minion.banana

Congrats! I'm in my first year in the Michigan history program, and love it.

It seemed pretty clear to me that @LadyPole meant "I find it amusing that you were told to study this period when this usually doesn't happen..." Also, none of the above. He said something along the lines of writing on earlier Islam proves that you have a strong foundation in classical Islamic thought, when there is an assumption that those who write about modern Islam don't have this foundation. He isn't a historian, his field is religious studies.

I got an e-mail with the result

Finally rejected from NYU, so formally accepted a spot at the University of Michigan. Wahoo. As for the conversation that's been going on, I've been told by numerous mentors who are on admissions in different programs (History and Islamic/Religious Studies, mainly) that even if it shouldn't be the case, the ranking of your school does matter when getting a job. Same for what you write your dissertation on... For example, if I was to do an Islamic studies degree, I'd been told that to be taken seriously when looking for jobs to write about something medieval because committees believe that means you know your shit as opposed to someone who wrote about modern stuff- told this by the now-director of Islamic studies at Duke. Not sure how the dissertation thing would apply to history, though.

Just got Harvard rejection for history/east asian languages and cultures. Rejection letter was much nicer than last year haha. I assume I didn't get into the rest of my schools since I haven't heard from them (though last I heard Georgetown hadn't made decisions, but they're not the best fit anyways). Looks like I'll be going to University of Michigan!

I used to work at Duke and lived in Chapel Hill for 6 years. Durham and the Triangle is a great area! I loved living there. Plus you get to share resources with UNC

I got an acceptance notification e-mail earlier this week from UMich with my offer, though I don't think they've put anything on the online system. Nothing from Yale, though some people have posted in results that they were admitted

Thanks! I'm still holding out hope since Heal (I assume you applied to Heal and not plain history?) is through EALC, not through the History department. But for me it's not the best fit, so I'm not holding my breath This is my second time applying, and to be honest 99% of my friends in PhD programs in the humanities got in on their second application cycle. So if you don't get in anywhere this year (though fingers crossed you do!) don't give up! Sad about NYU though since it was my top choice T_T Congrats to those who got in there!

I got my first rejection and acceptance the same day! Rejected by Brown and admitted to the University of Michigan. I haven't heard from Wisconsin or Yale, so I assume those are rejects. Still waiting on NYU, Harvard, and Georgetown (interview offer from Georgetown so I guess they're still not making decisions) .

Yep, though I don't think I'll get in. It's not the best fit. I'm also doing Chinese history

Ahhhh I didn't get anything from Brown... could that mean that I'm on a wait list? I haven't read Brown's, but last year I thought Harvard's for their heal program seemed snooty.

Anyone heard from NYU ? Seems like this time last year is when they sent results. It's my top choice so the anticipation is killing meeeee

In my case, my poi mainly wanted to know how I wanted to make my project work at U of M, and how he could help me, since it's not a common topic. I would gather that if a project/interest is more straightforward (like you want to do Qing law with the guy who specializes in Qing law) an interview like that wouldn't be necessary- but that's for Asia. No clue how other regions do their admissions!

At the end of my phone interview, my poi said that this week the regional caucuses of the dept meet to decide who they would like to admit. Then about a week later the heads of each caucus will meet to make final decisions- hope the timeline helps!

Sometimes schools do rolling rejections/acceptances and don't post them all up at once. They also might be waiting to put you on a waitlist.

Got an invite for a phone interview with POI at the University of Michigan this weekend- so nervous! He wants me to tell him more about what kind of training I want and need, and how I see my trajectory as a PhD student at UM. Since no one at UM (or anywhere aside from NYU really) studies specifically what I study (Chinese Islamic texts during Qing dynasty), I think he wants to talk more about how (and if its possible) to make the program/university resources work for me if I was to attend. Fingers crossed! Haven't heard anything from anywhere else (Yale, Harvard, UWisconsin, Brown, Georgetown, NYU). Congrats to everyone who's heard back already!

I'm also waiting to hear from UIUC! I only applied to 5 schools and haven't gotten into 4, so I'll probably be reapplying next cycle... But I want to have that final answer just as confirmation. I guess on the bright side, since I'll have to work for a year and actually make money I couldn't make as an MA student, I'll hopefully have $$ to apply to more programs On a random note, what did you guys think about the rejection letters? I think Harvard was the more pretentious sounding and Yale was the kindest of the ones I received. Also, not starting your rejection letter with "We regret to inform you..." and making you read a few sentences to get to the "you are rejected" part is just cruel.

I lived right by Durham while I went to UNC. I personally shelled out $400/year for on campus parking, but my roommate would take the bus (about a 40 minute ride). She eventually got park and ride passes so that the bus ride would be shorter.

There's a Food Lion in Carrboro too. Efs001, I had some friends that lived in the Chateau (which is by Food Lion in Carrboro) and they didn't have any problems. They were nice units!

Can you ask for graduate employment statistics? If they're high for school 2 despite its lower ranking, I'd also pick that one due to the lower cost of living and the fact that you have friends there, which I assume would make things much less stressful!

There's nothing wrong with being your own advocate. You don't have to mention the other schools by name, though. You can simply tell them that they're your top choice but another program gave you funding, and ask if they can work with you.

Thanks for the input, QASP! I was only thinking in terms of apartments because that's what's common where I live now- good to know that it's different in Ann Arbor!

University of Michigan! They offered me the FLAS and are subsidizing the rest of the tuition. Other schools only gave partial funding for the first year or none. I'm still waiting to do the campus visit before signing off 100% though.

I'm moving to Ann Arbor for my master's in Asian (Chinese) Studies and have no idea what the "good" apartment areas are (I'm from North Carolina)- I see that someone above mentioned Kerrytown. I did look into the university's off campus housing resource, but it didn't seem to have thaaaat many options and didn't have reviews, so I don't know how good the apartments/houses mentioned actually are. Is it possible to find a 1 bedroom apartment for under $800/month? Any advice as to places to look into? My main concern is safety (and preferably close to grocery, etc) rather than a place right next to the university, since I plan to bring my car. Any advice would be great and much appreciated!!