TMP

It depends. I always bought books for my courses as those 3-hours-on-reserve books were too much of a hassle for me as I tended to focus really well in coffee shops and I didn't want to lose time walking. For my subfield and particular interests, absolutely. Especially if i know that these are the kind of books I'd assign to undergrads and would want to keep them on my shelf for reference. I always use Amazon.com for used books and I also take advantage of deep discounts at conferences (and free shipping!).

I wouldn't apply to UNC Chapel Hill for PhD. Browning is retiring in 2014 and Janusch isn't too far behind.

have to say.. THIS. That was the choice I made. I was seriously sidetracked after my lovely visit to that school with more $ for about a week, even after I visited my top choice. It wasn't until my adviser, a sharp-shooter, asked me, "You already have two fantastic packages. Enough. All things equal, whom do you really want to work with?" Suddenly that was an easy answer. I do think my "better POI" is really worth giving up that other opportunity. Something to consider in the future when negotiating. The POI has the greatest stake in this and it's worth communicating to that person directly. I had negotiated with her because I really wanted to work with her and she knew she and the program were better fit for me. She knew that the kind of fellowship I received from the other school could be quite difficult to turn down (in fact, I think I was the first one to say no!) so she had to work pretty darn hard to match it.

I did both ways. it is a bit insane to apply to a PhD program while in the MA. But I would say that this is field dependent. My field is pretty tough- it requires reading knowledge of several languages (one of them isn't easy at all) and a grounded, broad understanding of its history. And there aren't many spots for it. Given the difficulty of PhD admissions, it's worth taking time to truly polish the application while working on languages after the MA. But I assume that you're already fluent in Spanish or Portuguese, so that's nothing to worry about it. But my thinking is that you're trying to write your thesis, which *should* be your writing sample for PhD programs (as they demonstrate your ability to conduct original research, write well, and analyze). I managed to submit 2 chapters of my thesis (I was very fortunate, being a big planner and having done so much of my research over the summer that all I had to do was to write). They were fine but not the best pieces of my writing. PhD programs do look very carefully at your writing and how you use sources in your field language(s). I didn't get in anywhere- my application just wasn't as *shiny* as my adviser's (already graduated) MA student. I tried again the following year with fairly similar application, just more polished but it was simply a bad year for my field. This year, with one of these chapters converted to an article for peer-reviewed journal (with some foreign language primary materials), another language, etc, and a bit of luck, I was accepted with 2 amazing offers. I have to say that one of the offers was from a school I hadn't applied to before and it would seem like no-brainer for me to apply there, but I didn't for funding reasons. One of my professors and I were just saying that though I'm sure this POI probably knew I had applied before and wondered why I didn't apply to him but she thinks that he's quite glad that I waited because I've matured over time as a scholar and he appreciated my experiences in my "gap" years. The other POI, whom I've applied before, acknowledged how much she appreciated the transformation in my application and intellectual thinking over the past year. That was just really heartening to hear given how miserable the last 2 years were in terms of trying to get into PhD programs and figure out how to stay productive and connected to my field. I do think it's really worthwhile taking a year or two off after the MA so as long as you're doing things relating to your field like travel, language study, publishing (if it's good enough!), teaching, etc. You'll be a much better scholar for it.

I can relate to a lot of these posts. Both of my options were fantastic. I really couldn't go *wrong* with either of them knowing that I'd make the most of my time. My adviser made the decision seem so simple, "Who do you REALLY want to work with?" Instinctively, I said X, knowing that Y's interests and personality weren't really all that compatible with my own. Then she said, "That's your decision. You can do A, B, and C with X, you can't do those with Y..." She made the whole thing so tempting that I couldn't argue. It was... so... weird... that the decision was.made just like that. But when the time did come to breaking the news to both of X and Y (about a week ago). While I felt elated about X (she makes me world feel complete!), the sadness came over me about turning down Y. I felt like I was kicking a can around- "Why did I have to say no to him? Why did I turn down that amazing fellowship? I loved the community there... but could he really be a better adviser for what I want to do?" I knew I made the right decision for my career but just couldn't shake off the memory of watching that Y's face as I broke the bad news to him over video chat. I began thinking of all possible ways to keep him involved, etc. I sought out different perspectives on why he didn't respond to my follow-up e-mail and one friend finally said, "Well, what else is there to say?" I think all of these feelings are normal when we've had to face very tough decisions that we knew couldn't be wrong. We just want everything but we can't. Somebody has to win. As a number of people pointed out to me, we will all become colleagues so we will have opportunities to interact with people at the other place in the future. Just not now. In that way, there's really no regret. For example, I had one dream program that I just couldn't apply to this year and I almost regretted not just going through with the application anyway. But I realized that it was truly for the best- I only wanted the professors, not really anything else though I knew the program was very good. Now one of them has become my mentor and, honestly, I'm just thrilled with it. Who needs that program? Even if I got in, it'd be tough to turn it down but I know that I would be able to. The feelings are mostly gone and are being replaced by the panic over finding housing!

