TMP

Nope. Not too much that you can do except to express your enthusiasm for the program. If you get a politician involved... it just looks tacky, I think. If you already had strong letters of recommendation, there's really no reason for your prof to write another one. If he's got buddies at this schools, he could just call them up on your behalf to see what's the story.

Like origami style? Sorry to hear about BC though.

eurocentric, a-hem, you turned down Princeton?! With the stipend that people would kill for? But then again, having grown up 20 minutes away from Princeton, I can understand why Chicago would a better place to live for 5+ years! Congrats!

What the OP meant by that is that in the academia, it's much better to have your degrees from different places. Which is why OP's having a hard time deciding. Back to the alma mater where s/he might not "grow" as a historian because s/he is dealing with professors s/he has had with same ideas, or go to a new department but have to pay all that money. If I were you, I would get in contact with your potential advisoers at PhD programs that you were rejected from and ask what they think. You need to get outside faculty opinions.

Right with you, tourist. If I wind up at IU with you in the fall, we can cheer each other up through stressful times by reminding how much life would suck more at NYU...

StrangeLight makes many good points. The kind of profile you're looking to build is almost similar to mine now that you've explained your situation more. I did internships at internationally known museums- one for 2 summers and then another for the spring semester/summer while I was abroad. As a result- A) It looks FANTASTIC when I put it all in my CV and I've got killer research skills that have my advisers and fellow grad students scratching their heads how I've come up with Y and Z in addition to X that they knew I would find. My advisers now want me to publish a portion of my MA thesis for its content and my findings even though the writing still needs to be refined. But question is... what is it that you want to do with your PhD, given the kind of CV you're building? I will tell you that it all looks truly great on a CV as professors in my FIRST round of PhD apps said it was the biggest jewel of my application package. But it's not enough to make up for some of other deficiencies that I had as I was planning on going straight from UG to PhD. Nevertheless, it didn't merit enough for me to be considered seriously. Some actually said to me that because I did so much work at museums, why don't I just forget about the PhD and get a MA in public history? Ouch. Yes, academics will say that. Of course, I never applied to this school again. Second round, with 3 working languages, a MA with decent GPA, very compelling thesis topic, and sharper research skills, well, it's in progress, let me put it this way. My MA coursework and thesis have proven that I am a worthy enough to be an academic, not just someone interested in doing public history. I've only had one academic tell me that it all still looks like I'm more interested in working the industry rather than the academia and I'd be taking a spot away from someone who really wants to be a professor and needs this institution's degree to get an academic job. (Thankfully I've been rejected by this particular program) I think it's a question of what your intentions really are. I am finding that schools who have connections to the museums that I've worked at are much more accepting of my path and CV and are likely to admit/waitlist me than those who are intent on producing PhDs strictly for academia. Individual professors will admire you but the entire adcom will not necessarily so unless they do want to produce PhDs and place them in wherever they can find jobs. THOSE are the programs you want to apply to where your CV and experience will be seriously considered as part of who you are. Also departments that have a relationship with a public history program. Most of the top 10-15 programs are professor-producing machines. If you feel that one is a great fit for your interests, read their mission statement and question the DGS if such experiences like yours will be considered. If it doesn't look like the program is interested in helping grads get jobs outside the academia, scratch it off your list. Professors will indeed take notice of your passion for research but as StrangeLight points out, during your MA coursework, you will not have time to do any research except for your seminar papers. You do your research over breaks. So, as I've said, you need to show that you are capable of doing the coursework and putting it first. Can you do that? If you take relevant courses, you will definitely find a way to connect your seminar paper topic to your research. Bottom line: Look at your research internships and independent studies as opportunities to practice and enhance your research skills, not to improve your CV. They neither hurt or help your way into PhD. An original thesis will.

I am waiting on NYU as well but for a different department. The bureaucracy is indeed a nightmare. Sometimes I wondered why I bothered to re-apply but the faculty fit was there... I've already given up on NYU given that someone I know got accepted last week. Either I'm rejected or on some secret waitlist. I'm also still waiting for another school (also in different department) and have just sent an e-mail to my potential adviser as I have a deadline to meet for a fellowship on Monday... But don't you all find it slightly unreal that we've actually made it THIS far?!

You might luck out in August. But chances are, you'll find crappy 1 BR apts by then. If you don't really want to put down a deposit but want to secure a nice apt, you might as well get a roommate who already has the apartment and is looking for someone. The person's already paid the deposit.

OP, what did your professors have to say with you taking only 3 classes each semester in favor of doing ECs, both related and unrelated? And you don't have financial hardship (as it doesn't seem to suggest it in your post) that you absolutely have to work to earn money for school. Grad schools don't care about unrelated ECs and internships.

Agreed. You've got to let them know anyway because they did you a favor by vouching for you. Don't worry about doing anything for a thank you other than a verbal thank you or a short e-mail updating them on your status and thanking them for their time in supporting your application. It's part of the profession- writing the letters. Every professor knows it's expected of them to write them.

