Scare Quotes

If you're really struggling with the decision, my advice, once you've made it, is this: live with it for a few days before you click any accept or decline buttons. I made my decision on the last possible day -- literally -- and then changed my mind that afternoon, to boot -- I do NOT recommend this approach. When I couldn't announce to people, "I'm going to [x]," without feeling like I needed to cry, I knew I had made the wrong choice. Had I done that a week earlier, everyone's day would have been a lot easier. Try on the decision and make sure it feels right before you really commit.

At my institution, we have gone out of our way to let students know that if they want/need to arrive a bit earlier or stay a bit longer than the official schedule, we'll accommodate them. We've always had students flying in from other coasts or even countries -- there's only but so much you can do to get people into town right as the program begins. You'll be staying with current students, anyhow, right? So write to whomever is organizing hosting, explain the situation, and ask if you can arrive the night before. Chances are it's no problem on their side. Worst case scenario is that you might have to take the shuttle from the Detroit airport to Ann Arbor if nobody can pick you up.

I think it's important to maintain contact even after you've been accepted. If you're going into a program where funding is contingent, demonstrating proactive interest might help you as they divvy out their support packages. And even if it's a school where the funding is identical and guaranteed across 5 years, it's still important. There was once a student who was accepted to my program and didn't bother keeping in touch with the profs who admitted said student, and by the time prospective students weekend rolled around they were so put off they they lost interest. This student was sort of encouraged not to come -- and, in the end, didn't. Also, re: the Michigan stipends: Is it perhaps a typo, and $13,000 instead of $23k? When I was admitted there it was between 13 and 14k -- 23 is higher even that some of the Ivies and similarly endowed private schools; I can't imagine a public university having that kind of money in times like this...

The Ivy I attend does. But I should add: they haven't taken anyone off the waitlist in a few years; they aim for a cohort smaller than the initial number of offers extended. So last year, they made [target + x] offers, and [target] accepted, so nobody came off the waitlist.

Seriously! That's the "it's not you; it's me" of grad school break-ups. Er, rejections.

I have a slightly different take on this advice... I think it's a good idea to establish and maintain contact throughout the "deliberation" period. There was once a person admitted to my program who, after receiving the initial call from the would-be adviser, wasn't in contact with the profs who had admitted said student. This student came to the admitted students weekend, but the profs were so turned off by what they perceived as the student's lack of commitment or interest that they lost interest in the student, too. I was never in Nytusse's position, so I'm only imagining what it would feel like to be dangling like that. But I think establishing contact by your own initiative could only help you. Perhaps even more so if showing initiative and commitment could nudge the funding decisions in your favor. Waiting is nut-making. Good luck to all of you still anticipating decisions.

Ira.

Forgive me for being blunt, but, well, early American Constitutional history and E. European women's rights are about as disparate as two fields can get. I'd invite you to spend some time thinking about whether this (that is, pursuing a PhD in history) is really what you want to do, and for the right reasons, because yes, you do need to have at least a clear idea of your fields of interest when you write your SOP. I'm not saying that you have to know exactly what your dissertation topic will be. Rather, you need to demonstrate intellectual curiosity regarding a theme, era, and/or region. That means knowing whether you'd like to be an Americanist or a Europeanist, for starters. And, in the event that you just threw those topics out there as random examples so as to not blow your cover, I beg your pardon and wish you the best of luck.

My reimbursement for one school was for a car rental (and gas) -- I figure as long as you submit receipts you're fine up to their reimbursement limit.

I ended up writing both schools in late May and got the reimbursement checks in mid-June, which was handy because I needed the money to buy another plane ticket... to get to a funeral.

To those of you lucky enough to have choices between various options -- here's my unsolicited advice for the year. Especially if you feel torn between two or more offers, make your decision well before the April 15 deadline, and (sorry waitlist folks), live with it for a day or two before you click "decline" on your other offers. I changed my mind *on* April 15 last year after having accepted one offer and declined another, and it's not a experience I'd recommend to others!

Last year, Harvard's rejection letters came a LOT later than the acceptances. :roll:

I backed out of an offer I had accepted and switched to a different school on April 15 last year. My advice to you: Do NOT wait until the last week to make your decision. And do NOT decline any offers until you've "lived" with your decision for a few days. (That is, even if you've accepted one, don't click "decline" for a few days.)

I made recruitment visits to two schools that offered full reimbursement of travel costs. Neither has done so yet (they both have my receipts/contact info/etc). Is anyone else in a similar situation? What should I do?? I feel exceptionally awkward asking for the money, especially from the department whose offer I turned down!