historygeek

Definitely do the split. I'm doing that next weekend actually. As long as you're polite and don't send an email that says "I'm not going to be here for X day because I'm at school Y's visiting weekend". Just tell them you have a prior commitment and leave it at that. I was also worried it would look bad, but no one seemed to care. 

If you are in the US it is customary for employees to give an employer 2 weeks notice when vacating a position.  That notice does not have to provide great detail about why you're leaving it could just say "leaving to pursue other opportunities."  While there is rarely a convenient time to leave a job you need to prioritize your own needs.  Announcing too early does increase the likelihood that you'll be asked to leave before you're financially prepared to.  If the situation were reversed and your employer needed to let people go it is very unlikely they'd offer a few months notice because their priority is themselves.  Often when employers let people go there is no notice, you're given some crappy excuse that day and escorted out.
You're not alone in being in this situation when transitioning to graduate school.  Others, including myself, have posted about this on the forum and things have turned out fine.  When I left my job I made sure that all loose ends were wrapped up so my coworkers wouldn't be stuck with extra work and then provided 2 weeks notice.  My employer wasn't happy to have to replace me, but they understood that I was leaving for an opportunity that was better for me.

How exciting! Congrats!

After a stressful application season, yesterday I found out I was accepted at UT Austin! As a Latin Americanist, I am ecstatic and just wanted to thank you all for your advice/encouragement throughout the process. 

I'm not entirely sure what's the process for this, but would any mods consider pinning this topic so it doesn't get lost as new threads are posted in the History forum?
Some really valuable insight for future applicants in this thread imo!

Sorry to bear bad news, but it’s my understanding that all wait lists and acceptances have gone out and prospective students day was last week. 

Thanks for the input everyone! I think I was simply just worried that turning down an Ivy that's geographically close to archives, but I feel like turning down a fully funded offer would be even crazier.

Are you crazy to turn down a cash cow program that looks great on paper, but may not provide you the resources to become the scholar you want to become?
Unless you're independently wealthy, there's no persuasive reason to take it.

Thanks for the input everyone! I think I was simply just worried that turning down an Ivy that's geographically close to archives, but I feel like turning down a fully funded offer would be even crazier.

I also just realized that doing a one year Masters would pretty much be throwing me back into the PhD application cycle right away, which isn't something that I want to do right now, especially given that my interests are changing. I'm going to go to 'Nova, though the bragging rights for my non-academic family members and friends is really nice! 

If you want to do a 1 year MA without a gap year after, you're asking your new MA profs to write for you after they've know you for maybe 6 weeks. 

If you want to come out of a 1 year MA with a stronger application, plan on applying the following year. 

It wouldn't be crazy to turn down HiLi, right? I advocate for not paying for grad school, but...

Thankfully, I'm already fluent in Italian, so I'm not too worried about the program not having Italian language. The main thing I want to do at an MA program is learn other languages (French and Latin, most likely German). The main thing I like about this program is that it has great access to archives, and has special training for interpreting these sources. It's also in reach of other countries and their archives, which I could get a stipend to go explore.
The main thing I'm worried about is the price, though.

If anyone is waiting to hear from Columbia about HiLi, I just got my acceptance letter with a 20% off fellowship! 

I got into a good MA program with full funding with a pretty varied course load. The director of the program didn't mention my course load at all, but emphasized that they were impressed by my writing sample! I know that @OHSP already mentioned this, but Masters at Ivy schools have a reputation of being cash cows, and I'm pretty sure that MA programs in the UK also tend to be unfunded. Funded MA programs are rare, but they exist! I've always heard the advice of not paying for graduate school and I believe that whole-heartedly.

Just emailed my LOR writers about my rejections. That might have been the most dispiriting moment of this process for me. I know they don't think of it as wasted time/effort/support, but it sure feels that way on my end.  ?

If anyone is waiting to hear from Columbia about HiLi, I just got my acceptance letter with a 20% off fellowship! 

Update: I GOT IN!!!

@Balleu, always err on the formal until they tell you so upfront or sign their emails by their first name.  There will still be "old timers" around who'd prefer to be formal. Even if graduate students throw around the professor's first name and you haven't interacted with this person yet, just go with the formal when you do.

Plus you have to prove to the UK government that you can 100% financially survive without a job (the student visa allows something like 20hrs a week employment) BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE COUNTRY. If you can't prove this, you'll get denied a visa and sad times all around as you will not be able to attend the school. 

I accepted the offer at School B

I'm in the same boat (including moving to Philadelphia)! Following. 

I went to Bryn Mawr and my friends and I lived off campus for a while. We’ve had lots of luck in the past finding smallish but nice apartments above businesses on Lancaster Ave. You can get away from undergrads, and get a decent 1 bedroom for under $1200. Probably more affordable with a roommate, but the proper apartment buildings in the area are so saturated with undergrads (or the ones with older people are too pricey for grad students), that you’ll probably want to get a bit away from that. 
And the SEPTA train is pretty accessible from most of the mainline cities, so wouldn’t be crazy to find a place in Ardmore or another town a few train stops down from campus and commute. Totally doable. 
Edit: also, low-key, Bryn Mawr college owns entire apartments in some of the buildings by campus and rent them out only to TriCo students (probs at an up charge), so I’d avoid those buildings if I were you, like Mermont.

Clearly you missed the message, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.  Good luck you to.