ashiepoo72

@the_flying_k Sure FYI to UCSB applicants-- the department sends some acceptances right away (people who are fully funded usually), then the rest trickle out in the following few days (partial or wait listed for funding).

That's wonderful news! Thanks for sharing with us

Programs that want multiple writing samples, usually of different types (like a research paper and a book review) will very specifically and clearly say that's what they want. Some programs will also specifically and clearly say that more than one sample, usually adding up to a certain number of pages, is okay. If none of your programs have specifically and clearly asked for multiple writing samples, always follow TMP's advice. One and done.

@alain You can PM me if you'd like. I went to Minnesota's recruitment weekend last year and very nearly accepted their offer.

No interviews, just sent out notifications.

January 30th--which goes to show the expected notification dates don't always correlate from year to year.

Nope, I'm at Davis, but I'm still in contact with my would've-been adviser at UCSB, who is a truly wonderful person. I visited UCSB during recruitment, so I know a good amount about the department if anyone has questions. I was also wait listed for funding there and have plenty advice on how to navigate that situation (and negotiating funding in general).

Don't look at application materials! You're bound to find a small error somewhere and freak out. UCSB notified me on the 6th last year, so i would expect news this week or next. I think they send out rejections later though.

If Davis doesn't notify this week, I'd be very surprised. Good luck everyone! February is probably going to feel long despite having less days. Hang in there!

FWIW, @mvlchicago's generalization fits me and the people in my MA cohort who applied to PhDs to a T. Not saying every person in an MA follows this pattern, but a lot of people do MAs because their undergrad experience didn't prepare them for a PhD or, like me, they had a lackluster undergrad career. Other reasons I've encountered were people who majored in disciplines other than history or people who were shut out when they applied to PhDs but were accepted to MAs. The pattern I found at almost every place to which I applied was about half the cohort entered with an MA and half with a BA. Most of the people with BAs had completed at least one significant research project and/or took several years off to acquire languages and work in the "real world." Let's not be too harsh on overly-emotional rejectees. This process is very stressful and, while the joke was in bad taste, I prefer to be generous and view it as a coping mechanism. No one likes to be rejected.

Haters gonna hate

Congrats on the revise and resubmit, @Riotbeard!!

If the sole reason you're emailing a professor is to ease your own mind while waiting for results, I don't think it's a good reason. Many of my profs get so many emails they can't wade through them all. Out of respect for their busy lives, I personally opted not to write unnecessary emails. Besides, I thanked my POIs when I was in contact with them before I applied, and I continue to be in contact with some of them to this day--my logic was that the only reason to tell them my application was submitted, when they clearly would already know that since they read applications, would be to "hopefully" get an edge in. Depending on if the email came across well or annoying would determine if that edge was good or bad. Obviously some people are going to respond well, and that's great. I didn't want to risk a negative response, and it worked out for me if my results are any indication. I have no skin in the game if you guys want to contact POIs, so feel free to ignore me if you'd like. The only reason I give advice here at all is because veteran applicants helped me a ton when I was applying last year, and I want to pay it forward based on my experiences and successes.

There may be another small Minnesota wave. Last year it seems like all the results posted at once, but in previous years there were smatterings of admissions in late January and more in the first week of February. I think the first wave is people nominated for fellowships. To the MSU admits--it is a lovely department. I had the pleasure of visiting during recruitment last year and would be happy to answer any questions via PM.

At this point I would NOT contact professors unless you made a commitment to do so or have something significant to report (external fellowship, publication in peer-reviewed journal). You sent your apps, they're likely all or almost all under review, nothing you do now will change the outcome of that review. If anything, unsolicited emails with nothing substantial to show will annoy your very busy POIs--I can tell you based on my program that they are running undergrad and grad courses, advising their current PhD students, potentially involved in new hiring, setting up or participating in events, all while reading applications and making decisions about next year's cohort.

