nevermind

Honestly, I've seen candidates at "top tier" programs fail miserably in their job talks, especially from interdisciplinary programs where they lack methodological grounding in a particular discipline (sociology, history, etc.). Just because someone has a "shiny" Ph.D. doesn't (necessarily) make them more equipped for the market than others. There are more things to be aware of when a candidate comes to campus than where they received their Ph.D. from (though certainly, it helps get you in the door), but maybe that's just my non-Ivy Ph.D. status showing.

That's essentially what I'm doing...I do HoS (and science studies) but also am doing (basically) the same requirements as Middle Eastern history. Jack of all trades, master of none (Yet).

It really depends. There's not many details for us to assess the decision (program fit, ranking, etc.) As much as I hate to say it, ranking matters. If you received both offers from a top 10 school (and all things else being equal, like housing costs, etc.), I don't think either choice would hurt you--it really depends on your career goals. But if you received a fully funded offer from a top M.A. program versus a 100+ ranked PhD, then take the M.A. and apply in a couple years.Honestly, if you don't feel prepared, a Ph.D. isn't something you should go into lightly. However, if you're worried about "heavy coursework", the first year of the Ph.D. is essentially stuff like theory/seminars (in my experience) that you'd pretty much take during your Masters anyway. Nobody expects you to know everything as you step on campus, so as long as you're open, try hard, and produce good work, I think you should consider the Ph.D. if you're remotely interested in academia as a profession.

Honestly, I would go with school B. Although school A has a POI that can oversee your work, how much work would you be doing if you're scrambling for financing (or working!) for the full two years. If they are both schools that have top-20 history PhD programs, then you'll likely find many people (from school who overlap with what you want to do AND can give you invaluable advice/LOR about applying to Ph.D. program where "fit" matters more. You might want to see if you can use school B's funding as leverage for the M.A. at school A ("I'd prefer your program but school B is giving me $$$...") to see if that helps secure you funding. But if that doesn't work, school B all the way.

What a bummer on the reject, but Wisconsin is a great place to do HoS--I hope you love it!

Honestly, I would go to the first school. Given that it is a Master's program, it's not a long duration--even if you hate it, you won't be stuck there for 5+ years, and it sounds like you'll have a lot more opportunities upon graduation. You also might grow to like the city, especially after you get to know people.

I've spent some time on Brandeis' campus (for a summer program) and in my opinion, it's pretty isolated. You have a commuter train that goes into Cambridge/Boston, so that's definitely a perk. Many people I knew lived in Somerville and commuted to Waltham, but I've heard rent has skyrocketed lately, so that might not be feasible anymore. I really love the MBTA, but Bostonians complain about it. I think it's efficient and I sold my car when I lived in the Boston area and used it for commuting. I'd say if you're at Amherst, take a weekend (if possible) and walk around the campus, get a feel for the area, and then try to find a real estate broker to help find an apartment.

Fortunately/unfortunately, we all have "good stats" and "good letters of recommendation". There needs to be more to your application than these factors. However, if your application showed even the slightest hint of the immaturity you've displayed on this page, I can see why programs might be hesitant to accept you. Everybody has "life things" that hang in the balance (e.g. finding summer funding to get you from June - September, for instance) and/or have families impacted by certain processes (fellowships, archival work that takes you overseas, etc.). Take the constructive criticisms from other people on this thread and learn from them. But if you want us to have sympathy because you can't buy a house yet, it's not happening (buying a house is a luxury, not a right).

I get it. I did a Master's degree at an unknown institution (because I did poorly in my undergrad for various reasons) and was told point blank that the high GPA and extra stuff (publishing, adjuncting) I did during 3 years wouldn't matter because my (new) high GPA wouldn't be considered since "the curricula isn't exactly rigorous". I took a year "off" to reconsider other options, working part-time and living at my parents' house (because I had everything invested in that dream). And yes, during that first cycle, I was rejected to all the Ph.D. programs I applied to. After a year, I applied to ANOTHER Master's program at an Ivy and got in, non-funded. I did some networking and found some TA'ing opportunities using my previous Master's degree and got my tuition paid for. This was an interdisciplinary program and I took as many theory classes as I could and gained experience in a lot of other areas AND another high GPA. I was gun shy about applying to Ph.D. programs again, so I took a couple years off to see if there was something else that I could do that I loved and that wasn't the hamster wheel of academia. There wasn't, really though. So I spent 6 months crafting applications and taking the GRE. And now I'm at an R1 and loving what I do. But before I got any offers, I received four straight rejections. And this was after getting two Master's degrees with a 3.9+ GPA and a 165 on the Verbal GRE. The competition is fierce out there, but I also know (in retrospect) I could've improved my SOP to position myself as more of a historian. Entering your program in your mid-thirties is not ideal but it's not insurmountable...I've spent 5+ years in grad school before heading into a Ph.D. program, which means that I was finishing my first MA when most of my cohort was still in high school However, it gave me a realistic sense of the workload and how to manage my time. BUT. REAL TALK. The application process is the least stressful part of academia. If you can't handle getting rejections, then maybe you really should reconsider your options. I've been rejected for fellowships this year that I've applied to...and yes, although it sucks, you just have to learn that rejection is an inevitable part of this job. And you're only being rejected because you're trying to get ahead. It's really up to you if (1) it's worth it (2) you have what it takes to bounce back. There might be institutional biases at some places that tacitly practice age discrimination, but I'm proof (and so are the other 4 people in my cohort who are in their mid-30s) that this isn't true across the board, so I honestly don't think it's a viable excuse.

