Tigla

@AP@dr. telkanuru@Sigaba@OHSP@Tigla
As promised, I have returned. I was accepted at four schools, got in off the waitlist at one, and rejected by five. I chose to accept the offer of a school that was not my first choice, because I quickly built strong rapport with the people there and discovered that they might actually fit better in terms of my interests, temperament, and future goals.
Thank you for all the help and support that you have shown me during this application season. 

I'm sorry! This cycle is crazy and many excellent applicants have to be rejected.
Take a break away from it all for sometime. Reopen the documents and re-read them with an extremely critical eye. And then, start the process again.
It took me 3 cycles to get off waitlists and every time it was a punch in the gut. Right now, it is important to do your best and get away from academia. It will help you think clearly when you return to your materials, but more importantly, everyone needs a break after an application cycle. Every cycle, I would download my documents onto a USB, give them to a friend, and then forget about them. How ever you best decompress and relax, now is the time to do it.

I'm sorry! This cycle is crazy and many excellent applicants have to be rejected.
Take a break away from it all for sometime. Reopen the documents and re-read them with an extremely critical eye. And then, start the process again.
It took me 3 cycles to get off waitlists and every time it was a punch in the gut. Right now, it is important to do your best and get away from academia. It will help you think clearly when you return to your materials, but more importantly, everyone needs a break after an application cycle. Every cycle, I would download my documents onto a USB, give them to a friend, and then forget about them. How ever you best decompress and relax, now is the time to do it.

I'm sorry! This cycle is crazy and many excellent applicants have to be rejected.
Take a break away from it all for sometime. Reopen the documents and re-read them with an extremely critical eye. And then, start the process again.
It took me 3 cycles to get off waitlists and every time it was a punch in the gut. Right now, it is important to do your best and get away from academia. It will help you think clearly when you return to your materials, but more importantly, everyone needs a break after an application cycle. Every cycle, I would download my documents onto a USB, give them to a friend, and then forget about them. How ever you best decompress and relax, now is the time to do it.

I'm sorry! This cycle is crazy and many excellent applicants have to be rejected.
Take a break away from it all for sometime. Reopen the documents and re-read them with an extremely critical eye. And then, start the process again.
It took me 3 cycles to get off waitlists and every time it was a punch in the gut. Right now, it is important to do your best and get away from academia. It will help you think clearly when you return to your materials, but more importantly, everyone needs a break after an application cycle. Every cycle, I would download my documents onto a USB, give them to a friend, and then forget about them. How ever you best decompress and relax, now is the time to do it.

@dr. telkanuru
I just noticed the "dr." part added to your name! If it means what I think it means, then congratulations! 
I joined the GradCafe when I was applying for the first time (and didn't get in anywhere) and now I am third year into my program and preparing for orals while applying for dissertation fellowships (and mostly just lurking)... It's so surreal to see things change a bit (though more than often they stay the same) here! O_O

I would email the DGS at the school you're waitlisted at and ask a very simple question if you secured external funding for a year, would the program consider admitting you?  The problem is that the program would then need to come up with funding for you for the next 3-4 years form of TA/RA-ships.  Don't go to a PhD program without minimum of 5 years of funding altogether, upfront.

honestly, every archive is different.  While the applications are used to track researchers, they also let archivists know of your interests so they can guide you to appropriate documents. The staff do like knowing what you're into so they can be helpful and, maybe, in some cases, link you up with another researcher doing similar topic (with permission from both sides, of course). As long as you respect them and appreciate their hard work, they can be quite generous with their time and knowledge. They're used to helping new researchers like yourself. Not much to worry about, really.

FWIW, the sensibility has been addressed by @TMP a couple of times in this thread.

