goldielocks

Um....the first 2-3 times expressing joy over an acceptance is completely understandable. I've done my share of congratulating and supporting on this forum. I might not be a "regular," but I have participated. What I do think is that after a while, the pride turns into a severe case of cockiness. My only beef is that this doesn't drive other forum participants away. Also, be humble. You never know what could happen to your acceptance or funding. Be thankful you have this opportunity. I know I would be extremely joyful, but a bit tight lipped as you never know who checks these forums.

TMP: Just to get things straight. Are you saying that you made it into OSU and UW-M on the connections of your advisors? I guess it really is who you know!!! Lesson learned for next year's batch of applications. Congrats on your admits. Congrats to everyone else who received admits as well!

Please remember, there are those of us who haven't received good news or any news at all. So, instead of being preachy, try to be sympathetic. Many of you have done this more than once and I think that the experience of being turned down so many times should create a humbling affect, no? I'm not trying to be disagreeable, but in many instances I feel like some of those with multiple acceptances are literally trying to rub it in. Not cool.

I feel so much shame ... I feel such a level of shame that I shouldn't feel

Hahahahahahahaha.

I have a problem.

I feel like everything is happening so fast this year. Is it just me? It's like February started and then all the floodgates opened.

I have been thinking of those of you still waiting on good news, and just wanted to let you all know I've been sending good vibes your way and you've been in my thoughts. I know how stressed out I was waiting to hear back from Yale (which obviously I did not get), but it really worked out for the best. Northwestern is a much better fit for me, and I've had really great interactions with the faculty and students there so far. Who knows what sort of decision I might have made if I got an offer from Yale, which I thought was the best fit? It wasn't meant for me. I'm just sharing this to hopefully alleviate any anxiety/sadness you guys might be experiencing about rejections. I hope everyone finds the right fit.

I feel like everything is happening so fast this year. Is it just me? It's like February started and then all the floodgates opened.

I have been thinking of those of you still waiting on good news, and just wanted to let you all know I've been sending good vibes your way and you've been in my thoughts. I know how stressed out I was waiting to hear back from Yale (which obviously I did not get), but it really worked out for the best. Northwestern is a much better fit for me, and I've had really great interactions with the faculty and students there so far. Who knows what sort of decision I might have made if I got an offer from Yale, which I thought was the best fit? It wasn't meant for me. I'm just sharing this to hopefully alleviate any anxiety/sadness you guys might be experiencing about rejections. I hope everyone finds the right fit.

I feel like everything is happening so fast this year. Is it just me? It's like February started and then all the floodgates opened.

I have been thinking of those of you still waiting on good news, and just wanted to let you all know I've been sending good vibes your way and you've been in my thoughts. I know how stressed out I was waiting to hear back from Yale (which obviously I did not get), but it really worked out for the best. Northwestern is a much better fit for me, and I've had really great interactions with the faculty and students there so far. Who knows what sort of decision I might have made if I got an offer from Yale, which I thought was the best fit? It wasn't meant for me. I'm just sharing this to hopefully alleviate any anxiety/sadness you guys might be experiencing about rejections. I hope everyone finds the right fit.

I feel like everything is happening so fast this year. Is it just me? It's like February started and then all the floodgates opened.

I have been thinking of those of you still waiting on good news, and just wanted to let you all know I've been sending good vibes your way and you've been in my thoughts. I know how stressed out I was waiting to hear back from Yale (which obviously I did not get), but it really worked out for the best. Northwestern is a much better fit for me, and I've had really great interactions with the faculty and students there so far. Who knows what sort of decision I might have made if I got an offer from Yale, which I thought was the best fit? It wasn't meant for me. I'm just sharing this to hopefully alleviate any anxiety/sadness you guys might be experiencing about rejections. I hope everyone finds the right fit.

I feel like everything is happening so fast this year. Is it just me? It's like February started and then all the floodgates opened.