I've had lots of gap years (I'm 34). What committees seem to like is that you're trying something outside academia. If you can make real money doing something else (I was making 80K as a technical writer) and convince people that you want to give that up to barely make minimum wage to train and try to get an academic job in an uncertain economic climate...it shows that you have thought about why you want to go to graduate school and that you're willing to sacrifice to do it. Also, I wouldn't take a rejection as proof that you don't fit a program. It's possible that you can improve your SOP (with the insights you've mentioned) and try again. Sometimes the cycle is capricious or you may not have hit the mark. If you have a chance to do grant writing in your current position, that might also be experience that will benefit your application (e.g. Try applying for FLAS for example). All this to say, take what you've done/doing, reflect, learn from it and then position yourself to be a viable candidate next year.

I'm curious where you're finding rankings for HoS programs. I haven't been able to find anything out there.

When I applied for Brandeis Ph.D. in NEJS years ago, acceptances went out and I didn't hear anything. Then I heard in March that I was referred to the MA in NEJS applicant pool and offered a 50% tuition scholarship. I eventually declined, so this might be what's happening.

This is for both, but more for Ph.D. Some people do MA's (unfunded), to help with the language preparation and to do them at more elite programs with better letters of recommendation. I hope you land where you want to go.

In general, I'd say they look for: -proficiency in your area language(s) - (the more the better...) -time spent in the country you propose to study (if modern) -evidence of high scholarship (if not publications/presentations, then university and thesis honors/study abroad/good letters of recommendation) -high GPA/GRE (think 165+ verbal, I'm not entirely sure the math is relevant, but the higher the better) -a really solid writing sample -a strong departmental fit -- Every candidate I know who was admitted to a top program had most, if not all, of these.

I want to say they are usually made around now. It shows on the result page that somebody was already rejected from the program this year, so who knows?

I think making friends is totally up to you. There are plenty of ways of getting involved on campus and there are departmental things that you can participate in (some fields/cohorts are more social than others), but there are opportunities. You will probably have to make an effort.

I'm a first year ph.d., and I have a web page with my CV and my research interests on it, in case anybody needs to contact me for anything (e.g. if I meet people at conferences, etc.). It's not particularly impressive (I haven't received a ton of awards/publications/fellowships yet), but it's a place to start.

It's tough, but I've done it before so it's not terrible for me. I was making a lot of money working before I came back to graduate school, so I knew what the tradeoff was going to be. I don't know. Everyone has their own standards of living and for me, it's not bad. I don't really buy anything extravagant (food is probably my number one expense outside rent), and I don't have a ton of time for social activities. It's only 5 years out of your life, so it's not a long-term thing.

I live in North Park and take the Hillcrest shuttle to the UCSD campus. I don't have a car, so that saves on insurance payments. (If i need to go downtown or something, I take Lyft). I pay $750 to share an apartment with my boyfriend (total $1500) and it works for us. The no $$$ for summer kind of blows. I'm using my research stipend for my first year to pay for my bills (we don't actually get money from July through October) while I'll be gone this summer. You'll scrape by but it's not an extravagant lifestyle here.

I think they purposely keep the admit pool small (I think they admit maybe a couple people more than that, but the yield rate is always small) so that they can really focus on giving the most attention to their students. I think they are interested in (1) fully funding everyone and (2) making sure they aren't just churning out students, but really develop them professionally. Cornell, as an institution, is a great place to be. Rural upstate New York...has it's pros and cons (pros: Wegman's, cons: cold).

As far as I know, it varies by POI. I think they do some informal interviews (via phone), but nobody visits campus until an offer is made. It's a relatively small department and I think only 1-2 people accept the offers each year. When I was there, there was a total of 5 grad students in the department (I'm in a program now with 60+ students) total. I wasn't a student in the program (but I had friends who were), and everyone seemed to have a positive experience. The profs are very supportive, help with fellowships/etc. and try to be mentors/colleagues, rather than not getting to know you/pushing you out the door. It's very welcoming and more cooperative than competitive atmosphere (which definitely helps).

Cool. I worked in the NES program @ Cornell as a TA when I was there. Let me know if you have any questions.

Cool, mine (kind of) too! What projects do you work on? I do Israel-Palestine in the context of the history of science.

Congrats on your acceptance! I believe @Neist attends the HoS program. He may be a good resource regarding the town, the university, etc.

Yes. If you didn't get a Penn HSS interview, you can assume rejection (that's how they've always done it in the past). I've heard from someone that Harvard HoS does (informal) interviews, but nobody has posted about that experience on the forums. From the results page, it looks like Harvard HoS has already sent admits out, so I would assume a rejection from that program as well. :/