missycari

I wrote one of the Javits coordinators to inquire about this last summer. At the time, I was told that they had definite funding for FY 2011 and FY 2012 -- to clarify, FY 2012 covers funding for the 2012-2013 academic year, since Javits always pays out the universities in something like August for the entire academic year (your university likely disburses it to the students differently). I was told that beyond FY 2012, they didn't know. But if you're worried about the years beyond, you should write. I was satisfied because in my case, 2012-2013 will be my fourth and final year on Javits. I was impressed by the completeness and frankness of the answer I got, and they may know more by now, so it's worth asking.

Slawkenbergius, and for anyone else waiting on UCLA: I don't know what their deal is. I got in last year but wayyyy later than a ton of other people (I think I heard at the end of February). Although: I got no funding, for whatever that may or may not be worth. People seemed to hear at all kinds of different times, with no apparent rhyme or reason with respect to admission/rejection. And this was all via website. I hope you start getting responses soon, slawkenbergius, but for what it's worth I gather that for UCLA at least, you can't worry about not having heard back yet. Or at least you should try not to worry. Good luck!

Option #1 all the way. I was successful last year doing just that. Same time period for me but other than that, totally different. I think the MOST important thing you want to demonstrate with your paper is critical thinking/good writing. Good luck!

Call! I called to check with both of the programs I am deciding between. One said to call to let them know and they'd reserve my place until the mail got there. The other program said a fax would work. Different policies apply to different schools. Don't take a chance! I'm going to call both the Grad School and my Dept when I decide.

I think that's a pretty common mistake to make. It's so easy to do. I'm pretty sure that on one of my apps, I was so used to typing my birthday that I typed my birthday for the date with my signature. It worked out all right in the end. :-)

Do you know what is the likelihood that Prof. B will get tenure? Some schools are pretty mean about tenure, and at other schools it's closer to an automatic thing. Whether or not the prof at either school might pick up and leave is an issue, but for Prof. B there is the added dynamic of whether she will have no choice but to leave. Also, just the fact that Prof B is young and presumably hasn't had a lot of successful students yet could be an issue. If it were me, presuming Prof A has had a good success rate with his students, I'd work with Prof. A. Tried and true counts for something if you ask me. But it's tough, I'm sure. And if school B just feels right for you, maybe I'm wrong that school A is the better choice.

Ohhhh....... me too. Terrible, isn't it?

Let's be reasonable. It's tough to let people know that you won't be attending, when it's a program that really interested you and you liked the people. Amanda didn't say she sat on offers she knew she was declining for a month - she said a week. I think that's within reason. This isn't an easy process and I'm sure Amanda, like everyone else, has a lot going on and it's a lot to handle. I think she's entitled to some time to get back to people and to consider what to say. I don't think that's selfish or irresponsible. It's not like she's displaying no concern whatsoever or refusing to reply until the last minute. She has demonstrated concern about this, even if her response time hasn't been immediate. These schools should also have enough time to get offers out to people before the 15th. We can't all be perfect and reply to everyone the same day. Life and emotions intervene. Is a week a bit long to take? Yeah, it is. But selfish and irresponsible? That's going much too far. And I don't think Amanda's candid (and not at all unsympathetic) statements warranted these remarks.

Some of these schools appear to expect you not to reply until you do know where you will be attending. They should rethink this. All the forms want to know where I"m ultimately going...and where I've had to do online rejections I've been prompted to indicate which school I was attending before I could decline. I had to just pick one.

Yes, I asked if he'll know in time, and I got an oh-so-frustrating "probably." !!!

I've turned down some programs I know I won't be attending, but am sitting on four still. Hopefully I will narrow it down to two in the next couple of days. I'm likely looking at a last-minute decision though, because the professor I desperately want to work with at the school I desperately want to attend is still deciding if he's going to stay or take up an offer he has at another school. ::sigh:: I'm really stressed about it.

My sympathies to everyone who has been having problems with Ohio. It sounds very frustrating. That said, I'm not sure it's possible to escape administrative-type issues wherever you end up in life. I've definitely had some issues where I am doing my undergrad (::cough:: Student Financial Services). I think on a day-to-day basis as a student, what will really matter is the professors and students you interact with... which isn't to say that if the secretaries mess things up for you it won't be really, really irritating. But my feeling is that if you decided between two universities on the basis of the problems you had with one admissions office, that doesn't necessarily mean that the school where *you* didn't have the problems doesn't have administrative issues at all. It probably does, in my experience. Alas...

