TMP

Are you a college senior? If so, I say, GO TO TURKEY!!!! Especially if you love traveling and going to new places and experiencing new cultures. I'm that kind of girl. Also, as I've said elsewhere, you've been nothing but a student so you don't know what else you can do. Don't settle on academia until you've tried other things and spent substantial time doing those to know whether or not you really enjoy those. I remember sitting down with one of my undergrad advisers after I got rejected by 3 PhD programs and was waiting on 2 MAs. He said, "It would be more beneficial for you to live abroad in Country X or Y and develop the language, even if you're not interested in learning the language of Country Y Or you can just get a MA." At the time, I couldn't imagine how would I be able to afford to go abroad out of my pocket when I could take out loans for the MA. During my MA, sometimes I wondered if I should've gone abroad instead... But when I was rejected from all PhD programs when I finished up my MA and couldn't get a job, the first question I asked was, "Okay, fuck the job market. I still want the PhD. I'm unemployed and have all this time. What would I like to do before I go for my PhD?" It dawned on me that I should go to Country Y as the language of Y was becoming extremely important for research (interests DO change in a MA program!). So I packed up my stuff and lived in that country for 5 months. Though I still didn't get in any (funded) PhD programs, I felt really, really glad to get that life goal out of the way. Remember, the PhD is a huge investment of your time. Even if your area of study requires research abroad, you don't know how much funding you'll get- whether it'll be enough to allow you to travel or not. So you might as well travel the world first. Going to Country Y was just wonderful and I'm already excited to go back and do research there. In any case, I do think living abroad for a year is cheaper than doing a 2 year MA.

Re: OSU. Give it until March 15th before calling it quits.

YAY!

"The Holocaust? What a depressing topic." (Um, ask me about my thesis... or my research... before making that judgment.)

It's possible. A friend of mine, a white female, got a diversity fellowship because she wanted to study race in the South. The Grad School changed the criterion to anyone who wanted to study "diversity" regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, etc.

"Can you pay your way through?" "Wait, they pay you? Actually PAY you? How much?...But that's not enough to live on." [after explaining how funding works, that this is actually a job for 5 years, they become incredulous that the department pays the tuition] "Can you get food stamps with that stipend?"

Inspired by C&I's post, we just need to create one! They can be imagined or for real. "You've worked a Famous Museum. You should get in, no problem!" (I cannot tell you how times I've actually groaned) "Oh, you're doing Jewish history because you're Jewish?" "Getting a Ph.D. in Jewish history... does it mean you can be a rabbi?" "What do you do with a PhD in history? Be a professor?" "Can your Professors get you in Yale/Stanford/NYU with a phone call?" "There's nothing else you can do wit a PhD in History other than to be a professor. You know the market is awful." (My parents get that phrasing A LOT) "Is there a Common Application?" "Your GPA is more important than your essay."

Oh here comes rejections from Stanford! Now I can move on with my life!

I am a HUGE foodie! PM me with any additional details!

I think that rejection was from the Classics/Ancient history, not the general history department. breathe... breathe...

For me, looks like I have no choice except to give up my dear regular crusted, cheesy New York style pizza... I'm sure Columbus is a little closer to Chicago.

Remember, YOUR job of selling yourself is DONE. They want YOU. And try to avoid that imposter syndrome feeling. They can't take away your acceptance now and their only commitment to make sure you succeed if you choose to go with them. Remember, you're qualified and they picked you for a reason.

Congrats!! See? try, try, again!

and in your cover letter and, if appropriate, your SOP.

Congrats, doodle!!!!

Many outside grants require you to be a doctoral student. So you need to depend on your university to supply you with summer research grants. Ask about them!

Keikei, it's a case-by-case basis in PhD programs. You won't necessarily know until you've been accepted when you can ask how your credits will transfer and how it'll affect the timeline to ABD. Most will take up a year's worth of coursework. Still, it's an individual thing. PhD programs just want to come with a broken spirit.

Hmmm..ti's never too early to start trolling Craig's List!

