IvanBezdomnii

So my POI at Penn wrote today and said they're not taking students in the Russ/Sov sub-field this year. Incredibly frustrating. What a waste of time and money. They had taken students the past 7 years and all but ensured me that would not change this year. Seems like Russ/Sov paid the price for over-enrollment in other concentrations last year. Hardly seems fair. Very very frustrating.

Where on the status page? Mine just says application submitted. Not under review or anything. Is it the same portal you used to apply?

They do everything in a couple of waves. Don't expect to here anything this week, Snow day Tuesday, Snow day today, likely snow day tomorrow.

I was informally contacted by my POI about my wait-list status at Georgetown in much more glowing terms, but the official notification is the bluntest and gloomiest wait-listed message I could've imagined. Reads like a rejection letter. See below: The Admissions Committee has carefully reviewed your application to the Ph.D. in History program. At this time, I regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you admission to the program. However, we have placed you on our Priority Waitlist for the Fall 2015 semester. Should a vacancy occur in the program over the coming weeks, we will review our waitlist and act accordingly. I can, of course, offer you no guarantee that such vacancies will occur.

Does anyone else think that if you have an interview at a school, your POI should tell you via email about your final application decision instead of making you wait for a generic email? I kind of feel like that's the least you deserve at that point.

Well my heart will be pounding for the rest of the day. Hoping I get something in the next 30 minutes before my three hour seminar starts. Good luck to all.

What about Harvard? Should I expect my rejection via snail mail?

Slow morning...

An anticipated four hours of last minute proofreading on my thesis before I hand it in to my committee members, is quickly becoming 6-7 hours thanks to cat videos on youtube.

I was inspired to this comment by the few posts I've read on social history. It was considered extremely radical in the Soviet field at first (as late as the 80s) and dangerous (because it showed some people actually benefited from the Soviet system).

Yes, she has written on this extensively. She actually got denied tenure the first time around, but Chicago wisely hired her afterwards as the foremost expert on Stalinism. See Richard Pipes for the opposite side of the story.

Penn informed Monday of this week last year, I feel like it's a strong possibility considering it's been so long since they interviewed people. Fingers crossed. Good luck on all fronts this week everybody.

As a Russianist this thread scares me considering it wasn't all that long ago when scholars of the Soviet Union were supposed to only study certain topics and come to certain conclusions and the totalitarianists and revisionists were almost literally at each other's throats at conferences. History is supposed to be diverse and multifaceted, people aren't supposed to agree all the time. History has never been and never will be completely objective. And it's beyond stupid to limit the realm of the possible in the field just because it fits in x y or z field. I'm sure that 99% of the people reading this thread agree, so I probably won't show my face here again.

I was pretty sure it was headed in this direction as soon as I read the topic title. This may be gradcafe, but it's still the internet.

Wait listed at Georgetown.

Eloquently put. It's absolutely impossible to do history without languages. And it's equally impossible to adequately understand a language without a cultural context. If you don't have either, then you lack the requisite ability to interpret your sources. Keep your head up chtodelat, I'm in the same boat. It's frustrating but I haven't given up hope yet. Out of curiosity what archive did you work at? GARF?

It's a good thing. Don't blame them. You'd be surprised how many stories I hear (which is not to say a lot, but still a few) about students with a dozen language classes and straight A grades who get into a program and then flunk the proficiency exam. Once a school gets burned once they tend to do theses type of things (although a formal test does seem on the extreme spectrum of things...)

Fingers crossed for tomorrow... as they were yesterday...

Closed today. Could go either way tomorrow, depends on whether ice melts.

The waiting is seriously driving me nuts. Can't believe 5/6 schools are yet to send out any official acceptances ot rejections. Tomorrows my birthday, and it would be really nice to hear something positive.

Classes cancelled after 2 at Chapel Hill today in anticipation of inclement weather.

My thanks to you (and JJWS). That's good to know. The sooner the better.

Yes this is true. I was likewise lucky to heavily benefit from FLAS during my MA. They paid for two AYs and two rounds of summer classes (not to mention stipend). And thanks to that I know a little Romanian.

Where is this info coming from? As much as I want it to be true, in the past (based on the results search) they've notified the Monday of the following week, and this year seems to be behind schedule as it is.

It's your personal choice. It shouldn't affect your first year unless you let it. I found roomates two years ago when I moved to Chapel Hill on Craig's list and it worked out fine. Just be up front about your expectations regarding cleanliness, noise, etc. rather than trying to say what you think people want to hear. It will save you some stress down the road.