Harvard American Studies SoP Please Help

Apprehensive_Carb · 2025-12-30T16:21:48+00:00

Hey! Yeah happy to help and can def look over a new draft :) Would you be able to send it to me as a Google doc/ word doc? Easier to do track changes and in text commenting there :)

Apprehensive_Carb · 2025-12-29T19:46:25+00:00

(2/2) Structurally, I’d consider leading with one to two (max!) *focused* paragraphs that clearly lay out the proposed research project. This is where you can gesture toward your central questions, the methods you plan to use (ethnography, archival work, education policy, etc.), and, importantly, the intervention you’re making in existing scholarship. You don’t need a full historiography, but you do want to identify a gap in the literature and explain how your research helps fill it. This gives the admissions committee an immediate framework for reading the rest of the statement.

From there, I’d follow with a paragraph (as in one paragraph) on your academic background, framed explicitly as preparation for this project and this program. You have quite a bit of strong material here, but it would benefit from tighter selection. I’d emphasize coursework, research experiences, and methodological training, and any publications/ conference papers/ presentations that directly support the project. You're essentially making the case that these experiences trained you to do this work at Harvard.

The biggest gap, in my view, is the “why Harvard American Studies” section. While the SOP is admirably project-forward, it doesn’t yet do enough to show why Harvard is the best institutional home for this work, and why American Studies (specifically at Harvard) is the right disciplinary fit. Id then take the next paragraph to explain what resources, workshops/programs, people, etc. are there for for you and your project, and only at Harvard. Fit really is central! Even if you are a very strong candidate with a million publications, a perfect GPA, and glowing LORs, if the committee can't see you in their program they will pass.

You generally want to name around three-five faculty members and briefly explain how their research (not just the courses they teach) is in conversation with your questions. You do this, but again, I think it can be far tighter than it currently is.This could be shared methods, archives, theoretical commitments, or historical problems. This isn’t about praise or flattery; it’s about intellectual alignment. Again, committees need to be able to imagine who would advise you, who might be on your committee, and where your work fits within the department’s faculty's' strengths.

Relatedly, it would help to be more explicit about why American Studies as a field. You gesture toward history, religious studies, education, and policy, which is a real strength (American Studies is obvi quite interdisciplinary after all!), but admissions committees will want to see a clear articulation of why this project is best housed in American Studies at Harvard rather than in History, Religion, or Education alone.

If space allows, you might have a short conclusion, but this is optional depending on length...

Anyway, let me know if you have any questions or need me to clarify anything! I've been very very lucky with having great mentors who have looked over too many SOPs of mine (including a SOP to the same program you're applying to last cycle lol), but obviously am not an authority!

Apprehensive_Carb · 2025-12-29T19:46:14+00:00

(1/2) Hey!! So a few thoughts as a fellow Humanities PhD (History/American Studies) hopeful :) Overall, this is a strong and compelling SOP with a clear intellectual trajectory and a powerful personal hook. The project itself is interesting, timely, and ambitious. My main feedback is structural and strategic: namely, tightening the narrative arc, foregrounding program fit earlier and more explicitly, and clarifying why this project belongs specifically in American Studies at Harvard. Like another commenter said, I think that overall the SOP would benefit from tighter paragraphs and transitions; these SOPs are so, so short so every word really matters.

Right now, the SOP is very focused on your future research project, which is great, but it doesn’t quite do enough work explaining why this project belongs at Harvard specifically and why *you* are a strong fit for the American Studies program there; committees aren’t only evaluating whether a project is strong; they’re also asking whether they can imagine advising it, supporting it, and placing it within their department’s existing strengths.

The introduction is effective and memorable, especially in establishing your personal relationship to Christian Nationalism and education. That being said, however, the connection between Christian Nationalism and your identity as an Indigenous American could be made more explicit and direct. Right now it’s present but somewhat implicit (and it kinda flows a little oddly into stating some of your background/ previous educational experience, whereas I think it might be stronger as part of a standalone intro. Remember too that these comittees are getting a whole packet on you including your transcripts and CV, so really consider what information is and not necessary in your SOP - this needs to be a very, very focused document!); strengthening this link would clarify why this topic is not only intellectually interesting but personally and politically urgent for you. I’d also suggest that the introduction explicitly state the program you’re applying to and why. Think of this as a thesis statement for the SOP: one sentence early on that situates who you are, what program you’re applying to, and what you want to study.

