Tigla

With the cycle in full swing and the first wave of decisions rolling out, is it appropriate to reach out to a POI or the department and ask about the status of my application? I have a solid offer from a school that would be an excellent fit. However, School 2 is an excellent fit, too, but a lot depends on their offer and whether I'm on a wait list or not. Is this a situation where one should bite the bullet and wait it out or can you reach out and ask about the status of your application?

Unfortunately, no one can answer your question for you. You need to think long and hard about what you want to do with a PhD and if it is necessary. Also, you need to ask yourself if you're ready to give up on a PhD and move on. It sucks to think about moving on, but it's something you need to face with an honest face and plenty of support. I don't mean to discourage you by saying these things, but rather these things are the questions that I needed to mull over after my two years of rejections and wait lists. In the end, I decided that one more year was worth the work and possible heartbreak. Luckily, it paid off and I was accepted this cycle. First, I looked through all my old applications and sent a mock application to two professors that I admire, but more importantly, trust to give me honest and critical feedback. I'm not saying a select few professors give critical and positive feedback. Rather, I know these professors and have a collaborative and friendly relationship with them, which fosters more of a close working relationship. After they gave me feedback, I began preparing my new set of materials and sent them back to the professors for a final read over before submitting the final applications. Second, I talked with several of my closest friends about why I wanted to do a PhD. I wanted to think through whether I needed a PhD to do the work I wanted. They had some brutal comments, but those comments pushed me to reevaluate and reframe my application. Lastly, I kept in contact with several POIs and tried to develop an early working relationship with them throughout the application cycle. In fact, one of my POIs at my accepted university reached out to me after I received the decision letter and thanked me for taking his advice to heart and keeping in contact. He felt that I showed not only an in-depth knowledge of my topic, but also a willingness to work with him and develop a relationship. I'm not sure if one thing changed my application or if it was all of them. I do know that I took a hard look at myself and decided that it was time to go all out one last time. Maybe it was the extra oomph created by giving myself only one more cycle that helped me get into a school. Or maybe it was dumb luck that I was accepted. In short, do not beat yourself down and give up right away. Take a couple months to decompress and think about whether you want to do a PhD. If you decide that it is, then come back and go at it once again.

I was admitted after three cycles of rejections and wait lists. I would say the most important thing is to not get discouraged if you are not admitted on your first or even second attempt. Use the experiences of your rejections and wait lists to hone your SOPs, writing sample, and school selection. Before you begin editing and preparing for the next cycle, I encourage you to take a break and relax a bit. Most of our brains are exhausted and emotionally drained. A break will help you gather yourself and think critically on your own work. Besides gradcafe, another helpful source are the subreddits for SOPs, graduate school, and history. There are a million threads with applicants and current students talking about applications in general, as well as history. I personally used the subreddits to find readers of my SOPs who I never met. It was a great way to get some advice and tips for improving my SOPs which I used alongside the tips I received from professors and friends. Like always, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to give you advice. Best of luck to all new and experienced applicants!

Rejected from Princeton. A bit expected since it wasn't the best fit and one of my POIs isn't taking many students anymore.

Thank you very much! I was very much discouraged and ready to give up. Luckily, I reached out to someone and they helped me relax and take a moment to think. It was a not so gentle reminder that we all need help at some point in this process. Thank you @historygeek.

Accepted into U-Mich! The wait is finally over!

I had an interview with my POI at Yale, though. So, I had a bit more hope for that uni than I did for the rest of them.

Well...my stress and anxiety skyrocketed today. How are Harvard and Yale contacting accepted candidates? If it is an official email, then I did not receive anything. Looks like its time to put the backup plan into action since this cycle isn't my turn either.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. After two cycles of rejections and wait-lists, this first letter brought back all the old vibes. I hope you are right!

First letter is a rejection. It gets harder and harder every cycle to eat these letters and still keep your head up. To everyone who received an acceptance, congratulations! Your foot is in the door. Get ready to kick it in!

@historygeek, the best medicine tends to be laughter. I miss The Office so much and needed a little chuckle after the stressful morning of waking up to no emails from universities.

Acceptances for Berkeley do not go out until mid-February, according to my POI. Also, the UC Berkeley history webpage says this: "When will a decision be made? The department, via the Graduate Division, will typically contact applicants via the Slate online application system by mid-February." From my past cycles, any acceptances at "major schools" (already been debated in this topic) before February, which show up on the Results page, tend to be dodgy and unreliable. It could be someone entering their information wrong or just some troll stirring the pot.

Interviews are a good sign, but not a guarantee that you will receive a letter of admission. Also, some universities do not interview and some POIs may choose not to interview. From my experiences of last cycle, I was interviewed and placed on wait-lists which could mean that I flunked the interview, my POI chose not to push my application, or (more likely) I did not convince the admissions committee to offer me an acceptance letter. If you are not interviewed by a school, then try not to stress out. The admission process is really starting up this week/next week as professors return from vacations. Hang in there! We have only 4-6 weeks to go!

