Safferz

Working on nine applications while trying to keep up with a full course load and what felt like a million other commitments was an awful experience, but I got through it. I'm too drained to feel stressed about results just yet, but I suspect I'll feel differently after the holidays when committees begin to meet and review applications. I've always heard the waiting is worse than putting together the application itself, but I'm not sure I'm convinced it's worse than studying for and writing the GRE, or hammering out the first draft of the SOP!

To make a long story short -- crisis averted! Prof got a call from her daughter on the 16th but was in a town without electricity at the time, so she traveled to the capital and uploaded the letters the other day! She felt terrible about it and told me she thought she submitted them in November, but for some reason these four didn't go through at the time. I'll be sure to get her a nice little gift in February Glad I can now join the rest of you with the regular, wait-induced panic!

Wow. I wouldn't have guessed Harvard and Princeton had such low placement rates. Any idea why?

Always go for the strongest letter possible from a professor that knows you and your work well. A weak letter is often the kiss of death for an application, famous rec or not!

STILL waiting for my third LOR to upload her letters to four applications due on Dec.15th. She submitted quite a few back in November (got in all the Dec.1st letters and one for Dec.15th), but for some reason forgot about the last few and went off on holidays overseas. She won't be back until January and doesn't check her emails. I got her daughter (through a mutual friend) to send her a text on Friday and she responded to say she thought she submitted everything and that she'll check her email, but I haven't heard from her yet. It's an awful feeling to know I've been so organized and on top of things with my applications all semester and have all of that threatened by a situation outside of my control. One of the schools is my top choice, so I just hope the LOR gets in before it's considered an incomplete application

Lucky you! I'm still waiting for my third LOR to submit her letters to four of my applications due today. I suspect she completely forgot about them because she submitted letters to half of my applications back in November. I found out that she's gone for holidays in Uganda until January (which explains why she hasn't been responding to my reminder emails), so I had a friend who is best friends with her daughter get her to remind mom. Daughter has sent a text to prof, so hopefully this is all sorted out soon On a more positive note, I've just submitted the last of my applications!

Good job! It's my last app, but only a little over two hours to go until the deadline and I'm still working on my book review *logs off until midnight*

Thanks, I went ahead and did it. My suspicions were correct -- I found out she's in Uganda until January and probably forgot about my Dec.15th deadlines (she submitted the Dec.1st letters back in November). Her daughter sent her a text, so I hope this gets sorted out soon

Research interests, relevant coursework, activities (ie. club memberships, professional associations, etc)

Still waiting for my third LOR. I'm starting to panic a bit because this is so out of character for her, and I'm concerned that she's gone on holidays and won't check her email until she gets back in January. A friend of mine is best friends with her daughter though -- this is totally inappropriate and unprofessional, but I'm really close to asking her to ask her friend to get her mom to check her email lol. If the letter isn't uploaded tonight, that's the plan.

I read this article the other day you may want to read, though it focuses on college admission. Ultimately it's your decision.

I'm also waiting for my third LOR for four applications with a Dec.15th deadline. The odd thing is that she uploaded half of her letters in mid-November (the Dec.1st deadlines, and one Dec.15th application). She doesn't seem to be in her office anymore because classes are over and her courses have exams in April, and she hasn't responded to my email reminder. I'm worried she might be out of town on holidays or something

Awfulization, I love that I think you've just theorized the conceptual term to describe this entire application experience, or a significant part of it for me at least! I managed to awfulize my writing sample just thinking about it this morning over coffee.

I wouldn't let that discourage you from applying to a top choice, and her silence is unlikely to be anything personal (probably just a busy semester!). I don't think communicating with a POI is too important beyond establishing whether the professor is taking on new students in the fall. If you know that she's accepting students and you know that the school is a great fit for your research interests, go for it!