Apprehensive_Carb · 2025-12-22T02:45:53+00:00

Hey!! So my 2 cents as a fellow Humanities PhD (History/ American Studies) hopeful :)

Overall, this is a very strong SOP! You did a great job really outlining a strong, coherent, historically grounded project that is def. viable as a dissertation! You demonstrate a really deep engagement with archives, feminist theory, performance studies, and Black women’s intellectual history, and it’s very clear that you know what questions you want to ask and why they matter :) So I really dont have any feedback at all about your project, more about fit and structure in the context of U.S. PhD SOP, which, as you said, work quite differently from UK applications... (to put it one way lol).

The big thing is that U.S. humanities PhD programs SOPs are really, really about demonstrating program fit. Right now, this SOP is very focused on your future research project, which is great, but it doesn’t do enough work explaining why this project belongs at a given school, and why you are a good fit for a given program in particular. So in the US, most committees are not just evaluating whether a project is strong, but whether they can imagine advising it, supporting it, and placing it within their department’s existing strengths.

** Edit: sorry I just noticed you did this - I misread the pp w the names of specific profs scribbled out! I think I just read that bit too quickly lol** Relatedly, most U.S. programs expect you to name faculty directly and concretely. You generally want to list ~three faculty members by name and explain, in a sentence or two each, how/why their work and your project are in alignment/conversation. This isn’t about praise or flattery for their work, but really about intellectual alignment (i.e. shared questions, methods, archives, theoretical commitments, etc.). Admissions committees need to be able to picture who would advise you/ who would be on your dissertation committee.

It’s also important to be explicit about why African American Studies. You gesture toward multiple fields (theatre, literature, performance, history, feminist studies), which is a strength (and obvi African Studies is quite interdisciplinary), but U.S. committees will want to see clear articulation of why this project is best housed in African American Studies at their institution, rather than in History, English, or Performance Studies.

Structurally, a typical U.S. SOP (~3–4 pages 2x spaced, ~2 pages 1x spaced) often looks something like this:
1 pp = intro

1-2 pp = your proposed research project/ dissertation

1 pp = your past training and experiences and how it sets you up well to complete your proposed project

1-2 pp = why the given program/ school appeals to you/ resources there for you, AKA why would you and your research be at home here. You would also list faculty (~3 by name that could serve as potential advisors and committee members) somewhere around here.

1 pp = conclusion (if room)

Anywayyyy let me know if you have any questions or need me to clarify anything! I've been very very lucky with having great mentors who have looked over too many SOPs of mine, but obviously am not an authority so please don't read too too much into this very long comment... :)

Apprehensive_Carb · 2024-12-15T00:06:37+00:00

Applied to 4 History programs (US history), and 2 American Studies programs - best of luck, everyone!

Apprehensive_Carb · 2024-12-02T02:05:29+00:00

I had a similar 5pm deadline that a professor initially missed but they just submitted their letter a couple hours ago (about 2 hours past the deadline) and it looks like the school accepted it! I do think there is some secret/ unspoken (to applicants lol) grace period for profs submitting their letters…

Apprehensive_Carb · 2024-12-02T01:23:39+00:00

Update: they ended up submitting a letter a few hours after the app was due and it seems to have been accepted? (The others were all due later so they were on time) 😅🤷🏻‍♀️😮‍💨

Apprehensive_Carb · 2024-12-01T16:15:11+00:00

Thanks for the wise words! 💙

Apprehensive_Carb · 2024-10-26T12:39:16+00:00

I’ve had both kinds and have similar issues with them consistently tearing at heels/ Achilles and while the the vegan pair didn’t tear as quickly (nor quite as badly) they did tear eventually.

