tim

I'm from a different department, but South Carolina has people doing activist work in the PhD program. The phd program here is newer (first cohort began in 2003), but it may be worth a look.

I agree with starting with a narrative. I did so for my sop and was 2 for 4 on acceptances this year. One of the SOPs did not have the narrative (the application deadline snuck up on me) and resulted in one of the rejections.

Tier One Liberal Arts School (and all male, not sure if that played a role) 3.6 GPA, magna cum laude double major: political science, classics thesis: case study of Singapore's development theory. phi beta kappa GREs: 570 verbal; 610 quant; 5.5 AWA One year teaching English (and thus living) in Taiwan. 1.5 years of paralegal work with an immigration law firm in DC. no publications In at South Carolina; Rejected at UT-Austin and WashU.

i got the same letter. very strange, indeed.

I've been working for a few years (I'm 25), but I'll be starting a phd in the fall and I'm going to leave my current job sometime in late spring/early summer. I'll be traveling and perhaps getting a job, but certainly not taking classes or doing extensive reading. Work sucks and the breaks like this one don't come often, so take advantage. The last time I was in between jobs (Voluntarily, I might add. I didn't re-up my English teaching contract in Taiwan.) I took a month to travel overland via Phnom Penh-Siem Reap-Ko Chang-Bangkok, and then flew to China to do Beijing, the Yangtze, Xian, and Shanghia. Best. Decision. Ever. I should mention that I met some other grad students along the way who just couldn't force themselves to do summer work, so consider this idea.