Applying to Graduate School: A Guide and Timeline

8/6/2019 Applying to Graduate School: A Guide and Timeline

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Applying to Graduate School: A Guide and Timeline


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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 2MATERIALSYOUWILLNEED TO APPLY 2

WHAT IS GRADUATE SCHOOL? 3

APPLICATION PROCESS TIMELINE 4SOPHOMOREYEAR 4JUNIORYEAR FALL 4JUNIORYEAR SPRING 5SUMMERBEFORESENIORYEAR 6SENIORYEAR FALL 8

SEPTEMBER 8OCTOBER 9NOVEMBER/D ECEMBER 10

THE DECISION PROCESS 11POSSIBLEDECISIONS 11

RESOURCES 12

S AMPLE M ATERIALS 13INITIALEMAIL TOPOI 13CURRICULUMVITAE 13

SAMPLECV 14CVTIPS 14

SAMPLEFIT PARAGRAPH 15

GRADUATE APPLICATION CHECKLIST 16


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Introduction

pplying to graduate school for history (or any discipline) is a long and, sometimes,complicated process. This timeline is designed to not only tell youwhen you should be

doing something related to the application process, but also why and how you should bedoing it. Whether pursuing an advanced degree in history makes sense is up to you, but youshould pay close attention to the thoughts and opinions of your mentor/advisor on thissubject. After all, they know what is required to earn a doctoral degree and they also knowyour work. However, if you have made an informed decision regarding graduate school,this timeline will, hopefully, make the application process, and all its little quirks, a bit lessmysterious while also giving you enough direction to not feel overwhelmed from the start.The keys to the process are organization and preparation. The earlier you start, the better.Throughout, I also give tips on organizing your process. I cannot stress enough how mucheasier the process will be if you develop a way to see at-a-glance information aboutprospective schools, their application requirements, and, while youre applying, whatmaterials have been requested, sent, and received. In addition to the timeline, I haveincluded a page of internet resources followed by some sample materials.

Materials You Will Need to Apply:

Statement of PurposeA 500-1000 word essay about your academic interests,

previous research experience, specific topic of interest, and fit witheach specific department to which you are applying.

Writing SampleGenerally, a 15 to 25-page research essay based on primary sources and engaged

with secondary sources.

Letters of RecommendationThree letters written by the professors most familiar with your work.

GRE ScoresThe standard graduate school entrance test administered by ETS. It is not

the most important aspect of your application, but not doing well can precludeyou from fellowships and other sources of internal funding.

Undergraduate Transcripts

Most applications will require transcripts from every post-secondaryinstitution you have attended.

Curriculum VitaeBasically, a resume of your academic achievements.

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What is Graduate School?

ow does graduate school differ from the average undergraduate experience? Well, forstarters, classes generally meet once a week for anywhere from one-hour and forty-

five minutes to three hours. The two main types of graduate courses are reading seminarsand research seminars. The average reading load for a reading seminar, the most commongraduate course, is one book per week sometimes accompanied by a journal article or two.Most graduate programs require students to take at least three, if not four, classes persemester. This means that you will be expected to read three to four books per week alongwith a similar number of journal articles and to discuss them intelligently for two or morehours each per week. You will also likely be required to produce a number of scholarlybook reviews throughout the semester. In most seminars, a historiographical essay ofaround twenty pages is also required. A research seminar has a similar reading load, whichusually lightens a bit as the semester goes on because you will be required to produce aresearch paper of publishable quality by the end of the semester. If this sounds like an

impossible workload to you, perhaps you need to speak to your mentor about yourexpectations concerning graduate study. This type of coursework can last anywhere fromtwo to three years in most programs.

