Septimius

Has anyone heard anything definitive from Tulane?

I grew up in the area, and actually did my undergrad at SUNY Albany. As far as the winters go, Albany county is very very good about keeping the main roads clear, but the city is also notorious for towing whole blocks worth of cars if they're parked on the wrong side of the street at the wrong time of day just after a snow storm and they have to plow. It's a constant problem, and the news is always reporting that the city residents are complaining about how the city isn't clear when certain streets are scheduled to be cleared, and that it's just a scheme to extort money from the residents. On that note, I wouldn't suggest living in the city itself as the downtown area has had an increase in crime, and two years ago there were two UAlbany students that were murdered in the downtown area. Living in Colonie is by far your best bet. It is very low crime compared to Albany, a commute is anywhere from 5-15 minutes. Also, the police force in Colonie is rated one of the area's best. As fas as driving in the snow, it not as bad as you'd think. The only time it's a problem is when it's snowing. Once the storm has passed the the roads are dry, salted and sanded and it's more or less driving as normal. All you need to remember when driving in the snow is to make sure to accelerate and slow down/stop at a much slower rate, and keep your speed quite low. You'll get the hang of it. The library at UAlbany is absolutely huge, the campus is very easy to navigate, and since your not used to the cold weather you'll appreciate the tunnels under the campus. The tunnels are, well tunnels that connect the four quads to evey building on the campus. They are heated and well lit and are made for getting around the campus in the winter months. They are quite big, and actually all year round they will be filled with students, faculty, mail trucks, and the maintenance crews...something well worth asking about once you get on campus. If you really want to live downtown and utilize the bus system, you should be aware that the area you'd be looking at also is filled with undergrads from Saint Rose College. The entire area is generally known as the "college ghetto" since the buildings are kinda ratty, but it's primarilly partying undergrads that live there, not your typical urban, thug crowd, so that's a plus. Speaking if which, the main artery that is in the Albany area is Central Ave... stay south of it in the Albany area, as the Arbor Hill neighborhood is north of it. Arbor Hill is the bad part if Albany, and should be avoided by you at all costs. Also, the bus system also connects into Colonie if you're interested. The city has a great public transit system. There are a few supermarkets in the area, the two big names are Price Chopper and Hannaford. There are two of them across the street from each other on Central Ave, and they are very ghetto. The nicest, cleanest, and non-urban one is the Hannaford on Wolf rd in Colonie. As far as the gay scene goes... I have no idea, but I do know that Albany is a very open city, and just because it isn't a metropolis does not mean that it's inhabitants are close minded. UAlbany has a very active gay/lesbian student organisation that I'm sure can direct you to the local gay bars. I do know at least that there are a few downtown, "the fuse box" and "the manhole." While I've never been to them to let you know how they are, they both have been there for a long time, so I would imagine that there is a fairly active gay community. If anyone has any other particular questions feel free to PM me. Hope this helps.

Look. I'm writing this thread well after top PhD programs have notified. The one in which I am waitlisted for that I want notified their accepted applicants in late January, and gave the funding info within a week. (A fellow student of mine was lucky enough to be on the first list) I could understand your hostility towards me if I posted this a month ago, but please... It's mid-March. The top programs have already had their prospectives weekend; and all their accepted apps have had weeks to mull over the finances. If you also noticed, I mentioned that the school that I am waitlisted for is a top-ten school. I'm not saying this to brag or sound arrogant, but rather for the simple fact that those accepted to Harvard and Yale have known for months, and quite frankly, they're probably not waiting on that response from the University of Puerto Rico. So, since Harvard and Yale both have offered great packages, and are stellar schools, make up your mind already! As I said before, we all since being freshman have waited for, and anticipated going into a PhD program, and have likely looked over our top choice programs hundreds of times, nothing new is going to pop up that makes you change your mind, the funding offers in this economic climate are more-or-less set in stone, so... Just because some applicants are afraid to commit why should those waitlisted suffer? Again.... let me clarify why, and to whom this thread was started. (I'm getting sick of having to re-say this) #1: To those who are accepted to numerous schools, and already know where they want to go: NOTIFY THE SCHOOLS. #2: To those who are accepted to numerous schools who might not realize that there are waitlistees waiting: PLEASE NOTIFY THE SCHOOLS. #3: To those who are seriously confused, and weighing out options between a few: NOTIFY THOSE THAT YOU DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT. And good luck in figuring out which is best. But please try to answer reasonably soon. Papercuts: When I was referring to those who are being predatory and juvenile, as is clear in the post, it was directed to those who know where want to go, and are deliberately waiting to see if they can bleed the school for more money as a tactic not those who actually need it. And no... I have notified those programs that I have been accepted to that I know for sure I do not want, and did it even before I was waitlisted. As of now I am waitlisted at this one top-ten PhD program, and am waitlisted at a 10-15 program. I have outstanding offers from fully-funded MA programs, but they either accept or deny and do not utilize a waitlist of any kind, so the reason that I am sitting on them is because it does not matter to any other applicants.

