anon1234567

I am only familiar with History. But you ought to check the results page for previous years, a pattern will emerge.

Depends on the school. For Harvard, Princeton and Columbia, official admission, for all, comes on the same day (as do rejections). POIs, however, can and sometimes do email/call earlier. Typically the case for Harvard. Check the results page for previous years.

Really? I did notice much the same, though not particular to the institutions you quote. But I've started to wonder whether it may also be attributed to the professor adjusting his or her instructions/grading to the perceived competence of his or her students.

Yes, I noticed that as well. Those that come directly from BA, from lower tier schools, usually did something exceptional, like worked with a professor on an edited collection, or a lone manuscript, in which the said student also did some obscure translation.

In my cohort most do not have MAs. Those that do, have them from Ivy or Ivy-equivalent institutions. Internationals, such as Brits and Canadians, have them from their respective high ranking institutions. Correlation does not imply causation but there is a trend. Probably has something to do with program and professor (lor writers) recognition.

Then, apply to UCL. If you don't get in. You will end up doing your research anyway in Europe. Something to consider.

Same here. Wisconsin's funding for internationals is terrible, which is a shame indeed. Their elected officials are dead set on destroying a fine institution. Milam was a spousal hire.

So you heard it from the horse's mouth so to speak. So, where are you applying to? I heard Harvard is pretty good for medievalists. A friend applied there.

Wisconsin has a very good history program. In fact, a senior Harvard faculty member thinks quite highly of it.

UPenn does have an early modernist, Harun Kucuk.

Columbia has a policy against taking students with MAs from Columbia? We didn't have many in my cohort year, but there were one or two, both from the EALC program come to think of it.

Congrats! Celebrate! They won't rescind.

I am talking about publishing in reputable peer-reviewed academic journals. Phd students do publish, but not as a matter of rule, and if they do, it is usually after comps. Most publish after their final defense. MA students, highly highly unlikely, and they are not expected to.

Ah, right! I heard it happens in the sciences because students get funded by individual labs. But also in the humanities? Cool. At visiting day, the only thing I got to choose was my lunch.

Incoming grad students can negotiate their funding packages? First time I am hearing of this. We were told everyone gets the same funding, and that was the case at all the institutions I applied to.

Yes, Absolutely! In which press you publish matters, especially when you apply for TT.

No it was not a coincidence. Good luck!

As for why they ask to what other programs you applied or didn't. In my personal experience, it was done to gauge their perceived reputation. So say, it is expected that if students apply to Princeton, they will apply to Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, Berkley, etc. If you are not applying to some of those programs, POIs will almost always want to know why. I was asked this at Princeton and Harvard, and my friends did also, at their respective institutions. All this is especially relevant on visiting days, when programs try their best to recruit students, which they do by targeting programs that are their direct competitors.

History phd here. The advice about selecting supervisors is spot on. Even in places like Columbia, where the faculty is quite accomplished, I still got advised to pick the more "senior" professor, provided that all things being equal in terms of attentiveness to grad students, which is not a given. And yes, while students do express interests in specific scholars in SOP, and they do get "matched up" more or less to them administratively in their first year, that matching is likely to change. In fact, we were told on orientation day not to think that the supervisor listed by our name as the one that will be our actual advisor, she/he maybe, but not necessarily. Course work typically changes students' interests.

And if your POI is on sabbatical, they will still read your app, it is emailed to them by the adcomm.

Oh for sure! There is interdepartmental squabbles and professors can certainty and do put pressure to get their students accepted. I befriended a spouse of a recently hired tenure-track faculty member, and we all met up over coffee, and just so happens at the time I was in the midst of choosing from whom to get a letter for a grant app, between two senior profs. And I was told point blank so-and-so has a stronger voice in the department, with adcomm and even with the dean, and their letters carry more weight in grant applications, jobs, and so on. As an applicant, it's pretty hard, if not impossible, to know these things. But that's the reality of academic departments, and it makes acceptance, rejection, or waitlist not easy to predict based on numbers or even accolades.

