A paper tiger can't tell you where he stands

[fellmama]

Grad school list is down to eighteen:
Brown University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Harvard University
The Ohio State University
The Pennsylvania State University
Stanford University
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Chicago
University of Illinois
University of Kentucky
University of Michigan
University of Missouri
University of Pennsylvania
University of Washington
Yale University
Current fancies: Yale University and Stanford University.
Problem: it must be shorter. Eight to ten apps is a reasonable number, I think, which means I must eliminate approximately half. Agh, so confused. Please feel free to chime in with any helpful advice. (Note: "Kentucky sucks" is not helpful advice. "Kentucky sucks because its classics program is slowly dying and its history profs are all old white guys" would be helpful advice.)
In other news, Kyra wants something written on my thesis for Wednesday. Like that's gonna happen.

Edit, 1:31 AM: Some comments on comments, as it were. UW is not known for ancient history, but it's still on the list because there's a quite well-known woman there that I might like to work with. And the pro/con idea is a good one. Fortunately, as I go through these things, only two (or maybe three, depending on where I apply at Berkeley) are due December 1. So I have a little more time than I thought I did.

Comments

[johnguenther.livejournal.com]

Columbia University
Stanford University
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Washington

Are all on my list as well at this point. Sigh.

[10pmpacifictime.livejournal.com]

California preferably Southern Cali, 'cause we're just that cool.

You Thought I was Just Going to Leave it at That...

[10pmpacifictime.livejournal.com]

Also the UC system is one of the best state school programs in the country, and because they are so science oriented the humanities programs tend to be more student focused and less competitive.

[colvincd.livejournal.com]

University of Washington does not strike me as having a particularly potent program for ancient historians (or turning out people who become profs, I might add). UCLA, Yale, Berkeley, Columbia and Michigan get high marks for Women's History, but some of those schools get high marks for EVERYTHING.

[annamal-11.livejournal.com]

I thought UW had a great Classics program. Sara Campbell told me about that.

[colvincd.livejournal.com]

It is; I'm just under the impression that Mary is interested in History and not Classics.

[parksdh.livejournal.com]

From what I hear you probably wouldn't have enough money to be a bum in SB.

[superquail.livejournal.com]

Okay, here's what you should do: write a short description of each of these schools including details about what you like and what you don't like, and then I will be able to give you some advice. Or, perhaps, at that point, you won't need advice.

[love-pirate.livejournal.com]

Agreed-- I'm a big fan of the pro/con lists. You know, making it visual and all. Ok, it might take forever with 18 schools, but it might be worth a try.

[colvincd.livejournal.com]

I third the nomination; while I'm at it, the librarian in me wants to note that when making an alphabetical list, "a," "an" and "the" don't count.

[parksdh.livejournal.com]

Which is why the second letter is still in correct order.

[colvincd.livejournal.com]

Ah, so it is. Pardon me.

[superquail.livejournal.com]

And the pros and cons don't have to be all academic. If there are important things that you know you need in order to be happy living somewhere, take those into account. There is only so much productive work you'll be able to achieve if you are in a miserable circumstance.

However, on the more material side, how would you rank this schools in order of prestige? For example, if there is a school that is considered THE BEST PLACE EVER TO DO ANCIENT HISTORY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD OH MY GOD YAYWHOAYAYWHOAYAY then you should apply there whether or not you think your chances of getting in are high. For other places, though, it may be wise to see what their admissions rates are like (if such a thing exists for grad schools) and if there is some place that is not amazingly good at ancient history but is VERY good at turning away graduate student applications, then that would be a good reason to remove that school from the list.

Another silly material consideration would be the application fee. If there is some place that is incredibly expensive to apply to and not so high on the list, then that one might lose a point, whereas a place with a cheap application fee might gain a point. A system of points would be fun, even if it doesn't ultimately lead to your decision.

[dolphinlove.livejournal.com]

I'm applying to 16. Don't worry so much about overapplying (even though it costs a lot - believe me, I appreciate that aspect). It's easier to have too many to make decisions from next semester and to have more time to decide than to shoot yourself in the foot now and not have the opportunity to even consider it - at least that's how I'm viewing things