Kai210

I guess this was not such a big deal after all.

African American History is my primary field. PM the schools you got into and what your research interests are, and I might be able to give you a good indication of where I would rank the schools that accepted your application.

What are your research interests? You cannot choose programs simply based on rankings. Rankings matter to some degree; however, it is more important to locate the right "fit." Better for you to go to a lower-ranked school but a place where you can study with a top scholar in your field than to go to a higher-ranked school but only work alongside a marginal scholar, that is, if you even find someone there who research is germane to yours. Because the 20th Century is broad in scope you would have to pinpoint for some of us the specific areas that excite you and we would better be able to guage places where your reesarch could be situated. If you rely simply on rankings it is my belief that you will find the task of locating the right place for your research to be daunting. Worse, you might not have the success in gaining admission if programs determine that your research just does not fit what the scholars they have in place are doing.

Actually, it is not bad advice. But I have a different reason for suggesting why it should not be done. "Dr." sounds detatched in a personal statement. You are looking to work with these individuals. You have not matriculated so you cannot begin to see them as potential colleagues. But you can see them as your potential professor. So it is just better to say, for example, "I am delighted to see that Professor X and Y holds a joint appointment in the Department of History at yada yada yada as her research on yada yada yada has influenced my interest in studying yada yada yada" than it is to say the very same thing while referring to the person as Dr. X and Y. Using "Dr," in this context, just seems to place distance between you and the very person you are looking to work with in the program.

Spot on! I tend to only call a professor "Dr." on my CV as well; I also will do it sometimes if I am in the company of undergraduates. I do so to prevent undergrads from believing that they have the license to call professors by their first names. I saw a situation like that once with someone, and it was not good. I think it is important to be formal when the situation arises, and I tend to find that even professors will incline themselves to being more formal with each other around undergraduates. The other point I'll make is this. Students who tend to keep things formal even after they are given the opportunity to be less-formal are not respected more for doing so. And in some cases, it can work against you. As my advisor often says, when you travel to X and Y for a campus interview, you want professors there to see you as a colleague. It doesn't start when you finish your defense; it starts now. I think during the application season, there's a tendency to think of professors as otherworldly or supernatural beings who have the other ultimate authority over the life and death of your career. And to some degree, it is true. But what you will find is that these intellectual giants are human and as normal in their approaches as you are. They want to be respected. They do not, however, want you to be obsequious. Sometimes, it can come off as fawning when you are told/given the indication to call a professor by his or her first name and you deign to a more formal approach in which you position yourself as an ongoing neophyte. To that point, I know a young lady who refused to call a professor by her first name after being asked to do so. The professor asked her one day, "When are you going to grow up and start seeing me as your colleague? The job market is atrocious and you are making things worse for yourself." A bit much but the point there was as Strange Light Pointed out: "Once that door is opened graduate students should take it."

I call most professors by their first name, and I think many of you will find that your professors prefer it this way. In fact, I have one "superstar" professor who will DEMAND of his students to call him by his first name. His rationale: your in training to become his colleague. This is not undergrad, and the idea that first-name calling compromises the professional relationship is misguided. Now, to be certain, there are some professors who still prefer to be called "Dr. X and Y" or "Professor K and J." But I have found that more with professors who have held long tenures in the academy, and are still attached to a more mature approach to the graduate student-professor relationship. I do think that emails are key. It is always easier when they just tell you what to call them, and some will actually do this very thing. But some will send other cues and how they sign their email is as clear a message to you on your professor's preference as it would be for him or her to express it verbally. If a professor signs his/her full name, they are attempting to be less pretentious but are signaling that they desire for you to still call them "Dr." or "Prof." If they sign off "Dr." or "Prof," well it is clear what their preference is for you. But if they sign off with their first name, it is an indication that you are able to call them by their first name. I have also had professors sign off their emails with the first initial of their first name like "R" or "H." But what I have found is that professors who do that already allow me to call them by their first name. To me, then, it only furthers the less-than-formal relationship we are developing. My advisor used to sign all his emails with the title of "Dr." and the first initial of his last name. And I would call him that just as I did another professor who did the same. I noticed after I passed my candidacy exams, he started signing off his emails with his first name. Other professors I have worked with or know in the department allowed me to call them by their first name even earlier. I WILL CAUTION that this matter should be treated on a case-by-case basis. Just because one professor allows you to call him or her by a first name is not carte blanche to do it with others. Similarly, just because a professor allows one particular student to call him or her by a first name does not give you the license to do the same. All this said, I think the transition between undergraduate and graduate school can be steep. Even when professors gesture to students to be called by their first name, you have students immediately out of undergrad who have problems embracing the casual relationship. I think the transition is a little less daunting in this regard when you work for several years/pursue a MA prior to your matriculation in a doctoral program. It gives you a chance to move beyond seeing your professors as an authority and more glimpsing them as colleagues. And, in the final analysis, I think the latter point is most important. You are training to become your professors' colleagues. You're closer to them than to the students you will be teaching as TAs. So accept the practice of calling your professors by their first name once the chance to do so is extended to you.