I have been thinking of those of you still waiting on good news, and just wanted to let you all know I've been sending good vibes your way and you've been in my thoughts. I know how stressed out I was waiting to hear back from Yale (which obviously I did not get), but it really worked out for the best. Northwestern is a much better fit for me, and I've had really great interactions with the faculty and students there so far. Who knows what sort of decision I might have made if I got an offer from Yale, which I thought was the best fit? It wasn't meant for me. I'm just sharing this to hopefully alleviate any anxiety/sadness you guys might be experiencing about rejections. I hope everyone finds the right fit.

I feel like everything is happening so fast this year. Is it just me? It's like February started and then all the floodgates opened.

I have been thinking of those of you still waiting on good news, and just wanted to let you all know I've been sending good vibes your way and you've been in my thoughts. I know how stressed out I was waiting to hear back from Yale (which obviously I did not get), but it really worked out for the best. Northwestern is a much better fit for me, and I've had really great interactions with the faculty and students there so far. Who knows what sort of decision I might have made if I got an offer from Yale, which I thought was the best fit? It wasn't meant for me. I'm just sharing this to hopefully alleviate any anxiety/sadness you guys might be experiencing about rejections. I hope everyone finds the right fit.

TMP, I can remember when you first started this journey. Thus, I can truly feel your joy over the success you are having this season. Sometimes, it is about timing. And I think the key for everyone here is to remember that these decisions are not personal. I think a lot of people tend to post stats, and do not really consider that this is not an exact science. I am so thrilled to see that you have received fully-funded offers from The Ohio State University (called this because it is the "official" name) and Wisconsin. As a person attending OSU, I would strongly recommend choosing to join the program. But I know that wherever you choose to go, you will do wonderful research. And I think the time it took for you to get to this point will give you the perspective needed to finish the journey!

Best of luck, my friend!

I just got into UPenn!!!!!!

Well, some people agreed that we ought to start a thread for Fall 2012 applicants. Here it is! This thread is intended as a place for us to talk about the process, our progress, and general back and forth.

This thread is not a place to ask about your odds of getting in somewhere, your competitiveness as an applicant, etc. We are very happy to provide suggestions about these sorts of questions, but please don't hijack this thread to ask them.

So, how's it coming, everyone? Where are you in the process?

I wonder how long this thread will be by the end of the upcoming cycle...

it seems way too soon to begin that conversation. what do you mean by negotiate? if they are only offering partial funding and you need full funding to attend, wait until you have another fully funded offer from a comparable institution and then contact the director of grad studies in the history department at the partially-funded school. they may be able to scrape full funding for you together.

but i should warn you: if a school is offering you 5 years of TAship or fellowship or a combination of TAship and fellowship years, then that is likely the best they can do for you. it will be difficult to get an increase in the number of fellowship years, although this may be possible when other students with better funding offers reject the school's offer, but that won't start happening until march. if you're looking for an increase in the dollar amount they're promising, don't bother. the department doesn't control that, the planning and budget committee of the entire university sets the pay rates for TAships and internal fellowships, and there's nothing you can do about that. trying to negotiate for a few extra thousand dollars a year will not only not work, it risks seriously offending the professors and the dean's office.

it is not unheard of for fully funded offers of admission to be rescinded when a student tries to play hardball with funding negotiations. in fact, if you were given 5 years of funding (without an MA already in hand) or 4 years (with an MA in hand), then i STRONGLY urge you not to negotiate funding at all.

It's really great. It's a level of "community" in the sense that only historians and social scientists could truly appreciate. Like, last night's Northwestern news tangibly angered me but then I got real happy when Goldie's awesome news broke. I raise my glass to all you freaks and geeks.

I'm so sorry to everyone who got disappointing news from Northwestern.

Just wanted to share that I have been accepted there. It is my top choice, next to Yale, so I am ecstatic. Now I just have to wait for news on the fellowship from my POI this week. I've been on pins and needles all month. Had talked to my POI on January 3rd, then heard again from her this week, and now this. I'm absolutely over the moon.

Everyone else: Keep your chin up!

Sorry to hear that, Sapper.

And congrats to you, CPetersen!

Congrats all those admitted!

I just decided I need to keep the Jewish sabbath in my own way by not checking this board from sunset tonight to sunset tomorrow. This site is an amazing support system, but it also is making me more obsessed with this whole process than I should be, and I need to relax! Have a great day and for my fellow Jews out there, שבת שלום!

