Fall 2012 Applicant Chit Chat

[goldielocks]

Well, some people agreed that we ought to start a thread for Fall 2012 applicants. Here it is! This thread is intended as a place for us to talk about the process, our progress, and general back and forth.

This thread is not a place to ask about your odds of getting in somewhere, your competitiveness as an applicant, etc. We are very happy to provide suggestions about these sorts of questions, but please don't hijack this thread to ask them.

So, how's it coming, everyone? Where are you in the process?

I wonder how long this thread will be by the end of the upcoming cycle...

[goldielocks]

I'm confused about why I would receive a negative vote for this thread.

[TMP]

I reversed that negative for you. I didn't see anything wrong other than you just making a duplicate thread of the other one.

[goldielocks]

Thanks. I didn't mean for this to be a duplicate so much as just relocating our discussion.

[goldielocks]

So anyway, back to the issue at hand, how is everyone's summer coming? I know there are several of us who are still working on the MA or BA right now, so that means going back to class soon. I am sort of excited to go back to classes and knock out the rest of the MA. I'm also excited because it means time will fly. I feel like application season will be here and gone before we know it.

[sandyvanb]

I graduated with my MA in May and my alma mater offered me a full time teaching position this year. I am very excited but terrified about being the instructor of record for five classes that are not in my comfort zone. I am lucky to have the opportunity to teach (with a salary) right after graduation. Because I wrote a thesis, I just have to choose which chapter to make into my writing sample. I retook the GRE two weeks ago and I'm not as happy with my score as I was hoping, but I feel that I will have a strong application otherwise. The only thing that I am really worried about is writing my SoP. Once I have that worked out I'll feel good about putting out my applications. I want to have them all in before Thanksgiving so I can enjoy my holidays and focus on wrapping up the semester. It's going to be a busy semester!

[goldielocks]

sandy, that's fantastic. Congrats on the teaching position. As I'm sure you already realize, that will really help you to stand out as an applicant. Are you teaching 5 courses or 5 sections? Either way, that's a lot. Very exciting!

[sandyvanb]

Thanks Goldielocks, I am hoping that a year as a faculty member will help my app. I am teaching five sections of World History I. It isn't at all in my comfort zone, but if I can teach that course, I can teach anything! I'll only be teaching four classes in the spring, I'm hoping to get a section of American Nation I and World History II to add to my CV and personal experience.

[goldielocks]

That's great! I was recently talking to an adjunct at my university, who recently finished his PhD, about his experience applying to doctoral programs. He noted that he took a year to teach at a community college between his degrees, and that he thought this really helped him to get into a good program. Since he had already taught, programs realized that they could throw him into teaching on his own very quickly, which was convenient.

[sandyvanb]

That is really great to know. Where are you in your applications Goldielocks?

[goldielocks]

I'm working on revising my SOP, and studying for the revised GRE. I've been contacting potential advisors, slowly but surely. I'm working on my MA thesis and two conference papers for this fall, trying to decide which part will serve as my writing sample. I'm spending time researching potential new cities/towns, especially when I need a little encouragement, and getting excited about the prospect of starting over in a year. I'm headed back to classes in less than a month now. I feel like it will be deadline time before I know it. This feels like both a good and a bad thing.

[sandyvanb]

You definitely have a full plate! My two friends who went through the MA/thesis process with me had a similar schedule last year and they are both off to PhD studies this fall. I have a spreadsheet with the profs I want to contact but I need to start reading some of their work before I write them. As long as you keep a current to-do list you'll get it all done.

[CageFree]

I am starting to study for the GRE, doing some research to help me write my SOP, since I changed fields, and deciding whether to polish my thesis and what parts to include for the writing smaple, or write something new. I've been doing research on schools/programs too

[Safferz]

It's a busy month for me as well! Most of my time is spent studying for the GRE I'm scheduled to write on August 31st, and I'm just starting a conference paper for November. I'd like to polish my writing sample and have a draft of my SOP done by the end of the month, and plan to contact potential advisors in September. I have a full course load this fall so I want everything on my end ready to upload when applications are made available in October.

[goldielocks]

Safferz, sounds like have much in common. I'd really like to have my SOP done (at least revised for the most part) by the time I go back to classes at the end of August. I know that once courses start, I'll be losing my mind a bit.

[crater21]

Hi everyone!

