Fall 2012 Applicant Chit Chat

[sandyvanb]

remenis, I am not sure but I would lean toward yes...

I think that I have narrowed down my list of schools to ten. I am determined nail this down by Monday!

[goldielocks]

Reaching new heights of anxiety in 5...4...3...2...

[lexi87]

Is anyone else having trouble narrowing down their list of schools? There are maybe 4 schools that would be perfect for my research, a few others that have great resources in my particular region, and then others that are decent fits. I'd prefer not to apply to 15 schools (just the fees for sending my GRE scores to all those schools would be ridiculous), but I really do want to get in somewhere. At the same time, I realize that my chances of getting into school A, which is basically a perfect fit but super competitive, may actually be better than my chances of getting into school B, which isn't as good of a fit but is objectively less competitive...ugh!

[oswic]

I know what you mean, lexi87. I'm having similar second thougts about my school list but in the opposite direction. I so desperately want to get in that I started worrying I'm not applying to enough schools. I decided on 9 several weeks ago and am sticking with it (despite my second thoughts) for the very reasons you mentioned. I have 3 perfect fits, 4 good fits, and 2 decent fits. My "perfect fits" are more competative but adding more schools beyond the 9 would be reaching. Ulitmately, I think we will be less desirable candidates when there are fewer points of intersection. But I understand the axiety... it can be consuming...

[lexi87]

I know what you mean, lexi87. I'm having similar second thougts about my school list but in the opposite direction. I so desperately want to get in that I started worrying I'm not applying to enough schools. I decided on 9 several weeks ago and am sticking with it (despite my second thoughts) for the very reasons you mentioned. I have 3 perfect fits, 4 good fits, and 2 decent fits. My "perfect fits" are more competative but adding more schools beyond the 9 would be reaching. Ulitmately, I think we will be less desirable candidates when there are fewer points of intersection. But I understand the axiety... it can be consuming...

Ahhh yes, exactly. The professors who are writing me recommendations have assured me that I don't need to apply to a ton of schools, but I am so tempted to apply to, oh, 20. Just to make sure I get in somewhere. I want to trust their judgment, but I keep envisioning being rejected across the board.

[sandyvanb]

I am waivering between 8-10 schools, I've given myself this weekend to make a final decision.

[TMP]

I'm going to say this over and over again. Old timers know exactly what I am talking about. You aren't going to like reading this but you will be glad that you did come..... April.

It is absolutely normal to feel that you need to apply to more schools so you can get in somewhere. Everyone feels the same way. Even if you can afford more than 10 schools, i urge you to cut down your list to places you absolutely want to go. I applied in two cycles for a very, very small field (usually about 15-20 applications for one spot that hopefully exists for that year). First cycle, I applied to 5. That just did not go well (long story) but I ended up getting waitlisted at 2 of my top choices. I couldn't get off. So the following year (last year), I applied to 8 schools, thinking maybe it would increase my chances. I was wrong. I was accepted in one program without funding (and the funding structure was just inhumane) and waitlisted again at one of the top choices.

I found the second cycle much more emotionally devastating than the first. Why? Maybe it was the resounding "no"... 6 times. It could've been worse- 8! really think about it, even if you don't want to right now.

Moral of the story: Apply as much as you can emotionally handle... in the worst case scenario of not getting in anywhere at all. These days with rising applications and reduced classes/budgets, it is very possible. (if you want to make yourself feel a little better momentarily, think about all those poor English applicants!)

When we were high school seniors, we could say "eh" if we didn't get into Harvard or Yale for undergraduate because those schools have less than 10% acceptance rates and thousands of applications. It's still the same deal, except it's not just one or two schools that have such low percentages. Most strong programs have less than 10%-15% acceptance rates. Even if you didn't try to apply to Harvard as an undegraduate, it's just like that.

I thought I would die if I didn't get in anywhere but I didn't. I found other opportunities in which I've been able to use my passion for history, research, languages, and writing and am relatively happy. Will the PhD be off the table" No. I still want to get in and get my PhD very badly and I don't believe anyone is going to look down at me now for not sitting back to recover before trying again.