I'm inclined to say no, especially if this offer is a nice one. If it's comparable to this dream school, then just get yourself off that waitlist and let the process be done with it. I'd actualyl talk to your adviser about this- your adviser is the best person as s/he knows the field and if the POI/department you've been accepted to will be upset if you withdrew your offer to attend your dream school.

I am working in a job that is directly relevant. So everything I do helps to prepare me for my graduate studies and beyond. My boss is trying to make the use of my labor and mind so anything i do from here on will actually be beneficial. It is so thoughtful of him and I try to keep that in mind. i may not love putting together a filmography list but he's right, I'll need this down the road when I'm creating my own syllabus. I am trying to schedule to see friends each week to keep the time moving along. I am trying to make the most of my weekends by doing something in this city, whether it's visiting a museum or scanning documents at the local archives for my current/future projects.

Seriously. Wait until September. The faculty, anywhere, will be in much better mood to be talking with potential applicants.

Maryland is a big pain. I've applied there twice. I can't stand its system. Anyway, most departments are reluctant to admit the full truth of their placement given that not everyone gets an academic job. But for YOU, you're interested in finding out if people get jobs with the kind of degree you're looking for. And that's exactly the kind of question you need to e-mail the DGS (Director of Graduate Studies). Be that specific as you're not looking for an academic job afterward (which they will say 50% for their PhDs on average). But you can use PhDs.org, which uses the latest NRC data and get a sense of its placement but that's for its doctoral program, not the master's program. So, go for it. Be specific with your placement question.

Yes, finally, the end. It's so tranquil. The more I talk to my new friends at OSU, the more excited I am! I truly look forward to continuing these friendships and knowing that there is a real support system for me waiting. On the other hand, part of me is still kicking around the old can over Wisconsin, how bad I feel about turning the offer down and watching my POI's face over Skype and realizing that I'm truly the first who has ever said no to this particular fellowship.

Dear TGC friends, I’m sure this seems presumptuous for me to create a separate thread but having been on here for more than 3 years, it just seems like I should just do this, rather let this be buried under “decisions,decisions” or “chit-chat.” And there’s a lesson to this. First of all, I am so grateful that this site exists, even if it drives each of us nuts. It is a place full of rich information and insights (and many “take it with a grain of salt” pieces of advice). It is full of passionate people who care deeply about their future. As Sigaba pointed out once, academia is like a black box. And so is TGC. While this site does attempt to create transparency, it will never be fully so. You just have to trust your instincts; don’t let your nerves get to you. People know but do they really need to say it? Here on the TGC, we are so tempted to share everything we know and that is fine. We want to help each other get to the right places and we seek out each other by subfield or common interests via PM. Future posters will need to take the initiative to read old threads and send a PM to a poster (and hope that the poster checks his/her spam box!). I should say that by doing this way this year, what I’ve seen and heard, it has helped many of us. Perhaps doing this kind of approach has fostered a sense of community full of positive vibes to the level that I have never seen before. So, congratulations! Yet, I will urge people to consider information shared by previous posters about their campus visits to help them build their lists. Reading about campus visits and impressions by others helped me tremendously in terms of building my lists for Fall 2011 and 2012. My adviser recommended OSU for Fall 2011. If it had not been several positive campus visit reviews that year, I’d probably hesitate, I mean, OSU? I didn’t know anything, it's Michigan or Wisconsin or Indiana. I said, okay, I will apply, no question asked (despite being a Wolverine). The funding experiences of Wisconsin acceptees kept me away from that place for Fall 2010 and 2011, as well as less than favorable reviews of the department culture. I had to strike a deal with my POI there that I could not consider Wisconsin without funding, even though he brought up the issue himself. I learned from here not to apply to UCLA and other places for funding or department culture reasons. So, future posters, if someone suggests School X, use the search function to see if someone’s posted personal experiences with the department. I would imagine that they’re usually spot on. I do want to say thank you to those who have been so incredibly supportive. I am truly humbled that there were people who reached out to me via PM to check up and express genuine interest in my applications. I seriously thought coming back here for fall 2012 admissions would be a walk of shame. I didn’t want to put off anyone by announcing that it was my third time- I mean this is how freaking competitive History PhD admissions has become. This year was based on luck of timing though I know that both of my POIs truly appreciated all of my hard work and my experiences. I also didn’t realize until later on that my OSU POI had somehow kept me so calm despite no guarantees or suggestions of an acceptance (and that's a quality you want in a PhD adviser!). I do want to say that my visit to Wisconsin was incredibly pleasant. I loved the close-knit community there and the contagious intellectual energy. The faculty and students were positive despite the financial situation. My POI was a “genuine” person with a mind for details. I truly had a change of heart after I left Madison, which did not put me in a good position mentally for my visit to Columbus. At OSU, though I felt the department was more conservative (not politically but just the culture) in comparison to Wisconsin, everything is taken seriously. The department works hard to ensure that students are happy and satisfied with their training, funding, and professionalization opportunities. Because of its large size, it would indeed take time to find a niche especially that graduate students do not live near each other. Given my POI’s situation that day, our meeting was rather lackluster. So I left Columbus without a decision and I was very disappointed not to have that “light-bulb” moment. But being a believer of “second chances,” I decided to see if my POI wanted another conversation. She seemed quite enthusiastic so we set a Skype date. I thought, “Okay, if she doesn’t wow me on this, I’m going to think real hard about turning down OSU, my top and most logical choice.” During our conversation, I discovered that she was the One, a beautiful intellectual, personal, and professional adviser match. I just felt right at home in her presence. It was such a pleasure to call her the other day to tell her that I would come to OSU in the fall. She certainly wasn’t on my radar because her first book had nothing to do with my interests. If it had not been for my MA adviser’s suggestion and my OSU POI’s interest in me and current project, I would have never considered her seriously. If it had not been for positive reviews of OSU on TGC that encouraged me to apply to OSU, I’d be at Wisconsin. It is time for me to say farewell and move on (after all, I will need to study!). I will check every now and then for any specific issues and questions that I may be able to answer. It’s truly been a lovely ride. As always, feel free to PM me as I get e-mail alerts. -tciklemeink