NYU used to do formal interviews, but that stopped a few years ago. It might be helpful for future admits to know which programs DO do formal interviews, so if anyone knows of any, please let us know. I'm sure there are a few, but based on my (obsessive) research when I applied, none come to mind.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't know of a single history program (I am not including history of science, about which I know little) has formal interviews. This means that getting an interview doesn't mean you'll get admitted and not getting an interview means you'll get rejected. Interviews are generally done because a potential adviser wants to know more about you. They are a good sign, but not every POI will do them, so not getting one isn't necessarily a bad sign. It is human nature to freak the F out at this time of year. Don't assume you're rejected before you actually are rejected. I would caution people not to use the results page as anything but a vague indicator of when programs start notifying, because in a lot of ways divining answers from tea leaves is as helpful as trying to determine your status from the results of others. Several programs admitted me days to weeks after they started admitting other people. The results page was useless to me for a good third or more of the places to which I applied. Some programs are pretty consistent with results. Northwestern comes to mind--admits and rejects go out within days of each other and all at once. Most programs that I've seen are not like this, and many have formal or informal wait lists which means some people don't even know their status until as late as mid-April. Basically, drink some wine, watch some Netflix, relax as much as possible. Don't assume any result until you have an offer, or lack thereof, in hand.

I wouldn't read too much into academia hits. For what it's worth, I didn't get a hit from the Davis area until after I started the program. They are not indications of whether you'll get in or not, only that someone in that area wanted to know a bit more about you. CvC1780 -- the cycle has just begun! I know it sucks to get a rejection so early, but there's plenty of time for good news yet. Don't be discouraged!

OSU sends acceptances in waves (fellowship nominees then people funded by TAships), so for applicants who haven't heard anything, don't freak out! I was wait listed for funding at OSU and didn't hear back until mid-March.

Congrats to the Minnesota admits! It's such a fabulous department with a wonderful group of supportive faculty and grad students.

Based on experience from last year, I'd say the early-bird programs will start notifying early next week. MSU sent both acceptances and rejections around Jan 22nd/23rd last year. Berkeley POIs sent out informal emails around the same time. Two pieces of advice: don't get married to your first acceptance--wait for other offers, funding, recruitment visits, etc. before making a decision. Secondly, be cognizant of wait listers. If you know you won't accept a program's offer, withdraw your app or decline their offer. I'd wait til funding offers come in to do this--because let's be real, you gotta look out for yourself first--but in some instances you may know you wouldn't attend a program even with great funding (for me, this is where big differences in rank came into account). Good luck y'all! The fun is about to begin! And congrats to those who've already heard good news

My MA didn't have a thesis option, we only had comps and had to do at least two research-based courses (along with a bunch of colloquia). You don't need a thesis to do a PhD, to which I can attest. However, if you want to do a PhD and have the option to do a thesis, it's likely going to serve you well. Like TMP and knp pointed out, a thesis is longer than anything you'll write in the research track, which is excellent practice for a longer project. Spending that much time with a thesis will either confirm you have the stamina and interest level to do a PhD or it'll show you that longer-term projects aren't for you. You can split your thesis into one or more potential articles for publication. But, if you aren't sure about the PhD, I'd follow your professor's advice. Like I said, doing a research track isn't going to kill your chances at getting into a doctoral program. I worried about it when I first applied, but it didn't hurt me in the end because I showed sustained interest that would get me through a PhD by taking many research courses and always choosing paper topics that connected to my field in some way, even when the course was geographically or temporally outside of what I do. That's an option, too.

From what I know, Northwestern doesn't have formal interviews. It's probably POIs reaching out to potential advisees to get more info before making a final decision. Don't fret, it's not over yet!

I agree, don't do this. You want to tailor at least part of each email to the person you're emailing (the fit part!). Anyway, I found it the case that some POIs ended up forwarding my message to other profs in which they thought I might be interested. It's better to let them do it if they so choose than to do it yourself.

Every single one of my MA profs, including the people who wrote glowing recommendations for me, told me the market is awful and continue to tell me how many applicants they get for job searches. In fact, some of the profs I've had in the first 2 quarters at Davis have also given that speech. Lots of POIs during my application season did the same. From what I've seen, most history profs feel it's their professional and moral duty to inform aspiring historians about how hard it is. All I can say is, I'm glad I chose a program and adviser that emphasized professionalization from day 1. Our chances are slim, but I feel good that the people training me are trying to help me have the best shot possible.