lafayette
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Posts posted by lafayette
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Wow, Lafayette, your situation sounds a lot like mine - Columbia was a good fit for me, and I got the terrifying iPhone buzz-blast too (and hoped it was a call). But at least you have an acceptance! (was JHU not so great a fit? That gives me hope that another program might still pick me.) I'll take some solace in the fact that I can still maybe stay in NY if NYU takes me...but it's looking more and more like my application must've been a huge dud and no one will.
Okay, I need to go have a drink, but on this -- JHU was a decent enough fit, but the professor that really seemed to take the most interest (we spoke on the phone) was well, surprisingly interested from what his own interests looked like on paper. (He does a lot with economic history, which I don't do). So while I think there needs to be some vague fit, you might be surprised. The perfect combination seems really hard to come up with.
Czesc I am really rooting for you! I still think you're gonna get great news soon. (And NYU tends to be one of the last to notify).
- theregalrenegade and czesc
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Well, it has a mass-esque quality to it (like not super personalized), but it was just to me and you know, had my name and such in the body.
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Actually. I JUST GOT THE PRINCETON EMAIL. So you win. Also is this a mistake?! Oh my god.
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Ach, more delay. Where I'm from originally, a foot of snow would not normally shut down anything. Maybe at least Cornell will be used to it and notify...
Anyway, I'm assuming the worst for Columbia after today's calls.
I was actually taking a run, listening to music with headphones when my iphone started blaring this horrible emergency warning siren noise, letting me know that a blizzard warning is in effect. The only other time it's done this to me was during Sandy, so it seemed a BIT melodramatic. Anyway, I've crossed Columbia off the list too. A shame, it would have been a good fit. (& therefore I'm now officially feeling like my other programs aren't going to work out either). Mostly I'm bummed because this finally means I'm leaving NYC after a decade. I love this town, but I do feel I was hoping to have the excuse to PhD it somewhere cheaper & less distracting... Congrats to those who heard good news today. Lucky ducks
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given that it's almost 3:30 EST, anyone still think Princeton will send out decisions today?
Looking like no! Also -- there's going to be a major snowstorm tomorrow here in the Northeast -- or at least, the threat of one, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's relatively quiet in these corners.
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I just got a call from a Columbia POI. I have an offer. 'History Day' for students to visit is March 8th.
There should be a lot more exclamation points in there, I'm pretty sure, but to be honest I'm just gobsmacked!!
Congratulations! That is amazing. What a great program.
(And I am mighty jealous. Time to sign off the ole gradcafe and get some work done).
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A Columbia acceptance is up. Anyone want to reveal if it was a POI leak or if there's an indication that all acceptances are out? (It would be nice in general if everyone who posted an acceptance did this!)
Yes, leave us a little comment! (aka leave us a little hope).
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Yeah. I've been unsubscribing like mad to all the ridiculous e-mail updates I get from various places that I'd always happily ignored. Nothing like anticipation to give me the motivation I needed to actually find and follow the unsubscribe links.
I've seen Chicago has done its Political Science departments and maybe Art History. Does anyone know when History is up? It looks like last year it was right around this time. I've grown pessimistic but Chicago is my top choice so I'm hoping for the best...
I know. I am eagerly awaiting Chicago as well! Based on past years it seems like it should be soon, but who knows. (They also do their rejections much later which will be painful).
Also -- if you have gmail it's allll about the filters. You can filter irrelevant emails (that perhaps you don't want to totally unsubscribe from) to skip your inbox and go to another folder. There you can read it -- eventually, but it won't give you a "new mail" heart attack every few seconds.
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Although I didn't report it on the website, I did receive a rejection from UPenn South Asia Studies Center today. So there is a possibility that it was someone who had applied to South Asia Center. Oh and do I even need to mention that I am quite gutted by the rejection. :s If nothing works out I do have a Duke History offer with me but I am not too sure if I will be able to confront the barrage of rejection letters in the right spirit. Not a good way to start your day. A rejection inevitably makes me feel stupid and dumb =/
I know that it's hard not to take the rejections personally (but do keep in mind that there are SO many factors in play for graduate admissions) but you got into Duke! You are obviously one smart cookie!
