TMP

Been in that kind of situation. Makes you want to work harder at convincing them that you won't drop out or leave for another school with better funding/resources/location/faculty, doesn't it?

It's funny how different LinkedIn and Academia.edu works in terms of keyword searches. With my academia.edu, people generally google my full name and my MA granting university (one time I had someone from Argentina...). But! When I was looking for jobs, I was quite proactive with LinkedIn and people did search me there. I was nervous that it might be the hiring managers so I put my best foot out there. Then last December, I decided to take advantage of the "free" trial and I was very, very sorely disappointed. For most part, none of the hiring managers looked up my LinkedIn profile and people who did look at it did so because they used my primary workplace in their keyword search. *sigh* Academics seem to like me better than non-academics. So yeah, don't waste your time with the "paid" subscription on LinkedIn.

I agree with the above points. It is crucial that you get used to moving around for the sake of love (history, I mean here ). Go with it and see what happens. Don't let your anxiety and emotions cloud your decision making right now. Wait until all the cards have fallen and see where things stand. Believe me, you won't be alone. There are going to be students in your program and the graduate school who moved thousands of miles too. I think there's a natural support system there.

I have to agree with StrangeLight. Grow a thick skin, try to be as mellow as you can. Stay busy so you're not checking your phones/e-mails/etc. While the situations she described are real, there are more stressful milestones in the graduate program. Right now I'm consoling a friend who has no relationship with her adviser (they just don't talk to each other) and is procrastinating on her dissertation prospectus. Imagine trying to write a dissertation when your committee isn't helping you at all. Imagine receiving a scathing feedback on your journal article and you just wonder if it's worth publishing it at all. Suddenly graduate admissions seem like a cakewalk and a little better for your ego and sanity. As I've suggested, focus on your Plan B. If you have a job already, focus your energies on excelling it.

I wouldn't worry about it. Just follow the e-mail- they'll ask questions and you write back and if they ask if you have any questions, you ask. Just make sure your writing is clear and you have proofread your answers.

Goldie, don't count the chickens before they hatch. Remember that! Besides if you think the process really starts this week, you're only making the whole process seem a loooooooootttt longer than it really is. As Strangelight pointed out, things *really* don't start rolling until after mid-February and that's another good 3 weeks away. Trust me on this, you won't want make this week *officially* the start of notifications.

Ugh, that's awful. You should demand a refund if possible.

Remember, academia is very, very different from the non-academic world! Keep thati n mind! While instutions know that money is a very important factor, it is not the sole factor because the adviser and program quality count just as much. There have been some people on this board who have chosen to forego higher stipends/fellowships for better quality advisers/programs and haven't looked back since. Take a look at last year's results thread. One of my POI was very concerned that I'd go to X or Y instead of his program simply because they have more money. I told him that my career comes first and that means it's much more important that I have a program that meets my needs in terms of resources and X and Y don't. He seemed reassured once he learned what my priorities were. Like Strangelight suggested, he had no idea exactly how much his students were getting from his program but definitely knew that whatever the dollar amount was, the funding packages at X and Y were much more attractive. If you have a family or spouse to support at the moment, you better have a long discussion with your spouse right now. Would your spouse be comfortable ing the breadwinner for the next 10 years? Will your spouse understand that after your five years of package is up, you're not going to konw where your income is going to come from and how much it will be? Will your spouse understand that there may be periods of unemployment while you write your dissertation/look for a job? Basically, in my opinion, do not go to grauate school expecting to be the breadwinner unless your spouse is also going as well and then that's just something the two of you will work together. There have been ugly break ups and divorces simply because the non-academic spouse couldn't deal with the lack of finances and understanding of how academia works.

History PhD admissions are extremely subjective. Nobody can really give you an idea of your chances other than professors in the departments you're interested in. And you'd need to find those who aren't "nice" but who are willing to be frank with your application.

And $$$$$$$$$$$

Haha. I was thinking about the Jetsons when I really understood what the iPhone/iPad/iTouch really can do. Who needs flying cars and house robots (that self-cleaning vacumm is the closest thing we can get to that) when we have the i-Toys doing literally everything for us? And in addition to StrangeLight's annual post, I really, really urge you to look for Plans B and C if you are not employed or will be graduating this semester. The job market is still bad out there and it will take weeks for your job application to make through the pile and get a call for an interview. You should be filling your worrying time with this because once you start getting decisions, you'll be too emotionally wrecked (aka in denial) to plan for anything beyond August. Fill out those job applications. Go to the interviews if you get them already- practice makes perfect anyway. I've gone through this "denial" phase twice and kicked myself every single time April 15th rolled around and I still had no place to go. Job networking takes a freaking amount of time to get you in the door to somewhere. Do not put yourself in denial right now that "I will get accepted somewhere, I'm not going to worry about it." It will take weeks to recover from the this emotional roller coaster and you need to be able to think clearly when you do the job search, network with others and write that cover letter.

It really depends on the program. It would help to look through graduate students' profiles to see if they have a MA or not. In such a program that does have loads of MA students, there are very good reasons. A student with a MA often has already demonstrated the ability to jump through the hoops in a graduate program. S/he is usually more focused and can take direction with his/her studies. I can name a few examples based on my convwersations with professors but the bottom line is that when a student comes in with a MA in hand, it means less baby-sitting for the advisers and professors involvved. Professors want the reassurance knowing that the student knows what s/he is doing like how to tackle seminar papers, readings, writing some small research grants, planning research trips, etc. The less they have to hold the student's hand, the better. Sometimes they're just seen as better, more collegial colleagues. You need to write down goals that you want to accomplish in a MA program. Writing "research experience" isn't enough. What are the things you really want to get out of research experience? Broader understanding of secondary literature? Learning how to manage time in an archive? Figuring out how to write a historiography? Learn a new language? Be specific. I disgress but you see my point in the first paragraph. Yes, a MA is not a guarantee for an acceptance to the PhD because so many variables still come into play but a MA would be usually be preferred if the program feels that the student is still capable of being molded into their own methodology (some schools prefer "fresh" minds as to train them into their own school of thought without any resistance).