If you made it this far, congratulations! You've heard the hard truth and I think you can handle this process from here on.

[goldielocks]

tmp, wise words. very thoughtful advice.

[sandyvanb]

Thanks TMP for your sage advice.

Goldie, how is your anxiety coming along? When I was working on my thesis, my mentor and I often joked about scheduling my impending nervous breakdown. But seriously, I hope that everything is coming along.

[goldielocks]

Sandy, I'm hanging in there. Thanks for asking. Yes, my advisor told me last year to schedule my breakdown, as well. I selected the week after the semester ends — when all of my applications are submitted and my coursework is finished for the semester. So I just need to make it to December 8. Whew...

Time for the regular ol' goldielocks-asks-you-what-you're-working-on-this-weekend-shtick. So what are you working on this weekend? I'm guessing everyone's starting to step up their productivity with deadlines looming closer and closer.

I'll go first: I'm focusing on the SOP and getting ready for my final conference of the semester this coming week.

Who's next?

[Simple Twist of Fate]

3/9 SOPs done as of today (or as close to "done" as they'll get). I'm aiming for 3 more this weekend.

Meeting with my thesis adviser on Wednesday, so after that I'll need to focus my energies on the thesis and shaping parts of it into a writing sample for each school.

[sandyvanb]

I am going to decide if I am applying to 8 or 10 schools, slam through a few articles, write a lecture for Monday, create my powerpoint for next week, write a quiz, and write a study guide for my students' upcoming exam. And my parents are here right now and my in-laws are arriving on Sunday. I don't plan on getting any rest...

[Safferz]

I'm going to edit my 25 page writing sample down to 20 for a few schools (if anyone has suggestions on how best to do this, let me know!), customize my SOP for a few schools, and work on a conference paper that needs to be finished by the end of next week. Aside from a certain school's book review, and another's 'personal history statement', it looks like I'm on track to finish 7/9 applications next weekend. But I've been assured that the process of actually filling out applications is full of its own time consuming surprises.

I also have quite a bit of work to do for my classes, as always. I've scheduled my breakdown for the afternoon of Dec.5th, when I hand in my last paper of the semester

[crater21]

Yep, nervous breakdown happening any moment now.

Sources of anxiety:

1. One of my referees still has not responded to my message yet (sent email on Monday). I know he will write a good reference (because he himself offered to do it last year without my asking) and he is well-established in the field. But, he is extremely disorganized, and very likely to miss deadlines, which is making me wonder if I should just drop him altogether and get someone else (that would be another source of anxiety...)

2. Supposedly GRE results will be coming out soon. I just know that the Math section is not going to be good. But, what if I screwed up the essays? In a panic attack last night, I registered to write the GRE again in late-November. I figure I will just cancel if the scores are okay.

[Safferz]

Yep, nervous breakdown happening any moment now.

Sources of anxiety:

1. One of my referees still has not responded to my message yet (sent email on Monday). I know he will write a good reference (because he himself offered to do it last year without my asking) and he is well-established in the field. But, he is extremely disorganized, and very likely to miss deadlines, which is making me wonder if I should just drop him altogether and get someone else (that would be another source of anxiety...)

2. Supposedly GRE results will be coming out soon. I just know that the Math section is not going to be good. But, what if I screwed up the essays? In a panic attack last night, I registered to write the GRE again in late-November. I figure I will just cancel if the scores are okay.

Can you drop in during his office hours? One of my referees (who has written a LOR for me in the past and has always been enthusiastic about my grad school plans) did not reply to any of my emails in September, so I just showed up. Emails get lost quite easily, especially in the midst of midterms. This prof can also be quite disorganized and has asked me to drop in from time to time to make sure he has submitted his letter. Another alternative is to call, if going in person isn't an option.