After you have completed your course requirements, you will also be expected topass the required language exams. Usually these usually consist of a one or two-pageselection that must be translated in a specified amount of time with the aid of a dictionary.Then, you are ready to prepare for your exams or comps. The format differs from school toschool. Some have an oral examination administered by a committee (usually, threeprofessors) and lasting around two hours. Some have a written exam. Some have both. Inorder to prepare, a list of books is drawn up in consultation with your committee, whichcan be anywhere from fifty to over one hundred books. You will then have a specific

number of months to cover this material on your own. The exams usually test your primaryfield and either one or two other secondary fields. Once you have completed this rite ofpassage, you will be advanced to candidacy or A.B.D. (all but the dissertation) status. Fromthere on out, your main task will be to complete your dissertation. How long this takes youwill be determined by any number of factors, e.g. how much funding do you have? Howmany research trips will you need to take? How many courses are you teaching? If you dofinish the dissertation, you will be expected to defend it before your dissertation committeebefore receiving your degree.

Graduate school is unlike your undergraduate experience in many ways. Yourworkload will be heavier. You will be solely responsible for your own progress and work.Your relationships with your professors will be different than they were during your

undergraduate days. Faculty will treat you like a junior colleague, but, in return, they willexpect you to behave and produce like a junior colleague. If much of what I have written ofhere was unfamiliar to you, I suggest you talk about these things with your advisor/mentorand your other professors.

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Application Process Timeline

Sophomore Year

1. Develop relationships with professors.

Try to take multiple classes with the same professors. You will need 3letters of recommendation and the better a professor knows you, thebetter letter they can write.

Go to their office hours a few times during the semester to talk about yourinterests and the possibility of applying to graduate school. Let them knowyoure available if they or someone they know needs a research assistant.

2. If you have not already, begin language study as soon as possible.

If you plan to apply for a field outside of American history, your language

preparation will be a significant factor in your application. For example, ifyou are planning to study French history, you should be able to readFrench easily before applying. Medievalists will be expected to have twoready languages at least upon applying out of the required French,German, Latin, and Ancient Greek. Ancient historians, like classicists, willbe expected to have more than 2 years of both Latin and Ancient Greek.The top programs will expect at least one, if not two, languages even forAmericanists.

Junior Year Fall

1. Talk to your mentor/advisor about doing a primary source-based researchpaper in the spring.

As a history applicant, your writing sample is quite possibly the singlemost important part of your application. Most schools have senior historymajors do research papers, but that will be too late to use it as anapplication writing sample. Producing a paper in your junior year will alsoallow you ample revision time over the summer and fall of your senioryear.

Think about possible essay topics that interest you either on your own or

from a class youve taken and run them by your advisor. If yourdepartment does not have a research, honors, or similar course, askyour mentor/advisor if you can do it as an independent study.

Make sure you let the professor know that you hope to use the paper asyour application's writing sample.


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Junior Year Spring

1. Talk to your mentor/advisor about possible graduate programs.

Your professors will know the reputations of programs and likely will have

had personal and/or professional interaction with historians at otherprograms. Generally, it is not considered a good idea to pursue a graduate degree at

the same school at which you received your undergraduate degree. Dontask why . . . Thats just how it is.

2. Write a research paper that can be used as a writing sample.

Remember to pick a manageable topic. This includes a topic for which youwill have access to sources and wont require more time than you will haveto complete the essay. Check your librarys archives and manuscriptdivision to see what kind of primary sources are easily available. If you live

in a metropolitan area, check the large public libraries nearby to see whatthey have in their collections.

3. Begin researching possible schools to which you might apply.

Fit cannot be underestimated. The schools you choose should be based,in large part, on their faculty. No program will admit even the best studentif no one on the faculty has similar interests. Your choice of schools shouldbe a combination of fit, rank, and personal preference, in that order.

Limiting your search geographically will seriously hamper yourchances. The life of a professor can be a nomadic one and the state of the job market requires professors to be geographically mobile. Similarly, in

choosing a graduate program, you must be willing to go to the best program to which you are accepted in order to maximize your futureemployability. This is definitely something worth discussing with yourmentor/advisor.

You should begin browsing the department websites at schools you mightconsider. You can start by browsing through them to get a feel for thedepartment. Read their mission statements, look at current and previousgraduate courses, look at their requirements for earning the degree (downloadtheir graduate student handbook, if available), and, most importantly, read thefaculty bios and CVs.

