaty1848 (Cold War)

Are you sure it's a problem? I know at SMU, the feral cat population is spayed, neutered, named, and has a rather large endowment. The only problem is that students still adopt cats and release them 'into the wild' at the end of the school year. (Seriously, wtf, people who do this.) they even have a website: http://smu.edu/cats/

Zeilia, I turned down funding to accept my Courtauld offer. If you'd like to talk more about it, feel free to PM. (Don't want to go into too many private details here!)

I'm almost embarrassed to ask this question, but: when describing methodology, what is a sufficient understanding of methodology? ie, "this is an archival based examination of xyz" vs. "this is an examination of xyz based on a, b, and c, archival collections"? Or am I totally off-base?

I also love the term 'ostalgie,' or nostalgia for life prior to reunification.

Exactly! You can also pick a neighborhood based on proximity to the subway lines so you don't have to transfer. Besides cost of living being cheaper-- not just rent but groceries, etc-- there is so much of New York to experience that isn't in Manhattan. I lived in Greenpoint for a while and spoke more Polish there than I do here in Warsaw. NYC is such a vibrant place, and a lot of that vibrancy happens to take place across the river.* *I still have yet to be convinced that crossing the Hudson is the same. Sorry, Jersey.

hah! For some reason I misread 'paragraph' as 'photograph.' I know art historians are visual people, but still... Odd they would pay so much attention to detail and then leave the rest as a form letter! It takes time and effort to be that specific, which seems genuine regardless of the rest of the email.

Honestly, your options might be pretty limited. I graduated with a GPA that was quite a bit higher and it still didn't qualify me for most of the funding available for US students in the UK. Your best bet is to identify programs you want to apply to, and then investigate the funding available specifically for those programs. There also might be some funding available that's not well advertised, so speaking to current students in the programs you're looking at might give you an idea of what the possibility of funding is.

Lafayette might have different answers, but: live in the outer boros, learn to cook for yourself, figure out the schedule of free cultural events, and learn how to use your student discount to your advantage It's actually not that hard!

Now that's intriguing....

Well done, Simple Twist! If you need any advice as to how to get well-priced tickets, feel free to DM. Or for any other advice on Boston, although it might be out of date now...

Funny, I know far more bandwagon Yankees fans than Red Sox fans. I did know one Red Sox fan who wore a pink hat-- to signify her battle with breast cancer. When she lost her battle, she was buried with Fenway dirt. Love for the Sox goes deep. It will eternally weigh on my conscience that I'm living abroad during Fenway's 100th season. Last year I made it to a good dozen games... while living in NYC. Thank goodness for Boltbus & Greyhound!

This I will grant you, definitely. I was the only brown kid in my town and greatly missed (still do, when I'm home!) good Mexican food. Although, there is (was?) a great Sichuan restaurant in Brookline Village. Not sure what you would think of it, since that's one kind of food I am by no means an expert on, but it was a favorite of mine when I lived in the neighborhood. When I was a kid in elementary school outside of LA, we had a unit on "Californian history" which generally amounted to tourism propaganda-- how in California we're so lucky to be able to go skiing and swimming in the ocean on the same day. In elementary school outside Boston, we went to Walden Pond, Paul Revere's house, and the Lowell mills. Even as a third grader the stark difference made a mark on me, and definitely had at least a small influence on where I ended up today. Regardless, a nice thing about planning to study in the US is that we have this kind of regional diversity, and fit based on area is something we're able to take into consideration.

I am highly skeptical of anyone who doesn't root for the Red Sox. It's generally a good litmus test of character.

And here I thought I liked you, oseirus!

Adding on to the good advice that others have already offered-- I'm assuming you're not applying anywhere until this fall at the earliest, so you have some time to explore. Is there an archive in your area related to your field that might be looking for summer interns? I know a couple people who have similar research interests to yours who found grad school direction by spending some time working with academics and figuring out what kind of degree they wanted through that process. If you're thinking about PhD programs and are considering an MA first, you could also start out applying to MA programs in women's or gender studies. A degree like that could pair well with a PhD in American History, say, and that year or two would expose you to the work of academics who might go on to become POI. Which reminds me, there's always the tried and true method of pulling out your favorite books, seeing where the authors teach, and (depending on where they are in their career) looking up their students and where they ended up.

hey now! Having lived in California and grown up in Boston, I would like to argue the exact opposite. But then, I'm sure a lot of it stems from personal preference: I don't drive (don't even have a license) and appreciate a good walking city with great public transit. I happen to love the cold and the snow, which I understand makes me odd. But most of all, there are few places in the United States that can surround you with history the way Boston does, and I tend to see a greater respect and interest in the field among my friends from Boston than anywhere else. And in general, I prefer East Coast museum culture (although I'm also quite fond of San Fransisco's.) Finally, our sports teams are just better. That said... I'll likely be applying to Berkeley and Stanford, along with a slew of East Coast schools

I graduated mid-academic year, so I'll be starting grad school a year and a half out. I'm definitely feeling impatient to get back into school and on to a PhD program eventually, but my ideas and perspectives have evolved so much during this time! Traveling also added a great deal to that evolution, which I highly recommend if it's at all feasible.

Dear Ryan, You might note that this thread was from the last application season, and many of us who posted are currently 2/3 through our term as Fulbright fellows. Nice try with the spam, though! Cheers, Runaway

I spent about a year as an intern after finishing my BA, and it was a great experience-- my supervisor was also one of my recommenders when I applied for MA programs. I would broaden your search a bit, however. The most competitive programs also tend to have early deadlines, so your options for funded positions might be limited at this point. Don't discount unpaid internship programs in locations where a part-time job could support you in terms of living expenses. A big-name museum definitely helps on your resume, but I find in interviews I often discuss the hands-on experience I got at a smaller museum institution to the same extent that I discuss my experience at Museum Mile Museum.

czesc, czesc! (oh, I crack myself up...) ding ding ding! I'm not Polish myself, though, so I completely understand being drawn to a history that you don't have a logical connection to. I've heard a lot of different things about when to contact POI and I'd love some feedback on that, myself. I was thinking about doing it soon because I'll be living overseas the entire time I'm working on my applications, and won't be able to fly back just to meet with POI in the fall. How early is too early? Will anyone reply during the summer months? In terms of LORs, I think you need to focus only on those professors who are familiar with your work as an academic, have seen your writing, have heard you engage in discussion, etc. If these are the people who are most skeptical, then see this as an advantage. Schedule a phone or skype chat with them or meet in person and explain how you see your PhD and JD complementing each other in the future. Convince them, then go home and jot down your best arguments for your SOP.

@czesc - ah! maybe it was because I checked Grad Cafe at 4am, but I laughed for about a full minute when I saw your name Was hoping you'd turn out to be someone in a similar subfield, but we're totally different! I'd imagine you're starting at a good point in the cycle to start contacting old mentors, getting their advice, and making sure they're in your court. Your background sounds incredibly interesting and I'm sure can prove to be an asset as long as you can convincingly make it so in a SOP. FWIW, I took the GRE while I was working, and I wish I had started preparing sooner-- not necessarily invested more time, just spread out small amounts of study over a longer period of time. If I had used my subway commute wisely for a few months prior to the test, I think I might have done better and spent less time preparing over all!

... and no Polish??