My timetable in my MA program was basically like SL's. That could've been me, minus the conferences. As my 1st semester wound down, the first thing my graduate adviser asked me was, "So, do you have a thesis topic yet?" This was... December, right before the finals!!! I ended up spending my winter break thinking about the topic. 2nd semester- I applied for summer research and language grants. I took 2 very relevant classes (very rare for it to happen in my program) at the same time and bounced some ideas with the professor in a research seminar. She encouraged me to use my final research paper as the basis of my thesis. Summer: 1st 2 months were devoted to research 3rd month- devoted to language study abroad 4th month- back to research, totally not expected as I suddenly found a wealth of materials and had to ask for more support, which my department was very willing to give. I had, maybe, 2 weeks of actual vacation time. 3rd Semester: Started writing right away (of course, those long training runs for a marathon helped me to write my thesis in my head) while carrying 2 seminars unrelated to my methodological interests and independent study in language. I put a LOT of time in my thesis that my grades kind of suffered. Oh well. But adviser was super happy. Coursework was finished. And I applied to PhD programs at this time. 4th semester: Whole piece was done by mid-March. I had nothing else to do expect to keep up with my independent study and take up intensive German. (note I didn't TA) It can be all done if you can go into the MA program with a good idea of what you'd like to do your thesis on and take relevant classes to get started on it a bit. I was the first one in my MA program to actually finish on time- within 2 years because so many MA students still don't have an idea of what they want to do so they spend their precious summer wandering through the shelves in the library looking for a topic. So get started!

Goldie, Chicago is more exciting than New Jersey. And i speak as someone who spent her childhood years in New Jersey and on the Parkway between Central Jersey and New York City. Then again, you're just minutes away from New York... I think Chicago would be more friendly to a graduate student's budget. As for Seattle, I'm sure that when you do your dissertation research in London, you won't be in shock at all when it comes to weather.

oserius, would it be okay for you to PM me your waitlisted schools? I'm dying to know

Congrats, Sandy! Cherish your acceptance! Well, today being the President's Day, I'm thinking, 4 days of decision-making, not 5 days of waiting. So let's all smile and be productive relax today!

I should really ask, I don't know who the person is, but why are some of these posts getting "thumbs down", not just my own? Anyone who reads through this, whether have offers or not, should be happy for all of us in having this privilege to make decisions. If you don't like what we are saying, why bother reading? (there a purpose to why Goldie created a separate thread) Even if you just have one choice, you should read what we are thinking as your program will expect you to ask questions anyway. You want to make an informed decision, even if you already know where you're going. You need to be on the same page as your POI and the department. The last thing you want to do as you finish up your first year is find out that the summer support is not for first year students, or you MUST TA two courses in the fall, or whatever. Clear expectations will set you up well for your first year and henceforth. And if someone didn't like my thoughts on the job market, then, well, I really don't know what to think as that is an important factor to consider. I should think long-term, not just the short term (such as program requirements, language exams, lifestyle). I am making a huge investment of your time, money and energy to obtain this degree and I might as well get something out of it, may it be a TT job or an adjunct position or something in the government. I want an adviser who will get the job for me, not just someone who simply wants me to come to their program and attach their name to my work. I want a department that will prepare me for the job market out there for historians so that other graduate students and I know what the heck we are doing. That's one of StrangeLight's themes for this year in her advice- she's been sitting on search committees and is telling us what really goes on there. Listen to her and I am listening to her and my former undergraduate professors who have been conducting a lot of SCs in the last few years. I'm listening to them. I want to be that lucky candidate. Seven years may be a long way but time really flies. And, yes, I know I'm being a little obnoxious with that question of "whatever will I do" but you don't know the full story beyond what you've read for this year and on my signature. There are a lot of complicated things that I don't want to post in a public forum. PM me if you want it and I will tell you the truth. Don't judge the book by its cover.

Congrats, sendin'! Cornell really is in middle of nowhere but a very beautiful area! Just... don't fall in the gorges! I'm with you, SL and Yale. I've actually been told that it's really nice for POIs to actually meet applicants in person to get a sense of who they're looking at and may be working with for years to come. I do think applying to PhD programs, in a way, is much like finding a job in a company that really fits you. I've been offered a lot of job interviews and it's surprising to see how, even though you're desperate for a job, you can learn so much about the workplace and if you would truly be happy there. I had a job interview for a quite cushion-y position in a historical society, while I loved all the perks of the job, meeting the people and understanding the environment really made me think twice if I was offered the job. (Apparently, I was their second choice. Oh well!) Same went for some of the PhD programs. A good match between the student, the POI, and the program, I think, can go a very long way.

Since receiving the good news, my motivation level just suddenly plummeted. I have no desire to keep up with my languages. No desire to look over my journal article edits. No desire to...read.... just... you know, basically feeling like a second-semester high school senior all over again. Am I the only one who's suffering a grad school version of "senioritis"? I'm trying to think positive! I'm trying to remember why I have to keep up with these things for the time being and what good will come out of doing them. Here's to another week. Hoping for the very best for those who don't have news yet- you still have 2-3 weeks left in the admissions cycle! You're already halfway through!