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prculus

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Everything posted by prculus

  1. Congrats on your acceptance! I'm thinking on campus (and you're right, not much going on at all off campus, but you'll be extremely busy anyways), although my particular living situation is somewhat unique (I'm an older student and have a house, so I'll likely be staying there on some weekends). Get in touch with me via PM if you'd like.
  2. Hi all. I made it into Princeton for the PhD in History. Anyone out there attending the Host Visit in March?
  3. Yes, Princeton usually sends out acceptances and rejections at about the same time, although it looks like there are just acceptances reported as of now (8:44pm, 2/8), so maybe they're changing things a little this year. Also, it appears that there are only 3 reports (all are acceptances), so there are surely more acceptances awaiting (unless this is going to be an EXTREMELY small cohort).
  4. Yes, Princeton usually sends out acceptances and rejections at about the same time, although it looks like there are just acceptances reported as of now (8:44pm, 2/8), so maybe they're changing things a little this year. Who knows.
  5. Congrats to the Princeton admits!
  6. I haven't heard anything re my MA application, but, based on last year's notifications, it won't be until Monday that we receive notifications.
  7. I see from the results page that there was only one acceptance for modern Europe. That's not my field, but it seems really odd. Is this for real?
  8. Does anyone know if Princeton interviews? I haven't seen any activity for the dept and there weren't any interviews last year (and maybe the year before that?).
  9. Congrats! That's wonderful.
  10. It seems odd that they'd expect you for an interview if you live in another country, but you can always ask to Skype. It'd say it's a good indication either way, because Princeton's NES doesn't invite for interviews often.
  11. These programs shouldn't have admissions decisions until February, unless you're in contact with a POI who might be able to tell you more; if you look at the history of the results page this is indicated there.
  12. They might be on sabbatical in another country, or just there in vaca over the winter break; I know this was the case with at least two of my POIs, and it seems that I might have had a hit from one of them (but, again, knows!).
  13. So, I've had a few recent hits on academia.edu from the city where my #1 institution is located. Given it's unlikely that they're just coming from out of the blue (especially since they happened right after I updated my final grades, and then CV, on my application), would it be safe to assume that I made at least the first few cuts, or do these initial cuts generally happen later?
  14. I'd def agree with that (i.e., that if letter writers are colleagues with your POI that this can be shoe-in). I've noticed that at several programs I've applied to grad students, especially those coming from lower-ranking BA institutions, tend to have had faculty as advisors that knew or worked with their grad advisor. Personally, I tend to think of this as just a kind of "old boy" network, but if there they admit other grad students based purely on merit and research potential then I'm not bothered by it.
  15. I'm in the same boat really; not so much as even a hit on academia.edu from stalking adcom members (except one from a school/town after I uploaded final grades). Also, it's occurred to me that interviews might actually be a cause for concern. It seems that if an adcom is on the fence about you, then they'd need an interview to sway opinion one way or another (pretty obvious point, but it might mean that you're not a slam-dunk fit). Maybe I'm overthinking it though.
  16. What temporal and spatial units are you looking at?
  17. prculus

    Program Fit

    Sadly, I did not achieve a score on the math portion that reflects a high degree of competence (148 is in the 30s), but my intended area of research is not quantitative (also, just an FYI, 70s-80s in the math would equate to a 159-164 score, which is something I very rarely see listed on this site for successful applicants, even in the most elite history grad programs). I'm satisfied with a 164V (94th percentile) and a 5.5AW (98th percentile) score, but I'll just retake the test if I don't get into any of the PhD programs I've applied to.
  18. prculus

    Program Fit

    Yes, but then there's this: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/01/06/new-book-reveals-how-elite-phd-admissions-committees-review-candidates The article, which reviews the book and its research, indicates that GRE scores are used in crazy ways by admissions committees, particularly elite programs.
  19. prculus

    Program Fit

    Yeah, I guess they're not terrible, but I was just curious how much weight program fit carries in admissions, esp to elite programs.
  20. prculus

    Program Fit

    I've applied to several programs in history this application season; broadly speaking, I'm interested in Byzantine and early Islamic history. I have a 3.99 cumGPA with majors in Classics and Near Eastern Studies, and a minor in History from a top-20 public. I also have a research-level proficiency in Greek, Arabic, Latin, and have studied Armenian, Persian, and Syriac, all of which I'm told are important for my fields of study. However, my GRE scores are somewhat low (V164/Q148/AW5.5), esp the quant portion. One program I've applied to is a top-5 in history. I've applied there mainly because of program fit; my research interests align almost exactly with 3 of the department's faculty. That's the good news. The bad part is that my research interests are so niche that I think I'll have trouble finding a program elsewhere. My question is, does program fit generally trump factors like poor GRE scores, etc., in the admissions process?
  21. That's funny. Not ONCE have I had a hit from any of the cities with institutions to which I've applied (my profile's actually a record low with hits). I wonder if my application's being filtered out before it's even investigated?
  22. First, that would be age discrimination. Period. Also, I don't see how the difference of 6 years or so would matter (28 vs. 34 as PhD program entry age); I don't think search committees would care much either. If you were to finish your PhD at 60, then there might be an issue.
  23. I was wondering if anyone might have information on admissions statistics for the MA program in History at Yale? I have data for the PhD program (6-8% admission rate), but cannot seem to find anything on the MA program. It seems like the terminal, unfunded MA programs like Yale's are somewhat easier to get in to, but I'm not sure.
  24. I'm having a bit of a problem with assessing my language proficiencies (and I’ll need to be able to do this when application time is at hand in a few weeks; I'm applying to programs in Byzantine and Late Antique history). The main issue is that a good amount of my language preparation—which includes Arabic, (Attic) Greek, French, Armenian, and Syriac—has been informal, or includes withdrawals (“W’s”) from language courses. Although I have nearly four years of Arabic study, the first year of that (elementary-level study) was informal with a tutor. The second year I undertook study of intermediate-level Arabic at an intensive summer program in the Middle East (with “B” grades), and the last two years (advanced-level Arabic) were at my home university and the Qasid Institute; I received “A” grades in these courses. Similarly, I have studied Armenian for the equivalent of one-semester, but that was also informal, this time with an Armenian Orthodox church group. I also took a French for Reading course at a nearby university, but this was also non-credit and there’s no “proof” I’ve taken the course (although I did complete a year of French prior). As for Ancient Greek, I’ve studied the language for two years (= four semesters) and, although I made perfect A’s in the last two semesters, I had to withdraw from the intensive, 8-credit, beginning Greek summer course I took due to emergency surgery (I got all the grammar in, but had to withdraw 10 days before the end of the course). That said, I really have no idea how to put all of this together in a statement of purpose. Is proficiency in a language just self-reported in the grad app? If so, how will the adcom be able to evaluate my self-reporting? More worrisome, how would I respond to questions about my language preparation in an interview?
  25. Yikes! I did receive an AA from a CC, although I went to a top-50 university (top-20 public institution) afterwards and came through with a 3.99 cumGPA. I wonder if having an AA would hinder acceptance to a top institution?
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