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Really thought I was going to hear something today. The silence is starting to get to me! At least it seems very likely Princeton is gonna do their thing tomorrow (and break my heart, I'm sure). But I'm ready for news, any news! Who knew short little February could be so torturously long.
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I am not sure how to update the whole accepted/rejected list people seem to have below their comments...so here is mine:
accepted: uci, uc berkeley
no rejections....yet (though I anticipate a few already)
Click on the little drop down menu at the top of the screen where your user name is, click on "My Profile" and then "Edit my Profile" and then edit your signature (listed on the left side). If you want to, that is
And congrats on your awesome acceptances!
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It was a special call. I received an early admit as I was nominated for a fellowship.
Congrats!!
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This is another concern I've had, although I guess it's not really one I'll really have the luxury to be concerned with until I have some sort of acceptance in hand. But still - is it even a good idea to go to a school that's clearly playing that waiting game to your application, and only maybe begrudgingly admitted you when others dropped off the radar screen?
I mean, if I'm last choice at a tip top program but still get IN, I'll take it. If UPenn decides I'm number 25 out of 25 those they accept, cool. That said, I still just wish all programs would just get it all over with in one fell swoop.
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Checked mine. It says "awaiting" for the official test scores. I'm pretty sure they received them before the deadline though. Does it usually take THIS long to attach them to an application? Should I send them an e-mail?
I emailed AND called them about this (only because they took so long to reply to the email) and it's fine. They just still haven't uploaded them yet (yup...).
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Delurking again to ask if those of you who've gotten funded acceptances would mind giving me a bit of advice. >.< This is going to sound really stupid, but how can I tell if the offer I've gotten is competitive or not? Slash, how negotiable, if at all, are they?
You need to be able to (modestly) live off of it, which depends on where it is. You should also consider if there are student fees (ask about this) that are not covered and that you would be paying out of pocket, as that reduces your stipend. How many years did they offer? (I'm not willing to go anywhere that doesn't give me 5 guaranteed). Consider also how much theyre going to make you work too, as in, what's the required teaching load. You can PM me if you want some sort of comparison, as I have a funded offer.
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Yeah, this sucks. First notice of the year for me. I didn't even get an email from them....just one of those redudant log into a billion places and then get a informal "deny" letter. For Northwestern, how many applications do you think they get? around 400? 10-12 acceptances?
Berkeley also had the log in to be rejected business which I find even more impersonal than usual. Is it so hard to send a mass email these days?
I am always curious about the stats but few places seem to disclose them.
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Take a breath and think about this rationally. Whether an application is successful or not has very little to do with you as an applicant or the quality of your application, but a number of other factors tied to the particular needs of a department and/or subfield for that particular application cycle. Perhaps last year the department accepted someone that studies early modern Britain, and decided this year they don't need another. Perhaps they realized that their program has a lot of students working on West Africa, but no one studying East Africa and it's time they should accept one. Perhaps the professor who focuses on modern Chinese history is on leave in September, so that subfield won't be taking in new students. Perhaps the medievalists weren't able to accept a student they really wanted last year because of department politics, but this year they get to accept two instead.
My point is you have no idea what a department or subfield is looking for during your application cycle, and all you can do is submit the strongest application you can and hope that what you have to offer is what that department/subfield wants this year. More importantly, every program's needs are different so it's wrong to assume one rejection (especially when you don't know the departmental context in which your application was reviewed, or the conversations that took place as the adcomm deliberated over applications) means across the board rejections for your other applications. If it does happen, you strengthen your application where possible and try again -- sometimes (and we have people on this forum who have had this experience) simply re-applying in a different cycle can lead to completely different results.
