fortsibut

I'm just finishing up my MA now (defending my thesis this week or next) and hope/plan to try to turn part of it into a publication. How much I put into doing so sooner rather than later probably depends on whether or not I get accepted this application cycle or not.

Yikes. Yeah, that's pretty weak. =(

Mind sharing it? Now I'm interested.

You seem to take things really, really personally. I wasn't trying to "vent my frustrations onto you," I was just asking you to create your own thread for whatever it is you're seeking from this one. Come down off your cross; I don't understand this martyr syndrome you've got going on, here. I've certainly been rejected from schools before as have many others on this board so your experience is certainly not unique. I only applied to Cornell this year, and while it's not a huge reach it's certainly a reach and there's a good chance in less than a month I'll be exactly where you are. For what it's worth, I'm truly sorry that you didn't get into your dream school, and I hope you either get in next year if you choose to reapply, or find a good alternative that provides you with the training you seek in a great environment with excellent POIs. Nobody is cheering against you in this forum, least of all myself. Keep your head up and best of luck the next time around; odds are good that I'll be back here doing the same. (Although I'll definitely be applying to more than just one school the next time.) I'm going to drop this whole issue since the general consensus seems to be that this thread should be kept for whatever it's turning into now, and I'd like to thank @Manuscriptess for creating a thread dedicated more strictly for what I was looking for in this thread.

Or maybe you take your pages of venting that are derailing the thread to another thread rather than suggesting that people who are using this thread for its intended purpose create a new thread? Look, this is going to sound kind of rude no matter how I say it (and that's really not what I'm going for) but you're done with this application cycle so if you wanna discuss things unrelated to new acceptance and rejection info, create a new thread. I'm glad this forum gives you a place to vent and discuss things with people who understand you, but that's just as easily done in another thread.

I agree with this. Plenty of room for a different thread if people want to discuss alternatives to grad school or what-if scenarios if they don't get in. Note that we're not asking anyone to "police" this thread as another poster stated, but asked for common courtesy about keeping this thread close to its original purpose. It's just a lot easier to keep up with the results that have been posted and specific discussions about those without all the extraneous conversation.

Congrats on the Hopkins acceptance, and good luck on finishing the thesis! I have the final pre-defense draft due this weekend myself and I feel like I have a long way to go. Looking forward to having a drink once it's emailed to my readers and then a couple of stiff drinks to celebrate before I prepare for the defense itself!

Haven't had to make that decision yet so others will want to jump in as well, but I'd assume that as long as the gap between the schools isn't too wide (t10 vs. much lower ranked, for example) I'd probably opt for the lower ranked school because I prioritize fit. Obviously there are a lot of factors in play here. Do you want to remain in academia after graduation? Is the lower ranked department highly regarded enough to get you in the door for interviews after you graduate? Is the POI pretty highly respected? It's frustrating that the job market is so bad that we have to consider going for schools that might not be as ideal a fit in order to ensure that we're in the conversation for jobs after the fact, but unfortunately that's the status quo in academia today. I thought about this question myself awhile back, actually. Howard University has a few Africanists with whom I think it'd be interesting to work, but I'm not sure how realistic it'd be to expect to get a tenure track slot with a PhD from the university.

Damn, really wish that I'd been able to get my stuff done in time to app to Northwestern. As an Africanist they're pretty high on my list, and it looks like this was the year to get in if they're looking to shore up that category of students. =(

Could be, but I remember hearing the emphasis on THE a long time before Meyer showed up.

That's fantastic, congrats!! You must be over the moon right now. =)

As someone who spent a few years growing up in Columbus, who's a huge Ohio State football fan, and whose parents both got their doctorates from OSU, I can't endorse this enough! Also, it's THE Ohio State University, @rex-sidereus.

Is the person who posted the Grad Institute Geneva acceptance in the survey results hanging out in this forum, by any chance? GIG will be on my list next year if I don't get accepted to Cornell this year and I'd love to talk with you about the school.

Thanks! Totally going to take you up on that if I get in! =)

Yeah agreed, was just updating my post to include that. Good luck with your interview! I still have 3+ weeks left 'til Cornell results come out, if last year's results are any indication, so I'm living vicariously through those of you who are getting accepted earlier in the meantime. =)

Agreed, plus the fact that GPA and GRE are less consistent since only ~1/3 or less of people include theirs on the results page a lot of the time, and sometimes mix up the number order for GRE, typos, etc. The binary system of "I got in" or "I didn't get in" (or "I got an interview," I guess) is a lot more reliable. EDIT: Should say that I still enjoyed that thread and found the graphs interesting for result date purposes.