Good. I am glad that the air is cleared here, and this post has returned to one of usefulness. What you say, I said above, makes perfect sense in terms of a large program (which UCLA is), so with that I entirely concur. I will check out the thread though for more info as you suggested. Thanks. When you have a family to consider it changes everything, and hopefully funding comes through for you that is adequate for your needs. But at least you're down to two. My original request to those out there is more geared to the fortunate few who have a handful of open offers from multiple top-tens and are procrastinating in giving answers, not so much to those who for good reasons are still waiting. At least this will all be over in about a month.

This is unfortunately a very true scenario. One of the profs that is on the adcomm here at UPenn, told us all that this happens quite regularly. Also, since this year things are even worse than last year, the number of straight-up accepted students is down, waitlists are shorter, and the total number of apps is even higher all contribute to this. Plus, many schools are offering less funding than they typically have in the past. Which also makes me worry that those that are waiting for more funding might not even get it at all. UPenn had very deep pockets, and typically make offers to around 20 students, expecting 8-10 to accept. This year they could only offer to those that there were funds to back. So, while there possibly might be some truth to "sitting on an acceptance for more money" I doubt that that will produce much in this economic climate.

As far a typical top-15 program is concerned, your stipend comes with a TA-ship. For these programs, there are very few matriculated PhD students a year, and of the three admitted AHMA apps at Berkeley for example, I doubt any of them will have a difficulty in securing further fellowships. Perhaps at a large PhD program, one that admits around 20 a year, you would have competition in applying for fellowships, but even so, how plausible is it that student A is selected over student B since his funding is slightly greater? For the record, I'm not trying to be arrogant, and yes I am irritated, but none of my frustration is directed at you personally, so please don't take it so. My intention for starting this thread is merely to let those know who have multiple offers to notify already. Especially those institutions that they have no intentions of attending. And if you're holding out at all, I sincerely hope that it is pure confusion and not because you're trying to add a few more dollars to your check. Yes, I am aware that you, ResPublica, are not necessarily referring to money, but in essence you are, you stated that it is important to be in a higher funding tier, which is more money, and by being in that tier you will have more opportunities... I don't buy that. The higher up we move the more selective and competitive it gets, but what funding tier one is in could not, should not, and in a rational world would not matter to a committee allocating further fellowships. ***Unless perhaps you refer to a quite large PhD granting program.***

