Fall 2016 Applicants

[knp]

+1. I uploaded an earlier draft of my SOP to one of my programs on my last run before submission. (I've added the gray redaction bars for internet reasons.) Behold that draft's fit paragraph.

The preview window: a life-saver.

[pro Augustis]

Haha that is a pretty spectacular draft, though it's probably for the best that the admissions folk never got to see it. I remember that some of my earlier drafts had sentences like "I want to work with Professor X because something something emperors." 

[ashiepoo72]

LOL! Best part: MAKE NOT TERRIBLE PLZ.

I would ctrl-f the names of professors and universities in each SOP to make sure the wrong ones aren't used...that's what I did. Then I printed each SOP, read them each extremely (one might say neurotically) close, and uploaded them one at a time after they passed inspection.

I very nearly misspelled one my POI's book titles...conservation and conservatism are two very different things...

Also, beware of oceans. I wrote "pacific" when I meant "Atlantic" in my personal statement. Thank baby Jesus my cousin read the draft, because one of my MA classmates and a professor missed that egregious mistake.

[stillalivetui]

I'm curious as to how quick a turnaround programs have, one program begins reviewing apps next week already.

[ashiepoo72]

Davis sent out acceptances at the end of January last year. I got mine on the 30th. I think rejections come shortly after that, and I'm not 100% sure but I think there's an informal wait list, but don't quote me on that.

[stillalivetui]

That's amazing how fast Davis gets decisions out considering they have such a late deadline.

[kyjin]

4 hours ago, stillalivetui said:

I'm curious as to how quick a turnaround programs have, one program begins reviewing apps next week already.

Take a look at the Results Search to get a sense of this. My program has a December 1st deadline, but I don't believe the committee starts meeting till after this semester is over. (We're just finishing classes this week.)

[SunshineLolipops]

Does anyone else hold out the vain hope that professors are stalking academia.edu after reading your application or have any input on the value of an academia.edu account in general?

Edited December 7, 2015 by JJWS

[ashiepoo72]

I'm not saying it's related, but my academia.edu profile got way more hits during the interregnum between application deadlines and admissions decisions than any time before.

[mvlchicago]

They definitely do. Think about it this way: they're trying to figure out if you're someone they want to have around for the next 5-6 years. The least they'll do is Google you. 

[stillalivetui]

A couple months ago a couple of POIs and other faculty at schools I'm applying to showed up as suggested friends on Facebook. It was really strange.

[dr. t]

 http://33.media.tumblr.com/8cf8c2e96aceecc63dd30dc4b1dee213/tumblr_inline_nwwb6r4xSz1scnohf_500.gif 

Edited December 8, 2015 by telkanuru

[TMP]

Honestly, most won't even look at your application until January.  They might see your name on the list but not read the file yet so Google seems easier.....

[YeshuaNgome]

Well, I submitted my first application. I contacted my POI a few months ago while in the Congo working with an NGO (I replied to this thread in June and plan to study Congolese history). He seemed very interested in my experiences and research. I went through around eight drafts of my personal statement (in the end completely tailored for this school). I also decided last minute not to apply to another school which has a good name but nobody completely aligned with my interests. I found the process of applications challenging and time consuming but also valuable. It forced me to really come to terms with what I want to study and has helped me to process my time overseas. All in all, a pretty great process! I have one more great fit school with a January 15th deadline so for now  I can relax a bit.  

[meo03]

A ton of applications come due today. Best of luck to those sending in their submissions!

[anthrostudentcyn]

Hey all, I'm a bit late, but I'm interested in history of medicine! anyone else? Also, any recommendations of history of science PhD or Master's programs that are still open for application?

 

Also, do you all think it's ok that I used an anthropology thesis for my writing sample? It was all primary source research, but most of it more current. 

Edited December 16, 2015 by anthrostudentcyn

[gsc]

1 hour ago, anthrostudentcyn said:

Also, do you all think it's ok that I used an anthropology thesis for my writing sample? It was all primary source research, but most of it more current. 

It's a little too late to worry about that now, but I think you'd be fine. Good research is good research. There's a lot of overlap between history of medicine and medical anthropology, too, so it's not like you submitted something from a completely unrelated field. 

[Neist]

Well, applications are pretty much finished for me at this point. My senior capstone paper was my writing sample, so I submitted my applications later than I would have liked, but it's done now, or at least it's done short of hitting the "Submit" button.

Pretty liberating experience. Also, very time consuming. This is my first go around. I'm completely happy with my application materials, but I do feel as if they could be even better if I they had month or two of dedicated polish. My NSFGRFP (I'm history of science) materials were fantastically well-polished, though. I'm pretty hopeful on that front.

Time will tell if it pays off.

[Neist]

On 12/16/2015 at 3:02 PM, anthrostudentcyn said:

Hey all, I'm a bit late, but I'm interested in history of medicine! anyone else? Also, any recommendations of history of science PhD or Master's programs that are still open for application?

 

Also, do you all think it's ok that I used an anthropology thesis for my writing sample? It was all primary source research, but most of it more current. 

Most history of science programs are generally open until the beginning of the year (nearly all of mine have Jan. 1-15 deadlines). 

I'm not a huge history of medicine guy, but the obvious one that pops out is Johns Hopkins. https://www.hopkinshistoryofmedicine.org/ Their deadline is Jan. 15. 

You might dig through this list: https://sites.google.com/a/asu.edu/hssgraduateprograms/

That's sort of the unofficial list of history of science (including medicine) programs. The problem with the history of medicine is that a lot of aspects of the history of medicine are covered in the history of science, so you really have dig through each program and see if there's something that aligns with your interests. There are a few dedicated programs like that Johns Hopkins, but many of those are in medical schools.

[bettafish]

Two different deadlines for 8 applications.  Went over my writing sample a couple times before my december 15th (last deadline).  Killing myself over various grammatical mistakes and lack of clarity that were sent in to my first deadline apps AKA the schools I want to go to

[mvlchicago]

On 12/3/2015 at 6:07 PM, stillalivetui said:

I'm curious as to how quick a turnaround programs have, one program begins reviewing apps next week already.

iirc, my first acceptances came in mid-February, but I got off the waitlist for one program literally the week decisions were due.

Good luck all of you waiting! Here's a story for the grammar mistakes you find immediately after submission: a week ago, I decided to look at the writing sample I used for apps last year (I needed to cite something I used there and that was so much easier than Googling the citation) and found a footnote that read "cite that book that definitely exists on this topic" verbatim. So... if you start freaking out about typos, just remember sometimes it won't matter?

Edited December 19, 2015 by mvlchicago

[dr. t]

Reading admissions files is (apparently) tedious business, so that one might have helped you, actually

[ashiepoo72]

Haha! Omg I'm dying over here. That is the best thing I've heard in months.

[SunshineLolipops]

Slow clap for mvlchicago.  Bravo sir.

 

Good to know that there may be life after typos.

Edited December 20, 2015 by JJWS

[xolo]

Even though I'm not in your field, I am in the humanities, and I can sense the excitement here just like for me last year. Good luck to all of you. And yes, when I look back at my writing sample (which I thought would make a good publishable article), I just groan. So don't stress too much about typos, just do your best! FYI, last year the acceptance to the school I am now attending came in mid-February. The waiting goes by really slow and really fast.