Fall 2018 Applicants

[lordtiandao]

Quick question - I have a paper that I submitted to a journal and it is currently under consideration. Should I put the name of the journal on the CV or just put "Submitted and under consideration?"

[Sigaba]

ALCON--

September has been turbulent and is racing to a close. October will have surprises of its own.

Do what you can to stay focused on the tasks at hand.

• Keep working to finalize your list of schools.
  • At least institution on your list should be a dream school.
  • Focus on areas of overlapping interest among faculty members.
  • Focus less on POIs--professors move on, retire, decide not to take additional students, end up being disinterested in graduate students, or just end up not liking you.
  • Trust but verify information that you receive from the schools to which you're applying.
• Keep developing relationships with confirmed and potential LoR writers.
  • Go to office hours if possible.
  • Have intelligent, informed conversations about the craft, your interests, and your goals
  • Make sure the conversation demonstrates that you're genuinely interested in the person to whom you're talking. If you're not, she will absolutely know.
  • Keep your letter writers informed of your deadlines WITHOUT being a nag.
    • Some (many) professors will wait until the last minute to submit your letter.
      • Figure out a way to touch base without being a nuisance. 
• Keep banging away at your SOP.
  • Fine tune versions for specific programs.
  • Edit for clarity and concision.
  • Stay within proscribed page/word limits.
  • Demonstrate that you'd be a good fit in the program.
  • (If you focus too much on how the program fits your needs...yikes.)
  • Express an appropriate level of interest in potential research projects.
    • If you're an undergraduate and you indicate that you know exactly what you want to do a a professor, you're putting the horse in front of the cart.
    • If you're currently a graduate student, you should have a clear idea of your fields, preferred methods, and (somewhat) likely area of focus for a dissertation.
• Unless you're an Americanist, you should be working on your language skills.
• Keep working on your writing sample. 
  • Stay within the page limits.
  • Make sure that it demonstrates your ability to connect your research interest(s) with the existing historiography.
• Stay focused on your current classes.
• If you're currently in a graduate program and working as a TA, remember that undergraduates are counting on you to do a good job.
• If you're working in the private sector and haven't told your bosses that you're applying to graduate school, start developing your exit plan now.
  • There are many threads on this BB in which different perspectives and tactics are discussed that may be helpful.
• To the extent possible, put aside the concerns of the external world. Yes, things are going badly in the world, but when has it ever been otherwise? Keep in mind that you're competing against applicants who
  • are so focused on their goals that they have zero idea what's happening outside their fields of vision.
  • have never heard of this BB because they can go to a professor or a graduate student and ask questions directly, and
  • will get into their top choices.
  • It's your mission to kick ass and take names this application season and then in the following years (in a professional not bitter in the least kind of way, of course).

[ltr317]

Sigaba - Thanks for outlining the tasks at hand during this application cycle.  Your advice is most useful. 

[VAZ]

@Sigaba Thank you for the informative and useful guide！It's getting real!

Just one point confuses me. Why do you say "focusing less on the POIs?" I know it is probably the time to expand to a pan-departmental view, but maintaining a solid relationship with the POIs are not still essential? In my case, most of my POIs have interviewed me, agreed to take me, guided me through the application process, given invaluable suggestions on my SoPs and writing samples, and will probably argue for me in the admission committees. I got a feeling that each active senior professor has one or two applicants in his/her mind,  and all professors in each general field will gather and discuss whose nominees will get the few final spots. So I have to rely on the POIs a lot in the admission as well as in the future because they will become my colleagues of the same field no matter which school I end up going. 

If I find they are disinterested in graduate students, don't like me or don't reply me, I will not even bother applying. 

[Sigaba]

1 hour ago, VAZ said:

Just one point confuses me. Why do you say "focusing less on the POIs?" I know it is probably the time to expand to a pan-departmental view, but maintaining a solid relationship with the POIs are not still essential? In my case, most of my POIs have interviewed me, agreed to take me, guided me through the application process, given invaluable suggestions on my SoPs and writing samples, and will probably argue for me in the admission committees. I got a feeling that each active senior professor has one or two applicants in his/her mind,  and all professors in each general field will gather and discuss whose nominees will get the few final spots. So I have to rely on the POIs a lot in the admission as well as in the future because they will become my colleagues of the same field no matter which school I end up going. 

If I find they are disinterested in graduate students, don't like me or don't reply me, I will not even bother applying. 

Hi, @VAZ

De-emphasizing one's interest in a particular POI in your SOP does not rule out building a relationship with said SOP.

Keep in mind always that a department is a black box to outsiders. You may like Professor Xavier. He may think you're the next Jean Grey and want you to be admitted. But Professors Eisenhardt and Richards may have other ideas They may hold a bit of a grudge over something, and have more pull. "We have plenty of X types already, let's be fair and balance things out a bit. Starting now," they say as putting your application in the stack of "no."

