Karou

Oh wow, you've decided already! But if you're sure, you're sure. Congratulations!!
In other news, I just received an email from Columbia trying to sell me on three different MA programs. Not sure if I should feel insulted. ?

Right there with you! Really curious as to what's going on with Yale right now, from past years, the ways in which applicants are notified seem pretty inconsistent!

Right there with you! Really curious as to what's going on with Yale right now, from past years, the ways in which applicants are notified seem pretty inconsistent!

Congratulations @Jericho and @Tigla!! Very happy for you both!
And good vibes to anyone still anxiously waiting.

So nice to read about everyone's research, all of this sounds fascinating! I'm embarrassed to stay I had to look up what French Azilum was, but that is so interesting. I'll look into it more if I find the time! 
Very rough summary of my own interests: right now, I'm focusing on French settler-colonialism in 18th-century lower French Louisiana (roughly, present day Louisiana and Mississippi) and on Franco-Indian relations, especially in terms of sexual behaviors. I'm generally focusing on the many aspects of the sexual component of colonization (ie imposed sexual norms, sexual violence, etc). I've also been looking into Spanish settler-colonialism lately and I'm hoping to expand on that a lot more during my PhD. Like many of you, I'm very interested in issues of perspective (whose 'side of the story' are we focusing on? whose voices have been left out of traditional narratives? etc). Generally, in the context of these interests, I've really enjoyed the works of Jennifer Spear, Juliana Barr, and Patricia Galloway.
At the moment, I'm doing research for an essay about declension narratives, as it relates to indigenous history. I have a bunch of articles and book chapters lined up, but I think I will pick up David Weber's Bárbaros: Spaniards and Their Savages in the Age of Enlightenment next.
(Also Homelands and Empires by Jeffers Lennox sounds really interesting, adding it to my reading list!)
 
 

Congratulations @gorgogliante!
 

Firstly, I want to echo the discussion of considering an MA program. Honestly, for all this talk of elite schools, my goal was always to teach community college (for a variety of personal reasons). With that goal in mind, I set my sights on a terminal MA and NEVER considered applying to any PhD program out of undergrad. That goal has evolved as I have grown and gotten further into my research, and I am still shocked that I will be entering a PhD program in the fall, simply because it was not the plan until about a year ago.
Secondly, an advisor or two is a key element to this process. I had my MA thesis advisor working with me on my writing sample (as it is a chapter from my thesis), but my department chair helped me extensively with my SOP. Those types of instructors and mentors can also help you determine schools that are best for you to apply for. So many historians know each other, they will likely know someone who could be a potential POI.
Thirdly, contact potential POIs EARLY. I was in e-mail contact as early as March of 2018. Honestly, I started discussing my research interests with them and trying to work out if we would be a good fit because many of us live life on a budget, why waste time/application fees/stress on programs that are certainly not going to accept you because your POI is not interested. That's not a surefire way to be accepted, but it helps to know if the program is worth your effort and cost. I still ended up rejected from a program after speaking to a POI on the basis of "your intended advisor did not think he could properly advise your project." You never know, but networking and feeling people out never hurts, as long as you are polite and respectful about how you approach it.
Ok, for some reason this has turned into a much longer response than I planned, but I'll keep going. Visit schools that you are interested in (if you are able). Set meetings with the DGS and POI. It doesn't have to be a formal interview, but if you show up with questions prepared about the program and demonstrate that you are serious, it can go a long way. Dress nicely, make a good impression, and admission committees will be able to put a face with the name on paper. This also helps you because you can see if your personality fits with your POI. I can't imagine anything worse than entering a long term program and having to work closely with someone I could not stand! The program I will be attending in the fall is one that I went to meet with. Honestly, my verbal GRE score is not fantastic. My written was fairly high, as well as my letters, GPA, and presumably the rest of my application. I think that visiting helped to offset the fact that standardized tests are not my friend.
Lastly, I know the job market is hard. The goal of entering these programs is to find work after you graduate. That said, yes, the big elite schools look great to potential employers, but check out the placement records of some of the smaller state schools. ESPECIALLY if there is a POI who you mesh well with. Great historians do work outside of the well known programs, and if the school has a good reputation, a good placement record, and a good POI, there's no reason to not consider them. I am glad that I looked, because my research interests are relatively uncommon and I got very lucky with the school that I found. Do lots of research into different types of programs, sometimes what's best in a name is not necessarily best for your personal interests or goals.
**EDIT: Many state schools also offer funding packages, especially because they realize our job market is incredibly tough. Always look at the funding, but keep in mind that it is often offered. I am about to complete a partially funded MA at a regional school, and I had scholarships to cover what my Grad Assistant position did not. There's always ways to find funding, but you have to look!
I hope some of my rant helped. I'm clearly no authority figure, I just speak from experience.

