Kingsouth

It's a massive relief that at least one program and one poi has taken a gamble on you. Especially when it confirms you're moving to the other side of the world!

I was ironing a shirt getting ready for a funeral. Phone went off with the acceptance offer.

Indeed it is. Fingers crossed.

Received an accept from Duke. Over the moon. Are the other few accepts floating around in here?

I'd always assumed that Pincus and Armitage were both a lot older than they actually are. What I do believe is a very big positive about Yale, apart from the obvious, is the cross-department interaction. They seem to achieve a lot more of this than some schools. How is it at Wisconsin? @ltr317 second that. Personally hope she never retires.

Apologies if I'm wrong about Lake, I was informed that he wasn't. And similar position to yourself, Colley didn't mention anything when I spoke to her and a few others at Princeton seemed to under the impression she would. ...may have wasted a hundred or so dollars if she isn't. Just another thing to pile on top this mountain of worry I'm currently walking around with.

Reading through this thread and was surprised no one mentioned Pincus at Yale. That entire department is extremely strong in EM Europe. But I have to second @telkanuru and @psstein, virtually every top tier EM English focus has drifted to a more 'Global' focus. Princeton with Colley, Harvard with Armitage, Columbia with Brown, Duke with Stern and the aforementioned Pincus. Pigeonholing yourself by focusing exclusively on one geographically bounded historic space doesn't seem to be where the EM field is heading. Also, I don't believe Peter Lake is taking on any new grad students, however I've been told that Lauren Benton will be. If that changes anything at all... To the OP, I was told to keep me applications to around 5, and only with programs that my advisors believed were very good fits for my proposed project. This was coming from Columbia and Harvard grads.

Yeh I've noticed that. Your comments about the GRE and GPA data being unreliable rings true as I follow your work, that and I've also found that certain sets to be off (date wise) depending if those dates fall on certain days of the week. I also believe the data to be influenced by posts that either believe they would get into an institution, but were rejected, and the reverse for acceptances. These two groups seem the most likely to have posted their information. Comments attached usually reflect this observation. I say this in regards to mostly the humanities. In any case, love your work, keep it up and good luck with your applications!

A large number of internationals will have MA's due to institutional differences and the need to stand out as a candidate. As telkanuru stated, the Ivy-Oxbridge loop is extremely strong, but that's preclude people outside the system breaking into the Ivys. You just have to have a very solid research toolkit, part of that is having an extremely strong MA thesis regardless of institution.

Damn I love graphs. Don't know why I'm now suddenly intrigued by the acceptance ratios of fields I've never even thought about, but either way, made my day.

I've been in a similar situation to you, obtaining my MA from a foreign institution. The only advice I'd give you is to contact your POI's closer to admissions. They're likely to forget who you are otherwise as they are extremely busy and are regularly contacted out of the blue by people exactly like us. In regards to framing your email; be polite, succinct, perhaps add a little about your current/planned project, ascertain if its viable and ask for any advice in regards to admissions to their respective universities and/or material they may suggest. It seems like an extremely daunting exercise (especially if you're not American and not used to their system) but I had fantastic responses that has been invaluable to by applications... well.. hopefully it has been... we'll find out soon. Good luck with your MA!

What period of Dutch history are you in? There's some great work being done on the VOC and Dutch colonialism at Emory and over in Leiden (as per usual). Have you thought about applying for those programs next season? (which I hope is unnecessary!)

I believe it's all ETS, and therefore GRE generated. If someone is extremely bored I imagine it is in their T&C's.

Unless your field is insanely populated, I'd take the three major books from your subfield and trawl through their bibliography. Most scholars will at points name drop large works from theorists. That being said, going back to the basics and reading an introductory book on political theory will also direct you toward some major thinkers. As will similar works on economic theory. Unfortunately with theory, most of it is picked up along the way and is subfield specific. For instance if you're in some form of British colonial history, then you'd be expected to know Hobbes, Locke and Smith. If you're a German medievalist, these writers, whilst interesting, I can't imagine being helpful.

Hello everyone, Long time lurker that has been unfortunately baited into posting because of @Yellow Mellow and his rather obnoxious set of posts. Firstly, I'm also an international student that has fortunately had the privilege of spending a fair amount of time at all of the Universities you've named as well as Wisconsin. The program in Madison may not rank alongside the Ivys and their ilk, but it is nonetheless a fantastic program that any historian would be fortunate to enter, and one that has a significant historical pedigree dating back to the 70s (to my knowledge, this may differ per field). But dismissing Madison as being 'in the middle of nowhere' whilst professing your familiarity with Princeton makes me seriously question your credentials. Have you been to Princeton? It's a hike, built in the middle of a swamp and also in New Jersey... It's a fantastic school with an amazing cohort, and is again a school that any historian would be fortunate to enter. But it seriously struggles because of its location. Virtually everybody worth their salt is aware of this. I'd suggest stop attacking other institutions with vague assumptions and stick to your own research and academics. Its unfortunate that your European uni didn't have a core unit in etiquette and manners. Good luck to everyone else this round and congratulations to everyone who has thus far found success and to those already embarked on their doctorate. Sincerely, Kingsouth