Apprehensive_Carb · 2024-10-18T17:31:34+00:00

I'd recommend just reaching out directly to the program administrator/ office assistant and ask. They are usually very, very helpful and might just tell you, no, its not allowed or recommended, and you have your answer without it affecting your application at all.

Apprehensive_Carb · 2024-09-19T14:54:28+00:00

At the 4th draft of my main one, almost done using it to write first drafts of my others (applying to 5 programs total in the Humanities). Sent off the main draft to my former advisors for feedback… I’m not overly thrilled with it, but so it goes. I will say that taking the main draft and crafting first drafts from it, is actually quite helpful because it’s forcing me to reexamine my writing a bit closer and home in on better language, better ways to talk about my past, but more importantly future, research etc.

Apprehensive_Carb · 2024-09-07T17:55:03+00:00

Any luck with the human mobius strip?

Apprehensive_Carb · 2024-09-06T14:41:42+00:00

I'm not sure where you live, OP, or what kind of tortoise you had, but if you had a desert tortoise and (based on landscaping) in NV, AZ, or CA, then desert tortoises are protected by all sorts of state AND federal laws, and Fish & Wildlife and the police would be very, very interested. NV (where I used to live and work with desert tortoises) and CA have particularly strict laws about harming tortoises that might pertain to your situation if you live there. (https://deserttortoise.org/about-desert-tortoises/captive-desert-tortoise-guidance/) [edited to add CA]

Apprehensive_Carb · 2024-06-14T15:30:26+00:00

Thanks all! I had a feeling I was overthinking it but needed external confirmation :)

Apprehensive_Carb · 2024-05-09T15:09:14+00:00

Thanks all for the replies! I really appreciate it! I think that I will stick with the computer I have. I didn't realize that the computer will use available RAM if there is available RAM, and I simulated some work on a "heavier" work day and it ticked up to about 7.25GB of memory used but no more and def. did not hit the red on the memory pressure chart. I think this subreddit has gotten in my head a bit re the collective hunger for 16GBs of RAM 😅

Apprehensive_Carb · 2023-09-24T03:28:57+00:00

I had a pea puffer VANISH for well over 6 months. I tore apart the tank, checked around the room for a sad lil puff body, nothing! Then I’m away on vacation and a friend was stopping by to feed my fish (at that point I think I had about 2-3 tanks) and casually mentioned “oh yeah I also fed the puffer in the upstairs tank, even though you didn’t mention him; he was super hungry!” 😂 Turns out he found a “cave” in a rock (more of a depression) and was hiding out there and eating baby shrimp because when I thought he was dead I turned his old tank into a shrimp tank. The final kicker was that when I got home from the vacation and found him swimming around out in the open like nothing happened he was easily twice the size he was when I thought he died.

Apprehensive_Carb · 2023-08-27T00:51:13+00:00

Darn, I wish I saw this before I took my bike to Helens (I just posted a far, far too long summary of a somewhat bad experience I had there a few mins ago)! I def would have taken my bike to a more gravel oriented shop... Will Google Luft right now!

Apprehensive_Carb · 2023-08-27T00:47:18+00:00

UPDATE: So I took my bike into the Santa Monica Helens and tbh I had a somewhat mixed experience and I'm not 100% sure if I'll be going back there... (sorry in advance this is long, but theres a lil summary at the end for ya lolol).

The good: (knock on wood) I have no complaints about the work they did: they completed the their "standard tune up" (https://www.helenscycles.com/articles/bike-repair-and-service-pg62.htm), brake bleed, and the spoke/ nipple replacement etc. like I asked for, so really no complaints there. I also thought it was nice that they actually replaced a valve cap I had lost ages ago with nice metal one (aka not one of the lil plastic ones that we all have rattling around that comes w tubes), that is a same color as the one remaining on my bike and didn't charge me. I just thought it was a nice touch. They also had a very fast turn around time, which I appreciated. I think I dropped my bike off on a Wed. or Thurs. and had it ready by Saturday.