As for the GRE, I don't want to even think about it. Channel that energy to the parts of the application that actually count, like your SOP and writing sample. My understanding is that the AW is generally the least important score on the GRE since schools will have a real piece of writing from you anyway, and your quant score certainly won't matter much to a history adcomm. A strong verbal score and a good enough composite score is really all you need, and even then there are so many other factors at play that a not so great score can be overcome.

[Sigaba]

I'm going to edit my 25 page writing sample down to 20 for a few schools (if anyone has suggestions on how best to do this, let me know!)[.]

Safferz--

Here's a suggestion for you to take or leave, in whole or in part, as you see fit.

Print out the document. Read through it one time each for each of the following:

• Smoothing out sentence structure. For example, prepositional phrases.
  
• Simplifying verbal constructions. For example, get rid of the passive voice.)
  
• Removing tangential arguments that, while interesting, do not advance your paper's central arguments. (You can put these comments in the end notes.) A way to help yourself do this is to write an "executive summary." Limit the summary to a number of bullet points (between five and nine). Anything that does not fall under one of those points gets the axe.
  
• Condensing transitional paragraphs.
  
• Sharpening the lead sentences in the more important paragraphs.
  

In a perfect world, you would print out a draft, make a run for one type of correction, make the correction, and then print out the draft again, and then make the next run. However, this approach can be costly and time consuming. So you may need to do two or three runs with one print out--maybe using different colored pens for each pass. However, I do not recommend using one print out to make all of these changes because you could end up with a sentence fragment or some other glaring mistake that you'd otherwise not miss.

If you've made all of these changes and you're still over the page limit, identify a "weakness" in your writing and make another run. (For example, I sometimes use too many prepositional phrases and those eat up space.)

When you've got it under twenty five pages and you're about ready to button up the essay, make two more passes. This time, read the essay backwards. The penultimate pass could be sentence by sentence or paragraph by paragraph. The last pass should be word by word.

I want to emphasize the importance of making these passes using a physical copy of the essay rather than reading it on your computer screen. For what ever reason or reasons, one starts to miss things on a computer screen that one might otherwise catch on a piece of paper.

HTH.

Also, to all concerned. I understand that many of you are stressed out and besides yourself with anxiety. Please do not let your concerns keep you from enjoying something this weekend or next. If you're a fan of football, watch some of this Sunday night's NFL game and/or next weekend's "game of the century." If you like kids, be sure to walk around in a neighborhood to watch families going trick or treating. If there's a big "adults only" Halloween parade/festival in your city, consider going (but maybe not all night and definitely play safely).

If none of the above activities work for you, find someway to take a step back from the process--if only for a moment--and to relax, to breathe, and to enjoy the moment. Take pride in how hard you've worked. Reflect on what you've learned, not only about history, but also yourselves. Understand that in this process you're developing skills that you can use for the rest of your lives.

And eat some candy.

[crater21]

Can you drop in during his office hours? One of my referees (who has written a LOR for me in the past and has always been enthusiastic about my grad school plans) did not reply to any of my emails in September, so I just showed up. Emails get lost quite easily, especially in the midst of midterms. This prof can also be quite disorganized and has asked me to drop in from time to time to make sure he has submitted his letter. Another alternative is to call, if going in person isn't an option.

As for the GRE, I don't want to even think about it. Channel that energy to the parts of the application that actually count, like your SOP and writing sample. My understanding is that the AW is generally the least important score on the GRE since schools will have a real piece of writing from you anyway, and your quant score certainly won't matter much to a history adcomm. A strong verbal score and a good enough composite score is really all you need, and even then there are so many other factors at play that a not so great score can be overcome.

Thanks for the advice, Safferz! I went to university overseas, and have graduated and moved back since. So, unfortunately, dropping by his office is not an option. I guess I will give him a call. But, he is notoriously disorganized, and I'm starting to wonder if it's worth the stress. I can just see it now - the missed deadlines, the frantic phone calls, the hastily written letters. Maybe it's better off to go with someone else.

And, yes, you are right about the GRE.

Hope everyone's weekends are going well!