Guys, don't you wish you were in my situation? I am directly in competition with my advisor's former MA student. We applied to 3 schools together (maybe 4 that I don't know about?) in exact same sub-field. She has gotten in FOUR out of seven. She's known about one of them since early February. At the time, she was just relieved that her hunt for a PhD acceptance was over (this is her 2nd round as well as mine). I was seriously pissed at the time because they had picked her over me. Then she got rejected from her dream school. Then offers started rolling in since the last week of February. Too bad that I was rejected from the first school that she was accepted because if I had been on the waitlist, I would've pressured her to turn that school down if she wasn't overly excited about it. Because I wanted to go there! Now she's been accepted at one school that I've also received rejection from, and that's okay. It's not a good fit for me anymore. She just got into my dream program from my last cycle. Had I not found 2 other schools that were much, much better fit for me and had more friendly environments, I would be seriously pissed again right now. But I just waitlisted at one of my schools (that she didn't apply to) and I'm thrilled. It also helps a bit right now that I haven't been notified yet from that school that she got into. Because... if I'm on the waitlist for that dream school, I would be telling her to make up her mind ASAP. And well, let's see what next week brings. I'm not even going to ask what's her 4th acceptance. What's amazing about all of this is that she's been acting spoiled and selfish. She absolutely refused to share notes with me and doing that has made me crazy over the last 6 weeks (Although I did send in a very polite message to her about this particular school that I have yet to hear that she had been waitlisted at two years ago and that's when she 'fessed up). But she did have the right to keep her privacy. I wish I could tell her to be please be considerate of how I am feeling because she was exactly in my shoes two years ago. Unlike most of us on the board, she wasn't overly elated about her first acceptance and couldn't appreciate anything until she got her acceptances from "better" schools, including a top 10. She's just very elitist and you know what? I'm just glad that there aren't a lot of people like her. Honestly, if anything that I've learned from her attitude and perspectives from this board this year, I'm going to make a resolution to be very open minded about choosing schools next time. I don't have to be excited about the school's name. Only my academic peers and I can be excited about the names of professors that I'd be working with. My family and friends should make my happiness a top priority, not the name of the school. This is academia. So yeah, welcome to the world of knowing someone else personally who is directly competing for the same spot with a spoiled attitude. It was a gamble to apply with her this year but it was something that I was willing to do. Wish me luck in refraining from pressuring her to make up her mind if I do wind up waitlisted at this school...

So you know, I'm still waiting...

Since you already got into a PhD program, no question about it that you should be able to get in a few next time around. Apparently you're qualified, but NOT that qualified enough for more selective schools. Before you truly jump in the MA, please write down your specific goals of what you'd like to get out of the MA. You have only a short amount of time to accomplish them before you decide to re-apply for PhD. Don't be vague like "Write a thesis" or "Take a few courses in U.S. history." Be specific such as "Take a seminar with Prof X because he is a Big Deal" and "Learn Italian." Writing specific goals will help you stay on track for a PhD program... otherwise you might just become one of those aimless MA students in the eyes of professors. If you have them in hand, the list can be great to look at when you're feeling crappy and wondering why you're a MA program, not that PhD program that you turned down. It's been so helpful for me as I went through my MA program (and keeping in perspective at the moment that this MA program was NOT a waste of time or money!). Post it somewhere where you can find it easily. The decision is yours. I would also look at the job placement for the PhD program. But, geez, $9,000 more... will you have better quality of life though?

Archives. Archives. Especially if #1 doesn't offer any kind of summer funding for research. I couldn't have done my thesis at my Midwest school without summer funding to do research out of state. Like others say, look at your personal priorities and go with it. I'd go wherever you can have higher quality of life, including having more money in your savings account.

E-mailed the DGS at Indiana today... figuring I've been rejected as VampireLincoln and tourist have been notified already. I'M ON THE WAITLIST!!!! At this point, I am so happy to know that I am actually good enough for a Ph.D. program. *happy dance* And yes, I am going to hold out my hope as this is one of my two best fit, top choice schools. The e-mail was very nice it was on the tone of in a normal year, I'd be in. Now I just have to wait for two more places...