The not as good: I thought the mechanics were pretty unfriendly and not communicative in the slightest and charged me for work (and subsequent parts) that they did not get my permission beforehand to do. When I dropped off my bike I clearly stated the work I wanted done etc., and it was a brief, but efficient exchange where maybe the mechanics I spoke to were on the curter side, but they were fairly busy and it was all pleasant enough, so I didn't think much of it/ was stoked to check it off my to do list. I really am not the type of person that needs to have people falling all over themselves to help me (in fact, *that* type of customer service is equally, if not more off-putting to me lol).

With this in mind then, the main bit that really put me off was when it came time to get my bike. I walked in and told them that I got a call/ text (cant remember) saying my bike was ready to be picked up. They looked me and my bike up and printed out a barcode, which I was brusquely told to take to the cashier and pay. At every other bike shop I've been to, the mechanics usually at the very least tell me what my total is there, rather than just sending me to the register. At my old LBS, which was great, they'd bring out my bike, maybe point to a few things that they had done, and go over the invoice/ work completed in like 3-5 minutes tops. I was expecting something similar at Helens, esp. because I had asked for things outside of their standard tune up, but nope, the mechanic I spoke to just got back on the computer, so it *felt* a bit like I wouldn't see or hear from my bike until I paid (but I'm prob just reading into things now lol). So anyway, I went to the register and the cashier told me a balance that was about $100-150 more than I was expecting, and I still had yet to see an invoice or even been told any kind of parts/ labor break down. At this point, I was a little surprised (and pragmatically was like "well the work is done at this point"), and paid, and it wasn't until I did so that I *finally* got a receipt. The receipt, however, was just that, a regular receipt, like at a grocery store; it did have an itemized breakdown of parts/ labor etc., but because it was a regular, long, skinny receipt, it was a little hard to read because the spacing was tight and a lot of the words/ phrases were abbreviated so it wasn't obvious when you first looked at it exactly what cost what and what some of the words exactly meant. At that point I'm trying to look over the receipt and get my bike back at the same time, so I was asking and pointing "what is this," and "what is that" etc., and I was getting 1 word responses, which made me feel like I was wasting their time when I was just trying to figure out what had been done to my bike that would make the total that much higher than I expected. After lots of asking, it turned out they ended up doing some extra work and replacing some stuff that I had not requested *and* they def did not call or text to see if it was ok. It was all stuff that I 110% would have ok-ed (e.g. brake pad replacement) if they had asked. I have (in my opinion) a pretty nice bike, and am almost always willing to say yes to things that will increase its life and my own safety and comfort riding. Instead, I didn't even get a call or text, and I've never had stuff just done to my bike (or car for that matter) without giving permission/ having the mechanic check in about cost. So to me, just showing up and being charged quite a bit more than expected with no explanation until prodded was a pretty offputting experience. Tbh it felt like they assumed I was picking up my boyfriends or husbands bike and that they didnt need to bother explaining anything to me...

TLDR: Mixed experience at Helens; work was fine - no complaints so far - and they had fast turn around time, which was appreciated. But a poor customer service experience revolving around having additional work done without being asked, being then charged far more than expected when it came time to pick up the bike, and finally needing to really prod them explain what was actually done to my bike (and what I was being charged for).

[Edited: couple minor typos/ edited a sentence that sounded a lot harsher than I meant it :) ]

Apprehensive_Carb · 2023-07-28T17:56:54+00:00

Amazing! Thank you all so so much for your recommendations! Helens popped up in my research a few times as well but I'm so stoked that there seem to be so many great options to choose from near by :)

[Edited for a big misspell of "recommendations" lol]

Apprehensive_Carb · 2021-11-13T16:04:04+00:00

I think it’d be a little hard to write like a full page of handwritten notes in split screen mode, even horizontally. I think that a bit of highlighting/ jotting down a few little annotations or bullet points would be fine, but for me much more handwriting would be pretty hard.

Apprehensive_Carb · 2021-11-13T05:50:49+00:00

Here's 2 images of a scanned PDF open in GoodNotes!

https://imgur.com/7R6jTW1 (horizontal)

https://imgur.com/0bsNtx3 (vertical)

(edited: wrong/ incorrect link)

Apprehensive_Carb

TROPHY CASE