I'm so glad to have found this website. It's nice to chat with others who are in the same situation. So, I too am applying for PhD programs in History for entry in Fall 2012. My field is South Asian History. I graduated with an MA in June, and am now working. So, it'll be interesting to prepare PhD apps while working full-time!

GRE prep is underway. I'll write the test early September. I have contacted a few potential supervisors, but still need to contact more. Unfortunately, I haven't really made any significant progress on my personal statement or proposal. I thought I would focus on it once the GREs are out of the way.

Anyway, good luck to everyone! It's a daunting process, and I'm sure this thread will come in very handy.

[goldielocks]

Crater21, welcome to the thread! It seems like many of us are working on studying for the GRE right now. I am also planning to take the test in September. It will feel great when it's out of the way.

[goldielocks]

So, I received the program for my first conference. I feel... well, intimidated would be an understatement. I'm also doing two grad conferences this fall, but I'm starting out with a pretty big regional conference and I'm sort of terrified. But I guess everyone goes through this. More motivation to hammer out the thesis, and work on those conference papers.

[dimanche0829]

I'm currently trying not to lose my mind!

- Took the GRE, did so badly that my scores don't even meet the min. requirements for my desired schools (thanks, test anxiety!!!), so I have to re-take.

- I've secured one LOR from the department chair of my school's English Department. I'm working on the 2nd and 3rd. I owe my 2nd one a paper and would feel guilty asking for a LOR before handing it in, but he's considered one of the top experts of 18th century British Lit and he's been ever so generous to allow me, a lowly undergrad, to take his courses at the MA level - I NEED his recommendation. The 3rd one is my honor's project advisor whom I've known since 2005, but sometimes I think she finds me annoying and verbose, which I am. I think I just need to ask her on a good day.

- Working on my writing sample, which happens to be the paper I owe the above-referenced professor. This is probably why I can't seem to finish it. Too much pressure!

- Now I'm focused on trying to contact faculty at desired schools to get my name out there and hope for even the slightest spark.

I'm already having nightmares where I am rejected from every school in the country. Only 7-9 more months of this, right?

PS, please excuse my typos and grammatical/punctuation errors. I'm tired.

Edited August 2, 2011 by dimanche0829

[crater21]

Thanks, goldielocks! Good luck with your conference papers! It sounds like an amazing opportunity.

Dimanche: I can totally relate! I had my first GRE panic yesterday, when I realized that I have a month to go before the test, and I am not prepared at all! On top of this, The revised GRE is making me nervous. I really don't want to be the guinea pig for them to work out all the kinks in the new test.

[sandyvanb]

Good luck to everyone on the GRE! It is an evil, evil test...

Goldielocks, how exciting abou the conference! I just put in an application for a conference and it is also a huge one. I didn't have a chance to present while I was working on my MA so I'm applying to a bunch of them this year.

[dimanche0829]

Thanks, goldielocks! Good luck with your conference papers! It sounds like an amazing opportunity.

Dimanche: I can totally relate! I had my first GRE panic yesterday, when I realized that I have a month to go before the test, and I am not prepared at all! On top of this, The revised GRE is making me nervous. I really don't want to be the guinea pig for them to work out all the kinks in the new test.

Don't panic, I'm sure you'll do great! If you haven't already, though, definitely start working a little bit everyday on your vocabulary bc I hear that the new verbal is much more focused on context.

[goldielocks]

Since so many of us are preparing for the GRE: has anyone set up any sort of structure for GRE studying? Mine has basically just been a designated amount of time each day, which might not be the most constructive way to study.

[goldielocks]

My cold meds are making my brain so fuzzy, and it is driving me nuts. I have been sitting here looking at the screen, ready to go nuts because I cannot think of the world I want to use. It has been almost 30 minutes. It is not coming. It's this word that means the way something develops over time, in meaning, (like evolution), and it's a big juicy word and the thesaurus isn't helping.

Does anyone know what the ______ I am talking about?

[crater21]

Sorry, can't help you there goldielocks. I think I know which word you're talking about, but I can't seem to put my finger on it.

As for GRE prep, I would definitely love to hear how people are studying, and which resources/books/courses they are using. I don't really have a structure either. I have a couple of Barron's books that I go through every day, but somehow I don't think this is the most efficient way of studying. I'm considering doing a Kaplan course, but haven't decided if this would be worthwhile.