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TastyHiHatWork

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  • Application Season
    2016 Fall
  • Program
    American history

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  1. I'm glad so many have heard good news! All of my programs typically notify the last week of February/first week of March, so I anticipate a lot of good news or bad news at the same time. I'm curious if anyone knows about University of Maryland - College Park. I saw on the results page yesterday that one person got an acceptance (congrats!) but didn't see any others. My application status still says under review. It seems in previous years decisions have come out over the course of a couple days, but it's difficult to figure out the pattern. Any insight is appreciated.
  2. Like many, I am still waiting for decisions to start coming in (January 15 deadlines). While I would obviously be happy to attend any of the schools to which I applied, my top choice is the school at which I am finishing my MA in American history. I am wondering if anyone who knows more about what goes into admissions decisions than I do could give some basis for gauging how much of a factor that might play in my acceptance. I do hope this is an appropriate question. I have a 4.0 in the program, okay GREs, pretty solid relationships with most of the professors I've had (including the PhD director, who encouraged me to continue onto the PhD when I wasn't sure), LoRs from PhD director and my potential advisor, and a teaching assistantship. Getting a TA for an MA student in our department is exceedingly rare, but a PhD student got outside funding, and all others had funding of some sort. The department chair got my name from "asking some faculty members." While I am sure that I'm coming across as rather obtuse, we all know there's no such thing as a safety school, and there are some factors working against me. Primarily, my biggest worry is that they are only accepting 4 funded students this season (out of, I've heard from a current PhD student, 60 applicants. But I don't know if that's the total number or a cut). The other thing is that I don't think I know anyone else on the adcomm (again, I haven't asked directly; I prefer to "hear things") besides the PhD director, and she doesn't have a vote. I.e, I don't know how much weight my relationships might carry. Again, any analysis of the situation would be appreciated, even if it's just to say "Don't count on it" or "Go do your reading instead of hanging out here" because I think both are equally true; I'm just reaching critical mass about all this, and I've likely got a couple weeks to wait. Thanks, folks, and good luck!
  3. I submitted and had my application forwarded back in February as well, and I haven't heard anything official. I called the grad coordinator yesterday who looked up my status and said my app was with the committee. She said I should be hearing back by the end of this week or next. My guess is that you probably fall in the same category. Hopefully it'll fall more in line with the sooner rather than later. Good luck!
  4. So I finally worked up the nerve to call the MA coordinator for a school from which I'm still awaiting a decision. She said that my application was with the committee and that she's been "turning around" decisions in about 24 hours from when she gets them (The key information for me here is that decisions HAVE gone out). I should hear by the end of this week or next. That's all well and good, but my pessimism is getting the best of me here. Being that it's a large MA History program, is it possible that this means they're making rounds of offers based on who they want, or is it safe to say that they're just getting through applications in groups as a matter of process?
  5. Have any MA applicants (or PhD who might be eligible for an MA offer, for that matter) heard from George Mason? It's a good deal past most of the MA results posted here from previous years. I emailed on March 6 about their decision timetable, and I was told that they were starting to review applications "now" and that I'd hear from them "soon." I feel as though I've used up my one "check in" on the department, so I was wondering if anyone hear has any news.
  6. Those colleagues are not PhDs. The application requirements said that letters could come from professional colleagues who could speak to my intellectual and professional abilities. I'm about five years removed from my undergrad, and the history department (American U) has had a lot of turn over since then, so I thought--perhaps incorrectly--I would get better recs from colleagues in the history department in which I teach than from professors who may have a fuzzy or nonexistent memory of me. I suppose my approach to this was that I wanted to expand my knowledge and skill base to become a better teacher at a college prep school without taking into account the bigger picture of how decisions are made within departments. I certainly have no illusions as to what it takes to BE a grad student but didn't think to put more effort into figuring out what it takes to BECOME a grad student. I'm hoping the tcharacteristics of the track for which I've applied will save me, but alas, I too, am ever the pessimist. It doesn't help that GMU is on spring break this week.
  7. Okay, I am generally not one to open myself up to widespread criticism, but I've followed the discussions here the past few weeks, and I'm going to take that leap of faith. I applied to George Mason's History MA program which breaks down into tracks (predoctoral, applied history, enrichment, and teaching). I applied to enter through the enrichment track which is to "advance intellectual curiosity or for professional goals." There is no thesis requirement (though it is an option) or language requirement. While I have been suffering the wait for a decision, I've browsed these forums quite a bit, and I am now wondering whether I have a chance. I've been to graduate school to get my MAT in social studies education and have been teaching history for the past three years (the previous grad degree substitutes for GRE scores); my undergrad GPA is fine; and two colleagues wrote glowing recommendations. The program doesn't ask for a writing sample. What I see as my potential Achilles' Heel is my SoP (or Goals Statement, as they call it). I've written one for my MAT program with the input of my undergrad faculty advisor, but I understand this is obviously a different program with a different focus. My SoP talks about my academic credentials, professional experience, what I like about their department just fine, I think. However, I did not speak at length about my research interests or a particular professor with whom I'd like to work. I did mention what areas of history I pursued most during my undergrad career, but I know that's not the same. So, my question is this: Keeping in mind the type of program track for which I've applied, do I stand a chance, or should I start thinking about next cycle? Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa...
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