Your guy may not be up to the trask. He may not be interested in standing sentinel over your application. He might think his colleagues too green with envy as he  considers a standing invitation of an endowed chair at the Imperium University. And it is exceedingly unlikely that he'd have told you. It's not like he can read your mind and know how trustworthy you are.

In these kinds of scenarios, if your SOP is mostly about working with Xavier, you're exposing yourself to avoidable political risk. If you phrase your SOP in a way that simultaneously highlights what Xavier, Eisenhardt, and Richards have in common, then you're talking more about the craft and about fit than about departmental politics and personality clashes. 

(Did I stretch things too far in the examples above? Would I have been better served just mentioning the fallout between Genovese and Gutman?)

Here's the part you and others may not like. A growing dynamic in the House of Klio is that more and more established professionals don't like teaching. Anyone. 

Should this dynamic alone deter anyone from applying to a program? Glah. I don't know. Most of what you're going to learn you're going to teach yourself anyways. You're not really going to get a sense of a professor's view of teaching and mentoring until you're actually in a program. And X factors like life changes and interpersonal chemistry can tip the balance one way or another. If you pick your programs carefully, present yourself as a great fit, and acquit yourself well enough when you get there, there will be other professors who will want to work with you.

IRT the liking/not liking a professor and vice versa. I'm a big believer in chemistry.  Yet which would you rather have--an advisor who snarls "That's Professor Logan to you, bub," doesn't like your jokes but finds ways to help you maximize your potential or a professor who says "Hey, call me Wade. Let's go to dinner," and let's you do what ever you want and doesn't motivate you to expend maximum effort? (That's the last one. For this post anyways.) 

(You're right, it's not either/or, but the two spectra overlap best for an individual is hard to know until one gets there. And eventually, you're going to want someone in your corner who is going to tell you to STFU from time to time and save you from yourself.)

 

[psstein]

On 9/20/2017 at 7:59 AM, lordtiandao said:

Quick question - I have a paper that I submitted to a journal and it is currently under consideration. Should I put the name of the journal on the CV or just put "Submitted and under consideration?"

Say the second. 

[narple]

On 9/20/2017 at 7:59 AM, lordtiandao said:

Quick question - I have a paper that I submitted to a journal and it is currently under consideration. Should I put the name of the journal on the CV or just put "Submitted and under consideration?"

Yes to the CV. I think putting the name is okay as long as you qualify. Just say "under review" or "under consideration" ( I think I like the connotation of review better...)

Edited September 22, 2017 by narple

[psstein]

On 9/6/2017 at 9:29 PM, jaaaayciee said:

Unfortunately, most programs I heard about offer no funding, except in the cases of TA jobs being offered for only the second year. Aren't MA students typically used for cash cows for PhD students?

It varies from program to program, but generally, yes. A colleague/friend of mine was in the MA at Indiana-Bloomington and awarded financial aid early on. 

By the way, one piece of advice to everyone. Make sure you contact your PoIs EARLY ON and know whether or not they're taking grad students. I wasted money on at least two applications last year (Harvard and Princeton) because my PoIs were either not taking graduate students or retiring. 

Edited September 22, 2017 by psstein

[ltr317]

52 minutes ago, psstein said:

By the way, one piece of advice to everyone. Make sure you contact your PoIs EARLY ON and know whether or not they're taking grad students. I wasted money on at least two applications last year (Harvard and Princeton) because my PoIs were either not taking graduate students or retiring. 

I have been doing just that the past couple of weeks and found out one POI is planning to retire, so I strongly second the advice to contact your POIs early. 

[lordtiandao]

1 hour ago, psstein said:

By the way, one piece of advice to everyone. Make sure you contact your PoIs EARLY ON and know whether or not they're taking grad students. I wasted money on at least two applications last year (Harvard and Princeton) because my PoIs were either not taking graduate students or retiring. 

 

What's a good way of sending a follow-up e-mail to professors who don't reply? Send a brand new e-mail or reply to the first e-mail?

[psstein]

47 minutes ago, lordtiandao said:

What's a good way of sending a follow-up e-mail to professors who don't reply? Send a brand new e-mail or reply to the first e-mail?

New email. Sometimes people miss emails because they're busy or distracted. I do it semi-frequently. 

[lordtiandao]

1 hour ago, psstein said:

New email. Sometimes people miss emails because they're busy or distracted. I do it semi-frequently. 

Yeah, I was thinking that too. I have too that haven't gotten back to me for almost two weeks now so I'm thinking of sending them another message.

Thanks!

