TMP

Yes they do. Usually for funding though. I should also mention that some schools are good about letting applicants know upfront that they're waitlisted while others don't say anything. So wait until after March 15th to contact if you haven't heard anything.

Australia still exists after all the weather disasters? One of my classmates here is convinced that he has no country to go back home to!

I noticed that a few of us are applying to American University for PhD. Did anyone get an e-mail today from CAS inviting for a March visit? Yeah, I'm that pessimistic! I don't believe people until I see it for myself! ETA: Never mind... but FYI, it means nothing apparently. And decisions are still pending.

good evening

Thank goodness for summer jobs. That's all I can say. At least your contract is over before school starts. They buy time and experience.

I'm just happy that it's FRIDAYYYYYY!!!

speed limit

natsteel-She won't suspect anything I'm sure!! How long have you had the ring for? And yes, she's getting a trophy husband. Hmm..fortunately V-Day isn't big at all here where I am so I most likely will forget about it until I get home from movies and drinks with friends and see all the FB statuses "Happy <3 Day!" Then I'll probably run out and get some chocolates. Unless I hear an acceptance, then I'll run out and scream!

Keep saying to yourself, you're not the only one, you're not the only one. Last year none of my schools notified me until beginning of March. It's also a question of working out the funding. Decisions have been made but departments are now looking for funding before making formal acceptances.

Congrats! You can now suck your tongue out at Brown! What a mixed day for you.

Nothing annoys me more than these "overqualified" statements because, well, these "overqualified" applicants (grad school or job) NEED to go somewhere. Of course a fit is an issue but... at the end, people do need to get to somewhere. Can't just leave them hanging for their lives because they can't find their place.

Well, I'm in Germany, the land of beer and easy access to cheap and excellent wines from France and Italy. What would you take? Congrats to everyone thus far!

Wow. You guys really, really, really need to chill out and stop obsessing over statistics. I need to repeat this: Some of these early acceptances are most likely up for university-wide fellowships and these people are the committee's top choices. Regardless of the outcomes from the university fellowships, these people are going to be accepted, university-wide fellowship or not. Departments are just waiting on those fellowships so they know how many more people to nominate for admission. Also, it's all budget-conscious. While I was in contact with Indiana last year (it was their first year only accepting people whom they can actually afford), as it turned out, they were accepting a few at a time, based on the budget numbers and whether or not their top choices applicants took its offer or not before moving down the list. Emory also said something similar- making rounds of admissions (although they never made it to the second round). Also, I'm not surprised at all about non-Western fields. These people often have funding packages not just from the history department but also from other departments such as Latin American studies and East Asian studies. Also FLAS deadline was only just last week (February 1st) so people who applied for FLAS and departments will have to wait to hear from FLAS committee before anything happens. These complex packages take time to put together and I know that for my particular field it takes longer to get that done because these external departments need to see who else other departments (i.e. English, Comp Lit, Sociology, etc) want to admit besides the History department before figuring out who they want to fund. So a Latin American historian may be competing with one or two from the History department and then maybe some people from Comp Lit and Anthropology for limited amount of money from LAS department. It's up to the LAS department to decide who they want to give the money to and how much, and then in turn, the History department has to see if it can afford to pay the rest. It's very complex and it takes time so you all need to be patient and you'll be glad at the end that professors did their damn best to get you (or other people) funding in such a complex process. As for Europeanists and Americanists, remember you're in over-saturated fields! With the recession, we really need to step back and breathe and realize that it's very difficult right now for departments to do this. Professors are seriously fighting over students and slots. Departments need to figure out how they can afford to take as many as they'd like to and find all sources of funding. So... CHILL. P.S. I didn't even hear from Emory until the first week of March and I already knew I wasn't going to get in because I knew of someone exactly in my field who was already admitted. Although I already mourned, getting the letter was kind of unnecessary.

dumb ass.

