First off, I'm so excited to meet you all on GradCafe. It's a relief (and a little stressful too) to read about other people's experiences applying to grad school. I've applied to PhD programs in history and American studies, and I work for a strategy / management consulting firm, so you can imagine that I really don't have anyone on a day-to-day basis with whom I can share my questions / thoughts / concerns.
Here's my question: Should I be expecting to hear any kind of personal contact or reach-out from the history / American studies programs to which I've applied? My understanding is that interviews are de rigeur for some of the hard and soft sciences (e.g., clinical psych), but I'm not sure what to expect for the humanities and social sciences. It seems weird to make such a momentous decision (both for the applicant and for the program) without trying to meet the person behind the application at the very least on the phone. I've emailed a few potential advisors and even managed to meet with someone at Berkeley while I was home in California, but otherwise have not heard a single personalized peep from any of the departments. I'm not sure if my experience typical or not for my fields of interest, so just figure I'd ask.
Thoughts?
