Minnesotan

People get the idea of the "implicit rejection" into their heads, and have to spread it around like mono, slobbering on everyone else. The truth of the matter is that until you get rejected, you've got a chance. Each school has its own system, or lack thereof (I mean you, Washington!), and there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason about the process.

Hopefully all of this silence means we've made it past the first rounds of cuts. I'm honestly shocked that I haven't heard back from half of my American schools yet!

It should be illegal to build a college in places where it becomes 117 degrees. Seriously! Anything over 70, and there had better be a pool or lake nearby. 117? Maybe that's why southerners seem to think so slowly -- they don't want to get heat stroke. lol

Quebecois might, but I doubt it. You can probably just call the school and tel them English is your native tongue.

Californians are such delicate little creatures.

I find this kind of funny, since I was born and raised in the northland. If there is the remotest possibility of a hockey game or snowboarding trip, there is no possibility I will study. On the other hand, the ultimate frisbee players can go do their thing, and I'll get my work done. =) I come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun, where the hot springs blow.

Yep. Short and sweet is best, methinks.

I would strongly suggest you post the text of your SoP, so people can give you specific advice. Otherwise, we're apt around here to provide a whole lot of (useless) idle speculation.

If you have done some undergraduate coursework in history, and you have begun language work, then it should not be as big of a problem as you think. However, having no background in history, and several language deficiencies could really hurt your chances. A second BA might be your best option, in that case.

I would bet acceptance rate is less than half, for a program of that size. A lot of the schools I contacted ahead of time told me that last year they accepted something along the lines of 7 people for every 3 spots they actually wanted to fill. You probably have a decent chance of getting in, still. If you're terribly worried, you could always ask them how often they pull from the waitlist.

Are there any Western grads floating around here? I've heard mixed reviews about London, Ontario. I know the school is top notch, but the city surrounding it seems less than exciting. How is rent, night life, the intellectual culture? Just to note, for balance: I was really impressed with the actual campus, and the professors I've met or emailed seemed interesting and approachable. I just worry about the city itself, coming, as I am, from your big brother to the Northeast. At least it can't be as expensive as the GTA, I suppose.

To the grad school, yes, but not in history. I just hate to see people get their hopes up. Rejections are crushing enough -- I got my first one on Valentine's Day, and my GF was less than impressed. I had to go outside and scream profanities for a few minutes, so I was not moping around all evening.

Those who are rejected receive emails, too. I would hate to have you get your hopes up at the sight of an email from U Dub, only to be crushed by the erroneousness of assuming that receipt of an email is an indication you are accepted.

Name, but do not imply you would only work with that one professor. Saying your research interests mesh with professors X, Y, and Z is normally helpful, and expected.

Ermm... not if you like to drink the occasional beer. Honestly, I don't know. You would absolutely need to live with at least one roommate. Toronto is an expensive city, and Canadians tax everything heavily. The one nice thing is that most Canadian grad students are unionized, so you get unexpected money now and then from bursaries for which you long ago forgot you had applied, and your benefits (health, dental, vision) are exceptional. TAs here are still slave labor, but we're very pampered slaves, relatively speaking. Anyway, I would take a look at one or two of those costs of living websites before making my decision. If you're getting 13,500 from Toronto, with no tuition waiver, and no guaranteed summer ta/ra, then I doubt that stacks up well against 24,000 at Stanford.

Toronto is respected worldwide. It's definitely the top school in Canada, as far as reputation goes (no matter what the people at UBC and McGill have to say -- who's ever heard of McGill?!). I would not put it on par with the top 5-10 American programs, though, unless you are going to work with one of their superstars (they have a few, in various fields). Really, I would be thinking more about how your potential advisors compare at Toronto, Stanford, and Brown than the reputations of the schools. They're all solid programs. On a side note, UofT is smack dab in the middle of the city, which is an excellent, excellent location. The town is a lot of fun, and the transit is above average (good subway, but it shuts down at 1:30am, and relatively clean buses). It's expensive, but probably no more than Stanford. Just be warned that there's no caffeine in the Mountain Dew here; had I known that, I would have never left home. =)

[quote name="Louiselab

Here you go, folks. Have at it.

The public history/museum discussion is relevant and interesting enough that I think we should give it its own thread (which I intend to do in just a moment). BTW, if you Cornell folks want, you can make your own thread for that discussion, too (just like the other colleges in the history forum).

Intensive language courses are also apt to take over one's life. Be careful you don't expect to get too much done while doing that.

What a fascist system! That's ridiculous, considering student loans don't even come out until a couple weeks after classes start. Let alone TA pay. What do people do? Take out loans every year, then give up half of their assistantship check every month to pay it off, only to repeat the cycle next semester? Honestly, what are some schools thinking?

Someone tell me what SLP stands for, so I can move this to the proper forum.

*in his best Homer Simpson voice* Mmm... tears.

As an American grad student, you are eligible for somewhere in the area of $8,000 in subsidized (and another $10,500 in unsub) loans per annum. However, grad school is much different than undergrad -- you basically run a tab for months and months without them saying a thing, unless you hit a certain preset limit on your student account (which is generally quite high). I would apply for the government loans, but you likely won't need them. You can turn down or repay the money at any time.

The majority of my schools have not notified yet. And to the poster above, waiting for funding is not worse than waiting for acceptances. Having an offer is a huge relief!