[Calgacus]

10 hours ago, lordtiandao said:

Yeah, I was thinking that too. I have too that haven't gotten back to me for almost two weeks now so I'm thinking of sending them another message.

There's also the possibility that some people are less responsive in general, or else that it's an implied disinterest in working with you. I never got a response from a place that I thought would be one of my top choices. Because of that I decided to save my money and not apply at all. I recently had a chance to meet him. He was less than kind and I was happy to realize I'd dodged a bullet by not forcing the issue when I was applying. (He didn't remember me or my email, and I didn't remind him).

Of course I'm not saying that this is always the case, it's true sometimes you just catch someone at a busy time and they accidentally overlook your email. Just something to keep in mind. Someone's responsiveness to an interested applicant's email might give a tiny bit of insight into their responsiveness as an advisor.

[Neist]

I haven't had the time to support everyone on here as much as I would have liked (this will likely be the worst semester of my academic career). 

I wanted to wish everyone the best of luck and not to stress the details too much. You can only prep your application so much, and it is likely that events and considerations outside of your potential will largely play into your acceptances or denials. Try to roll with the punches.  

[lordtiandao]

10 hours ago, Calgacus said:

There's also the possibility that some people are less responsive in general, or else that it's an implied disinterest in working with you. I never got a response from a place that I thought would be one of my top choices. Because of that I decided to save my money and not apply at all. I recently had a chance to meet him. He was less than kind and I was happy to realize I'd dodged a bullet by not forcing the issue when I was applying. (He didn't remember me or my email, and I didn't remind him).

Of course I'm not saying that this is always the case, it's true sometimes you just catch someone at a busy time and they accidentally overlook your email. Just something to keep in mind. Someone's responsiveness to an interested applicant's email might give a tiny bit of insight into their responsiveness as an advisor.

Yes that's true. Two of the POIs I want to apply to are highly recommended by my current advisers and they all know each other. I'll wait two weeks and send another e-mail.

I'm not sure if their responsiveness to an applicant's e-mail can reflect how good of an advisor they are. I would think that they would prioritize their own students' e-mails over inquiries from applicants.

[ltr317]

I started the PhD application cycle at the beginning of this month, and just finished cleaning up and rewriting portions of two WS to my satisfaction which took three weeks.  I made contact and have corresponded with several POIs while doing my M.A. coursework concurrently.  I will be visiting some of the POIs in the next several weeks to discuss their programs.  I'm about to start my SOP and GRE prep and will be busy with both for the next month, while still trying to keep up with my coursework.  Although I have lined up my LORs, I have to remind them for a timely submission sometime in late October.  To top it all off, I am doing an independent research paper of approximately 25-30 pages and after that's completed, have to prep for my M.A. oral exams in January.  I knew this would be a long and involved process, but it's longer and more involved than expected.  Sorry just had to vent.  I will slog through until I finish, but it's been frustrating at times.  For some of you who have are currently in PhD programs and even some who have completed their doctorate, did you feel when you were applying that it was a never ending process?    

[TMP]

On 9/20/2017 at 3:59 PM, lordtiandao said:

Quick question - I have a paper that I submitted to a journal and it is currently under consideration. Should I put the name of the journal on the CV or just put "Submitted and under consideration?"

IMO, do mention the journal name  Either way, your citation on your CV should be this:

Works in Progress

"Article Title," Journal Name (under review).

OR

"Article Title" (Submitted to journal for review).

Do not put under "Publications" because it is not yet published.

[OHSP]

7 hours ago, ltr317 said:

For some of you who have are currently in PhD programs and even some who have completed their doctorate, did you feel when you were applying that it was a never ending process?    

Never ending is an understatement, but know that one day it'll be a distant memory. Good luck!

[lordtiandao]

1 hour ago, TMP said:

IMO, do mention the journal name  Either way, your citation on your CV should be this:

Works in Progress

"Article Title," Journal Name (under review).

OR

"Article Title" (Submitted to journal for review).

Do not put under "Publications" because it is not yet published.

Crap, I completely forgot about differentiating between works in progress and actual publications. 

[ltr317]

4 hours ago, OHSP said:

Never ending is an understatement, but know that one day it'll be a distant memory. Good luck!

OHSP - Thanks for the encouragement.  Right now I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I will slog along until I do.  At that point, I can rejoice and offer encouragement to the next round of applicants!

[TMP]

13 hours ago, ltr317 said:

I knew this would be a long and involved process, but it's longer and more involved than expected.  Sorry just had to vent.  I will slog through until I finish, but it's been frustrating at times.  For some of you who have are currently in PhD programs and even some who have completed their doctorate, did you feel when you were applying that it was a never ending process?    