*sputters* You mean... you mean the mailmen in the Great White North can't handle snow?! That makes US Postal Service the true heros... "Rain or shine, snow or sleet, we deliver your mail!"

cover girl

Maroon Five

I had a dream last night about Penn. I was told that I was accepted to Penn and I would be visiting. And I did and I was basically checking with every single person if I was truly accepted to Penn. "Really? I got in Penn?! Seriously? I'm in?! Penn chose me?!" I felt quite excited and just so happy that I got into Penn! I wanted to scream! And when it was time, I thought, to meet my adviser, for some reason she was MIA and I ended up with someone else who had an interest in my project.... Then the alarm clock woke me up. Except I didn't apply to Penn for this round. I did in my first round. But how Penn made it to my dreams is beyond me... although it felt very, very exciting.... Yeah I'm spending too much time here.

time machine

For me, aside from the obvious, personality was important! This can only work if your professors know a lot of people and you show them the list of potential advisers. I showed my list to every PhD I knew and said, "Do you know any of these people personally?" They gave me their impressions and insights. They told me who to avoid in certain programs and work with X or Y as my primary adviser. I've actually had several professors saying that I should work with X, Y, or Z simply because of personality and working style fit. I have gone through my BA and MA advisers and each had their strengths and weaknesses so I have a fairly good idea of what I'm going to be looking for when choosing an adviser (if I get a choice!). As for the department, I agree with ChibaCityBlues about looking at the department as a whole. What kind of direction is it taking? What are people talking about? (as evident through seminars and lectures on webpage). One of my schools surprisingly became one of my top choices simply because of what the department as a whole had to offer for stretching my brain. You will definitely want to have SOME graduate students who share thematic interests so you can piggyback one and another in discussions. If you're the only one interested in migration and everyone wants to study revolutions, well, you'll get lonely fast unless you work really hard at making that connection that there's a migration effect from revolutions.

Hahaha. I remember this from 3 years ago in 2008! Thankfully I had a very tough BA thesis adviser who pretty much pulled my ear to keep moving with my thesis regardless of what goes on with grad school admissions. She was anxious as well but she just wasn't going to let it get in the way! And that's precisely why I wanted to finish the full draft of my MA thesis last December (2009) so I would just be sitting on drafts that needed to be edit while I was waiting. Now... I have nothing. And historyhopeful, I will pretty much expect that you're not going to be the ONLY Jew needing to make this request. Tell them that you'd like to come but you observe Shabbat.

Generally around the 20th or so.

That means nothing.

WOW! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Yeah, I'd do the same. I'm surprised that you didn't scream in the hallway. I would've. Mmmm... No betting for me for this week... I'm telling you, I'm not expecting anything until after February 20th. I need something by the 24th so I can get drunk in celebration or sorrow with my friend when I visit him!

You will survive. You will survive. I never quite planned for Plan B last year because my MA adviser was quite confident that I would get in somewhere, particularly in my top choice school. I was also in complete denial that I could be rejected all around. What I deeply regretted though was not applying for any programs to "fill in" the gap year with deadlines in February-April. By the time I realized the reality, it was too late to apply for any of these year-long programs in the US or abroad. So I had to face the horrible job market for 4-5 months. I really didn't know what the future was going to be like. I didn't know whether or not I wanted to take a year or two off. The best suggestion that I can give you really is that if there are any year-long or abroad programs that you're interested in (Americorps, Peacecorps, etc), get your stuff in ASAP. Everyone else is applying for these positions as well and you won't want to be shut out of a terrific opportunity. If you have educational loans, apply for Americorps. Yeah, the pay sucks but you get some loans taken care of and it's only for one year. Worry about the job market in April when the hiring season actually begins. But if there are any programs you'd like to do if it wasn't for grad school, GO FOR IT. Also, I highly recommend, if you can afford it, take the time to do whatever you've always wanted to do- travel to countries you'd like to visit (that you won't have a chance to while a PhD student) or volunteer in an area that you're really interested in. Or whatever. So, to give you a sense of how I'm spending my time off: May-August: Looked for jobs, interviewed July-October: Studied for the GREs September-November: Volunteered at the local therapeutic equestrian center (LOVED IT!), lived at home September-December: Worked on PhD apps, spoke with professors, visited some schools November-March: Live in Germany to study German and travel April: Recover, readjust to American life May-August: Summer job When I return, I'll evaluate my situation and see where I'm at.