I want to echo psstein's comments. I had 2 interviews and both interviewers said the committee will make a decision in early-February. This is not always the rule, though. Last cycle, I received news from all my universities in the first week of March (all were waiting lists with interviews). Speaking of interviews, is it the norm to send "thank you emails" to professors after the interview? I'm used to sending a quick email after a job interview, but was not sure if it was a "must do" for PhD interviews. Google gives conflicting answers, so better to run it by the community before shooting myself in the foot.

All my applications are in and its time to play the waiting game, again! First crate of beer has been bought and bottles are cooling in the fridge. If you want a different vice, I found work and friends tend to be a better coping mechanism than family. My family loves to question me about my graduate studies, which is not a soothing thing during the wait. For all applicants, find your mechanism and stick to it. Before you know it, the wait will be over and we will all have answers. Best of luck to you all!

I will second Vaz's comments. I have the similar GRE scores and was put on waitlists across the board last cycle. If your WS, SOP, and letters are fine-tuned pieces, then your application will be read and a decision will be made on it, hopefully without looking at the GRE score. Best of luck with your application!

German has a perfect response "jaein." I guess the translation (there is no real translation) is "yeah, but no." The program is only 5 years old and is starting to have students apply and enter some of the top European PhD programs, which has helped create a touch of awareness for the program in the US. Name recognition is on the rise, but it still has a way to go before it becomes a "premier program." This is partially due to the German education system and culture around graduate programs. In Germany (generally Europe too), graduate programs are seen as a means to weed out researchers and scholars from professionals. This leads the university, staff, and professors not offering much help unless you reach out and ask for it. Even then, you must be prepared or you will be brushed off. The idea, from my experience, is to throw students into the deep end and see who swims and who floats. The floaters are passed through the program while the swimmers are fine-tuned and prepared for PhD study. I recommend picking up German if you study in Germany or do anything related to Europe since most universities will ask you to have basic knowledge of German for advanced studies. In the case of the MA in Berlin, German is an unwritten necessity. You can complete the entire program in English, but you will miss out on the uniqueness of German academia and historical thinking without a working knowledge of German. Since I am training to be a historian of Germany since 1945, I loved my experience in Berlin as it taught me a lot of important realities/effects of the Cold War ('the West' and 'the East' blended in a curious manner in Berlin after 1990). If you are training in African or Chinese history, then I highly recommend the program as several renowned European scholars work in Berlin and the program encourages outreach to these scholars. Lastly, the student body is a mixture of 'good' and 'bad' students. As stated above, the system will not babysit you. A lot of American and British students expect the system to support them by holding their hand due to the design and goal of American and British undergraduate systems. The German system is a sink or swim one and it is ruthless, which, I believe, has caused mixed reviews of the program. If you are studying an MA to prepare for a PhD program, then you will not have any problems in finding support. If you are studying an MA to live in Berlin, however, then be prepared to flounder.

telkanuru hit the nail on the head with the British MAs. The UK loves to milk foreigners for money and rarely offers scholarships to foreigners, even more so with the chaos of Brexit. As for the MA Global History in Berlin, it is fairly similar to American MAs in intensity and workload. If you want to go abroad, I would apply directly to the programs, but also fill out the Fulbright applications (US-UK and US-Germany), Marshall Scholarship (US-UK), and DAAD (US-Germany). Living in Berlin is fairly easy off of a part-time job, but it will definitely be tight some months. In all, I don't see why you should not apply to MA programs. If you emphasize your work experiences, you can bolster your application.

TMP's answer hits most of your questions. I want to stress the transnational approach that TMP mentioned, though. Follow your research plan, but the unfortunate reality is that academics need to always adjust to funding schemes and initiatives. I suggest trying to find a way to include your home country in your research, in a very broad manner that makes sense to your work. Don't force a transnational approach if one does not exist.

Doktorvater/mutter is actually a Ph.D. advisor, not merely an academic advisor. That would be my first question to the DAAD: what exactly are the requirements to apply for the grant? Next, I would start reaching out to universities, or affiliated universities, near your desired archives, and begin talking about possibly sponsoring your trip as a host university, not financially. German bureaucracy is very picky with few exceptions, especially the DAAD. If you do not receive a sponsor, then you need to talk to the DAAD about their possible exceptions. It might be possible to use your home university as a sponsor, but I'm not entirely sure. My last comment revolves around your research itself. The DAAD recently switched its funding targets to better represent 'Third World' scholars and research topics. I had to change my statement to reflect the DAAD's new target, but not every researcher can do that. In short, talk to the DAAD as they will be able to answer your questions on their requirements.

I had a bit higher scores than you on the GRE, but still below the "average" scored for accepted students. Instead of applying for PhD programs, I went abroad and completed an MA. This may not be an option for you, but going abroad helped improve my application to the point of getting waitlists and some acceptances, no rejections. I highly recommend at looking funded MAs as they will help you develop your skills (foreign languages, writing, reading, critical thinking, etc), thereby improving your application and helping you to explain the "below average" GRE scores. Best of luck in your search!

As a minor league player, I hope to merely be called up to the majors. Pitching to Judge during the ALCS is merely a dream at the moment.

Meh...ignore me. I cannot delete my posts.

And this is why this forum is amazing! I hate this political mess we call academia with a passion.

Yes. I will be writing mine on one of the newest books in my desired field, which so happens to be written by a Yale professor and possible advisor.