AP

Late summer, early fall. As many as you can afford. It's nice that some faculty think that students have $800 for admissions... that was not my case.

Of course they can ask. My point was that the program will not give those explanations unless you ask for them.

Actually, it's not complicated. Many things could have happened that are not up to you. Maybe Prof A is on leave next year (academic, medical, or family), maybe they will serve at another capacity (like chair or DGS) in the department and they want to make sure you have another professor to reach out to, or –worst case scenario for you– they are leaving the department. In any case, no one owes you an explanation. Until you receive instructions otherwise, you continue to correspond with the person you were corresponding. At some point, they will let you know if you need to do something different. When the time comes, once you are enrolled and (hopefully!) come to campus to meet with your advisor, if they don't bring it up, then you can say "I've noticed in the system that I have an interim advisor, do you know why is that?" You are not married to your advisor. Of course you can change your advisor (though there are specific moments to do so). Your advisor doesn't know you and you don't know them. I've known several people that change their advisors after comps because they realize they work best with other professors. They also polished their projects, which means they have a better sense who can serve in their committees. Re: @AfricanusCrowther's experience, I have never seen anything "in writing" and I wouldn't know how to do it myself with students. However, I think it is important, once you begin your program, to talk about expectations. I'm of the opinion of not writing to POIs now about expectations for the Fall.

The advice I always give is: 1) If you have an offer in hand, you can email them to inquire and let them know you have an offer. 2) If you don't have an offer but they gave you a date in which something might happen, you can inquire about a week after that date. 3) If you don't have an offer nor a date in which something can happen, you won't probably hear until after April 15, when accepted students have to give a response. In that case, you don't have any reason to contact the program before then. I don't agree contacting the program, but I've seen people suggest it here (and people that did so). YMMV

They are saying mid-April because that's when others will give their final decision. By a rule of thumb, my advice would be to only contact POIs if you have another offer and/or are waitlisted elsewhere. However, you have seen that regarding waitlists everyone has a different experience and so we are all giving you different advice. YMMV. Note: I wasn't waitlisted, I was outright rejected/admitted. I have no idea if there is a waitlist in our program or how it is handled.

It's not that common. Faculty don't have the time to send emails to every applicant who wasn't admitted. You should thank them and sign something like "I hope our paths cross in the future." If this were a different year, you could ask specific faculty if they were thinking of going to an upcoming conference and maybe grab some coffee. I would take the offer to discuss your application further, if you are thinking of applying again. Questions you could ask are: How can I strengthen my application? What type of conference/workshop/seminar would you suggest I eye this year in preparation for my application? You can also let them speak. If they are willing to invest time in you, even if you don't apply there again, it's feedback that you get for free.

It's in the student's best interest that someone senior writes the letter. You will serve them better by letting them know they should approach other professors. You can be a third recommender.

If you are thinking of Florida and if you are thinking of re-applying if nothing opens up, I'd suggest looking into FIU. They have a great program and top notch Latin Americanists. Besides UCSD, did you apply to other programs in California? A faculty may be on leave and that's why they didn't respond. You are right in feeling at a loss. Admissions are really secretive and this year more factors than we know played a role. No. Unless the program has eight Latin Americanists (one modern Mexico, one colonial Mexico, one Brazilianist, one Southern Cone, one Northern South America, one Colonial Latin America, one Caribbeanist, one Afro-Latinamericanist) this will never be the case. As long as you have someone specializing in your time period, it doesn't matter how specific a topic is, with some exceptions (Brazil and Mexico).

I saw this tweet and this is a good reminder. Folks with rejections: it sucks. I know this is not much comfort, but remember that those rejections are not about you or your scholarship, they are symptoms of a broken system. I see you. ?

Additionally, ask about fees. While programs cover tuition, there are usually some fees (mine amounted to about $250 even during the summer, because you had be registered to get paid. We got paid one month during the summer). As faculty now, the "best" questions are usually the ones that make me talk, like what's my favorite thing about the program, the school, or students; what opportunities I had to mentor students (I'm a recent hire, obviously), where have I encountered other grad students outside of our program. Usually like talking about things that make them proud

Please read why this right here is extremely inappropriate:

I join this congratulatory message. We've known each other for far too long!

