harvardlonghorn

I started a blog a few weeks ago: http://harvardlonghorn.wordpress.com I've only done a few posts thus far but haven't decided how anonymous I plan on staying. However, I'm pretty mindful of the things I'm posting as well so I would be okay if classmates figured out who I was. 

I noticed there was a fall 2013 forum alive and kicking in the History section and a pang of jealousy came over me. Is anyone else out there gearing up for the Fall 2013 admissions cycle? I am finishing up my masters degree this fall and seem to be at a loss on the best possible approach. When are we supposed to contact POIs? Are we required to contact POIs? I feel like I'm trying to figure out how to join a secret society and the stress is already getting to me!! I'm slightly OCD, so I have written (and ripped up) far too many "academic game plans" and I think an electronic forum might be a better solution. At the very least, it will help me save the trees. I would love to chat with anyone prepping for the upcoming application cycle, as well as past applicants!!!

I noticed there was a fall 2013 forum alive and kicking in the History section and a pang of jealousy came over me. Is anyone else out there gearing up for the Fall 2013 admissions cycle? I am finishing up my masters degree this fall and seem to be at a loss on the best possible approach. When are we supposed to contact POIs? Are we required to contact POIs? I feel like I'm trying to figure out how to join a secret society and the stress is already getting to me!! I'm slightly OCD, so I have written (and ripped up) far too many "academic game plans" and I think an electronic forum might be a better solution. At the very least, it will help me save the trees. I would love to chat with anyone prepping for the upcoming application cycle, as well as past applicants!!!

I wanted to chime in on this, as someone who lives really close to Texas and knows A LOT of Texans (little of them from Austin). While Rick Perry and GWB might paint a picture of Texas as being a gun-toting, death penalty-loving, crazy Republican rich state, it's not. You have to remember, Texas is a HUGE state and while a majority of them are described as what I said above, they are spread out over distances.

As people have said, Austin is a hippie-commune "blue-state" in the midst of all the red, but Dallas and the surrounding cities and San Antonio and the surrounding areas are very interesting and culturally rich places. The state is also full of people that are just like you and me (expect Texans are fiercely loyal to Texas). I've known people from both of these areas who are staunchly Democrat. One voted for Hilary in the democratic convention in Texas. It's all about who you know and who you surround yourself with.

It's been said time and time again that if you want to be an academic, you have to realize you can't choose where to live. You really have to leave biases such as the political climate or observed stereotypes of that state at the door.

My advice, based on my mistakes this time around: create a clear narrative of your academic work and perspective. Your sop should be an "intellectual biography" 50% backwards looking and 50% forward looking, and your writing sample should be a strong continuation of that. make sure your writing sample is in your time period.

One piece of advice I would give is to look closely at the faculty with whom you'd like to work at the schools to which you'll be applying, and see if you can tailor your interests a bit to the work being done there. It will really give you a leg up if you can match your writing sample with your personal statement with some of your relevant experience (coursework, conferences, etc.) to some of the interests in the faculty.

I would also heavily emphasize the importance of writing samples and personal statements; start those things as soon as possible (I'm not kidding; draft them now and revise them for the next several months, then redraft them and re-revise them, because that will set you apart). I had okay (not stellar) GREs, a good GPA from a completely unknown liberal arts college, good letters of recommendation from professors who are entirely unknown (probably less unknown than that), but I spent a ton of time on my writing sample and personal statement. Right now, I am deciding between offers, which is an ideal spot to be in.

This won't guarantee success, but it is one thing you have a lot of control over, and it can literally get you in.

Remember that GREs can keep you out, but they can't get you in (an in all honesty, they have to be really bad to keep you out).

Hope this helps PM if you have questions/concerns/want to ramble about stress. I didn't have this forum through my application process, and I wish I had. It would have been a great help. Best of luck to those applying!