Yes, my intention is that those people who already know where they do not want to go, but were accepted, to let them know. Although to sit on offer "until the last minute" as you put it, in order to extort more money from a program by holding your decision hostage is quite juvenile. The adcomm here at UPenn has on numerous occasions said how frustrating it is when applicants wait until even April to notify them, the understanding is that they notified accepted prospectives in mid-to-late January, it is professional courtesy to likewise be reasonably punctual in replying. Also, as far as how ones future CV is concerned, to think that a difference of a few thousand dollars a year of a stipend given to you during your graduate program has any significant bearing on your marketability is ridiculous. What is important is where the degree is from, what published works one has, the quality of your dissertation, what those on your dissertation committee have to say about your potential, your prior teaching experience, your current research interests and pending publishing rights, what international fellowships and research one has achieved, and your fit for the department at hand. To assume that any school would say: "wow, applicant A received $17,500 a year as a stipend from Stanford, and applicant B received $18,500 a year as a stipend from Duke. Let's give the tenure-track position to the guy that was offered a grand more, because that means he's better." C'mon. Really think about what your saying here. To think that an institution would even take this into consideration is like saying that when your shopping for a new car you choose to buy the Volvo over the Audi because the Volvo has a bigger ashtray. While that might matter slightly to a heavy smoker, it is just silly to think that it should be considered important. There are 50 more important things that matter to an institution when reviewing job applications than who received more in funding, especially when it varies from year-to-year and region-to-region and even school-to-school in the same region on the same year! To hold out on notifying a school for the sake of trying to bleed more from them, especially in a year when you are damn lucky to have gotten into anywhere, is unbelievably infantile and predatory. If this is how any of you choose to make any of your life decisions than maybe you should turn down all your offers, and instead go to Haiti and sell cans of Campbell's soup for $8.00 a can to the newly homeless and destitute.

To all of those who have been accepted to PhD programs, please notify the school in which you plan to go, and reject those that you are turning down. I am waitlisted to a top program, and am loosing my mind amid all this waiting. The bottom line is this: If you have been accepted, you most likely have been notified as early as late January, and you have most likely also received all of your acceptances and rejections as well... So enough waffling, please don't sit on offers that you are not going to accept. I understand that it is a hard decision, and that you have to balance out the varying factors of funding, fit, location, etc,... But remember that there are a handful of waitlistees that have waited for over a month to hear from programs, but they cannot act until you do. We all have had months, semesters, and in some cases years exploring the PhD programs out there, and where we'd really like to go, you even made it into a short list of those that you applied to, and then that list became shorter when you were accepted and given offers... This shouldn't be that hard of a decision. I think that to have had upwards of 2 months to sit on this is enough. The school I'm waitlisted to is a top-ten program, and only made offers to 12 prospectives, and waitlisted 6, this school is my top choice, and I know that 3-4 of those 12 will likely go elsewhere, and of the 6 waitlisted, perhaps 2-3 might as well. I'd rather not specify what school this is, as I do not want to influence anyone to accept. but please... enough is enough.

I think that we both were replying at the same time, and I finished first. But, to reiterate, I am not a UPenn undergrad, but a post-bac (please see the post just before yours ) Also.... to JustChill: I assume that you would like the schools that have accepted you to be anonymous, but perhaps if you shared them, it would be easier for those of us here to give better assistance. For example, if one of those "public ivies" that accepted you was UC-Berkeley this greatly changes my advice here at least...

Yes I am currently at UPenn, but I did my undergraduate work at a large, insignificant state school. I am here at UPenn enrolled in a post-bac program to beef-up my ancient language skills. That being said I also have not applied to any Ivies for a PhD and am instead going for a MA first (although I did toss my name in the hat for UNC and was waitlisted) The MA programs in classics that I applied to are all fully-funded programs (for whatever reason very few, if any history MAs are fully-funded) Now, here at UPenn, the post-bac directors hold bi-weekly meetings for the group of us post-bacs, and have a different faculty member speaking each meeting. The faculty that speak here also are all on the admissions committee here so the points that they make are extremely valid, and sound. According to the adcomms here at UPenn, nearly 80% of all accepted PhD applicants had a MA degree first. We were advised to achieve a MA first because: 1. The obvious fact that you have a higher degree than most other prospectives. 2. It shows that you are capable of strong graduate-level work. 3. Your odds are better for getting into a top-program, because: ------a. Most likely your GRE scores will be higher after 2 years of graduate work. ------b. Most likely your new writing sample will be stronger, and more polished than prior. ------c. Your recommendations are commenting on your graduate-level performance. ------d. Your SOP will show a more dynamic and further honed applicant. ------e. You will have more opportunity to further your language skills. ------f. You will most likely have had TA experience. ------g. You might have had the opportunity to speak at conferences. ------h. Maybe, you would have an article published. (wishful thinking most likely) 4. The simple fact that you have another degree, that you are going through the "cursus honorum" so-to-speak. Now, obviously to have a MA will not guarantee anything. To think this is foolish. But, it will definitely not "hurt" your chances at getting into a better program. For all the reasons above you would definitely be a better applicant. Also, as I said before, there are always exceptions, and there are great programs out there that are not Ivies or par-Ivies. But... It is very foolish to think that the prestige of your school is not VERY persuasive when in the job market in academia. Of course you have to be able to meet the expectations of that top-tier program on other parts of your cv other than the name of where you came from, but many times for new graduates the largest factor that really pushes you to the short list of possibles is the reputation of your program that you have just graduated from. I realize that other factors exist, and that it is not "all" about where you came from, but for new graduates it is 80-90% "where" you came from. I don't know anything in particular about the MA at Harvard that you are referring to, but I would assume that you applied to that program since either an adviser at your current school recommended it, or you have thoroughly examined it and determined that it is a good next step. Again... If money permits, and the program is designed to be a benefit to you, by all means do it. In your case to that list of "why get a MA first" add this one: your new recommenders will be profs from Harvard, and most likely well-connected. Good Luck!

