viggosloof28

Hey all! Anxious for input on this one. I just got an email from a POI telling me that my chances could be "further improved" by sending them "a draft one page statement of your planned project with a title that I can communicate with my colleagues." How specific should this be? Do I need to list archives I'd like to visit, or just the basic questions I'll be addressing and the sources I'd like to see? Is it one page single- or double-spaced? How formal should it be (i.e. will other faculty/the adcomm get to see it)? Thanks in advance for your help, folks! I've never written a "statement of [my] planned project," so I'm a little unsure of what that entails. Happy New Year, all! Thanks again!

That's exactly how I feel, nohika! I'm a huge planner, but it all went so badly last time, I just can't bring myself to look too much into any one situation...once I get admitted somewhere, though (knock on wood!), that will all change!

My mom says the same thing, "but your grades and test scores are so good, I'm sure you'll get in somewhere." I keep trying to tell her that EVERYONE'S grades and scores are good...not sinking in, though, I'm afraid. She had a dream the other night that I got into two programs, though, so I'm going to take that as a good omen. Like PhDreams, I'm refusing to buy anything from any of the schools I'm applying to. Also trying not to get my hopes up too high for any one particular school. I made the mistake of doing that when I applied to MA programs - was checking out apartments online and everything. Was absolutely crushed when I didn't get in...so I'm trying really, really hard to avoid that this time around! I wish I could just fast-forward to April when I'll (probably) have heard back from all my programs...the wait is killing me!

House cleaning

Thanks for the feedback! This is more or less what I was thinking... Some of the POIs I wrote to mentioned that admitted students would be invited to come for a campus visit, but nobody mentioned an applicant interview process (and I didn't see it on any of the grad admissions webpages for the schools I'm applying to)...so presumably, the people that wanted to correspond/speak with me have already done so! I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed for some positive responses in the next couple of months...good luck to everyone applying!

Hey all! I know this is likely to be considered a dumb question, but I really have no idea on this: how often do History programs invite applicants out for an interview? It sounds like it happens fairly often in other fields, but I don't know anybody who applied from my MA current last year that was called out on interviews. Are these usually conducted over the phone or via Skype, versus in-person? Or is it not typical at all for our field? Finally, if I don't receive any invitations to interview from my programs, what does that mean for my chances? If I've spoken on the phone with POIs at the schools I'm applying to, will that count in my favor even if they're not members of the adcomm? As always, any and all input is appreciated. Apologies and thanks from this lost, confused historian!

With respect to reporting fall semester grades, for my programs almost all of them said to apply with whatever I had at the time (not including fall grades). Most of them say that they'll only request the newest semester's grades if they decide to offer admission. I feel the same way! The lowest-ranked school I applied to is around #50/55-ish...I applied thinking that that could be my "safety school," because someone else from my master's program got accepted there last year. The more I think about it, though, there are no safety schools anymore!

I applied there for History. Haven't heard a peep yet...

Super freak! (Merry Christmas, everyone!)

Panic stricken

Good times!

High tolerance

risk factor

Man, I sure hope so! Thanks! :-)

Wow, I hope you're right, Phoenix! Thanks for the input!

Hey all! I got a really nice email from one of my POI today. They said they (and another prof in my field at that school) had received and were really impressed with my application. They went on to say that, though this was "far from an official confirmation," they would be "very pleased" to work with me, and that my project would fit in perfectly at that program. I'm trying really hard not to get my hopes too high - this is one of my dream schools. How much should I read into this? Do professors usually email students they've corresponded with just to confirm receipt of their application? In short, are they just being polite, or do I maybe have a realistic chance of getting in? Any and all feedback is, as always, appreciated! Thanks!

Whew! Seven applications submitted - three to go! Almost there...just think, in a few months we'll be receiving answers! (That usually motivates me to get my butt in gear and work on these endless SOPs and statements.)

I think it also may depend on the field you're in. One of the POI's I emailed at Berkeley (for European History) advised me to cast a wide net, and said he himself had applied to 10 schools. Funnily enough, that's my number of apps, as well.

No, unfortunately, most of the programs I'm applying to are really strict about the number/length of your writing sample. I they're afraid they'll be bombarded with 200-page long theses, and don't have time to read all that...Thanks for the feedback - that's the direction I'm leaning.

Hoping to get some opinions on this small predicament: I'm beginning work on my MA thesis this term. By the end of next month (November 2012), I should have a writing-sample-length primary source research paper/chapter of my thesis... BUT I have a paper from last semester, which I'm very proud of (and which demonstrates both my writing and reasoning abilities - everyone who's read it says so, anyway). The only reason I hesitate to submit it as my WS is that it's primarily a synthesis paper, drawing on only a few primary sources. Further, it doesn't quite reflect the research I intend to pursue for my PhD; it's the same time period and geographic region, and even one or two of the same themes, but it won't reflect my interests as well as a thesis chapter might. What advice would you give this poor student? Should I go with the slightly off-topic paper that I know for certain reflects my quality, submit my thesis chapter (however it turns out), or - probably the best option - write the thesis chapter and decide which one to submit based on how well it turns out? Any and all feedback and advice is much appreciated!

I would be, too!

Thanks, fuzzylogician and surefire! That's what I was thinking - just wanted to make sure I'm on the right track, since SOPs are so vitally important. This was extremely helpful!

Just wanted to check with other applicants on here: is it OK/customary to write about your correspondence with potential advisors in your SOP? My current advisor recommended I do this, but she hasn't been on an ad-com in a while, I think, so I was wondering if other people have gotten this advice. I just don't want to come off as desperate or overly eager in my SOP! Any and all feedback is appreciated, as always.

Hard to say. Depends on how much it would cost to apply and whether or not there are other profs in the program that you could work with, in my opinion.