JustChill

Am I the only Wisconsin admit on here who has not been contacted by the department yet? Find this extremely weird.

Really? Haven't seen anything on the results page about Princeton's History department.

The vast majority of my programs notify next week, so I'm gonna be a lot more anxious/scared then, I think. I haven't heard a peep from any of my schools in the past few weeks.

I don't know about Cambridge, but I was accepted to Oxford back in early December and they gave me until June 30th to respond.

Based on the results page, UPenn should be getting ready to get the word out soon.

quit being so pessimistic. it's not over til the fat lady sings. and even then life goes on.

Islands

So, Realist, from where did you earn your PhD that got you a tenured position?

Vse budet v poryadke. Ne volnujsya.

I would hardly call Madison a safety. I personally know a very bright guy who got his BA from Cornell and an MPhill from Oxford, but was rejected from Madison History department. It's an isolated example, of course, but worth mentioning. The reason I mention this is that there is no shame in being rejected by Madison, so don't worry about the rest of your apps. You'll be fine.

Putin

the hood

Who's the Stanford admit? What field?

I'm afraid I cannot touch on all of the questions you asked, but first of all let me tell you that your English is excellent, and that your knowledge of German and French is going to be a huge plus. Admissions committees absolutely look at your language skills! By the way, what kind of history are you thinking of studying? Regarding the GRE verbal, don't worry -- they are going to be more than understanding of your circumstances, and not expect you to score as well as native English speakers. Good luck!

Jerry, what subfield of history are you doing? The reason I ask, is that I would recommend you check out some interdisciplinary master's programs in area studies as possible master's alternatives. For example, I'm doing Russian history, and so aside from history PhD programs, I've also applied to a couple of well-known Russian studies master's programs. One of these (at Stanford) is actually only a year long. All of my professors and advisors have told me that if I don't get into any PhD program, I should go to a master's program in area studies (not history). In my mind, and really my field, a Russian studies master's would carry a lot more weight than a generic MAPSS master's when it came time for history PhD applications.

I don't have any personal experience with it, but everything I've heard and read about MAPSS has been very negative. It seems like everyone Chicago rejects from some PhD program gets sent over to MAPSS.

yeah, it looks like the majority of history decisions are going to hit sometime in the middle of February. hang in there, everyone, we're gonna be fine.

What field are you thinking of going into? German history? First, you should hopefully by now have some experience with primary source research (like a senior or honors thesis). Second, you need to work on any language requirements that your programs might require. Third, you need to spend as much time as possible on studying for the damn GRE. Focus on the verbal section. Fourth, start not only thinking about who your LOR writers are going to be, but also talk with them to get a good sense of where they think you stand and which programs they'd recommend. Fifth, enjoy your year off school!

IU's got a pretty good program. I spent a summer at their SWSEEL institute and I liked it. I applied to only two Russian studies masters programs -- the Davis center and Oxford -- but the rest of my applications were for Russian history PhD programs, which is my ultimate goal.

maize

I'm surprised to see that some people hear from the department first (UNC, Notre Dame) and then others hear from the school first (Madison). It makes things more complicated, I think.

frailty

Anyone else here applying to Notre Dame?

You mean according to the GC results page? That of course doesn't mean that people who don't use this site didn't hear from them at about the same time as now.

No, the second one says they're in American history. I'm doing Russian. Hang in there.