figurefive

Now that the dust is settling, what's the best way to meet other incoming students? I missed Columbia's visit day in March and so didn't have a chance to get to know my cohort before I signed on the dotted line. Do most programs send out some kind of email list when they finalize their list? It would be great to start swapping ideas of housing, summer plans, dental insurance, etc. On the off chance that anyone else has accepted Columbia, cgking and I set up a Facebook group and would love for you to join! Hope to hear from you soon!

I accepted Columbia's offer over the weekend, so hopefully those of you who may be waiting on Berkeley, Northwestern, or Michigan will receive good news soon. Congratulations and good luck! Any other Americanists going to Columbia here? I missed History Day in early March but am excited to get to know all of you...

American in Biejing, I'll send you a PM.

Hi all, Although I've got 2 programs that I'm still waiting to hear back from, I'm reasonably confident that I will be deciding between four excellent options for the fall. Given that I'm relatively uninformed about the landscape as I've been working for the past few years outside of academia, I was hoping to leverage all y'all for some insights on the choice between these options. I've outlined the relative pro's and con's as I've started to weigh them; is there anything else that I should be thinking about? Do you disagree or agree with my understanding? I would love if you could also share a bit of your background in your response in terms of your familiarity with the field and/or these programs. As a matter of context: I'm planning to study 19th and early 20th-century U.S. social and cultural history, with potential focus on Asian American history, the American West, urban history, and/or public history. I did American studies in undergrad as well and would love to continue to touch other fields, especially visual culture / art history. My partner has indicated that he is open to relocating to wherever I go, so I do have to keep in mind job and life prospects for him as well. I'm starting the process of visiting campuses and talking with professors: you might be able to tell that I'm more familiar with some of these programs than others at this point, but I plan to give each a thorough vetting. Thanks in advance for your help! Berkeley Pro: Top-ranked history program with strong resources in ethnic studies and American art history; two-course load allows for more independent research and work time; flexible academic and advising philosophy (i.e., not tied to a single advisor upon arrival); beautiful California weather; family would be closebyCon: Financial risks given state financial crisis; students have mentioned that there aren't enough thematic seminars Columbia Pro: Top-10 history program; good overlap with a number of professors; strong funding package (best of the four); location in NY with its amazing cultural resources; has been uber-proactive in getting to know me (e.g., phone calls from 2 potential advisors, meeting with one of them while she's in town for the weekend)Con: High cost of living in NY; I've heard (thru the grapevine from undergrad advisors) that grad students at CU are "miserable" Michigan Pro: Top-10 history program; active interdisciplinary programs with APIA studies and American culture; good overlap with a number of professors working in areas of interestCon: Ann Arbor, though a beautiful and charming college town, offers little potential for my partner Northwestern Pro: Active (but nascent) Asian American studies program; lots of folks active in urban historyCon: When I spoke with a grad student from another program, she urged me to drop NU almost immediately because it is "not in the top ten"; similar to Ann Arbor, offers little for my partner (though we could live in Chicago and I could commute to NU); looks like there are more folks working in the 20th than 19th and 18th centuries, which are more aligned to my interests