Sorry to be blunt but walk away NOW. Do not apply for Fall 2011. As long this economy is still jobless in the fall, people are going to keep on applying to graduate schools and schools will keep their money purses' strings tight. You haven't read all of History 2010 thread and threads relating to "should I take this offer or not?" in THIS forum, do so. Even if I don't get in anywhere this round, I'm going to apply for fall 2012 when I hope the economy will improve by then (Well the President's gotta do something before the elections...). Unless the unemployment rate plummets by November and donors are willing to write out bigger checks because of a bear market, I'm waiting. I'm going to find things to do that I like to do to occupy my time. I've got time. But if you're going to ignore my first advice, then at least read the next: I am finishing up my MA at the moment. I SO wish that I had waited until my thesis was absolutely in tip-top shape instead of being a pretty good finished product (quality of what I'd hand in for a grade) as it is now. You should absolutely use your thesis for a writing sample, not a class paper, because it shows YOUR ideas, YOUR approach, and YOUR writing. It shows more about you as a researcher and a writer than an assigned class paper that is done in shorter amount of time with limited resources. And UR is not a good place for history, especially at graduate level. Take a look at their course offerings. If you get a sick feeling in your stomach as you look, you don't want to apply there. There is a dearth of opportunities in that department. Also UR pours more resources into its science and hard social science programs. I don't mean to discourage you from applying to PhD programs but just want you to see the big picture out there. As one PA said, "Make sure you come here with wide-open eyes. The job market sucks." I said to him, "That's okay. I've got other plans for my Ph.D. and this is what I'm thinking and why...." Then he said, "Glad that you thought this through."

As long you're still in school.... does it have some kind of course on personal finance? Usually career services or senior class will host something like that. Go to your Career Services office... yes, it seems unlikely that they would actually do something like this... but they DO have resources and books on personal finance. Go and ask! You should also ask to see someone who can help you in this kind of situation even if it's not on the list of services. They specialize in helping you jumpstart your life after college. And... read the fine print for fees should you open a new account... banks will come up with all kinds of stupid things to earn revenue. For example, Bank of America requires $350 in savings account or monthly transfers of $25 from your checking in order to avoid a "maintenance fee" of $5. Yeah! They'll take away $5 from your SAVINGS account... I've yelled at them enough about leaving my savings account alone! You can have a few credit cards but the more you have, the worse your credit rating will be.

But the answers you would really receive from people who's been in history for grad school will tell you this. GO FOR THE MONEY. If your MA program has reputable professors in your field, you've got nothing to lose. No debt. Less debt is better for humanities. If B is Harvard, I would say flat out no.

I would wait for this professor. When they say "likely", usually it does come through unless something horrible happens. Once you're totally in and the funding isn't quite enough for you, haggle with them some more. If they're not budging, then inquire about taking RA/TA-ships at the law school. If they balk at it, ask why. And read the contract- sometimes PhD programs don't want you working part-time. Also ask graduate students about additional funding opportunities.

I would suggest posting this in the History forum... you might get very interesting answers! And these are people who KNOW grad admissions for history nearly inside out.

My classmate from UG only got into UCLA. Got rejected from Michigan, Harvard, and Princeton. Still waiting on Penn and NYU.... and i thought Middle East history was supposed to be a "hot" field?

It is all strange so far to see people getting the kickback to MA program, more than other history program I've seen on these boards. I would give it all a few days for things to settle before calling the department to find out about PhD admissions. My advisor had wanted me to apply to GW but I said no (actually for personal reasons that I didn't feel like sharing with her at the time). So now I'm sort of wondering what would've happened if I did apply for PhD there... would they kick me to the MA pile even though I already am getting one? But give it a few days and see if anyone gets accepted or rejected for the PhD before calling the department. It's beginning to look like a conspiracy... not just for Sovetskaya...

In addition to placement rates... Connections are everything. Look at the acknowledgments in your favorite professors' books at Northeastern. Do they mention other people you'd like to work with for the PhD? If you don't recognize a name, it says something about the professor's social network, that the professor isn't out there batting for himself/herself or his/her students. Yes, PhD is usually preferable to hold a gov't level job like, say, Historian of the Senate, because the job is so much more demanding in terms of expertise than at a local archive. They want people who are "walking encyclopedias." I'm not sure how many people actually expected to work in the industry when they receive their PhDs and they do usually come from well-ranked schools. Also, what I've observed from being in DC as an intern, visiting researcher in San Francisco, and as a student at my University, if you're going to stay local (as in Boston), where you get your MA won't matter as much as if you're looking to re-locate to another part of the country. I do imagine that if a colleague of mine in DC who got her PhD from a school ranked in the 90s tried to move to a similar institution in California, she'd get raised eyebrows unless she's worked at this job for quite some time that her school's name won't matter. But if she stayed local, she'll be fine. It's a question of local networking- people in the community know the faculty and trust them to produce good MA degree holders. So if you really want to work in DC, try to get better funding offers from other programs, or re-apply for DC schools next year.

A) Lucky for you that you get another offer!' Don't you suspect that GW felt a bit offended that you turned down their offer and re-applied to their program? C) $18K is not quite ideal for DC living... I'd be squeezing pennies everyday (as a former DC intern!) Done is done

Ditto. That's the disadvantage of getting letters from senior professors because you've got his/her whole history of students to compete with. That's why junior faculty members are better but at the same time, unless they know people personally, their names aren't quite out there yet as the senior professors'. 2 of my letters were from senior faculty members but I lucked out with their particular situations. One letter was from a junior faculty member but she had extensive connections and knew many of the professors I wanted to work with personally. At least you can cross that guy off your list and pick someone else... if you've got a class with a historian this semester, start kissing his ass now