No worries, I knew you meant the masters program because I remembered some of your posts. Although I didn't realize until just now that the ALM is, I guess, a liberal arts masters rather than a history-specific one. Well, I'm sure that will be great! Have you visited Harvard? I visited last week and was amazed. It's such a fun area! And the campus is lovely.

Congrats, BC08! What's your subfield?

That's appallingly rude. The way I am reading it, it sounds just like the way I might handle a sales call (I'm not interested goodbye). I'm sorry you were treated that way. Professionals should act more professional, especially when they know how much this process means to their applicants.

Ask if the waitlist is ranked. You could probably start by asking your prospective advisor, who is likely really hoping you'll get off the waitlist. They often have an idea. Good luck

Wow, that's crazy. I wonder, Samantha, did they say they accepted 20-25 students, or that that was their expected yield? It's ridiculously competitive either way, but I've noticed that a number of programs seem to like to put it that way - making the already fierce competition seem fiercer. I think if 20-25 was their expected yeild, they probably accepted 40-50, but that's a guess.

I agree with Nofia, although I would add that I wouldn't be too limited in the amount of space I spent on past experience, if it's particularly relevant and/or impressive. I spent a considerable amount of time on that for mine, and it worked for me. This probably varies from person to person.

I think you would be nuts too, Amanda, to turn down the Michigan offer. You should just feel extra-amazing that you have the luxury of another excellent option. If you write to said Yale professor and explain that you got fully funded for the PhD at Michigan, I am sure s/he will more than understand (and probably in all honesty realize its the best decision). Congratulations on the offer!

Yeah, I think there's a reason why it's on the website... it's probably the best personal statement they ever got, EVER. I was so depressed after I read that the first time though (before I had applied and gotten in anywhere). Now I can confidently assure people that it is not necessary to reproduce that kind of brilliance in order to get in... but, still, we might all be able to learn a thing or two from that example.

Here it is! http://ls.berkeley.edu/soc/diversity/ap ... ent-1.html

I think one of the most important things you can do, if possible, is have a professor read it. I had two read mine. Most will be happy to help you out, and most will know what the committees are looking for! Some general advice my advisor gave me - Be specific, but general. That means being able to indicate what your specific interests are NOW but showing your willingness/openness to new approaches and/or fields. That means show your humility. You already know a lot, but indicate that you know you have much to learn... Make sure you show that you are "thinking past" your senior thesis. This sort of humility works best, I think, following all the talking you do about your credentials. - Make sure you show why program X is a great fit. Demonstrate your familiarity with the program and indicate prospective advisors. - Keep intro (why I wanted to do this) tight. Spend most of the time talking about your credentials/current interests. - Make sure you explain/flesh out all the preparation you've done! Don't think the info you list on your app speaks for itself. TIp: for history, Berkeley has a sample history essay on their website, from a past student. Reading it really helped me get a feel for what they were looking for it. The one they have is also brilliant (in a slightly depressing way), by the way. Worked for me.

I just got back from one. I met with several professors, the last one was reeeaaallly short - by that time I was out of questions and he really didn't have a lot to say about the program. For the others we chatted for about an hour. And by chatted I mean they did a lot of talking and I occasionally commented or asked a question. In retrospect, I wish I had had more impressive or interesting things to say. We really didn't talk a great deal about my research interests, though. As for my prospective advisor, I was surprised (perhaps unjustifiably so) how well he knew my file, so he didn't have any questions for me about my record. They all asked me about my other options though - the professors and the students that I met. I was rather uncomfortable about that, but it went all right. If you want it to be less awkward, make sure you have prepared lots of questions so you have things to say. But on the whole the experience for me was a lot less awkward/stressful than I thought. We discussed what the program was like and what it entailed, my other options and their relative merits, etc. None of the people with whom I met were particularly intimidating personalities. I suppose that would be an important variable determining how your visit goes. But try to be relaxed. It seems like they will be more interested in talking about your future than your record to date. Good luck!

Penn and Princeton are both great schools. Academically, I think it comes down to your husband's impression of prospective professors/advisors at each school, not the relative reputations of each school, which are both excellent. Hopefully your husband will be able to visit. I think this would be the best way to distinguish between the two. He might prefer Princeton on paper, but find out when he visits Penn that that program suits him much better...

I think it varies... but they will typically send you an e-mail notifying you that the decision is on the website, so you don't have to check compulsively. I know several people on this board are frequent checkers, and often get their decisions before the prompting e-mail comes (can't blame them). But yeah, don't worry, they're not just going to post the decision without telling you and just leave you wondering.