allisonsie

Thanks!

For myself, I was able to explain that I had chosen a well-regarded MA to give myself time to really pinpoint my dissertation topic, prepare for my PhD (and languages!) and reapply in two years, and I hoped to be in touch then (one of my professors responded that my reasoning was "thoroughly reasonable.") For my professor of interest at the school I very nearly went to (the decision had me crying so hard I had a headache), I'm going to be a bit more transparent and explain that I opted for this path because my grandfather is likely in the last two years of his life, and this choice allowed me to make progress on my educational goals while also staying in the area so I could spend some time with him, and I'll be reapplying again in two years, once he has likely passed. This was helped because the school I accepted is only 2 hours from my hometown and the other school was a full 13 hours away. So, my advice is, to be honest, talk about how nice it was to meet them, thank them for their help, and ask to stay in touch.

Thanks everyone! It was very hard, as SMU, UF, and UDel ALL ended up offering me funding (UF emailed me my assistantship letter 7 hours before decisions were due), but I ultimately decided to go with UDel and hope that my internships and research there will be strong enough to get me into a top-notch PhD next time around!

My only concern is that going to Delaware will pigeonhole me as a museum-studies person, not a professorship track candidate. Do you think this is a valid concern?

I got taken off the waitlist at SMU and was fully funded! $20,000 a year plus tuition remission. Given that my funding at UF did not come through, do I go to Delaware or SMU? Which will have the better reputation for getting a job afterwards?

My funding came through at Delaware! $19,000/year plus tuition remission. Does anyone know what the funding at UF looks like this year?

History of sex and gender, 19th-20th century America. But I had a public history focus in undergrad, with several museum internships, and I do like the idea of a material culture MA to fall back on since the professorship track is so hard to get on to.

Thank you! I think the hardest part about the MA is that I'm graduating next month with an M. Ed. (that I've earned while working full time; it's been stressful) and it feels like I've put in all the work for an M.Ed. for nothing because I'll still need an MA. I know it's not true, and the M.Ed. will serve me well in teaching, but it's hard not to think that way, like my MA is a step back. But at the same time, Cornell was so upfront about the fact that I made it to the last round... I think I could apply again in 2 years and go for programs like Cornell, UPenn, UT Austin, or Wisconsin-Madison. I just wasn't sure where UF and UD stood in relation to each other, as far as prestige and job searching goes.

Thanks everyone! I'm still waiting to hear from both schools about funding, but I've made my peace that I can and will be happy and successful at either school. I know that I almost made it into Cornell, in addition to making waitlist at SMU and George Mason, so I think if I choose the MA route, I'll be fine again in two years. But I also know I'll be happy at UF - I really like my advisor and my cohort seemed awesome. I'll update if I hear about funding (and if anyone has any experience with choosing an MA over a PhD to boost chances for a better PhD later, I'd love to hear how it went!)

I'm first in line for funding for the MA! And my PhD at UF technically isn't funded either, but both schools think my funding will come through. I'm just scared of getting the MA and then finding myself in the same position I'm in now again in two years; will going to UF then be out of the question since I turned down this offer?

So it's getting close to decision time and I'm torn between University of Delaware and University of Florida. UDel offered me admission to the MA for material culture, which is really well known, with the option of going on to my PhD there afterward or supporting me to a top-notch PhD program, like Wisconsin-Madison or UPenn. My MA would count for the first two years of my PhD, so the time is the same. It's also close to home, which is wonderful because my grandparents are in poor health. It seems like a good culture fit; small, but not too small, and close to lots of resources like the Winterthur Museum, and D.C. UF accepted me directly into the PhD program, and they have a lot of resources I could use, like summer TAing, and a good placement record. My biggest concerns there are how big it is - I'm worried I'll be miserable in a big school and the culture there (I went to a very small school for UG and I like the close-knit culture). And the location - it's a full 12 hours from anyone I know. I'm worried I'll hate myself if I move down there and then my grandfather passes, and I didn't spend more time with him. My advisors at both schools seem very excited to have me, and they've both been extremely supportive of helping me figure out what's right for me. Udel doesn't have as many professors in my specific field, but a lot of my entering cohort has the same field, whereas UF has a lot of professors I could study with, but my entering cohort is almost all Latin America. Assuming both are funded more or less equally, how do I make a decision? Is it crazy to choose the MA over the PhD and stay close to home for the next couple years and try to use it to get into an even better PhD? Am I overthinking this?

Seconding what everyone else said. University of Florida offered me $300 to come up for admit weekend. It certainly won't hurt to ask, and if they act weird about you asking, take it as a GIANT red flag.

I'm an Americanist studying 19th to 20th-century sex and reproduction. But I have a soft spot for ancient Egyptian history, pharaohs and gods, and also for Early and High Middle Ages Europe. In theory, I could have specialized in one of these instead, but ancient Egypt would have pretty much necessitated a huge move to Egypt, and with all the unrest, it didn't feel like my best plan. Plus, my undergrad had absolutely nothing on African or Middle East history, so it would have been extremely difficult to get into a grad program. Early and High Middle Ages, I still really love, but the professor of these at my undergrad was horrible and I couldn't bring myself to work one-on-one with her for two years, so I fell into American history. I'm happy with my focus, but sometimes I still dream of moving to the UK and becoming a medievalist. Maybe in my retirement!

I strongly considered UVA for a long time, but honestly, the culture just wasn't going to be a good fit for me, so I actually scrapped my application. There's very much a campus culture of.... better-than-thou attitudes. It's a strong program, but among other schools in VA (and possibly beyond), it has a reputation for snobbiness. So, just be aware that that reputation may follow you after you graduate. And Charlottesville is beautiful, but incredibly expensive to live in; lots of people live outside the city and drive in. So you'll want to factor that in as well; Harrisonburg, home of JMU, is an hour down the road, and there's a lot of cheap student housing there, but then you're commuting an hour. I personally feel like they overestimate the eliteness of their program, but it's up to you to decide if that's an issue or not

Thanks! I have a couple of options - an MA offer at UDel, a PhD offer at UFL, and waitlisted at GMU, but I really liked the professors at SMU. If you don't mind sharing, what does your funding package look like?