@appleapple Another must-read on the subject is Michel-Rolph Trouillot's Silencing the Past. It's a succinct study of the silences in historical narratives, what is left out and what is recorded, and what these omissions reveal about inequities of power throughout modern society.
 
 
 

NYU is the wildcard now. Cornell's deadline was later so I'm prepared to wait, Penn's probably finished their interviews, Duke usually sends their rejections out on Thursday in V-day week. . . I know NYU send decisions out advisor by advisor, but little else. Didn't they release waitlist results or something on Monday last week?
Big hugs to everyone waiting! I know I could use one.

I think this is going to be a big week for most of us, but I also feel like we're all a little bit calmer than last week. Perhaps it's just me? I can see the finish line looming in the distance. Good luck everyone, we're almost there!

I think this is going to be a big week for most of us, but I also feel like we're all a little bit calmer than last week. Perhaps it's just me? I can see the finish line looming in the distance. Good luck everyone, we're almost there!

Long time listener, first-time caller. Haha, but seriously I've been watching this forum since at least December. Calculated my target schools accept/reject windows based on at least five years worth of historical data, the whole nine yards. This is one hell of an addictive site. So far I've received two acceptances and not a peep from my other target schools. My research interests revolve around military history, primarily 20th Century U.S.     I’ve been enjoying the banter, posts of acceptances and rejections, and the great levels of mutual support given to each other. I hope this support continues across the discipline as we become colleagues in the near future.    Best of luck to everyone, indeed. 

I don't have much time for grand narratives and theory here - I don't find them particularly productive.
For me, I follow Kathleen Davis' argument from Periodization and Sovereignty which understands "history" as a polemical claim which intends the creation of radical temporal disjuncture for discrete, local, and political ends. Hence, the most difficult periodization to break, conceptually, remains that which exists between what is "modernity" and what is not. She herself is interested in the origins of the "medieval" in 17th-c English jurisprudence, but the seeds of Davis' argument are particularly well-laid in the bed of postcolonial theory as was in colonial encounter that the modern/premodern divide was truly weaponized.
In one of my favorite passages ever, Timothy Mitchell maintains that "Before the development of twentieth-century economics and jurisprudence, which offered ways to be silent about the genealogy of what claims to be universal, [historicization] was the only way, outside theology, to explain the general character of law. Law could claim to be universal, and thus nonarbitrary, only be appearing as the expression of civilization. The growth of civilization represented the spread of the principle of human reason, which overcame the limits of habit, prejudice, caprice, and ignorance. The faculty of reason gave men the power to step outside these local constraints, it was thought, and thus acquire a universal vision and understanding. European colonialism, understood as the contemporary expression of the spread of civilization and reason, established the abstract forms of law, in relation to which particular histories of the right of property could be written. Such histories occurred as the local expression or realization of this universal abstraction" (Rule of Experts, 53).
It is an arresting thought to consider the fact that the very choice to study something as history is to perpetuate colonial power structures. And it is similarly troubling to realize that what is "history" is locally contingent to any claim to be doing it.

I just wanted to add, I absolutely agree that mentors are so, so important! The reason why speaking with POIs was more helpful in my case was because none of my current professors are experts in the field I hope to contribute to as a doctoral student. That being said, their help and support throughout this process was still very valuable and cannot be underestimated.
On a similar note, if you're an international applicant, I think it's important to have someone that is familiar with the system in the US on your side (this is assuming of course that you're applying to PhD programs in the US. Adapt it to your own situation, if you're applying to a school in Australia, same thing, try and find someone who is familiar with that particular system). For instance, my professors here in Europe only had very minimal comments on my statement of purpose, which left me feeling pretty confident about it. However, when I sent it to a US professor (after they had offered to read and review it), I ended up *significantly* revising it. Now I don't know if my current professors were trying to spare my feelings, or if it comes down to cultural differences about what a statement of purpose should or should not say but, just to be on the safe side, I would recommend having people who are familiar with the educational system from wherever it is you want to apply look through your application materials.