I asked if anyone could provide proof that it hurts to contact professors. And no one provided proof so I did it.
I think I recall saying I wouldnt try it with the top schools.
I never felt entitled. I was quite humble in my emails. And might I add, I got responses saying "I hope I see you in the fall".
Maybe I lucked out with nice professors, but oh well.

If everyone is going to get upset about it, then fine. I shared what I did since other people were sharing what they are doing too. My mistake.

Everyone WAS being supportive initially: the advice was "hey, we totally understand how tempting it is to contact profs in the midst of all this, we feel your pain, we really do; BUT IT CAN TOTALLY BACKFIRE, SO DON'T DO IT, DON'T DO IT!" You basically really *really* lucked out that the professors didn't react poorly, because (imo) they would be pretty justified to be annoyed. They know nothing, and e-mailing them during decisions time is *just* short of nagging them, simply because you tacked on the questions about your thesis (good litmus test: would you have contacted them about reading suggestions right now if you didn't want to get an up on the admissions? If not, you're being dishonest to them). And I think a lot of profs *would* react poorly to this. I can think of at least one of my former profs who probably would have been openly irritated with you.

You either lucked out and got in touch with the nicer ones, or it's perfectly possible they were merely being courteous, and now when they're reading your app, instead of thinking "oh he's got some interesting ideas" they're now thinking "oh he's the one who couldn't just leave it alone." Because our entire point in warning you was that nothing good could come of contacting them: they're not going to look at it and say "oh he's the one who was so motivated that he just had to contact me during admissions" and odds are they don't have information on your application, because that's information the main department and the adcomm itself possess, generally (hence why we said, if you have to contact someone, make it the main department secretary, because he/she/it might be annoyed about it, but that won't effect your chances).

Furthermore, if every applicant did the same thing as you, and contacted these profs during decisions, it would suck up their time when they need it most (this is a really busy time of year for many profs). It makes you look, frankly, somewhat entitled, that you feel your application is worth more of a professor's time than anyone else's. I suspect this is what finally broke the straw on TMP's back.

I'm sorry for sounding short with you, but I think to ask us for advice, then when it doesn't suit your purposes, to go against everything we advised, and then the moment no one says "oh that's fantastic!" for ignoring everything we say, to criticize/insult the entire board, is unfair to the rest of us, and I think a little impatience is called for. I hope, however, this post doesn't go overboard, I don't want to insult you, just point out the logic behind the initial posts, and in the reaction. I'm posting in something of rush so if this does come off as mean, I apologize.

I think TMP etc. were being supportive. I know I was being supportive when I suggested that you didn't contact POIs in the middle of selections.

There's a difference between being supportive and being sycophantic.

However, I hope it doesn't hurt your chances

Maybe I just had a lot more patience and didn't want to jinx my chances.

Gee, Dukelover, couldn't you have just waited another month to ask about your thesis? I'm pretty sure that they saw right through your e-mail that it was more of "where are you guys in the process" than "I need help with my thesis." When I was applying as an undergrad for the PhD, I really did want to ask my POI to help me a little with my senior thesis but I waited until the school's decisions were out. When I didn't get in, I just e-mailed her with my questions. Guess what? She replied very nicely and said a few things about my application and then proceeded to answering my questions very fully.

Then I discovered that I could be considered for the MA in another department that she was affiliated with and I asked the graduate assistants to move my application over there. Within 2 weeks, I was accepted and my POI/now MA adviser had told my senior honors thesis professor a few weeks later at a conference how excited she was to meet me in the fall. She has said quite a few times since I graduated how glad she was to have fought for my application and supported me from the very beginning.

There's a lesson to be learned here. Your questions can really wait if you really want to get into that school. You will have to revise your thesis down the road anyway and inserting their suggestions would've been fine. Remember, a good senior thesis is a done thesis.

Wow okay. My thesis is quite complex so I asked some questions. I was upfront about thanking them, and I'm sure they know why I'm emailing. I never pretended in my emails or on this forum why I emailed them.

This forums all supportive until you step out of the box, huh?

history of sexuality with at home labs?