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Seanish

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  1. I feel your pain. I don't think my application or credentials are the most competitive but they're certainly not the least. All I'm getting is continued silence while others have heard from the programs. Nothing even from POIs who seemed interested in the fall. It's like I'm lacking something esoteric but glaring to adcoms.
  2. Some form of results seem to be in for all of my schools. I've only heard only bad news or nothing. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.
  3. Seanish

    Plan B...

    Thanks for the advice and perspective. I still have a few yet to be determined so we'll see. If those don't work out I can start planning for next round.
  4. Seanish

    Plan B...

    Rejected by two of my better prospects for admission. My hope for the others is waning. Without anything specific to know what my shortcoming(s) is I'm guessing it is language study. I've had four semesters, all of which I went out of the way to get (two out of the country even). You would think that dedication would count more than the total time spent studied but I guess not. I don't know if I have any options for next cycle; the most logical way to boost my language skills would be to study abroad but bills and my girlfriend say otherwise. I'm beginning to the PhD ship has sailed for me.
  5. It is unnerving to see lone admission results. I'm still hanging in the balance more or less everywhere but two programs have an admission each.
  6. The thought just occured to me that I may be in a rough spot. My POI at one of the schools I've applied to (and mentioned in my SOP) is on Sabbatical until July. I'm guessing its safe to assume she will not be involved on the admission comittee at all. Will this hurt my chances? Should I contact her or the department? We corresponded months back and she seemed open and thought my research interests were good. I'm lost now though, I feel like I will be written off if no one can speak on my behalf.
  7. Seanish

    Arab Studies

    Georgetown wants a 750 word "scholarly essay" based on a question in their application. Would this include footnotes or other references? It seems very short for that kind of detail. Anyone else applying/applied?
  8. Seanish

    SOP Help

    My SOP is 90% finished or so. I just can't seem to get the "fit in the department" part down. I think I'm opting for departments as a whole rather than specific professors (though I have heard from a few). The SOP process was difficult in general but I really feel awkward saying "The work of X is very interesting" or "the department's recent research is X". How do you go about it? Anyone in a program already have some advice?
  9. I'm looking at several humanities PhD programs around the country. I know the field is relatively small and many of the professors from different programs know each other (acknowledgments in book introductions and such). Would it be strange to apply to different programs with different directions of study? I'm worried that I may look indecisive but at the same time the last professor I spoke to about grad school told me that although the SOP isn't meaningless it's not 100% binding. Any thoughts?
  10. I know, and I appreciate the consideration Sigaba. I wouldn't quite say I was cordial but I was very professional. My tone wasn't hostile at all towards her. It's just that something twisted inside my brain when she used the phrase "more better" after defending the test and it's vague grading. She really did not have any answers though and could only suggest sending a letter to ETS in general. I think I'm more concerned about writing being graded electronically than the interaction with ETS's customer service.
  11. So... definitely still upset about my abysmal analytical writing score. I called ETS to see if I could get some explanation for my score, something concrete that explained why my writing was found to be so lacking or if there was some issue with my test itself (if either the issue or argument part of my test wasn't submitted or something). The person I spoke to had no clear answer. I had to hold back from calling out her grammar (I know she has basically nothing to do with the test or my score but still). Great Verbal score, terrible writing score. She at least acknowledged that it wouldn't be wrong to guess there would normally be somewhat of a correlation between them. The only thing I could get out of her is that the entire GRE is computer graded. I asked specifically about the writing and she said it is graded by e-readers and if I wanted to pursue my inquiry about my score I would have to mail "them". She didn't know who "they" were, however. She explained her job is to handle general questions and it would be another department that I should contact but didn't know which. Hmmmmmm......
  12. Just got my GRE scores. 165, 96th percentile, for verbal but a 4.0, 48th percentile for analytical writing. When I walked out of the test back in August I felt the writing portion was probably my best. Should I attempt a rescore? How is AW considered by graduate programs in history?
  13. Verbal Given Estimate (710-800) Score: 165 (96%) Math Forgot Estimate Score: 156 (74%) Essay Given Estimate: None Score: 4.0 (48%) ouch, I thought I did really well. Should I get a rescore for my writing? I'm applying to PhD programs in history and I hear the weight of AW varies considerably program to program
  14. Thank you both. I realize I'm being somewhat neurotic but it's comforting to be reassured. It's just strange to be part of the introduction of a new system rather than see how I fit in something well established.
  15. Hi everybody, I have an BA in History (mostly American) and an MA Middle Eastern studies. I'd like to study the Middle East at the PhD level but I have a few questions: 1. What sort of language familiarity are graduate programs looking for? I have four semesters of a relevant language, is that too little? 2. What universities offer this as a concentration? I've taken a look at the AHA website but it only lists a few. I've found some universities that offer area-studies PhDs but does anyone know (or study at) a university that offers a PhD concentration in Middle East history other than those listed at the AHA http://www.historians.org/projects/cge/PhD/Specs/MiddleEast.htm ? Thanks for any help.
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