You would likely be surprised at the number of people who apply to schoolswithout even having browsed through the departments websites in a

thorough manner. You should not only look at the departments website, butalso that of the graduate school as well. Pay special attention to the degreestructure, i.e., How many courses does one need to take before exams? Are

there tutorial courses for exams and/or dissertation prospectuses? Whendoes the program expect students to take their exams? Are the exams orawritten, or both? By when must languageexams be passed?


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4. Schedule an appointment to take the GRE for sometime in the summer.

The GRE can be taken only once eachcalendar month . It is not uncommonto take the test twice, so try to schedule it toward the end of July, ifpossible. This way, if you do not do as well as you hoped, you can take itagain in a few weeks before your senior year begins.

Remember, you are advised to take the test no later than October toensure your scores arrive in time.

Summer before Senior Year

1. Study for the GRE .

Get a new prep book since the GRE changed in the summer of 2011. Payspecial attention to strategies for the Verbal section. The Verbal section isby far the most important part of the test for history applicants.

Study the most common GRE word lists that come with the book (or lookthem up online). Make flashcards or use a flashcard application.

For a history applicant, the Quantitative section is largely irrelevant unlessyou plan to focus on economic or demographic history. Therefore, if youare short on time, dont waste time studying for the Quantitative section atthe expense of the Verbal section.

All the prep books show you the exact format which ETS expects in theAnalytical Writing section. Familiarize yourself with their expectations.

2. Throughout the summer, you should be narrowing down your list ofschools.

How many schools you apply to is up to you. On average, it costs about$100 per school. Ideally, you should apply as widely as possible, i.e. to afew top programs, a few top 20-50, and a few others, as well. Generally,you should be applying to anywhere from 6-12 schools to give yourself thebest chance of getting an acceptance and funding. Be sure to discuss thisimportant decision with your mentor/advisor.

Also, share your potential list of schools with your mentor/advisor andask for feedback.

Make a spreadsheet in which you can list potential programs and allrelevant information such as school, application fee, language

requirements, number of letters of recommendation, required possible advisors,personal statement instructions, etc. As you begin selecting schools, try to familiarize yourself with the work of

the faculty member with whom you would most like to work so you canwrite intelligently about it in your personal statement.

4. Take the GRE .

Before you take the test, try to have at least 4 of the schools to which you


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will apply nailed down, since they let you specify 4 schools to send theresults to at no charge. After those four, each one costs an additional fee($23 as of December 31, 2010).

5. Begin drafting your personal statement or statement of purpose (or SOP).

It is extremely important that you do not put this off until the last minute.It is the norm for even the best writers to go through many, many draftsbefore the statement is ready.

Remember, this is not like an undergraduate admissions essay. Mostschools will have specific things they would like you to address, but, ingeneral, you will be expected to be specific about

your field of interest,why you are interested in that field,

what issues within the field you are most interested in,your previous research experience,and why you think you fit well with the department.

To begin, just get a draft down on paper. You might want to treat eachindividual aspect above separately at first just to get your ideas down onpaper.

Do not write anything like, Ever since I was a little kid, I have alwaysloved history...

Ask your mentor/advisor and another professor who is familiar with yourwork if they would be willing to read your drafts and give feedback.

The key to a good personal statement is that it is written clearly andconcisely. Most schools will give you no more than 1000 words (or around 4double-spaced pages) and some will limit you to less than 500.

If you are applying to 10 programs, you likely do not need to write 10different statements. However, at the very least, you should have a fitparagraph which addresses how your interests fit with the department andfaculty for each school.

For the fit paragraph (see Sample Materials), mention specificprofessors whose interests are similar to your own. Do the schoolslibraries have specific archival collections related to your field? If so,mention that. Does the department have colloquia, seminars, or centersrelated to your field? Mention them. Are there are other large archivalrepositories or professional organizations relevant to your field locatednearby? Mention them. You want to show the department, if possible, thatthe Universitys resources will prove useful to you. Also, look at the waythe degree is structured. Does anything about it strike you? If so, includethat. You can also mention opportunities for teaching, if you areinterested in pursuing an academic career.