The ongoing COVID-19 crisis theoretically makes completing the requirements for a doctorate more difficult to complete within the accelerated timelines departments may be using because of the financial uncertainties.
If you're an Americanist, you need one or two languages, one of which may be swapped for a skill. If you're  not an Americanist, one has to know the languages one needs to know. If you're an Americanist, you likely find enough archival sources nearby or even on line to do a great deal of research. If you're not an Americanist, the ebb and flow of the pandemic may make necessary travel impossible. If you're an Americanist, you can work as a teaching assistant in courses that may be more popular among undergraduates without needing to sacrifice time to get up to speed on a subject. If you're not an Americanist, and a department trims back on offering courses not centered around the United States, you are going to be behind the eight ball of a learning curve. A comment. I understand that this is a period of extraordinary uncertainty for applicants and that there may be a strong sense of frustration, even disappointment, because events are not unfolding as one would like. This being said, I urge all to understand that posts at the Gradcafe don't go away, and that there are faculty and staff among this BB's members.
Now is as good as a time as any to work on one's personal professional comportment. It's not what one says or what one asks that can lead to issues down the line, it's how one says something or how one asks a question that can prove to be an issue. FWIW, I have learned the hard way that professional academic historians pay very careful attention to tone and temperament. Or, as one professor with whom I subsequently became close asked himself "Who is this asshole?" The question came after I said something that was meant to be an ironic / humorous statement of respect.

I know it really, really sucks to not be getting anywhere on your second try with a MA in hand.  I applied 3x in a row shortly after the Great Recession began when it seemed like everyone was applying to PhD programs to find some security for several years (and I was applying because I truly loved what I do and long wanted to get a PhD). i was exhausted after my second cycle (and one year after I got my MA). I wanted to take a year off but my (new) work colleagues encouraged me to try again one more time. With their help and bit of luck, I got in on the third try.  Yes, I was wiped, depressed, and broken after I got the acceptances and made a decision. The recovery to feeling like myself was very long. I encourage you to seek help if you can.
I don't disagree with @Sigaba's assessment of why PhD programs may be favoring US historians in this climate We don't know whether this result poster is a troll or what their work is actually on. As I mentioned a few pages back, PhD programs are being more self-conscious about who and what projects they're accepting as a result of BLM protests last summer. But what we do know is that the PhD programs are following the lead of the current academic job market, which is, frankly, strongly favoring folks doing race and ethnicity in US history, especially African Americans. Frankly, I am astounded by HOW MANY schools still do not have African American history specialists and this particular absence had to be pointed out by students and some faculty.
Hang in there. I know it's all very hard to take if you're not an Americanist or waited so long to get into a PhD program. THis pandemic definitely sucks but I've learned that there are always silver linings. Sometimes these silver liinings don't show up right away.

100%! The department is under a lot of strain from the 2019 cohort, but also because the graduate school has refused to help fund extensions for years 5-7 which means the department is picking up the bill. The last 2 cohorts were cut in half and this upcoming one is cut even further due to funding issues caused by a sudden graduate school change to funding.
 
(Sorry, I have been the bearer of bad news from U-M for quite a while on this forum. I promise I'm a happier person in real life. =p )

No. No. Americanists and Europeanists have been a high proportion at U-M for quite sometime now, which might change as some profs are retiring in the coming years.
Lastly, numbers are difficult. The joint PhDs and solely graduate funded students did not change (about 5-6) while the dept funded students did change (anywhere between 2 and 6, but this changes almost every convo). The major issue with numbers remains the sudden change at the graduate school. Support for incoming students and precandidates was announced at the expense of candidates, so it is a real toss up at the moment.
Basically, U-M is going through some major structural and financial changes so it is really hard to figure out what is going on besides general trends, even for us on the inside.

No. No. Americanists and Europeanists have been a high proportion at U-M for quite sometime now, which might change as some profs are retiring in the coming years.
Lastly, numbers are difficult. The joint PhDs and solely graduate funded students did not change (about 5-6) while the dept funded students did change (anywhere between 2 and 6, but this changes almost every convo). The major issue with numbers remains the sudden change at the graduate school. Support for incoming students and precandidates was announced at the expense of candidates, so it is a real toss up at the moment.
Basically, U-M is going through some major structural and financial changes so it is really hard to figure out what is going on besides general trends, even for us on the inside.