[Safferz]

Safferz--

Here's a suggestion for you to take or leave, in whole or in part, as you see fit.

Thanks Sigaba! I actually went through this process, to cut the original paper down from 30 pages to 25 pages for one application. Unfortunately I have a few applications that have a 20 page limit, so I'm thinking I may just omit entire paragraphs and put something like [Omitted from sample: Discussion of XXXXX]. Bad idea? I think I have a well-written sample, and I'm afraid that I'll sacrifice quality if I try and simplify/condense my writing any more than I already have.

[Sparky]

Thanks Sigaba! I actually went through this process, to cut the original paper down from 30 pages to 25 pages for one application. Unfortunately I have a few applications that have a 20 page limit, so I'm thinking I may just omit entire paragraphs and put something like [Omitted from sample: Discussion of XXXXX]. Bad idea? I think I have a well-written sample, and I'm afraid that I'll sacrifice quality if I try and simplify/condense my writing any more than I already have.

What about all the undergrad "meet the page limit" tricks? 1.9 spacing, 1" side margins (it's the default in OpenOffice, so you even have an excuse on that one...)? Just make sure your SOP matches the format.

Cheap, yes. Cheating, perhaps. ...It worked for me.

Although, what *really* worked for me (25 pp + biblio => 15 pp including bibliography) was to have someone else go through it and be merciless. Often times other people are better at picked out what *can* be cut and what absolutely, absolutely must not.

[Sigaba]

....I'm thinking I may just omit entire paragraphs and put something like [Omitted from sample: Discussion of XXXXX]. Bad idea?

Safferz--

I would not use that tactic. Instead, if I were to cut a discussion of XXXX, I'd write something along the lines of "While a full discussion of XXXX is beyond the scope of this essay, [yada yada yada]." and maybe throw in an end note showing where one could find a discussion of XXXX.

Please do consider the utility of Sparky's suggestion to get someone to "be merciless."

[crater21]

As long as you guys are talking about writing samples...

Does the sample need to be a fully-formed, stand alone essay? Or, could it be a chapter or two of a larger piece?

[pudewen]

Safferz--

I would not use that tactic. Instead, if I were to cut a discussion of XXXX, I'd write something along the lines of "While a full discussion of XXXX is beyond the scope of this essay, [yada yada yada]." and maybe throw in an end note showing where one could find a discussion of XXXX.

Please do consider the utility of Sparky's suggestion to get someone to "be merciless."

While I agree with Sigaba that replacing paragraphs in the way you suggest is probably not your best bet, depending on how your essay is organized, I think it would be reasonable to cut out an entire section and replace it with a short summary. I submitted my senior thesis as my writing sample when I applied to grad school, and as it was far too much longer than the limit to simply cut down, I decided to submit my introduction, conclusion, and one chapter of the body, with one paragraph summaries of the other sections. It seemed to work out ok, and I don't think it's a bad idea if you want to give a sense of your entire paper while still staying within the page limit.

[goldielocks]

Re: adding the summary — can't you footnote it? That way you can have a bit more room to explain other findings, or what is not explored in the scope of your sample.

Crater, I know that some of the programs I'm looking at mention that you can submit a smaller piece of a larger project, but ask you to identify it — maybe via a brief abstract? I'm not sure.

[Sparky]

The general procedure for submitting part of a larger work is to attach a cover page giving the general outline of the project (if it's a completed master's thesis, the title page is often used) along with a *short* paragraph explaining the whole paper as well as where your particular extract fits in.

~

As for reducing page length: YES on the footnotes. Stick as much background/"lit review"/etc stuff in the nice single-spaced 10-point font footnotes as you can. ("Lit review" here reduced to two or three sentences that say, "Look, I really do know the scholarship on this topic, really!")

[crazedandinfused]

Ok, I'm only asking this because it seems that this conversation has gotten somewhat mechanical. I can't get some of my footnotes to stay on the same page as the text that cites them. I've scoured the web and even talked to computing services at my school and I've had no luck. Anybody have any tips or useful links?