6. Polish your writing sample .

Many programs will have a maximum of 25-30 pages. So if your researchpaper goes over that, you will need to edit it down to an acceptable length.


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Some programs will have even smaller page limits, such as 10 or 15 pages.So you many need to prepare 2-3 different length writing samples.

It is important that your writing sample is formatted correctly in Chicagostyle. If you are not already familiar with this formatting style, get a copyof A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by

Kate Turabian. Formatting your paper and citations correctly shows thatyou are conscientious, pay attention to small details, and are aware of thestandards of the field. Simply put, it makes you look more professional.

7. Begin preparing a Curriculum Vitae (or CV).

A CV (see Sample Materials) is your academic resume. Include sections for academic-related employment only, schooling/degrees,

Honors/Awards, Research Interests, and References. Also includepublications or conference presentations, if any.

8. Have your working list of schools .

Before the summer is over, you should pretty much have your list ofschools. It may not be the absolute final list, but you should startbookmarking the sites of the departments to which you will be applying.

Also bookmark their application pages, since you will refer to them often. It is best to get this out of the way before the fall semester begins. Once again, ask your mentor/advisor if they will look at your writing

sample and give you feedback.

Senior Year Fall

September1. Ask forletters of recommendation (or LORs) in early September .

By now, your advisor/mentor and possibly another professor know youare applying to graduate school. Ask them if they will write you aletter ofrecommendation. Also, immediately upon your return begin looking for athird letter-writer, if you do not yet have one.

Generally, it is best to ask in person rather than through email. Go to theiroffice hours and ask if they would be willing to write you a letter ofrecommendation.

You want to ask professors with whom you have taken more than oneclass, so they are familiar enough with your work to write a detailed letter.

Be prepared to give any professor you ask for an LOR a copy of your most-recent SOP draft, graded copies of your best work in their classes, and,perhaps, a copy of your CV. The more information a professor has, thebetter the LOR will be.

If a professor does not seem very enthusiastic about writing for you orappears to hedge or be hesitant, find someone else. A brief, terse, unenthusiastic


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letter will actually harm your application. This is why it is important to developrelationships with professors starting as early as possible.

2. Begin contacting potential advisors (or POIs, persons of interest) in earlySeptember.

Send a very brief email (see Sample Materials) in which you:introduce yourself, school, and advisor in one sentence,mention your research interest in one sentence,

inquire as to whether they will be accepting new students,describe your research paper thesis in one sentence,and reference work of theirs that is similar to yours.

The pretense of your email will be to ask if they are accepting newstudents, though it does not hurt to get your name in front of them.

Though this may seem a bit forward to some, it really has becomestandard practice. Not everyone does it, but most do. Of course, it isimportant to not overdo it.

Emailing potential advisors is the final step in finalizing your list ofschools. Some may already have too many students. Some may be retiringsoon and unable to take on new students.

DO NOTattach anything to the email such as your writing sample or CV.Like most people, professors will not open emails with attachments fromunknown senders. Simply use re: Prospective Student as your subjectline.

Some professors may ask if youd like to speak over the phone. Otherswill ask you for more information or if you have any questions.DO NOT askprofessors general questions the answers to which can be found on the website.

October

3. Begin filling out the online applications as soon as they become available,usually in early October.

Make sure to start early since the online applications will ask you tosubmit your recommenders email addresses and you want to give them asmuch time as possible. Most systems will send them an email withinstructions for logging in and uploading the letter. Most will also send youan email to let you know that a letter has been uploaded by yourrecommender.

Even if your personal statement and writing sample are not done yet,begin filling out all your personal information for all the applications.

Keep a spreadsheet so you can see what you have submitted for eachapplication. Make columns for School, Application Fee, GRE, LORs, SOP.