When you submit an article to a serious journal, you will have to state that you are not submitting that piece anywhere else. Don't do it.

If you already have an offer in hand, ask the program administrator to refer to the person that can guide you through healthcare questions. There is a steep learning curve: I suspect that healthcare in the US is purposely confusing (lots of jargon, illogical policies, etc.). So, ask everything a million times. If you have an offer that includes healthcare, ask for the complete list of coverage. You'll find there if appointments with a psychiatrist are covered and how much. Also ask very specific questions about your medication. Personally, I push very hard for concrete answers because sometimes healthcare professionals tend to fly around the bush. I don't know if you could do this, but I went to my eye doctor everytime I went home to get contact lenses because it was way cheaper. Could you have that as a back up plan?

@bakeseal ditto.

Scarlet makes a good point on setting up a good filtration system and probably one that relies on multiple things. Eg: if a POI does not respond by x date, reach out the the DGS. Other forms of filtrating: Programs that offer waivers on application fees or standardized tests. Funding, not only your stipend but also the fees you'd pay (there are always hidden fees), healthcare coverage, available competitive funds, dependency of funding on your labor, etc. Additional support: mental health, digital humanities, graduate certificates, nearby consortiums of libraries, etc. Location, especially for those doing international research or from abroad, is there an airport? does it fly to your area? etc. Additionally, I mentioned this already, but also remember that that a POI that doesn't communicate much does not mean they are not interested in you. There are a million reasons before your project that could prevent any faculty from writing back: they are on leave, they are busy, they are doing research, they are prioritizing their own students, they are busier, etc. Similarly, when they do respond, while a great sign, it also doesn't mean you are in, as sadly many of us have learned. My best conversations during application season were in schools I was rejected. So, I agree with Scarlet in setting up a more intentional filtration system that matches your interests with the strength of the program, without paying so much attention to arbitrary rankings.

Wait, there is nothing in that menu that says "educator"? Have you called/emailed them?

Sorry for the lack of offers. You know that somewhere in the application you can add if you are applying to other schools, right? In general, it's not a stretch to know people elsewhere. If you apply to work with me, and you application was very strong, but I see you also apply to work with my colleague in this other school whose research is up your alley, then faculty make the very informed decision you are probably going to be better served elsewhere and that here, we can better serve another student. True story, when I was a grad student and we had the admitted student weekend, the students in my field that were very indecisive of where to go were between my advisor or their super-pal at another institution.

Yes, it's the debate many of us are having in our departments. I stand by what I said: you and 200 other people are passionate about history. This is not what gets you in. If you are trying to word it in the SOP, I think you could phrase it as your commitment to doing something with that passion, like answering questions about inequality, advancing the field in terms of accessibility, organizing events for the dissemination of scholarship on campus, etc. These are concrete ways in which your passion is visible.

I seriously doubt that in programs where they care about students they will increase cohort sizes, unless they care for their cheap labor. Top 20 programs that insist of admitting 10+ cohorts with absolutely no jobs is irresponsible. I'd also advise you against such programs. You want your program to be straight with you and support you. I know Cambridge and UCL are excellent schools (I have friends that attended them and friends that teach there). However, don't think that just because you went to these schools, that would put you farther up in the list. The best schools for US history are... in the US and you would be competing with graduates from these schools. Focus on what you bring that is different, not on pedigree. Writing sample: The most recent polished work. It's about showing you can do research. I don't know if you did this, but you are applying to a lot of programs. Are you tailoring your SOP enough? Sorry, no. I mean, yes, it's nice to do things that bring you joy, and I'm all for that. But absolutely no one questions people are passionate about history if you are applying to twenty programs. If in your SOP you say something along the lines of "I don't really expect a career," then you are not giving them any reasons to make you an offer. Passion doesn't get you in. If in your SOP you say something along the lines of "I'm passionate about history," welcome to the club, you and 200 other applicants. These are the things that put anyone in the no list. AdComms are looking for colleagues, for people hungry to change the field, for teachers eager to get into the classroom, for administrators ready to advocate for the humanities. Some others, sadly, are looking for cheap labor, a huge problem in our system which exploits people's "passion" and sucks them dry. I've seen it. What do you mean by big/small school? Size of cohorts? "Rankings"? Funding?