It really, really depends on your field, interests and goals. If you're interested in African or Eurasian history, Peace Corps may be an interesting way to go as you'd get the experience of living and working there and strengthening your language(s). If you're interested in Europe, maybe an au pair job (as usually you're allowed to take language courses for part of the day on the program/family's dime). If you're interested in Native American history, you could do something in the West through Americorps or something. Anything to stay connected to your field of interests, whether geographically or thematically.

You'd be considered as poor investment of time and resources (read $$$$). Departments are under pressure by university administrations to produce scholas/professors. Getting a non-academic job isn't ideal for the university administrators who are doling out the money. I think the history field is trying to figure out how to best justify its existence and the need for $$$ to support graduate students by balancing the desire of the university administrations (who want to see students go on to become professors) and the students (who, well, need any kind of job). The best thing to do is pay lip service. Never, ever tell anyone in your department unless your adviser brings up the issue of preparing you for the post-PhD life and says "the market sucks. What do you really want to do with the PhD? Are you interested in working for the government? If so, we should look into internships..." Keep low-key among your peers. You need to position yourself as someone who is absolutely worth investing in time and energy for professors and other graduate students. You need to wait for the right timing. Getting a PhD is much more than doing archival work, it's also about surviving academia until you get your diploma, 7-9 years later.

That's why I've advocated for Plans B an C on these boards. If you really want to go for your PhD and you don't get in anywhere this year, then look for opportunities to strengthen your application. That's what I meant by saying that if the outcomes for Plan A aren't very favorable and Plan B looks better, then go with Plan B and re-apply.

Honestly, I've been waitlisted twice by the same top-choice university. Probably the best thing it's ever done for me even though I wasn't accepted elsewhere with funding. I knew that if i was darn good enough for that school to be waitlisted (which was ranked much higher than the other places where I was accepted w/o funding), I should try again. In the meantime, my application just grew stronger thanks to a variety of opportunities. You may have seen some indecisions by other posters who were waitlisted at top programs and/or accepted in lower-ranked PhD and MA programs. If you can foresee a stronger application in the next year if you don't take anything, then it may be worth waiting another year to be (hopefully) accepted at the program that waitlisted you.

If you didn't mention that you've submitted a paper to a conference anywhere, then it's fine to e-mail the graduate admissions coordinator with this update (mention in e-mail and submit an updated CV). If you already did mention, then just the fact that you've even taken the initiative to do so is impressive enough. There are so many students out there who can't bring themselves to even try.

Aside from the fact that the dean's from the sciences, is there a particular reason why the students don't like any of the proposals? Maybe I'm just very progressive or have had the chance to understand my friends' experiences in science PhD programs intimately, there are just some aspects that I think would be quite good for history programs. I am beginning to hear, from such friends and in retrospect from historians, that your adviser and the people you work with are very important to your success. I have a friend or two in literature programs who are absolutely struggling with their dissertations because they have such lousy relationships with their committees and they just seem so alone. History students are essentially with their advisers for a long haul. I cannot imagine being miserable with an adviser for more than 4 years and not have a lot of alternatives in the department. I've "interviewed" my potential advisers just as much as they've "interviewing" me. I am quite certain that history will continue to move towards collaboration, especially with the greater use of technology that will open up new opportunities for historical research. So I do think there's some consideration that ought to be taken into account when such proposals involving personal interactions are made. (FYI: I've found that Skype is much better than a telephone in terms of connecting with people/potential departments. It's good as you can get as meeting in person. There's something about visual that creates another level of connection).

Very interesting piece, natsteel. I've never applied to Yale but I digress. There is a point about learning from the people in the sciences on doing admissions and graduate programs. It would be quite interesting to see how this new practice will work over the next 10 years- will more humanities students finish their PhDs because the department has been able to identify those who have showed promise during a conversation? I've been envious of my science-PhD friends simply because of the way they do things over there.

At least you can scan those to PDFs! I could with mine but there's reason why I wanted to use Excel... for data analysis. Sigh.

Ugh. This just happened to me recently. I had entered in 439 names and information on an Excel spreadsheet two months ago for my current research project and that file just gott corrupted. And there's no way for me to recover it. This feels more painful than waiting. Isn't it fun when your hard work gets messed up like that? You're right, at least we have this to distract ourselves.

Goldie, I think that the transition from MA to PhD will be tough if you didn't receive extremely rigorous training. I think there will be higher level of analysis involved as well as the need to read widely as possible to make cogent arguments in your papers and seminars. As you may have learned while doing the book review, you have to learn to evaluate work as critically as possible and write succinctly. Also, as you go through coursework for the PhD, you will invariably be prepping for the comprehensive exams that are required of you. Just higher level of expectations.

Congratulations. I have a pretty good guess at which school it is. Remember, nothing until it's in writing! But chances are, you're one of the program's top choices. I'm surprised that the decisions are being made already at this point.

I don't believe in short changing yourself. Think about your long-term goals. If you ultimately want an academic job in the US then you need to get your PhD from an US school. If you want a job in Europe then a UK degree will be OK. Toronto, as StrangeLight pointed out somewhere in the form, is an exception and it's degree is very well respected. If you don't care what yo do after the phd, then go wherever you can get in. It's not the end of the world if you don't get in the best

If you've already applied this year, then no, no, no, no. Let it rest. If you don't get in anywhere, then by all means re-take it. Your languages will definitely make up for the low GRE scores.