Wait until you start applying for dissertation fellowships in your 3rd/4th year, especially if you have a topic that is wide-ranging and global/transnational in scope..... for me, the process was from August to March!  But I made it part of my daily work routine so the feeling of ""omg is this ever going to end?" wasn't really there.  Only when certain applications had glitches   It's a good prep for the academic job market. 

Most important thing is to stay busy with other things to avoid burn out.

[psstein]

14 hours ago, ltr317 said:

I started the PhD application cycle at the beginning of this month, and just finished cleaning up and rewriting portions of two WS to my satisfaction which took three weeks.  I made contact and have corresponded with several POIs while doing my M.A. coursework concurrently.  I will be visiting some of the POIs in the next several weeks to discuss their programs.  I'm about to start my SOP and GRE prep and will be busy with both for the next month, while still trying to keep up with my coursework.  Although I have lined up my LORs, I have to remind them for a timely submission sometime in late October.  To top it all off, I am doing an independent research paper of approximately 25-30 pages and after that's completed, have to prep for my M.A. oral exams in January.  I knew this would be a long and involved process, but it's longer and more involved than expected.  Sorry just had to vent.  I will slog through until I finish, but it's been frustrating at times.  For some of you who have are currently in PhD programs and even some who have completed their doctorate, did you feel when you were applying that it was a never ending process?    

Yep, you develop the feeling like "this is never going to end." And then it ends, and you're anxious about acceptances and rejections.

[gsc]

16 hours ago, ltr317 said:

  I will slog through until I finish, but it's been frustrating at times.  For some of you who have are currently in PhD programs and even some who have completed their doctorate, did you feel when you were applying that it was a never ending process?    

If you want to be accepted into graduate school, and you wouldn't apply unless you did, it's a nerve-wracking process and it definitely feels interminable, or like some kind of purgatory. But as @psstein says, it does end. You get a break in the anxiety from the time you submit the applications to end of January/mid-February, because you've done everything you could on your end, and the acceptances won't come out anyways, so you can be sort of zen about it. 

A related confession. I struggled with the application anxiety so badly that I went to my college's counseling center the semester before I applied, the semester I applied, and the semester after. I was actually so ashamed of myself at the time, even after I graduated. I felt pathetic, like I'd failed. But I'm so very glad I did go in spite of myself because it helped me in all kinds of ways. Knowing yourself, knowing your strengths/weaknesses/etc, knowing how to handle anxiety and stress, are invaluable things in the grad school pressure cooker. So as a blanket statement for everyone on this board, if now, or at any point in grad school, you just feel like you're drowning or you think you need some help, you're not pathetic for feeling that way. You're not unfit for grad school. And you're certainly not a failure for taking advantage of resources that are explicitly designed to help students in need. They're there for you, & people who have been there know that this stuff is really hard. 

Edited September 23, 2017 by gsc

[ltr317]

6 hours ago, gsc said:

If you want to be accepted into graduate school, and you wouldn't apply unless you did, it's a nerve-wracking process and it definitely feels interminable, or like some kind of purgatory. But as @psstein says, it does end. You get a break in the anxiety from the time you submit the applications to end of January/mid-February, because you've done everything you could on your end, and the acceptances won't come out anyways, so you can be sort of zen about it. 

A related confession. I struggled with the application anxiety so badly that I went to my college's counseling center the semester before I applied, the semester I applied, and the semester after. I was actually so ashamed of myself at the time, even after I graduated. I felt pathetic, like I'd failed. But I'm so very glad I did go in spite of myself because it helped me in all kinds of ways. Knowing yourself, knowing your strengths/weaknesses/etc, knowing how to handle anxiety and stress, are invaluable things in the grad school pressure cooker. So as a blanket statement for everyone on this board, if now, or at any point in grad school, you just feel like you're drowning or you think you need some help, you're not pathetic for feeling that way. You're not unfit for grad school. And you're certainly not a failure for taking advantage of resources that are explicitly designed to help students in need. They're there for you, & people who have been there know that this stuff is really hard. 

I'm glad you had the support and came out of if fine.  I haven't reached that point yet and hope I don't.  I've been handling the stress fairly well up to now, but do get frustrated from time to time.  I'm familiar with my grad school's counseling center, but thanks for the reminder in case I need their help.  You do a service to everyone in MA and PhD programs who might need counseling but who may not know or are afraid to ask about this valuable support program. 

[RageoftheMonkey]

Best of luck to everyone this application season! This forum was so helpful to me last year and I hope it will be just as helpful to others this year!

I just wanted to say: it might all feel overwhelming and never-ending now -- but eventually you will finish your final edits, submit your applications, and (hopefully) hear good news from programs.

I'm in my first year of the PhD program of my dreams and I absolutely love it. So yes, it does all work out sometimes