Fall 2013 Applicants?

[annieca]

I am going to drive my flatmates insane with my Google-mapping. Just tonight I pulled up campus on Google Maps and said, "Hey Gorka! Look at this! Look at this! Look at this!" He humored me but I have a feeling that the rest of them won't do that for the fifth or sixth time I want to tell them something about Maryland...

 

Applying to graduate assistanceships, all the while hoping that I get a TAship. I should know soon!

 

And learning how to get thicker skin as my supervisor tore apart my senior thesis and I was less than pleased. He's got British bluntness down to a science.

[bryan.jenkins]

I am treating myself to a week in Spain! (Or well, that's one of the reasons I'm going to Spain...)

 

And buying myself a Maryland sweatshirt or t-shirt or something.

 

O, I can one-up your sweatshirt: http://www.routeoneapparel.com/

 

We Marylanders are a proud people.

[annieca]

O, I can one-up your sweatshirt: http://www.routeoneapparel.com/

 

We Marylanders are a proud people.

 

Dear Merlin, what have I gotten myself into?

 

If anyone is headed out to Iowa, I give you this:

http://raygunsite.com/

 

My favorite is one about my "hometown": The Quad Cities: Twice as Fun as the Twin Cities.

[New England Nat]

One of the weird things about getting used to grad school was discovering the different cultures of places.  Both the big state schools I went to were totally university appeal places where 40% of the students in any one class would be wearing a t-shirt sweetshirt.  My current institution I'd say only 15% of students will be wearing university gear, but rarely to class.  They dress better for class.

 

It also took me about a year and a half to come to terms with the orange.

 

Oh and anyone curious, Princeton's yield this year was 26 students out of 38 acceptances.

Edited April 20, 2013 by New England Nat

[lafayette]

One of the weird things about getting used to grad school was discovering the different cultures of places.  Both the big state schools I went to were totally university appeal places where 40% of the students in any one class would be wearing a t-shirt sweetshirt.  My current institution I'd say only 15% of students will be wearing university gear, but rarely to class.  They dress better for class.

 

It also took me about a year and a half to come to terms with the orange.

 

Oh and anyone curious, Princeton's yield this year was 26 students out of 38 acceptances.

Ha, I actually was very surprised by the constant amount of Princeton gear being worn around campus -- I think I just have attended very lacking-in-pride institutions in the past (or, rather, urban campuses).

Edited April 20, 2013 by lafayette

[New England Nat]

You were also there on the first warm day in three months.  It was very t-shirt weather.  But you do not know the level of branded gear that is worn by the average UNC undergrad (says the woman currently wearing a UNC tshirt).

[czesc]

Oh and anyone curious, Princeton's yield this year was 26 students out of 38 acceptances.

 

Do you know what their goal was? They told me they wound up taking no one from the waitlist.

[New England Nat]

They were aiming for 22, and they would have had to have been down in the low teen until they would have pulled from the wait list.  I had one professor tell me about a month and a half ago that princeton considers it's wait list to be a means of telling applicants that their projects are really good but they never have any real intention of pulling from the wait list.

[TMP]

They were aiming for 22, and they would have had to have been down in the low teen until they would have pulled from the wait list.  I had one professor tell me about a month and a half ago that princeton considers it's wait list to be a means of telling applicants that their projects are really good but they never have any real intention of pulling from the wait list.

Yep, I was told this by a DGS at NYU (not the history department but another one).  Yeouch and I was one of the wait-listees.  Still haven't forgiven him for saying that to me.

 

My program pretty much hit its yield this year, maybe a bit over by a few people.

[getitlow]

SUNY Buffalo yield was 8 offer acceptances out of 8 admits this year after the visit. We indeed have a very small cohort, which was exactly what I was aiming for from the beginning. Hopefully this does not sound like self-promotion but we have excellent scholars across 6 major fields with many who used to and currently serve as outside committee members for grad students at other schools. I discover during my visit that the department never really cared about ranking and try to keep the size of cohort at low level over years. The New York State Public Humanity initiatives group including SUNY Buffalo, Cornell, NYU, and CUNY is really the highlight of the program for those who will be considering these universities for your future PhD degrees. For those who are thinking of majoring in Modern China, we have Des Forges and Stapleton who are well-known in Chinese Urban and Cultural history (if that's your intended focus).