I agree about setting up a timeline, I made one for myself with a rough estimate of what i should accomplish each week in terms of applications, and spreading the tasks out over several weeks really helped! I also alternated between heavy-duty things like working on the SoP or writing sample and smaller tasks like dealing with the administrative side of things, filling in application forms etc, which require less brain power (and which can be done while listening to music for instance, and thus make it feel a lot less like work!). That way you can feel like you're giving yourself a little break while still doing something that needs to be done.
A few things I've learned from my own mistakes: I'll echo what @historygeek said above, be really honest with yourself about where your interests lie. In my case, it wasn't so much that I wasn't being honest with myself, but I was immensely intimidated by the field I really wanted to engage with (which I had engaged with before but never in the context of History; in the end, I went back to what was essentially my "first love" in academia and I'm so, so glad I didn't let my fear stop me). Bear in mind that I had been a history student for barely a year  when I started working on my applications last summer, so my interests were a little bit all over the place, you may have a much better grasp of what you want to engage with, so take what I say with a grain of salt!
My point being, try to flesh out your interests as early as you possibly can, and contact POIs early. If you're lucky, they will prompt you to think about your proposed project and will be honest with you if they think that it's not particularly original (it's a little brutal to hear but very helpful in the end!). Also, try to allow for the fact that your interests may naturally evolve as you go through the process of applying, whether it be through conversations with POIs, or the research you're doing in a Master's program, or anything, really. This happened to me very late into the process (mid-November) and while the changes I made to my project weren't so significant that it would automatically rule out the schools I had decided to apply to, it did make my fitting into many of these programs a bit more of a stretch. I'm very lucky that it worked out for me and that I got admitted into my top choice program (which I added to my list very late in light of the shift in my interests; it was all very fortuitous really, I instantly fell in love with the program and made the very spur of the moment decision to apply despite the deadline being fast approaching), but I wish I had had more time to put together a more coherent list of schools. In a nutshell: time is your friend, give yourself as much of it as you possibly can.
And as a side note, I can't predict how active I will be on this forum in the future, but my PMs are redirected to my inbox, so I will get those and I am always happy to help! I can't promise groundbreaking advice (I'm hoping at some point I'll feel like I know what I'm doing, but for now the imposter syndrome is still strong!), but I can at least promise a sympathetic ear and insider info about my own program.  Also this cycle isn't over yet, don't lose hope!
 
 

I don't know for sure, but I would assume they would only contact students that they've established some sort of rapport with already, but it most likely depends on their personality/inclinations as well. Perhaps professors who have relatively few students who applied to work with them can afford the time it takes to email all of them, perhaps others can't because of sheer numbers and only email those that were strong contenders etc. I think it's one of those things that's really hard to determine!
On that note, is it appropriate to email POIs at universities you've been rejected from? For instance, I'm pretty sure I'm rejected from Harvard at this point, but the person I spoke with when I was preparing my application was so kind and helpful, and I still want to acknowledge that. When the official rejection does come, would it be okay for me to email that professor and say that although I have been rejected, I'm still very grateful for them taking the time to help me out etc?

Totally with you on this! I wrote an email to my Harvard POI (I was rejected from Harvard), who very kindly replied with further advice on how to improve my profile. Then the second time I applied to PhD programs, I got in. (although I didn't apply to Harvard this time also based on that POI's advice) The field is really really small, and in my sub-field all established historians seem to know each other. And I actually met with two of my POIs last semester when they came to give talks at my current school, both are from programs that rejected me.  In my experience, our relationships with any of our POIs won't end just because we are rejected from their programs. 