I agree. If you can financially swing it, by all means go to Harvard. Honestly, there should be no real rush to get the PhD just to find yourself in a spotty job market with a degree from a non top-ten program. Are there positions for those with a PhD from non top-ten programs? Sure, but nothing fantastic. All of the profs here at UPenn have said that if you don't get your PhD from a top-ten school, don't waste the time. That even though there are great programs out there that are not top-ranked, and that offer great funding their graduates have a very difficult time getting a tenure-track position. Remember... every year, every single year, each top-ten program puts out say 6-8 fresh PhDs. Now... say of those near 80 graduates, most will be looking for work in academia. At least 75 of those 80. So... when you're applying for a tenure-track position somewhere not only are there those 75 new "top graduates" on the market, plus top-ten graduates that have been teaching somewhere for a few years and are still not in a tenure-track position, plus those from your lower ranked school that have been out there gaining experience, beefing up their cv.... Oh, and then you and all the graduates from the lower tiers that are new. Look... It would be great if these rankings were meaningless, if having an Ivy PhD was equal to one from the University of North Dakota (not a real school), but it's not. Where you get your PhD from is everything. Do not listen to people who say "oh, it's all about fit, and where it 'feels' right." IT IS NOT!! It is a lie that we all say to ourselves to justify the fact that we're not a part of the 3% of the applicants who were accepted into a PhD program at Harvard, Stanford, etc,... Obviously there are always exceptions, and I'm sure that someone who reads this and is all upset can find half a dozen or so examples of profs at top-ten schools that didn't get their PhD from a top-ten. So what?!? These are most likely extremely brilliant academics who would have succeeded no matter where they went. Whether we like it or not, whether we want to admit it or not, this is the state of America today: Rank matters, prestige matters, pedigree matters, bigger is better. We all want to have a PhD from Harvard, Princeton or Yale. And so does every university when they're reviewing applicants for that new tenure-track position. Step back a second and look at the question that you're asking.... Your asking: "Should I go to Harvard, or a non-top ten school?" Also.... in 10 years what are your possible situations. I mean in either case you should have a PhD. So... Situation 1: You've gone to the non top-ten school and received a PhD. Situation 2: You've gone to Harvard, received a MA, and received a PhD from (most-likely) a higher ranked school. In both situations, you may or may not have a job. Ask yourself which one seems more likely for you to have a tenure-track job though. As far as I can see it, the only thing really pushing for the benefits of situation 1 is to shave off two years. Honestly ask yourself: "what is better in the long run?" If the financial means are there, in my opinion, there is no debate. Good luck though, and congrats on all the offers too by the way!!!

To the one who posted on the results page regarding UArizona MA programs.... There was beginning to be a discussion forum on the results page, so I'll address your question here. I am the one who posted an acceptance to UArizona via the website. If you're having a hard time checking yours, do this... Go here and log in: https://apply.grad.arizona.edu/users Then click on the link that says "Classics MA Fall 2010" in the center of the page under "My Applications" you can't miss it. Once there, you'll see your status. I had a paragraph explaining to me that I am accepted. Good Luck!!