Yes, +1 to this if you have time to add that! Great work on what you've done so far, o.p. =) EDIT: whoops, didn't read all the way down the first page, just glanced at the o.p. and opened my big mouth! /embarrassed

You need to go post passive-aggressively about it on the results page like all the super salty people do! "Fuck you Indiana HPS! I'm going to a REAL SCHOOL!"

Congrats! They'll be one of my top three if I end up having to reapply next year, but I wasn't able to get everything done in time for their deadline this year. Have you had the chance to visit East Lansing yet? Haven't been myself but the prof I TA'd for during my MA was a MSU grad and loved her time there.

I lived in Allegany county from my freshman year of high school off and on until 2014 and attended Alfred State College for three semesters from 2013-2014 before transferring to finish up undergrad and go to grad school, so I'll answer what I can. Everything xypathos said is pretty much on point, although I commuted to Alfred from elsewhere in the county so I don't have any idea what rent prices are in town and can't confirm that. Also I've only been on Alfred U's campus a number of times, so I won't be able to answer many questions about that either. About the weather: I was on campus for 2 winters, and both were pretty cold. Alfred's a bit sheltered due to its location in the valley, but you still get some wind blowing down through there that can be brutal. A lot of snow which which affects the accessibility of activities outside of town, more on that later. I'm used to New York winters so my time in Alfred didn't faze me, although some of my commutes in were kind of rough when it got a bit blizzardy. The town: the people are great, there are some really awesome restaurants downtown (shout out to the Collegiate aka the Jet and their awesome gyros, and Teracotta is excellent as well), and the main street has the awesome small town thing going for it. Google is a bit misleading if you look up fast food; the Taco Bell is actually on Alfred State campus and while you can eat there for cash and anyone is welcome, it's not necessarily as immediately accessible to Alfred U students. I've heard good things about "The Rogue Carrot" grocery story although from what I understand it's a little on the pricey side. Hot Dog Day in the spring ("May the dogs be ever in your favor!") is a fun intercampus event that meets down on Main Street, has lots of hot dogs for sale (as the name indicates!), and has a street fair with some art/craft/etc. vendors. I'm not sure about public transit; Alfred State had a shuttle running to downtown from time to time and I'm sure Alfred U has the same, but everything's really walkable although it would probably be pretty annoying to carry bags of groceries back to campus during the winter. The area: unless you're going to immerse yourself in work from the day you arrive til the day you leave, you're probably going to want to bring a car or quickly make friends with people who have them. Alfred U has a cool library and ceramics museum and such, but the town itself just doesn't have endless entertainment options. Alfred has 3 bars, but they're usually packed with partying undergrads and kind of "divey." Hornell is the closest big town and has a movie theater, restaurants, etc. and it's about 20-25 minutes away depending on the weather. Wellsville is about the same distance and has a great small town downtown as well with a 2 screen movie theater that's really old; the town also has some great restaurants (Texas Hot, L'Italia, Beef Haus, etc.) and a bowling alley. Swain ski resort is about 35 minutes away if you enjoy skiing or snowboarding. It doesn't boast amazing slopes or anything but it's a fun place to hit up once or twice a winter. Letchworth State Park is just under an hour away and it's an incredibly beautiful place with three waterfalls, tons of trails along the gorge, and camping. I'd be happy to answer more questions if you have them, either about the town or area. Even though the program that I was in at ASC wasn't ideal and I ended up transferring, I really enjoyed my time in Alfred and enjoy going back from time to time if I'm visiting my parents and have the smallest excuse to do so. Good luck in your program selection!

Oh man, my response just showed off MY ignorance!

You must not do much research on top history schools outside of your subfield, whatever that is. UW-Madison is absolutely a top school for programs like African history. To claim otherwise just makes you look stupid.

Congrats! That's awesome! =) How did they notify you? Email, or?

That is some fantastic accidental trolling on their part!

I've always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail in its entirety, so after I defend my MA thesis next month I'm going to work on getting in better shape, find a job, and start saving money. If I get into the program to which I applied I'll be thrilled and go, but if not I'm planning to apply to a number of programs next fall (didn't get everything done in time to make the December deadlines this year) and take off for the AT in February 2019 and hope for the best. If I still don't get in after that? I dunno, prolly try to do Teach for America or join the Peace Corps and work in East Africa.