rems

OH, and can we start by pointing out that I wrote "boast" instead of "boost" as the title? Good thing this isn't my SOP... hehehe... chirpchirp.

... so let's discuss what we've been able to accomplish this semester. I'll go first: I finished grading ALL my student papers (that's about 83 there), and I'm done with all my apps except for Stanford. And for them I only need to work on my SOP, and it's not due till the 18th and my rec letters have already been uploaded. Keep it going

I've heard that it's pretty necessary to list profs you want to work with in your SOP. 6 out of 6 schools I'm applying to have a prof there I want to work with and that's why I'm applying. Even Stanford -- its helps that it's Stanford, but they also have 2 profs in my area whose work I've already worked with and who I've been in contact with via email. Otherwise, I wouldn't be applying there. I don't see why you wouldn't name someone in your SOP. I've heard one person say it was a bad idea for two reasons: 1) inter-office politics -- you could get someone on your board who hates the person you want to work with and will keep you out for that reason (I'm sure how often that happens but I heard one person say that so I'm sharing it here) and 2) you could get the info wrong and look like an idiot. For my "fit" paragraphs, I basically copied the website when listing what they studied and kept it vague "so-so's work in British modernism and visual culture is of interest to me" I listed two or three profs for each school who's work really caught my eye, and then I listed usually one or two as an add-on. That was my approach.

What's the benefit of uploading "unofficial GRE" scores if it's listed as optional? I've already filled in the info, and my scores have already been sent there. Is it bad not to take advantage of this?

YES exactly. I had the same issue, and I was super irritated by it!

I still think you're a jerk, but I also don't like Downtown Abbey -- I don't get why it's so popular.

Buffalo's is also called a "Personal Statement" but they pretty specifically outline what they want you to say in it, so it was a SOP. I would assume that if they only ask for one document, it's a SOP.

Yah, I did not understand their app website. Those little boxes?? I ended up leaving most of them blank, and uploading a cv. Now I'm nervous that they won't understand the cv, and will think I've just never had a job. Sheesh.

Have you ever meet a medievalist?

I personally don't find "what are my chances posts?" as boasting. I'm pretty sure I even put some up when I first joined this forum -- I think it's natural to ask. Why else would we join a fucking forum about graduate school if we weren't curious about how we rank up next to everyone else? This is going to make me a little unpopular for a moment, I really don't understand why everyone freaks out when someone posts "what are my chances." If you don't like to answer those threads, then don't answer them, but you don't need to put condescending comments underneath them or make that person feel bad for posting it. I didn't find anything boastful out of your first post -- the following ones were another matter. Being condescending towards people on here just isn't nice, and there's a difference between honest/brutally helpful, and being a dick. Sometimes you cross into dick territory and that's why people vote you down all the time. No one wants to talk to someone on here if all you're going to do is say nasty stuff back which is why no one responds to your posts. It's not rocket science.

I have a very close relationship with my thesis chair. We've worked together for about 5 years (undergrad into grad school), and we've traveled abroad together twice. We've definitely moved into the "friendship" realm of our relationship esp. since I graduated and we're now more "colleagues" than "student/teacher." I think it's really nice and beneficial to see profs as people. Of the opposite sex? Ummm yes, with one prof. We've also worked together for a long time (undergrad/grad), but he's much older (early 60's) than me so there's never really been any "tension" between us as far as that goes. A lot of girls in the program tend to think he's attractive for an old guy, but I've never really seen it so that also helps haha! We have a dynamic more of like if we were closer to the same age we'd probably hang out but I don't think it would ever get weird or anything -- we just have a lot in common. Long story short, once you work with profs for a while (which you do at the grad level) you tend to grow closer together. There's, of course, the sterotype of grad student affairs with that sexy older prof, but I've never really seen a lot of that. The age differences mostly make that hard (hehehe) to come (hehehe) by. The only young male profs in my department are either jerks or medievalists (so that sums that up ).

YES. The site finally started loading on Friday for me, but it was driving me crazy for about a week. I submitted their app yesterday morning so the app software is up and running, but I don't know what's wrong with their website. Actually I do: it's all flash and it wasn't loading properly. But it hasn't given me any problems for the past two days. Good luck with it!

Thanks, everyone, so much for the reassuring words! I highly doubt that little mistakes are going to keep any of us out... I HOPE at least.

I found one while editing: I have the wrong page numbers in one spot in an internal citation. I had changed the primary source from an online source to an anthology. So internally, it reads "Althusser '....' (258)" and the end citation reads as an anthology citation with the pages numbers being "1496-1503." The funny thing is, my printed thesis (the official one sitting on a shelf in the library) has the same mistake and my thesis board didn't catch it, so maybe an adcom won't either????? Maybe no one will notice...?

This looks awesome! Thanks for heads up!

Yah! Good luck with your personal history statement!

That's an astute observation.

http://youtu.be/XViCOAu6UC0

HYP are typically for old-school, ivy-league types. Those programs are conservative, and they promote learning a discipline that doesn't challenge anything. You will get a good education at these schools if that is your agenda. And I don't even mean that to sound bad or anything -- in my grad program, out of 10 we had at least 3 traditionalists who really admired programs like these. But, if you want to do cutting-edge, radical research, go to a big research university, like Stanford or Berkeley. That's why I don't have any Ivies on my list -- I want to do research, not repeat back to profs excerpts from their own books (okay, that was a little nasty).

From what I know (which isn't much), they can only help get you in, and typically don't keep you out. If it's were written in crayon and about how much you agree with the philosophies of the KKK, it might hurt you. Short of that, diversity statements only help your app.

I don't think anyone will disagree.

I WILL BY NO MEANS RELINQUISH MY STATEMENT. I ASSUME THAT I, AND ONLY I, AM CORRECT ABOUT EVERYTHING.

Direct quote from my DGS: "Don't go to Princeton. Those guys are dicks." This doesn't have to do with anything, I just thought it was funny.