[Andean Pat]

Ok, now that we more or less know where we are going in the fall... what are you up to???

 

Personally, I have an apartment and the air ticket. Next week I am having the visa interview and I have already done some tests for immunization requirements. In the meantime, work is harder than ever, my mind is already in the States!!! I am both eager and scared to start graduate school.

 

I have had my first farewell party, it was awesome. I started early because it's only two months before I leave this apartment and right now everything is a mess: I am garage selling everything!!!!  Pots, mirror, table, books, shelves, some clothes... In the last month or so I dated a couple of times but was truly demotivated. I prefer to hang out with friends, I am going to miss them A LOT. So we are getting together quite often, having a few drinks or a home made meal. Yeah, I like to cook. 

 

Academically, I suppose I'll start reviewing some historiography books (I love historiography), but I don't want to push myself. You know, we are going to be SO busy in a couple of months that I want to enjoy my free time before I kiss Candy Crush goodbye hahahaha.

 

What's up in your lives? 

Edited May 15, 2013 by Andean Pat

[annieca]

Let's see... I went to Spain, moved from Wales back to the States, realized I was in love with a best friend in Wales, came back to a mom with a serious illness and a house that is under very strict cleanliness orders since the house can be shown at any point. And my car is in the shop getting repaired. And that was all in the past three weeks!

 

Honestly, I have been so bummed about leaving Aberystwyth that I haven't been excited about grad school. But now that I'm back in the States and have little else except preparing my parents for moving (and moving myself) I have started to get excited again. It's going to be a *huge* transition but one I am ready for. Mainly because I am stuck at home with very little to do and it's making me homesick for Aber!

 

Reading... I should reread some historiography, or get started on my reading list for my History and Theory class in the Fall but I've got time. I think.

 

How is everyone else doing?

[LadyRara]

Working, working, and did I mention working? :-) plus redoing a kayak, getting all the horse time in I can, building ridiculous contraptions (it may just be me, but I truly miss having a fully equipped shop at school) and reading up some history... (but spending money on books has officially ceased as it is all going.into the moving fund)!

Annieca, true love has bitten, eh? Your summer sounds like a nice one before the onslaught of grad school adjustment. :-)

[msmith1990]

I've found an apartment and a job, and I'm all registered for classes! I'll be moving myself and my dog 8 1/2 hours on Saturday so we can get all settled in before I start working for the summer. I plan on drinking lots of beer (since St. Louis is flowing with the stuff, I've heard) and finding some good music, plus decorating my new pad.

 

As far as reading goes, I asked my advisor what I should be doing to prepare, and he basically said to just take it easy for the summer -- there's lots of work in my future! I do plan on getting a head start on a couple textbooks that look interesting, but mostly I want to catch up on some good fiction. I've already read a few while procrastinating my packing, and it's such a nice change!

 

Does anyone know what classes they'll be in in the fall? I've got the basic historiography class, a class on Christians and Muslims in medieval Spain, and a "history by the numbers" class that deals with maps and things.

[annieca]

Does anyone know what classes they'll be in in the fall? I've got the basic historiography class, a class on Christians and Muslims in medieval Spain, and a "history by the numbers" class that deals with maps and things.

 

I'm a bit weird in that the first semester I'm suppose to take two LibSci classes so only one History class for me. It's the standard "History and Modern Theory" which I'm guessing is historiography. I'm hoping that since I did a challenging historiography class in undergrad that this won't be too bad. That being said... I also do hope it's challenging for two reasons. 1) I love historiography. and 2) My library science classes don't sound thrilling.

 

It's been relaxing but also nerve-wracking. I'm waiting on applications to come back for a job (I've applied for 7 so far) at Maryland and in the meantime, mainly just twiddling my thumbs. My thumbs are pretty sore at this point and it's only a little over 3 weeks since I've gotten home!

[vtstevie]

Classes for the upcoming semester were JUST announced and I'll be taking the first section of the graduate US History survey, a required methods course and I'm not quite sure what else. Probably an Atlantic World seminar, but I think I need more information about my TAship before I can decide that. Might audit a language course as well so I can start getting that requirement out of the way.

 

I've visited Philadelphia once so far, met with the DGS (who is great and, I was pleased to discover, is leading the intro US survey in the Fall) and a graduate student and explored a few neighborhoods. I'm just spending the summer trying to save as much as possible and find an apartment from 1000 miles away.