Actually, our budget has already been decided. Nothing in the departments is "messy" or "chaotic." What is uncertain is our current doctoral students, their funding, their prospective job market, their research opportunities. They are our priority right now. A commitment to a new cohort would take into account these uncertainties. As the reality in our country and abroad changes rapidly, we sensitive to those realities. From where I stand, the situation is more complex. There are no jobs for Europeanists and too many of you. Also, departments are trying to diversify their cohorts by admitting more research on the rest of the world, as well as Americanists. That said, they are also grappling with the challenges posed by the pandemic as mentioned above. No one is in a hurry of creating a cohort of students who won't be able to do research or find jobs.

No, this wouldn't be appropriate. To @coffeehum question of private vs public: In my case there wasn't much choice because private universities tend to have more funding for public ones for international students.

It depends. Based on the information you are providing, it seems you did not "click" with the discipline, not with the work. If the recommender makes this distinction, I'm sure it won't hurt. Let me also add this: it hurts more not to have a LOR from your last school than a non-stellar one. Faculty here, this is not necessarily true. You don't show consistency by emailing people just because you emailed them before. Unless you have a specific question, there is no need to email anyone. Before you email a POI looking for answers, remember that: Nobody owes you an explanation, no matter how bad the rejection stings. I've said this many times in this forum, so apologies for those re-reading this but: applying to grad school is already part of your graduate training. You will get rejections in the future from grants, fellowships, and jobs. No one, except maybe one of the big grants, will offer feedback. There are reasons that are bigger than you, your program, or your professor. Sometimes it has to do with long-term funding. Sometimes with TA/RA appointments availability. Often, faculty at not at liberty to discuss these with you (and some other times, they don't even know). This one is the one I use on me a lot: A rejection of your application is not a rejection of you as a person. We sacrifice a lot to apply and go to grad school, so it is very easy to take things personally. However, this rejection does not speak to you as person, and not even as an academic. Trust that. If you do email them, be strategic. Instead of asking "Why was I rejected?" (which makes you sound bitter), ask "Is there any advice you could share so that I can improve my application?" Remember that you might not have gotten into Northwestern, but that doesn't mean you won't cross paths again. In a couple years, you can organize a panel for a national conference and invite this POI to comment. You might collaborate with one of their students. This is not the end. It's always, always fundamental to contact POIs before applying! When I was at that stage, I almost didn't contact one POI who was the POI. When I did, he said he school was not prepared to fund international applicants (me). Then I almost didn't contact another POI because they did something different from me. In the end I did and, well, they became my advisor. Good luck everyone.

This is a good question that you can ask in the interview/admitted students (digital?) weekend. Also, diversity is a vast term that different departments might address in different ways depending their audience and their resources. In some departments, their initiatives led to admit and retain students of the LGBTQIA community. In other cases, their commitment might be oriented to admitting students from non-traditional backgrounds (like students who started their education at CCs or that are first gen). In other departments you might find a strong international component and, thus, a robust support system for students whose first language is not English. And some others, as you hinted, might focus on diversifying their student body in terms of racial and ethnic identity. Ideally, of course, we want all of the above. At my graduate institution, initiatives came from the school. There was a diversity office, who would listen to our grievances, several scholarships for the study of race and justice (which typically attract minorities), the library had a dedicated librarian for Af-Am studies, etc. In terms of department-wide initiatives, I would suggest (in addition to what you've been suggested) to look at past/future events. Who are they inviting? Who are the recent hires? Who got a prize recently? Why? How do faculty engage in public? Do they write Op-Eds?

This is a good point. However, I'd invite you (and others who are finishing a degree) to think differently about where they are and where they are going. In your SOP, you basically argue that you have the potential to become a cool scholar. By 'cool' I mean someone that has interesting questions and/or interesting methods. You don't present yourself as the "past" because people that admit you are looking into the future. So, when you outline your research trajectory, the current degree is very much part of that trajectory. I'd dare to say that the master's might be even more relevant than your first degree, because in an advanced degree you usually go deeper into the weeds of historiography and archival research (even digitally). I'm not picking on you specifically, @eh1688. For everyone in your position, I would encourage you to outline in the SOP how your current degree is equipping you and what skills, thus, you'd be bringing to PhD program.