Congratulations, SToF! So glad that things worked out for you this year!!!

I would think your training and experiences matter more than who your POI really is. I would look closer at the program and see how it provides internship/external opportunities. If it's straight coursework, it's not the program you want. For the MA, especially of this kind, don't worry about POIs. Worry about the program's quality, reputation, and training. You want a JOB and the program can do that. Of course, it doesn't hurt if your "dream" POI has the network but more likely not unless s/he's demonstrated evidence of engaging with the community.

Given my own "journey," this would not work. I never, EVER thought that I would end up where I've decided to go during my first round of PhD applications. Given all the schools I've applied to, this place just ultimately ended up being a perfect place, even if it's not the first school people think of right away for my sub-field. You have to understand the particularities and movements within that field among the professors and things do take time to develop. Also, we should consider the retirements over the next few years that can have an effect on the program's quality and ability to support graduate students in their first 3 years, the most critical years for faculty support. For example, in my sub-subfield, what would be considered top 3-4, it's not *quite* the right time as the senior faculty at 3 of the 4 places are nearing the end of their careers (but no retirement date), even if they're reluctant to show any signs. Program #4 just had a faculty leave to another program and the remaining faculty member is mid-career and is now in the transitional phase of visualizing the program's future while waiting for a replacement to support that. Seriously, it's amazing what a difference time makes. Back then, my waitlists involved working with senior scholars. Now my choices involved only mid-career scholars!

Safferz. It depends on your learning style. I am a very hands-on person so I learn quickly and best when I am in an immersed setting. So I did my Hebrew and German in Israel and Germany respectively. I've tried continuing them in the US upon my return but it's SO hard! But I will be heading off to Middlebury this summer to get my Hebrew back up to where I left off, and do plan on working one of my languages in 2013.. we'll see where things go. I can self-study history but languages... ugh, no.

If those schools don't offer those kind of language support including a strong Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies, then do not go there until you have achieve high level of proficiency yourself. You really need those FLAS (Foreign Language Area Studies) fellowships or grants from those centers to help you pay for language training during the academic year (in lieu of TA-ship or TA-ship) and summer. Programs would be reluctant to take an applicant if they do not have the resources to help that person achieve the level of proficiency needed for dissertation research. It is not say that your particular POIs will not accept you but I am merely suggesting in thinking about the timeline of your PhD program. There is a reason why non-Americanists take 2-3 years longer than Americanists. If your adviser is a good one, s/he will want you to finish ASAP, and in order to do that, you need lots of language support in your early years so you are ready to jump in your dissertation research. Also, choose the language of the country that you are most interested in (and have been for a while). Do not choose based on what looks most interesting or easiest (Hungarian is the most difficult if all that you're listing, BTW. Just ask the State Department). Your dissertation's quality and sources will ultimately be shaped by your language proficiency.