4. Order transcripts from your Registrars office.

Pay attention to instructions on both the graduate school and individual


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departments websites. Some will ask that you have two copies sent, one tothe Graduate School and one to the department. Also, some may notrequire that they be official transcripts.

Remember that you will be required to send transcripts fromeach post-secondary school you have attended so factor that into your cost and time

preparations. Also, remember that receipt of the transcripts is your responsibility , NOT

that of your colleges Registrar. Always get a receipt and mark down theday you requested the transcripts. Follow up by checking your onlineapplication status to make sure they have been received.

November/December

5. Finish applications.

Upload your SOPs and writing samples carefully naming each file with the

proper school name. Double-check this, then double-check it again. Pay your application fees. Many schools offer fee waivers requiring either

your most recent tax return or a letter from your schools Financial AidOffice. Be sure to search websites carefully for this information since manydo not make it easy to find.

Throughout December and into January you should be checking the onlineapplications regularly to make sure they received your GRE scores andtranscripts, and that your professors have uploaded all your LORs.

If the end of November is coming and one of your professors hasnot uploaded their letter yet, send them a very polite email or stop by theiroffice to remind them about the letter and offer to have the onlineapplication send them another email (since they do so sometimes getcaught by spam/junk filters).

6. Submit applications.

For most schools, you do not have to wait for all your materials to arrivebefore actually submitting your application. LORs, transcripts, and GREscores can arrive after the application has been officially submitted.

As soon as you have completed the application and uploaded your ownsupplementary materials, you may press SUBMIT. However, double-check and triple-check the application and your supplementary materials,because these will be unchangeable after you press, SUBMIT.

Depending on the tone of your email conversations with specificprofessors, you may want to send them a very brief email just after thedeadline to say that you have submitted your application and thank themfor their assistance.

7. Continue checking your application status at each school through the winterbreak.


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The Decision Processs a potential applicant, the decision process can seem a bit mysterious. In fact, manyschools and their admission committees go about different parts of the process in

different ways. However, the process, in general, is pretty standard. Many of the top

programs will receive upwards of 400 applications and even the biggest of these admitsonly around 20 students in any given year. Less prestigious programs can receiveanywhere from 100 to 300 applications per year and admit 5 to 15 students. Remember,what follows is only a generalization to give you an idea of the process.

Generally, many admissions committees have unwritten (and, perhaps, evenunspoken) cut-offs designed to cut the pile of applications down to a manageable size. Forexample, they may pull out all applications with GRE Verbal scores below 550 and/or GPAsunder 3.0 (these numbers will vary according to the reputation of the program). Not alladmissions committees do this, but many do. Once they have a smaller pile, applicationsare divided among committee members to be read. Many committees have each applicationread by more than one member. At that point, applications are flagged as either rejects orpossible admits and the latter are ranked in some way. They may then be sent to the POImentioned in the application for further review. This is why contacting POIs in advance canbe beneficial.

The committees usually meet sometime in late January and early February.Generally speaking, the committees top choices will be notified first. Then straightrejections are notified followed by other admits and waitlists. Some top programs notifytheir top choices in the second week of February, but the majority of applicants will benotified between late-February and late-March.

Possible Decisions

1. Admitted with full funding For PhD programs, this generally means the student isawarded full tuition remission, a living stipend, and, usually, health insurance. Generally,the first year or two is covered by a fellowship while the remaining years are covered byteaching and/or research assistantships.2. Admitted with partial funding This type of offer is more common in mid-rankedPhD programs. It usually offers full or partial tuition remission and the possibility of aresearch or teaching assistantship.3. Admitted with no funding Only you can make the choice, but it is usually not asmart financial decision to take out loans for a PhD in the Humanities due to theincredibly tough job market that awaits graduates. Some schools will give you a chanceto earn future funding depending on your performance in the first year. However, it isimportant that you seriously discuss the possibility of accepting an admission with nofunding with your mentor/advisor.4. Waitlisted You may be admitted later if enough people do not accept offers.5. Rejected Because the competition gets increasingly tough with each year, thereno shame in not receiving admission offers. Many good candidates have been forced tore-apply the next year. Take that time to strengthen your application by improving yourlanguage proficiency or producing a better writing sample.