No. No. Americanists and Europeanists have been a high proportion at U-M for quite sometime now, which might change as some profs are retiring in the coming years.
Lastly, numbers are difficult. The joint PhDs and solely graduate funded students did not change (about 5-6) while the dept funded students did change (anywhere between 2 and 6, but this changes almost every convo). The major issue with numbers remains the sudden change at the graduate school. Support for incoming students and precandidates was announced at the expense of candidates, so it is a real toss up at the moment.
Basically, U-M is going through some major structural and financial changes so it is really hard to figure out what is going on besides general trends, even for us on the inside.

100%! The department is under a lot of strain from the 2019 cohort, but also because the graduate school has refused to help fund extensions for years 5-7 which means the department is picking up the bill. The last 2 cohorts were cut in half and this upcoming one is cut even further due to funding issues caused by a sudden graduate school change to funding.
 
(Sorry, I have been the bearer of bad news from U-M for quite a while on this forum. I promise I'm a happier person in real life. =p )

100%! The department is under a lot of strain from the 2019 cohort, but also because the graduate school has refused to help fund extensions for years 5-7 which means the department is picking up the bill. The last 2 cohorts were cut in half and this upcoming one is cut even further due to funding issues caused by a sudden graduate school change to funding.
 
(Sorry, I have been the bearer of bad news from U-M for quite a while on this forum. I promise I'm a happier person in real life. =p )

100%! The department is under a lot of strain from the 2019 cohort, but also because the graduate school has refused to help fund extensions for years 5-7 which means the department is picking up the bill. The last 2 cohorts were cut in half and this upcoming one is cut even further due to funding issues caused by a sudden graduate school change to funding.
 
(Sorry, I have been the bearer of bad news from U-M for quite a while on this forum. I promise I'm a happier person in real life. =p )

Nah, don't try to read the tea leaves.

No. Not at all a safe assumption. My advisor didn't respond to the emails I sent before I applied, they're not the kind of person to do so and it means nothing that they didn't respond. People have different styles, personalities, and boundaries. Meanwhile some profs who responded with interest never got back to me post-admissions season (at schools I got into). Professors are just people.  

Under no circumstances should you ever read any material you've already submitted. That way madness lies. 

Having studied in Germany, I can tell you that your GPA is the most important thing in an application to an MA program. They have odd requirements to apply, such as 'x amount of credits in history,' but those can be waived. The other major hurdle will be language proficiency, as you said. Most German programs require at least C1 level German while other "international programs" require B1 German plus B1 in another foreign language that is not your native language.
My first step would be to research programs and try to find some that you are interested in. From there, we can begin thinking through how you fit into the program and whether you are eligible to apply. You will find that there are some general rules across universities, but there is a ton of diversity and flexibility if you know how to ask a question. European bureaucracy is a thing, but it isn't as rigid as many people make it seem.
With that said, what programs have you looked into? Which ones do you like? Why?

Generally, no. If a program does not offer full tuition remission and stipend support upon acceptance, it is not a program worth attending. 

Profs and grad students are scrambling at the moment to move classes entirely online as universities failed to plan ahead for the third wave in the US. It took me a month to respond to a prospective student, not because I didn't want to talk, rather because I have been swamped sorting out the mess my university created with last minute adjustments to only then back away from those guidelines, but then to reimplement them a week later. *deep sigh* A friendly reminder email is probably your best bet, but don't expect immediate responses. 

Profs and grad students are scrambling at the moment to move classes entirely online as universities failed to plan ahead for the third wave in the US. It took me a month to respond to a prospective student, not because I didn't want to talk, rather because I have been swamped sorting out the mess my university created with last minute adjustments to only then back away from those guidelines, but then to reimplement them a week later. *deep sigh* A friendly reminder email is probably your best bet, but don't expect immediate responses. 

Profs and grad students are scrambling at the moment to move classes entirely online as universities failed to plan ahead for the third wave in the US. It took me a month to respond to a prospective student, not because I didn't want to talk, rather because I have been swamped sorting out the mess my university created with last minute adjustments to only then back away from those guidelines, but then to reimplement them a week later. *deep sigh* A friendly reminder email is probably your best bet, but don't expect immediate responses.