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?

I've been invited to two accepted student events in March, the first a 2-day affair at Midwestern Private University and the second a day-long gathering at Western Public University. I have a limited number of vacation days from work to dole out for potential campus visits and am 99% sure that I would choose Western U. over Midwestern U. If time weren't a factor, I'd love to go to both, but I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple of other programs that I would also prioritize over Midwestern U. I'm afraid that, if I go to the Midwestern U. accepted students event, I might not have enough vacation days left if -- and this is a pretty big if -- I'm accepted to some of the other programs I'm waiting on and want to make a campus visit later in the spring. Should I decline the invite from Midwestern U.? If so, how do I do it without seeming like a total snob (i.e., without seeming like I'd rather save up for the possibility of getting into a "better" program)?

I am starting to think about potential options for a grad program choice between Berkeley and (as of now) a private in the Midwest. Berkeley's funding package is for 5 years in the high teen's, while the Midwestern university has indicated that it will fund 5 years in the low 20's (about 20% more than what Berkeley is offering). I'm well aware of the differential between sciences and humanities (my friends who are currently in Boston-based PhD programs in the biosciences are funded in the low 30's), but to what extent is a funding package in the high teen's especially depressed due to the budget crisis? Is that normal, or should / could I expect that amount to increase in future years depending on improved budgetary circumstances? I have to say that I was slightly surprised at the figure given the notoriously high cost of living of the SF Bay area. Or maybe I should just forget about the 20% difference in funding and say yes to Berkeley now given the preeminence of the department in my field...

I'm not sure about the others, but I'm a would-be Americanist and one of the admits at Northwestern. When I logged in this morning the link said: "Decision Status: Available beginning 2/12/2010". Maybe they're releasing decisions by field? Best of luck to you, RockEater.

I was one of the Berkeley admits: 19th- and early 20th-century U.S.

Congrats to the Berkeley history acceptance! Would you mind sharing your sub-field?

Thanks for the perspective and the consolation, deuterides and rockchalk. That was an unsportsmanlike and sour-grapes post full of first-rejection angst and insecurity. A hearty congratulations to everyone who's so far heard from Madison and best of luck on the rest of your applications, too.

Looks like Wisconsin went ahead and changed their website statuses this morning for its American history applicants. I was one of the unlucky ones. I guess I might as well throw in the towel now. Wisconsin had made it onto my list because one of my advisors told me that I was aiming too high, that I needed have some safeties, and he considered Wisconsin to be a relatively safety. And I guess, because I thought of it as such, I never put too much effort into it -- I didn't email any POIs, even though there was one prof who would have been a good fit in my field. I know this rejection was probably a reflection of my own dismal effort and that this is all about fit, etc. But I can't help but think that, if I didn't get into Wisconsin, there's virtually no chance anywhere else. And now I'm preparing for that to become a reality. I was going to spend today working on a fellowship application from my alma mater, but maybe I should save my time for something else.

I was expecting something -- anything -- this week, but nothing came. Is it fair to say that I should not be as obsessively checking / worrying over the weekend? The admin staff probably won't be updating statuses, but would potential advisors send emails on a Saturday or Sunday to convey unofficial news? My mind could use a break before it goes back to the "what if" game on Monday...

California schools affected by the crisis go beyond the UCs and include private institutions as well. I wrote to a POI at Stanford last fall, and he responded that budget cuts meant that the history department there would admit only about half its normal quota and that he personally would not be taking any students. He added (in what is possibly the most discouraging email I've received to date): "You have, unfortunately, picked the worst possible year to apply." He did, however, point me in the direction of another POI at Stanford who was taking students for the fall, so to me the better question might be: Is there a rhyme or reason to which sub-fields might still be accepting students in even the schools that are hardest hit by the economic crisis? I have to imagine that schools are making decisions to invest in areas that they consider "hotter" than others or from which they would consider it a potential political liability to cut funding.

Reading all these posts makes me really nervous about my language abilities (or lack thereof). I'm applying to history and American studies programs, including a stated interest in Asian American history. I was born overseas in Hong Kong and speak Cantonese fluently, but my reading and writing leave much to be desired. I took Spanish in high school, passed the AP with a 5 as a junior, and can still probably make decent attempt at reading a Spanish language newspaper. The bottom line is that I haven't had a college-level language course in ANY language since. I was fully aware of the language requirements for the programs I was applying for, but figured I could try to fudge it a little bit. I should probably at least have made an effort to explain that I would take the summer to do intensive language study. I hope this isn't a fatal flaw. On a more macro level, I'm just worried that I didn't put enough time into my applications. I basically cranked out 12 apps over the course of a week of vacation from my job where I was otherwise working 60+ hours a week. This affected everything from preparing for the GREs (I tried to study on the weekends, and ultimately got a 660V/730Q/5AW which I'm happy with given my level of preparation) to preparing SOPs where the only customization to each program was using find-and-replace to swap out program names. Somehow I have a feeling the adcoms won't care about this sorry excuse for how shoddy my applications look. At the end of the day, I'm 5 years out of undergrad and working in an industry where it's really easy to get trapped in "golden handcuffs." History has always been my love, and grad school has always been a dream of mine. I just don't want to wake up 20 years from now one day and think, "Boy, if only..."