I think everyone has offered excellent advice, but I do want to add onto/ highlight @Dark Paladin's point- you're knee deep in a thesis that's likely your first in-depth experience with historical research and writing, and you haven't heard from any PhD programs, which naturally has made you doubt yourself and what you want to do. I'm not convinced that, if and when you get into a PhD program, your opinion won't change in the light of an acceptance letter. I say this because when I applied, I was trying to write a senior thesis that I found agonizingly hard, and I wanted nothing more than to be done with it. I thought somewhat seriously at one point about withdrawing all my PhD applications and re-applying to MAs. Then, because it was too late to withdraw, I wondered if I should have applied for American history instead. Once I started getting acceptances, however, both those wishes completely left me, and they have never come back. It's hard to know what is an honest change in interests and what is application nerves, but time usually helps sort out one from the other-- so certainly give it thought now, but revisit it later once you know how everything has shaken out.
Additionally, studying early modern and medieval history is a different ballgame than studying modern Europe or US. Your archives are different, your sources are different, you piece together evidence differently (as you just don't have the masses of stuff that modernists do), you ask different questions with different stakes. Do you want to address those questions? Do you find them compelling? In my case, I realized that the animating questions of US history by and large weren't the big questions I wanted to think about the most. You may find that you really are drawn to the work of early modern history, in which case, a MA may be a good place for you to make that transition. But you can have a wide variety of interests, and being interested in one thing doesn't mean you've chosen the wrong one for yourself. It means you're well rounded. 
Finally, regarding readiness for a PhD program. It's very good to be honest and self-aware (truly), but it's also hard to see yourself and your capabilities clearly when you're this close up to it, and under so much application stress. Quite honestly I'm not sure if one ever does feel ready. I can think of a number of times where my advisor suggested that I move onto the next stage of the program, or take a risk on some opportunity that presented itself, but I myself didn't feel ready. I would always protest that I needed more time: more time to study for comps, more time to take another class, more time to revise an article or clarify an argument, more time to figure out what I was trying to say. Then I would do some more Tina Belcher style groaning in the privacy of my apartment and try to do it anyways. And in each case, my advisor was right, and I was wrong. I was ready for it, and I could do it- I was just really nervous. 
Graduate school is full of moments like these where you feel on the absolute edge of what you're capable of doing. But you have to be on that edge if you want to really push yourself and grow as a scholar/ thinker/ person. So I really would try to sit on your hands for a few more weeks, even though it is incredibly difficult, and see how it all shakes out; schools won't accept students they don't think are ready, and your professors wouldn't have recommended you apply to these schools and helped you throughout the process if they didn't think you could make it. 

That was me - it was an email from the department chair, with official confirmation to follow. Fingers crossed for you!

Congrats to the Yale admits!! That's amazing!! 
Waiting on them for American Studies, likely won't hear for another week or so! And I've also been punked by Harvard with the 503 error. ?

My tinfoil hat theory is that I get things a little earlier because my last name starts with one of the first letters of the alphabet haha. I may be completely off the mark though! Edit: @villageelliot I posted this before I saw your post, looks like we have the same theory!!
Best of luck to y'all still waiting! Fingers crossed! I've been communicating with Duke for the past few hours about travel arrangements, so it's definitely making rejection easier. I'm too busy being excited that I'll be flying out there in just over two weeks!

My subfield is the same as potsupotsu's (Japanese history). 
Thank you all for the kind congratulations. Getting into Yale really means the world to me. Even though I applied to several other schools, this is the one place I truly wanted to be, and actually having it come true is a major validation for me. Like @urbanhistorynerd I am from the Detroit area and a non-traditional student. I grew up extremely impoverished, and was forced to drop out of high school due to family health and financial issues. Prior to going back to college I was working day labor jobs that paid $100 dollars a week for 70+ hours of work thanks to the horrible economy. I seriously never thought I would have a decent future, but now I am heading to Yale History. I know many others on this forum are non-traditional, I just want to say that I am very proud of you all for fighting to overcome whatever barriers were placed in front of you. And of course, to all of you, I wish nothing but success, as you all have been extremely kind and supportive to each other throughout this whole process. 

Mine has disappeared. I agree that it's probably just a technology glitch! Confusing as it might be, I don't think we should try to read anything into it.

Congrats to the Yale admits!! That's amazing!! 
Waiting on them for American Studies, likely won't hear for another week or so! And I've also been punked by Harvard with the 503 error. ?

Congrats to the Yale admits!! That's amazing!! 
Waiting on them for American Studies, likely won't hear for another week or so! And I've also been punked by Harvard with the 503 error. ?