Congratulations to everyone who has received acceptances today! To those individuals who have not or continue to wait, keep the faith! For Yale acceptances, Modern Apizza is your friend!

TMP, I can remember when you first started this journey. Thus, I can truly feel your joy over the success you are having this season. Sometimes, it is about timing. And I think the key for everyone here is to remember that these decisions are not personal. I think a lot of people tend to post stats, and do not really consider that this is not an exact science. I am so thrilled to see that you have received fully-funded offers from The Ohio State University (called this because it is the "official" name) and Wisconsin. As a person attending OSU, I would strongly recommend choosing to join the program. But I know that wherever you choose to go, you will do wonderful research. And I think the time it took for you to get to this point will give you the perspective needed to finish the journey! Best of luck, my friend!

Congratulations! By the way, judging by the way that email is written, and based upon my own dealings with that professor, I think I know exactly who the POI is. He/she is an outstanding scholar and I think you'll be very happy if you decide to attend Yale. Best wishes!

I can verify this to be the case. I am a PhD student in History at OSU. Last year, I learned of my admission very early on because I was nominated for--and was later awarded--a University Fellowship. Those nominated for fellowships typically learn of their acceptances early on while OSU will notify others later in the month. That said, I suspect that we will see a lower number of acceptances this year than we did last year. Of the 30 or so acceptances, about 24 matriculated, which was far higher than OSU expected. I think, as Strange Light suggested about other programs, you'll see OSU only accept the amount of students they actually want to see enroll this year. Good luck to those you still waiting!

You may want to take a look at Glenda Gilmore's "Defying Dixie." I know Murray is mentioned quite a bit in the book. You may find the information you seek by checking through her bibliography; I am sure she used Murray's personal papers, which could contain a bio.

Duke, Rice, WUSTL, University of North Carolina, Vanderbilt and Emory come to mind. Also, I would strongly recommend Yale as Glenda Gilmore's expertise is in the area of southern history, specifically women's history. She's an awesome scholar and very well-known in the field.

Great news!!!!!!!!!!! I had been hoping that Brandeis would pull you off the waitlist, and am excited for your good fortune! Good luck! Sorry to hear that things did not work out with Chicago. Are you attending Wisconsin? Sorry to hear this. I had really hope you would hear something positive. Still, I trust that the contacts you have made will prove beneficial to you in the future.

WOW! I am so glad I decided to take a week off from the grad cafe; it is probably good for everyone to back away from this forum for a moment just to breathe and not allow "PhD-related" talk of any kind to permeate the entirety of your existence. Go do something random! With regard to the ongoing conversation, I think it is appropriate for those who have made decisions to make those decisions known as soon as possible; there some individuals who have been waitlisted, and could possibly benefit from your punctuality on the matter. That said, I tend to agree with ResPublica and StrangeLight on this one. It is not inimical to fairness to hold out for the most prestigious offer that you can get. Just as those waitlisted want to desperately gain admission into a program, there are individuals who have already been accepted who desperately want to put themselves in a position to ascertain future fellowships that lead to greater opportunities. In a sense, those who have been admitted but are holding out for possible fellowships are feeling sort of waitlisted themselves; as other admits decline their offers, fellowships could possibly fall to them as StrangeLight pointed out.

I've decided to attend The Ohio State University. I had already been given a very generous full-funding package but on yesterday Ohio State sweetened the pot a bit by informing me that I have been awarded with a University Fellowship.

I am also headed to Columubus and OSU for the doctoral program in History. Encomendero, where are you from originally? I am originally from New Orleans, LA, and am very familiar with hurricanes. But I have lived up in Ann Arbor, MI, the last five years and have gotten quite acclimated to cold weather and the snow. It is not that bad though I have to admit that I am biased toward winter seasons. You just have to determine whether or not you are a layers person, and then purchase your winter gear accordingly. The great thing about living in the region is that they have plenty of places that sell apparel designed to keep you warm as can be. And Northface is always a great investment!

Thank you. No problem. By the way, my subfield is 20th Century African-American social history with a particular emphasis on examining northern race relations via the intersection of race and sport.