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Resourceshis is just a collection of resources which I found especially helpful during theapplication process. Of course, there are hundreds of websites devoted to applying to

graduate school from personal blogs to university and department pages. It is worth

spending some time browsing through these sites as well as finding others.

1. Gregory Colon Semenza, Graduate Study in the Twenty-First Century The best book, by far, on what it is like to be a graduate student. This book should berequired reading for anyone even considering applying to graduate school in theHumanities. It has replaced the outdated but still useful,Getting What You Came For:The Smart Students Guide to Earning an MA or PhDby Robert Peters. It does notcontain application advice. Rather, it lets you know exactly what to expect as agraduate student and even includes a fantastic appendix with samples of documentsuseful for all graduate students like a CV, teaching statement, conference proposal,etc.

2. American Historical Association (http://historians.org/grads/index.cfm )The AHA website has many informative articles on all aspects of graduate educationfrom the application process to writing a dissertation. It also collects informationabout all the doctoral programs in history in the country at:http://historians.org/projects/cge/PhD/intro.cfm .

3. The Grad Caf (http://thegradcafe.com )The Grad Caf hosts many blogs by fellow students applying to graduate school anda very helpful forum in which you can find many thoughtful answers to anyquestions which might arise during the process. They also host a Results page onwhich you can see when specific programs began notifying students in previousyears and keep track of which programs are sending out notifications in the currentapplication season.

4. Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chronicle.com)CHE is the foremost magazine and news source regarding academia in general. Theyalso host a forum populated by professors. There are many interesting stories andthreads about life in academia.

5. Graduate School Tips (http://www.gradschooltips.com/ )This is a general site that breaks down the process.

6. Graduate School Application Advice(http://sites.google.com/site/gradappadvice/home )

A very informative site, though, it is over five years old. If there is conflicting advicebetween this guide and the website, I suggest you follow this guide.

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Sample Materialshese materials are just samples. Their purpose is to give you an idea of the properforms for these types of documents and communications. It is not necessary, or even

advisable, that you copy them word for word.

1. Initial email to POI.

The goals of the email are to introduce yourself to the professor, find out if they areaccepting students, and show you are familiar with their work and conscientious inchoosing potential programs. Anything more than one brief paragraph will be consideredpresumptive on your part. If the professor wants to carry on the conversation and offerassistance, they will. If not, they will not. Do not send them multiple emails without aresponse. Do not reveal or discuss anything of a personal nature. Do not send anyattachments. And do not use anything even approximating text-speak, i.e., wordabbreviations, emoticons, etc.... Remember, you want to come across as professional aspossible.

Subject: re: Prospective Student

Professor Lastname,

My name is . I am a senior at the City College of New York where myadvisor is . I am planning to apply to the doctoral program at and wanted to inquire as to whether you are currently accepting new students.I am primarily interested in , particularly in . Myprevious research explored in a similar manner to yourwork on . Thank you very much for your time.

Regards,Firstname [email protected]

2. Curriculum Vitae.

The purpose of the CV is to show your accomplishments and qualifications in a simpleformat. The most important feature of a CV is its readability.DO NOT use non-standard orfancy fonts or layouts.DO NOT use any graphics. The simplest is best. Also,DO NOT try topad your CV if it seems somewhat bare. Remember, you are still an undergraduate and noprogram will be expecting you to have publications, conference presentations, or a longstring of awards just yet.

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SAMPLE CV

Firstname Lastname123 Main Street

Anywhere, NY 10101Email: [email protected] Phone: (212) 555-1212

EducationBachelor of Arts in History, City College of New York, June 2011 (expected).Associate of Arts, LaGuardia Community College, June 2009.

EmploymentResearch Assistant to Professor Firstname Lastname, City College of New York, Summer

2010.Library Assistant, City College of New York, Summer 2009.Intern, Museum of the City of New York, Summer 2008.