I would think so. Most schools probably have the same process, more or less, I am only familiar with ones I've singled out. If memory serves me correctly, Penn interviews. Friends applied there. Brown, Cornell, and Yale, I am not sure. Also, while I've contacted a few profs at all the schools I applied to, and some emailed back, during visiting day, I was approached by professors I didn't even think to contact and was told by them that they were the ones who had pushed for my acceptance, in its last stages. Those profs were the ones I had shared and still do share secondary interests with. And they were not adcomm members. Visiting days are rather strange but also fun. Seldom, if ever again, do graduate students get such a reception. The programs do everything they can to recruit you. Enjoy them!

I can tell you, more or less, how admission works at Ivies. I am now at a top 10 ivy, and got accepted to one more. My supervisor volunteered to tell me how I got accepted. And I was also told by one POI how admission works to explain why I got rejected. At Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton, there are admin committees. Committees are assembled at random and are rotational. These committees are made up of professors culled from different subfields. These are the people, if you get accepted, will remember your application with striking accuracy, and they will make small talk with you during visiting days. I am almost certain the DGS is not on the admin committee. Princeton, Harvard, and Columbia get about 400-500 applications each, of those only about 50-75 (sometimes 100) are good ones. Those get ranked by GRE, GPA, etc (such as, grants, awards). Yes GRE verbal matters. It doesn't matter for all committee members, but good students do get rejected for a low verbal score. You don't need a perfect score, but a decent score. MA gpa trumps BA gpa. LORs are very important. And Languages! My cohort, Americanists included, commands at least two languages, at least! Most have three or four under their belt. You are expected to sit for your language exam in September. But it's the SOP that makes or breaks your app. If your SOP is compelling, and fits with the general theme of the history department, your package is sent to your future supervisor (whomever you named in your SOP), and other professors in your sub-interests. You need sub-interests, which signal you can work with a few professors, not just one, who may retire or die or you just don't jive with. Committees know this. Students who have very particular singular interests, and can only work with one single professor, and no one else, tend to get rejected. Even excellent students. Your (future) supervisor and other professors (in your secondary field/s of interest) review your app, and approve or reject it. If they approve it, it goes back to the admin committee to be discussed further. At this point, it is up to the whims (and I kid you not WHIMS) of the admin committee to narrow the list of candidates further. Your supervisor and professors in your sub-fields who read your SOP and file, can exert some pressure on the admin committee to get you in. But to an extent, and usually only faculty with endowed chairs. Again, to an extent. Once you make it to the top 40 or so candidates, and you get rejected or waitlisted, know it is not a reflection of your potential, but the people on the admin committee the year you applied. If they specialize in French or British history, and you have a sub-interest or have background in those regions, you may get accepted. If you have an LOR whom the head of the admin knows because both attend same conferences, and like each other, you may get accepted. Also know, committees know students change their interests once they get in. I did, dramatically, and I know other students who did as well. That is why admin committees do not strictly choose students by their professed interests, or the presence of a POI in the department. They choose students with accolades, proven ability to do historical research, and ask critical, and probing questions. Cohorts are themed. It is rather strange but I find that each cohort has students that somehow connect with each other, not directly, but generally. So say, most have an underlying interest in global studies, or transnational history. Someone on this forum mentioned that historians are now more transnational rather than strictly regional. That is true. I notice that it is becoming more and more passé to focus on a single region. It narrows down your job prospects. Committees also choose candidates with an eye to the future. How will those students fair on the job market 6-7 years down the line, with a singular interest? If you don't get an interview, don't sweat it. Most people are not interviewed, unless specifically indicated on the relevant school website that they will be solicited for an interview! If you get an interview, cool! If you want to get into a top-history program and you are not successful in this cycle, don't settle or despair, but apply again next year (of course, if it is within your financial means to do so). Committees change from year to year. Best of Luck!