This was forwarded to one of the listservs I'm on, and I thought I'd share. What do you guys think? What is the role of historical production in contemporary movements like OWS? "Inspired by the creativity and strength of Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy movement around the world, Occupy History adds its voice in support of those speaking out against and demanding solutions to growing injustice and inequality, both economic and social. We encourage historians to work to build the discussion beyond inequality and injustice to include the history of the struggle for equality and justice and the changes needed in our countries’ governments." http://occupyhistoryna.wordpress.com/

Undergrad Institution: A top public research university in Canada Senior Thesis: We don’t have one, but I chose to do an independent studies course which allowed me to produce the paper that I’ve used as my writing sample for most programs. Honors Program: We also don’t have an honours program, but everyone at my school receives an honours degree upon completion of the required credits for graduation. Major(s): History Minor(s): African Studies, Women & Gender Studies GPA in Major: 3.81 Overall GPA: 3.8 Position in Class: Dean’s List recipient (awarded to students with a minimum 3.5 GPA, the top 10% at my uni) Type of Student: Canadian citizen, minority, female GRE Scores (revised/old version): Revised GRE - the weakest spot on my application, but I try not to dwell on it: Q: 146 (36%) V: 161 (89%) W: 4.0 (48%) Research Experience: Four publications - one in the only journal in my subfield, one book chapter (with co-authors), two undergraduate journals. Three conference presentations (two international conferences, and one at my university). Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Awards from my university and history department; Dean’s List each year Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Internship with a historical society (not entirely linked to my specific research interests, but deals with the diaspora); head of an academic student union Applying to Where: All direct-entry Ph.D programs for African History - Northwestern, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, UCLA, Berkeley, Princeton, Yale, University of Toronto (also checked off MA option for consideration) Research Interests & Areas of Focus: 20th century East Africa, decolonization, mass nationalism and popular politics, gender and sexuality Languages: Fluent in a relevant African language, some French (intermediate reading and writing ability) Letters of Recommendation: Three strong recommendations - two from professors I have known for years and have taken multiple classes with, and one from a retired rockstar who has supervised my research. I consider them all mentors. Statement of Purpose: My approach was to indicate the problems, questions and areas of research that interest me. I had a ‘fit paragraph’ at the end that I would tailor to each school based on their strengths, and I also briefly identified professors who I felt my research interests would fit comfortably with (either regionally or thematically, sometimes both -- it’s not always possible to find a perfect match with Africanist historians). Writing Sample: My independent studies paper was about 30 pages, so I had to cut that down to 25 and 20 page lengths for most applications. For the schools that required a 10 page sample, I had a 12 page conference paper that I edited down to 10 and used. Communication with POIs: I emailed them all, but not all replied. The responses I did receive were quite positive and helpful, and included one professor telling me that we had a thematic fit when I was had nearly decided against applying to that school because I thought no one there would work with my research focus. I also had the opportunity to meet a few POIs at a conference last month, and two attended my presentation. Another let me know that he heard I did a great job. I saw a few other POIs (and even attended their panels when I could), but I was a bit too intimidated to introduce myself What are you supposed to do when you see a Yale prof at McDonalds? Lessons Learned from Application Process: I learned that it takes much longer than a few months to put together a competitive application, and I made a lot of decisions during my second and third year that paid off (or at least I hope!). Not everyone knows that they want to go to grad school that early, and if they do, they often don't know what steps to take during their undergrad years to get there. If your school does not have a mandatory honours/senior thesis, do it anyway or find a similar opportunity to conduct independent research and produce a paper based on primary sources. I don't know how else I would have been able to compete with American students who have an honours thesis built into their programs. I wish I had spent more time studying for the GRE, because it's an exam that in some ways tests how well you can write the GRE as much as it does actual concepts. I don't think it's nearly as significant as most worry it is, but I would certainly feel more confident in myself and my application if my GRE scores were stronger. I also learned that balancing grad school apps with a full course load is AWFUL, and should be avoided if possible, so if you can take a few summer courses or do something to lighten your first term, do it.

