gorgogliante

From previous years, fellows and alternates should be out by second week of April. Typically wards are announced any where from April 8-12. I assume this year will follow same trend?

It sounds to me that due to the similarities of the programs, it's likely that at the least you would be able to transfer into the correct program once/if you are admitted. It might take a semester to transfer or they may do it immediately when you are enrolled.
 
signed,
current uni admin

I was away without access to a computer last week so couldn't post the news when I got it, but thrilled to say that I was accepted into Cornell! The PhD in History (Ancient History) result is mine. Still in shock, I never expected to get in!

I accepted my Villanova offer!

...plenty of people successfully admitted to PhD programs in the past few years are not working on the "popular themes" that you've listed. I'd really get yourself away from thinking that people are getting in over you because their work is "trendy". Often it's less a matter of "topic" (I don't know of anyone who talks about the topic they're working on, really), and more a matter of research questions -- how are you presenting the questions that are guiding your research? Do the questions sound urgent, relevant, feasible, worth pursuing etc, and do they show that you're thinking about how to intervene in historiographical debates, methods etc etc. Instead of blaming the "trends" you're identifying, think about how you can re-frame your project (beyond the transnational thing) by explaining where it fits and who you're speaking to.
On the same note, the SoP is very, very important--more important than having publications or a completed thesis or some random fellowship that your POI's never heard of etc. I'd go so far as to say that without a strong SoP you can't guarantee that admissions committees are going to do more than skim the rest of your application (at two schools I was admitted to it was obvious that my POIs had not read my writing sample, beyond maybe the first page--this is just a practical reality. They have very little time, they're not actually reading every 25 page paper closely). So the SoP is where you frame your project and "stand out" from the hundreds of other applicants. I used to think the advice on this forum was harshly phrased--it's kind of necessarily so. Without tough advice you won't make the serious changes required to get into a program, so my advice is to find a professor (assistant profs are often closer to the process/remember their own SoP) who can give you that brutal advice in real life--it was the most helpful thing I did when applying. 

I also got the tuition scholarship, but I applied for a graduate assistantship in the graduate office as well! The program director said that they can't offer a stipend with the tuition scholarship, but given that all of the classes are once a week and at night and the duties to the history dept. are only 7 hours a week, she stressed that a lot of people do get jobs, usually on campus. 
After thinking about it a ton and talking about it to my parents, I think I'm going to accept the Villanova offer. There's a lot of flexibility in the program, good research opportunities, and I would be able to work on my languages. Plus, the full tuition scholarship is nothing to sneeze at. 

Truthfully, if those faculty members weren't interested in your questions, you would not have been accepted.  They must have interest in it -- talk to them and see how they respond.  Ask about courses, exams, and support for research funding.  If they aren't excited to tell you, say adios to them.  it IS a challenge to be an EM in a department full of modern historians and you're always going to be defending your methods.  But you will NOT be the only one-- you will be engaged with other EMs dealing with similar challenges.  I certainly don't think it's hopeless as, say being an ancient historian.

Bringing the focus back to the point of this thread.... ASK (THE GRADUATE STUDENTS) ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES and the Department's attitude toward mental health concerns
During my last visitation day experience as a host back in 2016, when we discussed the inclusion of mental health services in student insurance/tuition, we could see quite a few faces sighing in relief.  Clearly, it was on their minds but didn't know how to ask.  While the discussion of mental health concerns has been more open, much more work needs to be done. The quality of mental health services to graduate students vary quite widely from institution to institution.  Most of the focus has been on undergraduates but not enough on graduate students (or faculty too) and you'll want to make sure that the institutions that accepted you are well on their way to servin to the graduate student community or have already established support systems.  Also, not all departments have caught up on the reality of depression/anxiety and the ways in which they truly affect students' well-being and progress to the PhD.  You'll want to investigate how supportive the faculty is of students' well-being, particularly your POI and the older faculty whom you may be working with (they're of survivalist mentality-- one didn't talk about loneliness, depression, and anxiety that came with graduate school, you simply survived).

Honestly, no. You have a PhD offer and they are extremely hard to come by. Even if you complete a highly competitive and prestigious MA, you could still not receive a PhD offer because POIs move, lack of funding, cutting down the size of cohorts, etc. Your current offer may not be from a crème de le crème school, but you have 7 years to mold your research interests and skills, network at conferences, teach your own lectures, go on research trips to different countries, and so on. Instead of going backwards on a maybe, I suggest that you go forward and make the best of your PhD offer.

I accepted my Michigan offer today and withdrew my application from NYU. Michigan's offer is too good to turn down in my opinion. With my name off the wait list, hopefully, someone from here will get that acceptance.

I officially accepted my offer to Berkeley in US History. I hope this opens a spot up at Rutgers and possibly NYU! It feels wild to know I will finally begin my PhD in a few months. ?

I've been admitted to Harvard's History and East Asian Languages! On a Saturday!

Anyone have any advice for what to ask DGS and POIs after acceptance? I already know about funding, structure of the program, and whatnot. Would it be a red flag to them if I don’t have any questions?

I just got my Harvard rejection. Frankly, I am relieved to know at this point!

I just got my first acceptance, everyone! I was getting worried after 4 rejections in a row, but I'm happy to finally have some good news!!

Also... sitting here feeling sorry for myself and I get an email acceptance from Brandeis. It helped to put things in perspective.

Thanks @Karou! I'm kind of in shock, to be honest. I spent an extra year in my MA program after I decided to apply to doctoral programs so I could really focus on applications, and I think that paid off.
Edited to add: Congrats to the Harvard HOS admit, whoever you are!!

I'm ready for the annual Harvard Valentine's Day Massacre! Good luck today, everyone!

I have just accepted my offer at Yale. I hope it will free a spot for someone at Illinois and bump someone up Princeton and Michigan's waiting lists.

You can DEFINITELY get rejected from a program even if you’re a ‘perfect match’ for a number of reasons. That doesn’t mean professors assess applications randomly or without care; it just means it’s a complicated process with many factors determining the outcome.

Just heard from UMich! Second acceptance! 

This is outdated information. The main problem these days in DC is cost of living. I've loved living in DC for 5 yrs.
Congrats @Jericho !
 
 
 
 
 
 

Congrats! So exciting!

Just heard from UMich! Second acceptance! 

Hahahaha no, it really isn't more dangerous than any other city.