SToF- Intellectual fit. Go with the adviser who is asking the same intellectual questions that you are right now. That is so important- you want an adviser who is already thinking the same thing and will help you finish your dissertation quickly. If the person isn't exactly on the same wavelength, no matter how much you admire his/her work, the dissertation might take a wee bit longer.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!! Though the pre-decision me would've been VERY jealous, I am perfectly happy for you!

American History R_Escobar (20th century, American Indian), crazedandinfused (antebellum, intellectual), hopin'-n-prayin' (southern, religious), stevemcn (transnational), Simple Twist of Fate (early American), zb642 (20th century, labor/working-class culture), BCEmory08 (19th-20th century Catholicism, labor), irvinchiva10 (20th century, immigration/immigration reform) European History Kelkel (Modern Germany, political), goldielocks (Britain), SapperDaddy (Eastern and Central Europe), kotov (Modern Romania, Holocaust, labor), RevolutionBlues (Modern Western Europe/France labor and leftist politics), theregalrenegade (18th/19th cent British Empire/environment), jrah822 (19th century Britain; emphasis on colonial relationship to India), grlu0701 (Intellectual & cultural history, fin de siecle Germany and Italy), naturalog (modern European [mostly German] intellectual and cultural/sexuality and gender/political radicalism), runaway (Eastern/Central, memorialization & visual culture); Sequi001 (Modern France, gender and sexuality, colonialism/imperialism) African History Oseirus (precolonial/early colonial West Africa), Singwaya18 (20th century East Africa), Safferz (20th century Horn/Northeast Africa), The People's Scholar (Spanish colonialim in Africa- i.e. middle/West Africa) Latin American History teachgrad (20th century, Southern Cone), BH-history, The People's Scholar (18th-19th century Colombia) East Asian History alleykat (Modern China) Near/Middle Eastern History uhohlemonster Atlantic World sandyvanb Global/World History cooperstreet (Cold War) Jewish History uhohlemonster, hopin'-n-'prayin, kotov (Holocaust), naturalog (sometimes modern European/Holocaust), runaway (memorialization & visual culture) ticklemepink (20th c. Germany/U.S) Science/Technology shaxmaty1848 (Cold War) Social annieca (Cold War and Post-Cold War East and Central Europe)

You don't really *know* the department culture until you've actually visited. You can have the faculty and graduate students say all they want but it ultimately comes down to YOU feeling comfortable in the department. Some people are happy wearing polos and boat shoes, others cringed at that idea. If you are talking about the US Holocaust Museum, you have to look very closely. The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies is truly a separate entity that is very likely dependent on staff receiving PhDs from top notch programs and advisers (think big names like Christopher Browning at UNC) and former Center fellows. Lok at the Center Staff list and google the researchers and historians. The rest of the museum is likely to have staff who have received degrees in the local area as networking helps you get a job there. If you are not interested in being part of the CAHS, then it doesn't matter where you get your degrees as long as you're networking with the right people at right places like AAM or in Holocaust Studies programs. I'll second this, especially for public history.

SofT, I waited until April 15th for IU for two years in a row! It is agonizing to keep waiting but I agree about W&M, wait. Just wait. If you don't hear from W&M by 4 PM that day, just take BU. Though you might want to double check with BU to make sure that you can notify them ON April 15th, not BEFORE April 15th.

Well, I think I just spent like an hour on the phone with my SUPER patient, level-handed MA adviser. I didn't realize that I had been chatting for like an hour until I looked at my phone. Oh boy, she deserves a big treat or something... probably just not drop out of a PhD program. That conversation today with my POI made the world of difference. S/he truly put a huge smile on my face. So I'll release my decision on TGC after I've spoken with both POIs. Until then, I'll take bets. Who wants beer money?

Congrats, crazed!

Yes, my visit did make things very complicated and I knew i needed to understand why. My friends and peers gave me their time of the day for the last 2 nights to talk it all out. I truly cannot go wrong with either choice. My subfield doesn't care as my work matters more than the program name. My packages are exceptional at both places as I've learned how they came to my hands so it doesn't make the decision any easier for sure. The resolution seems to be that I am torn between following my heart to one place or my mind/logic to the other. I will be speaking with my POI at one of the places today and if s/he cannot give me the confidence that I need within 3 days to sign on with the department, then it's to the other place. I'll also speak with my MA adviser tonight as well. I truly did not see this coming. At least I can try to make peace with the fact that that I cannot truly regret my decision. If it weren't for these conversations, then I would've felt real regret. Academia stinks.