Since I'm currently procrastinating on a paper, I took it upon myself tweak the template a bit and include Sigaba's suggestions. I also took the 'special bonus points' part out because it seems redundant. I'll fill it out soon. Undergrad Institution: (School or type of school, such as big state, lib arts, ivy, technical, foreign (what country?)... Overall Reputation in your area?) Senior Thesis: (Did you write one? Was it required?) Honors Program: (Did you participate? Include details about the program) Major(s): Minor(s): GPA in Major: Overall GPA: Position in Class: (No numbers needed, but are you top? near top? average? struggling?) Type of Student: (Domestic/International, male/female, minority?) GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: V: W: Subject: TOEFL Total: (if applicable, otherwise delete this) Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...) Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?) Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...) Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Applying to Where: School - Department School - Department School - Department Research Interests & Areas of Focus: Languages: (Include your reading, writing and speaking level) Letters of Recommendation: (Details about your referees, whether they are well known in the field, how well do they know your work, etc) Statement of Purpose: (How specific was it? Did you tailor it to each program? Did you identify professors you would like to work with, or point more broadly to the program’s areas of emphasis?) Writing Sample: (Is it excerpted from a longer work? Was it prepared specifically for applications, or is it a class paper or thesis? Does it relate to the research interests described in your SOP?) Communication with POIs: (Did you get in touch? How was your communication received?) Lessons Learned from Application Process: (Is there anything you would have done differently?)

Take a look at the website of the department you're applying to, and you'll notice they generally refer to themselves as 'Berkeley.' Go with that.

I wouldn't do it. I made a similar mention on my SOP for one school, but I was careful not to go into why I'd like to take classes at Other University with X professor(s), since my concern was that an adcomm may wonder why you didn't just apply to Other University instead. Mention the consortium as being one of the reasons you're drawn to the program, but don't bring up the professor there. Your SOP should be entirely focused on the school you're applying to.

Hilarious! My worst nightmare would be something along the lines of this, which I seem to read about happening somewhere each year (though on a much smaller scale than this): Or this, this and this. This part of the Northwestern article in particular always works its way into my nightmare: "Northwestern University's prestigious Kellogg School of Management this week erroneously sent notices of acceptance to 50 applicants it had decided to reject. The applicants are not happy. One of them, a 28-year-old Chicagoan, excitedly phoned his parents and enjoyed a celebratory dinner Monday after being notified by e-mail that he had been accepted. But the next morning, when the Lincoln Park research analyst logged onto the college's Web site to learn more about enrolling, he found out he actually had been rejected. "It was pretty embarrassing, to be honest," said the young man, who asked that he not be identified because he has applied to other schools and not informed his employer. "It's like you won the lottery and had the rug pulled out from under you."

I'm not so sure most applicants are that competitive. Many applications are weeded out immediately on the basis of GPA and GRE scores, and once the SOP, CV, LORs, writing sample are considered, the applicant pool becomes even smaller. I remember a prof who is on my current university's adcomm telling me that most of the applications they receive have sloppily written SOPs on projects that were not well thought out, and that a generic, neutral LOR is what often ruins an application. If you are a strong candidate with a strong application and interesting research questions, that already separates you from the pack.

I think every department is different, and while some professors may try to push for the students they want, the general consensus seems to be that prior contact with a professor has little to no bearing on the actual admissions process in most history programs. From what I understand, at most schools a professor will be able to read the application file of a student that has mentioned him/her in a SOP, but admission decisions come down to the committee. Making contact with a POI is certainly useful to find out who is taking on students in the fall and what the POI's current research interests are (sites can often be out of date), which then allows you to determine whether a program is a good fit and perhaps gives you some material to tailor your SOP to that program.

Also build relationships with your professors, keeping in mind that you will need three strong references for graduate school applications. Write an honours thesis if your school has that option, or do an independent studies project, so that you have a well written paper in your area of interest that uses primary sources (and can be used as a writing sample for your applications). Submit papers to undergrad journals or conferences as well.

Oh wow, I haven't looked at the upload page so I had no idea. I think I'll just use the 20 page sample I've used for other applications -- I had a 25 page version ready for Yale, but the 20 page will work too. I see you're applying to WashU, which has a 20 page limit, so perhaps you can do the same?

Where does it say Yale's writing sample requires two inch margins?