As far as the wailtlisting goes I know how it feels, I'm currently waitlisted at UNC. When I contacted the DGS to find out more info I was informed that there is no real "order" to the waitlist, or rather that it isn't necessarily strictly ranked, and as far as knowing how many are on the list with you, I was told this was confidential. One major factor to remember as well is about your field. At UNC there a good number of specialties and the smaller ones can only admit 1 grad student. (As in my field, Ancient) But in larger fields, like US history, they can probably admit around 6, so if say 3 of those 6 reject UNC's offer, then they go to the list. They would likely go to 2 of waitlisted US history applicants, and maybe 1 from another field. But, if the 1 from a smaller field goes, then they would go directly to the 1 waitlisted for that field, and if none from that field were waitlisted, then they'd most likely go to another smaller field waitlistee. These are more or less my guesses on how this works, but one thing that I know for sure is this: There is not a master list with all waitlisted apps ranked from 1-15, and they work their way down the list numerically whenever a spot opens in any field. If that was how it happened, it would be very possible that say out of the incoming class of 20, which when the first acceptances were made was split to: 6-US/3-Euro/2-Military/2-Global/1-Asian/1-Woman's/1-Russian/1-LatinAmer/1-Ancient... totaling 20. Where the numbers per field was very fair and distributed. Now.... Lets say that all 6 of the US apps turn down UNC, as well as 1 from European, 1 from Global, and 1 from Russian. That adds up to 9 denials. Now if on that waitlist the top 9 applicants are all Latin Americanists, you would have an incoming class of 10 Latin American historians, and no US historians. Very unbalanced. The bottom line here is that: contrary to popular belief there really cannot be a "ranked" system of all apps. It is reasonable though to have a ranked list among sub-fields, but as the DGS from UNC told me, they strive for a balance among their specialties. All this being said, I think that the general consensus for waitlists is that most will be eventually offered admission. I am here at UPenn now, and was told that they usually offer admission to twice as many applicants as they can afford to fund, expecting less than half to accept the offer. But since last year they only offer to their max budget. They also said that as far as how they waitlist, it is a very short list, and they expect nearly all, if not all to be offered admission at some point. Feel free to contact the DGS and let them now about your desire for their program. Good luck!

You are absolutely right, and trust me I know how it feels to be rejected from all schools. But, I think that what has be bothered the most is that I worry that all this is doing is further postponing my rejection, and giving me a false hope.

Ahhh, application season 2010. I was here last year and applied only to the top programs (Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, UPenn, Stanford, and Berkeley) and had no luck (obviously) and wasn't even waitlisted... So I took the 2009/10 academic year to really beef-up my ancient languages in a post baccalaureate program at UPenn. The general consensus among the profs here (who also sit on the admissions committee) is that it is in our best interest to go get a MA degree before applying for a PhD program, since more than half of the grad students here at UPenn came in with a MA. So... I applied to a good selection of top MA programs in ancient history, and in some cases classics, but decided to throw my name in the hat at UNC-CH, where I was wait-lised. I was told when I spoke to the graduate secretary there that UNC has never done waitlisting before, last year was the first and this year is the second. They typically will over-offer admission (as all schools do) with the expectation that around 60-75% of those that are offered it will take it. Things are so tight at UNC that they are not allowed to "gamble," if you will, with the budget, and they can only make offers to those that they can fund. Odd since even here at UPenn, the profs said that they have never had 100% of those offered funding accept it. Oh well, it is what it is.... Not sure what would be a worse feeling: Getting rejected from all schools you applied to (as happened to me in 2009) or... to be on a waitlist (which essentially is that your good enough for their program, but someone is just that much better---in fact I'm sure that this is where the GREs really come into the process; I was 590V/610Q/5.5AW)and then be rejected as everyone is taking whatever they can get.... The bottom line is that waiting sucks. Especially when you have to wait weeks beyond those that were accepted and those that were rejected. I was told by the DGS that since students have until April 15 to give an answer, it could be shortly after that that the final answers are sent to those wait-listed... So, looks like the date I have been waiting for (March 15--the unofficial notification deadline) is now pushed ahead to somewhere in early May. I was told by one of the professors here that being waitlisted is sort of like purgatory. Although in purgatory there isn't a chance that you'll eventually go to Hell, now is there?