The first application decision I received was a rejection from the lowest ranked school I applied to (in the middle of the night on a weekend! I consoled myself with a white hot chocolate from Tim Hortons
), and by the end of the week, I had four acceptances. It's all part of the process, a successful application cycle can still include a number of rejections.I really appreciate this, safferz. I was expecting my Berkeley rejection (meh fit, crappy first application with messy attempt to get down to the 10 page limit) and being lucky enough to already have a great offer, it was okay when it happened. But the next day I woke up extremely pessimistic and nervous for the next week, feeling similar feelings to others here. A rejection letter is always so impersonal, so I just thought, wow, how will my application make it through at any of these programs which receive many applications. And I just thought that receiving nonstop rejections would just be the end of the world. But it's not, and it's not even guaranteed. Sometimes you get through, sometimes you don't, and it's based on a ton of factors, as you say. So I appreciate you sharing your own-post app. cycle wisdom. Just got to tell myself to CHILL. OUT. And am probably going to try to get back to my running training next week (although it's so cold here) to just get over these unnecessary undermining feelings.
AND though I don't care about football at ALL, given my first two application results, I just have to say GO RAVENS.
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I had a phone "chat" with JHU that definitely was an interview.You're probably right. I was mainly kidding. I imagine the interview will be more personal than anything else. One of my professors considers it a "glorified personality test," which is probably closer to the truth.
A few things I recommend for interviews: Be able to discuss your research interests concisely, of course. But likely they will not ask "what are your research interests" straight out, as they have read your SOP after all. But in my case, it was elaboration of research interests and points I made in my SOP. So if you mentioned switching topics, or if your thesis was a little different from what you propose to work on next, be ready to discuss what brought you to shift. I really just advise having little 'narratives' thought out beforehand. For instance, what did you start with, what were the influences (generally literature or a course in which this literature was read), and why did you arrive at where you are now in your research interests? I had a 'cheat sheet' where wrote down a list of several personally influential works and their authors so I would not forget them in the heat of the moment (this helped tremendously! I know in times of high stress I tend to forget specifics that I would never would otherwise!). You've probably thought about your intellectual journey when writing your SOP, but just refresh yourself, and think of any points that might need to be elaborated upon (they'll probably ask you about them). Be able to concisely re-state what your future interests or potential for projects are, though I think particularly in the context of a chat it's okay to be open and honest about the fact you are following several leads and are not totally sure. I had the sense that my POI liked the way I was thinking it out and open to new possible areas.
Likely they are going to ask you "Why [school]?" so have a few things thought out in advance (it's okay to reiterate something in your SOP, but maybe flesh it out a bit). Lastly, they're definitely going to ask you if you have any questions. This was another thing I wrote down, and I'm glad I did, as it came last and my mind was going in a million directions by that point. It's really the time to talk about their institution (this is the same for work interviews too), so it's just good to show you're curious about it. Plus super concise questions can totally make up for some unintended rambles earlier on!
And it might be stressful because hey, you really want it, and perhaps you've never done a similar interview before, but I found that after I hung up I was super invigorated. It was great to talk about my research interests and have a professor I respected really take interest, at least enough to hear me out. I had dreaded the interview a little at first, but would welcome any opportunity to do it again. And it made me really look forward to going to graduate school to continue to have such conversations.
Best of luck!
- Wicked_Problem, PhDreams, L13 and 3 others
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When the first notice is a rejection, it does not feel good (or give one much hope).
Sigh.
EDIT: Whoever wrote "Bqhatevwr" as their comment in the results is my hero of the day.
I bet you'll hear some good news and you'll be bqhatevwr-ing about any rejections soon enough.
It does dull the sting. Speaking of which, congrats vigosloof!
Everyone: It's Februaaarrryyyyyyy.
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Honestly, I think that's just grad admissions checking off that everything is in your file. And has no bearing on your admittance! (I mean, if you didn't get stuff in maybe it would).
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What letter does your name start with!?! Kidding, kidding. Hope I get a call, although the fit is pushing it. Congrats on your interview though!
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Yay, kyjin! (My parents met at USC so I'm a fan
Plus sunny LA!)Two Penn interviews are now up ... And is it likely that all interview calls would go out the same day?
I'm guessing that's one only the department can answer.
I can see why this website is bad for the wait, oy. (Don't worry, I'm with ya. No interview.)
Fall 2013 Applicants?
in History
Posted
Congratssss!!! It's been quite the week and next week is sure to be just as intense !