I will be attending OSU, and think the program is well-equipped not only for the research I want to do but also for my long-term endeavors. I do not believe there's as much of a qualitative difference between most of the top tier schools as sometimes we are led to believe. I mean, when you have a school like Virginia who has a score of 4.0 according to US News and World Reports, and a school like Ohio State whose score is 3.9, is there a huge difference there considering that a lot of the criteria going into those rankings are subjective? Thus, reputation becomes what you make of it. I think when you are talking about the top tier institutions, it all comes down to your research and your advisors. I don't know if any of this helps in making a choice. But if the money is equal, then I say go to the place where you feel your research will be best housed and where you can work with influential advisors who will facilitate your growth as a scholar while opening up the door to your first tenure-track position. For me, I feel very comfortable in choosing Ohio State, and believing that I will be able to conduct great research there.

I agree with boogs, StrangeLight, Noodles, dflanagan and Goober. I see no reason for you to turn down the offers you have received this year in lieu of applying next year. First, next year does not even exist. To be certain, I am not insinuating some apocalyptic turmoil for the world. Besides, next year will be 2011, not 2012 . But I am suggesting that you do not know how the next application season will look. You could face stiffer competition for what amounts to be a limited number of spaces. We could also see even more budget cuts than we have this year, which may narrow the acceptance pools. We do not know, and while I would hate to quell your ambitions, I think that one should almost view getting into an "Ivy" the same as winning the lottery. If it happens, great! But if not, keep in mind that there are more individuals in the world like you than not. But that does not mean all is lost. As others have reasoned, you do not have to go to an Ivy in order to get a solid placement. There's empirical evidence to support that claim. That is different from the claim that professors at Ivy institutions work harder to get their students solid placement than professors at other institutions. Furthermore, take a look at faculty at the top institutions. While you're sure to find faculty members whose CVs are littered with Ivy degrees, you're also sure to find a fair of amount of individuals who never even touched foot on an Ivy campus until they came to teach there. Thus, unless your goal is to rely upon the prestige of the institution, and not your own research, applying next year makes absolutely no sense. Two other thoughts in the final analysis. Let me preface these thoughts by saying that I am not attempting to be callous or rude here. First, why apply to a school if you have no intentions of going there? I think it is more than presumptuous on the part of the individual who chooses an institution as a safe school while believing in their heart they won't ever have to pay deference to that option. Yale was my top choice, but I did not discount Ohio State or Michigan. I did not see them as lesser schools simply because they were not Ivies. And if I did not feel that either were a legitimate option for me, and, more specifically, the research I want to conduct, then I would not have applied to those institutions. You only end up wasting available spots for students who are dying to attend those institutions. If I am not mistaken, RockEater has been begging Brandeis admits to decline their offer if they have been accepted into their top schools. I think you ought to consider those students who are really wanting to go to the non-Ivies that you would be spitting on if you choose to reapply, which says that those schools are just not good enough. Oh, and by the way, you do realize those schools have professors from Ivy institutions. Ultimately, you could end up with a placement out of an Ivy at a place that you felt was not good enough while that school might send one of its students to an Ivy. Oh, the irony. Second, and this is sort of close to my first point--it comes off as ungrateful when you have been accepted into multiple institutions and are weighing the options of not going versus choosing to reapply to some Ivies while there are many QUALIFIED students who did not get in anywhere. Again, something to think about. Be mindful, this is not an attempt to launch a salvo at you. But I think context is important and should be considered when trying to determine the best way to move forward.

I believe I am rejecting Michigan's PhD program in American Culture, and accepting the offer I have received from Ohio State in History. Both were fully funded with excellent packages. However, I think the fit is better at Ohio State and I would like to remain in history; besides, it does not seem as though the studies get as much deference in the academy, particularly when it comes to ascertaining a tenure-track position. I had held out hope for Yale (African-American Studies/History) but was notified of my rejection by the DGS. She informed me that my application was strong, and she really wanted me in the program. However, they only accepted 4 students (out of 116 applicants) across 13 disciplines. Yikes! I am thrilled with my acceptance at tOSU, and look forward to meeting with the rest of you who'll be attending there in the Fall.

Who posted the rejection from Michigan's American Culture?

LOL! You might really feel that way if you knew the subject of my masters thesis research and how it impacts both institutions. I suppose if Yale accepts--I've been crossing my fingers so much that they have taken up a new form--me then I can be saved from the inevitablility of being swallowed by a black hole.

I also got a rejection from Michigan. No big surprise there, and not remotely upset. I have been accepted at Ohio State, and the program is a better fit. And my top choice is still outstanding so I am good with the decision.

Still waiting on Yale (African-American Studies/History) and the University of Michigan (American Culture; History--likely a rejection).

Yes, I noticed that as well. The graduate coordinator told me that I should have been received notification of my acceptance and I stated I had not received anything from them. There seems to have been some breakdown in the process.