Hi all, Although I've got 2 programs that I'm still waiting to hear back from, I'm reasonably confident that I will be deciding between four excellent options for the fall. Given that I'm relatively uninformed about the landscape as I've been working for the past few years outside of academia, I was hoping to leverage all y'all for some insights on the choice between these options. I've outlined the relative pro's and con's as I've started to weigh them; is there anything else that I should be thinking about? Do you disagree or agree with my understanding? I would love if you could also share a bit of your background in your response in terms of your familiarity with the field and/or these programs. As a matter of context: I'm planning to study 19th and early 20th-century U.S. social and cultural history, with potential focus on Asian American history, the American West, urban history, and/or public history. I did American studies in undergrad as well and would love to continue to touch other fields, especially visual culture / art history. My partner has indicated that he is open to relocating to wherever I go, so I do have to keep in mind job and life prospects for him as well. I'm starting the process of visiting campuses and talking with professors: you might be able to tell that I'm more familiar with some of these programs than others at this point, but I plan to give each a thorough vetting. Berkeley Pro: Top-ranked history program with strong resources in ethnic studies and American art history; two-course load allows for more independent research and work time; flexible academic and advising philosophy (i.e., not tied to a single advisor upon arrival); beautiful California weather; family would be closebyCon: Financial risks given state financial crisis; students have mentioned that there aren't enough thematic seminars Columbia Pro: Top-10 history program; good overlap with a number of professors; strong funding package (best of the four); location in NY with its amazing cultural resources; has been uber-proactive in getting to know me (e.g., phone calls from 2 potential advisors, meeting with one of them while she's in town for the weekend)Con: High cost of living in NY; I've heard (thru the grapevine from undergrad advisors) that grad students at CU are "miserable" Michigan Pro: Top-10 history program; active interdisciplinary programs with APIA studies and American culture; good overlap with a number of professors working in areas of interestCon: Ann Arbor, though a beautiful and charming college town, offers little potential for my partner Northwestern Pro: Active (but nascent) Asian American studies program; lots of folks active in urban historyCon: When I spoke with a grad student from another program, she urged me to drop NU almost immediately because it is "not in the top ten"; similar to Ann Arbor, offers little for my partner (though we could live in Chicago and I could commute to NU); looks like there are more folks working in the 20th than 19th and 18th centuries, which are more aligned to my interests

Have not noticed a change on the website status since receiving my reject letter in the mail on Friday. Someone mentioned on the results board that Yale admitted 8 for American Studies this year. I'm assuming it's a safe bet that if I haven't heard by now it's probably not good news...?

Well, Harvard answered my question. Not in a good way. But at least it did. Now I just need Yale. Fauxtog, I live on Broadway near Central Square. I love the city, too, but it looks like I'll be moving this summer!

What's the chance that Yale and Harvard will both send out decisions today? I know Yale is already out (congrats, Fortschritt!), but it seems only in limited release. It's the last working day of the last week in February...

I was the other Columbia acceptance today for U.S. history. I got the same mass email from DGS at 1:30, followed by a couple of phone calls from PAs in the department. Agreed that the number of acceptances today seem small, but they do seem to cross sub-fields. Best of luck to you....

I applied for 19th- and early 20t-century U.S. and received my call around 4 PM Eastern, so he may have called me right after he called earlyamericanist.

Brown yesterday; Penn today. A rejection a day keeps the ... potential advisors away? Oh well. At least we're finally starting to hear!

FYI for those interested in Stanford: I received an email this afternoon that I am on the waitlist. The department has sent out their admit letters, and before they go to the waitlist they need to get back at least 6 rejections. Good luck to those of you waiting on Stanford!

Of the 12 schools to which I applied, UCLA was the only one that required sending in hard-copy LORs. Given the budget crisis, you'd think they could find a more cost-effective, if not environmentally friendly, application system. I stopped checking UCLA a month ago when I initially logged onto my the application status website and was told that neither my SOP nor my undergraduate transcript had been received. I don't know what happened, but they really don't seem to be on top of their game.

Yay! I've been hovering around the History forum and was wondering where the American Studies forum was. Glad I've found my people! Of the 12 programs I've applied to, 3 are American Studies / Civ -- Harvard, Yale, and Brown -- and the rest are History. Haven't heard a peep from any of the American Studies programs, and it sounds like from past results that the programs will come back next week at the earliest. My interests are in Asian American studies (Yale and Brown have good PAs), visual culture / art history (Harvard and Yale have good PAs), and public history / museum studies (Brown has a good PA). So far I've heard back from Berkeley and Northwestern, and plan to visit them in early and mid-March. I intend to do interdisciplinary work wherever I end up, so, if I can find a good match at a history program that will let me do that (which I've heard is true at Berkeley), then I'll be significantly less worried about my chances. Good luck to all!

Still waiting for the American Studies / American Civilization programs at Yale, Brown, and Harvard to come back, as they seem to be lagging behind their History counterparts at the same schools. Based on last year's results I should hear back sometime next week, which is also my birthday week. Maybe one of them will see fit to send me a present in the form of an acceptance?