HonorsDean s List, City College of New York, Fall 2010.Joe Q. Smith Essay Award, History Department, City College of New York, Spring 2009.Dean s List, City College of New York, Spring 2009.Phi Alpha Theta, Spring 2009.Dean s List, City College of New York, Fall 2008.Phi Theta Kappa, Spring 2008.

Research Interests20 th-century American history, political history, social history, World War II, radicalism,gender studies, intellectual history, political culture.

References1. Firstname Lastname, Professor of History, College, [email protected] .2. Firstname Lastname, Assistant Professor of History, College, [email protected] .3. Firstname Lastname, Associate Professor of History, College, [email protected] .

CV Tips

1. Only include academic-related positions under the Employment heading.2. Generally, your research interests should not be more than two lines.3. Only include academic honors or service under theHonors heading. For example, do notinclude non-academic volunteer positions or clubs of which you were a member. At yourown discretion, you may include your schools history club if you were an officer and thatsection is a bit bare.4. Your three references are likely to be the writers of your LORs.


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3. Sample Fit Paragraph

f course, this is just a sample fit paragraph. Do not copy it word for word. This sampleis meant to give you an idea of what may be included in a fit paragraph as well as on

possible way to structure it. To write an effective fit paragraph, you must be very familiarwith the faculty in and around your field and their work. You should also be familiar withspecific centers or seminars in and around your field that are sponsored by thedepartment. Finally, if the school is in or near a big city, you should be aware of its availableacademic resources such as large public libraries or academic societies and their holdings.Researching these things and including them in your fit paragraph is important because itshows the admissions committee that you have thoroughly researched their school and cityand that you have taken your school selection very seriously.

I firmly believe the department at [school] would be an excellent fit

for me. I have been in contact with [POI], who confirmed the similarity of

our interests. Also, while I would plan to work primarily with [POI], thepresence of numerous other scholars such as [Firstname Lastname]and [Firstname Lastname] would be highly beneficial as well. [ProfessorLastname s Book or Article ] influenced my approach to [specific topic],as reflected in my honors essay, and [Professor Lastname s Book or Article] introduced the concept of [specific topic], which I would like topursue going forward. The University s location provides the addedbenefit of access to the many resources of [big city], such as the[society or library] and the [society or library]. Also, I would look forwardto taking advantage of the department s valuable relationships with suchexternal organizations as the [department-affiliated Center]. I am also

attracted by the structure of the PhD curriculum, in which courses suchas [specific exam or dissertation prospectus course] encourage andprovide significant interaction between students and their advisors. Ibelieve [school] has the resources, in both faculty and material, to allowme to achieve my maximum potential.

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Graduate Application Checklist

Sophomore Year Develop relationships with professors.

Begin language study.Junior Year Fall Talk to your mentor about doing a primary source based research paper in thespring.

Junior Year Spring Talk to your mentor about possible graduate programs. Write a primary source based research paper that can be used as a writing sample . Begin researching possible schools to which you might apply.

Schedule an appointment to take the GRE sometime in the summer.Summer before Senior Year Study for the GRE. Take the GRE. Begin drafting your SOP . Polish your writing sample . Begin preparing your CV . Create a working list of schools .

Senior Year FallSeptember Ask professors for LORs. Begin contacting POI s.

October Finalize your list of schools . Begin filling out online applications . Order transcripts from your Registrars office.

November/December Finish applications. Submit applications.

Senior Year Spring Continue checking your application status at each school .


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About the Author

As of the writing of this guide, I am an entering first-year PhD student in History atYale University. I received my B.A. in History from the CUNY Baccalaureate Program for

Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies via The City College of New York. I began preparing toapply to graduate school in my second year by gathering as much information as I couldabout the process. I read books and dozens of websites and garnered a lot of informationfrom fellow students and faculty who had recently gone through the process. I alsoexperienced a fair amount of trial-and-error during my own application season. This guideis the result. I hope this information will prove as useful to you as it did to me.

Applying to Graduate School: A Guide and Timeline

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