30 over here

yeah, me neither. You know I figured that Tulane was a safety school too. Oh well. I guess in this economy and limited funding from university's that nowhere is a "safety school."

Well, I just got off the phone with the DGS, and she was very friendly and was able to give a good amount of info. That is that she has already sent out unofficial email to let those accepted know, and an official letter with funding info is being prepared and being sent out soon. So... if you haven't received an email yet, than you're not on their "first" list, but she also said that once they get responses back from those accepted, and when some turn down the offer, then they will begin going down their list to the next batch.

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Well I just got off the phone with UNC, and this is what I found out: They received 417 applications for the PhD in History this year. A record number. They offered acceptances to "far less applicants" than even last year. (Last year which was a horrible year to be a prospective PhD applicant anywhere) Your position on the wait-list is confidential, and they are not able to let you know where you fall on the list. The wait-list is a general pool, not sub-divided by field. So whenever anyone that was presented an offer denies it, they make a subsequent offer to the top applicant on the wait-list. If they deny it, then they offer it to the next on the list. And so on... The wait-list is "fairly small" and the "total amount of both accepted students and wait-listed combined is 30." This is going to be a long, awful wait.... Hopefully a lot of those that were accepted will go elsewhere, and that those above me on the list will as well.

I can answer a little as far as UNC goes... Earlier today I received an email from the grad. director that I am on their wait-list. After looking at the results page a few others also were notified today as well. Since they have notified the wait-listed applicants, I'm sure that they have already contacted the accepted applicants as well. I would guess, and sorry if this is bad news, that if you have yet to hear any word, then most likely it doesn't look too good.

Well, I just received an email from the graduate director at UNC-CH to notify me that I am on their wait-list. Now I understand that pretty much all you can do is, well, wait.... But, a few questions regarding this... 1. Typically are most wait-listed apps eventually accepted? Anyone have any ball-park percentages? 2. Should I contact the school directly to find out 'where' on the list I am? 3. Am I waiting behind all History apps that are accepted and pending response, or only for my field (Ancient)? 4. How should one feel about being wait-listed? I mean, you're wanted, but not enough to be their first choice... I feel generally happy, but also a little numb since there's still uncertainty. Speaking of this, if I eventually get accepted, will being a former wait-list in any way effect how I am perceived by the dept? (do schools view you as the second, or even the third best applicant? And therefore are not as excited to meet/work with you? UNC is by far my first choice, and want to do whatever I can to help my chances in the state that it is in right now. Any advice, recommendations or personal experience is very welcome. Thanks.

No I haven't heard anything from Tulane as of yet, but it is really early for them to be notifying. Their due date was on Feb 15, so it hasn't even been a week since the last of the apps were submitted, then they have to coordinate everything and such before beginning the review process. I spoke with them shortly before submitting my app and they told me that they do not do rolling admissions, so they don't begin to review until all files have been arranged. Unfortunately two of my four schools have Feb 15 as their deadline.... I was optimistic about FSU since their deadline was Jan 1 though.

I know that there's a results page, but there is nothing there and I know of one person who has already heard back from FSU weeks ago and was accepted. Does anyone here have any info on FSU's classics MA?? Anyone else heard from them, or know anything?? Thanks.

Last year there was a massive, and I mean massive influx of prospective grad students applying to schools. Every school that I talked to said that they were blown away by how many apps they received. Typical programs that would get around 40-50 apps, were getting over 150.... I know that Chicago got over 400!! Crazy. And the forum here was constantly buzzing. I was in and out of the classics and the history sections here, and I could barely keep up with all the new posts, and activity. As for this year.... well I share your optimism. Not to say that every prospective is a member here, but there surely is some correlation. The forums here are dead. No activity at all, even during the most busy and frantic time..... So.... I feel that there will most definitely be less competition this year. Most that did not get in to a PhD program last year most likely: A. Did something else. B. Gave up all together on grad school. C. Got into some MA program and will re-enter the market for a PhD next year. Either way.... I take this as a clear indication that it will be a lighter year.