potsupotsu

HEAL results went out last Thursday.

It feels completely surreal to say this, but I have accepted an offer from Northwestern. On my way home in the wee hours of Sunday morning, I said out loud to my partner, "I have fully accepted that in two days I'll get an email from them telling me that there's no space for me this year." Two minutes later, the offer email came in (at 2 AM Chicago time--deadlines don't respect normal sleep schedules). 
Even after everything I've put into this process, I still spent the day yesterday in deep reflection on whether I really, truly want to take this leap. I wanted to be sure that I was accepting their offer because it's the right one, not because it's the only one. Ultimately, this was the best option all along to support the work I want to do.
Best of luck to everyone who's making a decision today, or waiting on one. I still can't quite believe it, but it's real. 

EALC 10-month stipends are same as history ones. I think the people saying $35,000 are including summer funding, which does differ between history and EALC in that EALC students only get 2 years of summer funding while History students get 4 years (this is supposedly made up for by EALC only requiring 3 semesters of teaching in the 5 year package while History requires 4, but, frankly, I don't know anyone who wouldn't have traded an extra $12,000 in guaranteed funding for one more term as a TF). Anyway, unless something has changed, you should get about $35,000 the first two years (does your offer letter not say anything about summer funding? - it's been 8 years since I was in your shoes, so I can't swear things are the same).
Anyway, as to practicalities, HEAL is not an area studies degree, it's a History degree from a program managed by an area studies department (it actually used to be jointly managed by History and EALC, but that changed for obscure bureaucratic reasons. Did that change make the degree less valuable? Given that I don't think anyone who's not Harvard-affiliated even knows how the HEAL program is managed, I very much doubt it). I have seen no evidence that this hurts anyone on the job market (the first word of the degree is, indeed, History, and HEAL has historically produced quite a lot of very successful historians employed in history departments).
On funding. Harvard's funding is indeed not up to par with several peer programs, and my impression is that there is no money available to improve the offer (you can ask, I just don't think you should expect a positive response). In addition to the money being less, unless something has changed, there are still only 5 guaranteed years of funding as opposed to 6 at Yale. If all else is equal for you (that is, if you don't have scholarly or personal reasons to choose one over the other) then the money should send you to Yale. That said, Harvard funding is indeed enough to live on reasonably comfortably (as long as you're willing to have roommates and/or have an employed partner you can live with and share expenses with. I even know people who lived as small families on a single Harvard student stipend, though I don't think I'd recommend that). This is a different sort of choice than choosing between Yale and a place that's offering $18,000/yr and requiring you to teach all 5 years. That is, since both are viable packages with reasonable teaching requirements, I'd argue that you should choose the place where you think you will be better able to do your work. Which depends on what your work is and who you can work with at each place, your rapport with advisors/other students, etc. The money could be a nudge factor, but it probably isn't a crucial enough difference to be the main factor.

Yes, I'd echo what @EAstudies said. I'm not an American citizen myself, and I definitely agree that the situation in the US seems incredibly scary, but remember that the current president is fairly unpopular and the election is coming up soon, so you will very likely not have to experience this for the entire 6 years you spend in graduate school in the US.
Also, while Toudai is a great school, keep in mind @EAstudies point about the way a foreign degree will be looked at in the US. I'd also encourage you to think about the way the training you will receive in Japan will be perceived in the US because there are major differences between Japanese-style scholarship and US-style scholarship. Japanese historians, for example, tend to produce works that are very descriptive and focus narrowly on a particular subject or particular documents, while in the US you will be encouraged to make a more analytic "big picture" argument. Both styles have their positives, but it might be difficult to make a name for yourself in the US if you produce Japanese-style work. 

It's not just $2000 when you compare cost of living in New Haven vs. Cambridge! But I had been told the Harvard package was up to $35,000... strange.
If you do ask, just be diplomatic. You have some concerns about living in such an expensive real estate market and Yale's offer would seem to create less stress on a personal level, and is there any way for Harvard to assist with this?

You shouldn't bring this up with anyone outside of the people in a position to do something about it. I would also recommend sending an email saying something along the lines of "I want to attend Harvard for reasons x/y/z, but I currently have a slightly better offer from Yale, etc. Would it be at all possible for the department to increase my level of stipend?" Or something like that at least. You want to be as polite as possible about it, because money can always get touchy, even at places richer than God Himself.

Congratulations on the Harvard acceptance! I guess I'll see you at the visit day in late March (assuming that prospective masters students are also allowed to attend)!

Have you tried looking at some Canadian schools? Tuition is much cheaper over there. 

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.

I was away without access to a computer last week so couldn't post the news when I got it, but thrilled to say that I was accepted into Cornell! The PhD in History (Ancient History) result is mine. Still in shock, I never expected to get in!

Yes, I'd echo what @EAstudies said. I'm not an American citizen myself, and I definitely agree that the situation in the US seems incredibly scary, but remember that the current president is fairly unpopular and the election is coming up soon, so you will very likely not have to experience this for the entire 6 years you spend in graduate school in the US.
Also, while Toudai is a great school, keep in mind @EAstudies point about the way a foreign degree will be looked at in the US. I'd also encourage you to think about the way the training you will receive in Japan will be perceived in the US because there are major differences between Japanese-style scholarship and US-style scholarship. Japanese historians, for example, tend to produce works that are very descriptive and focus narrowly on a particular subject or particular documents, while in the US you will be encouraged to make a more analytic "big picture" argument. Both styles have their positives, but it might be difficult to make a name for yourself in the US if you produce Japanese-style work. 

A lot can be said for the collegiality of the dept. Last year, I was choosing between two top 10 programs, but one was slightly higher ranked. On the visit day for the better program, I saw that students hated each other, the professors, and the administration. 3 students said that they were transferring out to other programs because of the lack of support from their advisors. That was a HUGE red flag to me. 6th and 7th year funding also seemed to be incredibly contentious and competitive. I couldn't see myself being happy there for next 5-8 years. 
When I visited the program that I am now attending (the slightly lower ranked one) the students and faculty both stressed how much collegiality there was in the department. Now that I'm here, I can absolutely attest to that. Obviously, more went into my decision than just whether people were happy, but at the end of the day, with all other things being relatively equal, it's ok to choose the place where you'd be happy and where others seem happy.
There is something to be said about choosing a program where you would be happy, especially because this is a process which will consume your life for the next 5-8+ years. The job market is terrible for all of us, so in some instances, choose the place where you would be the happiest and most supported because that is the place where you are going to get the best work done. If you're going to be miserable at X school, you'll be more likely to drop out and your work will likely suffer. 

That's such great news! Congratulations!

Here’s an important one, if you work outside the US: what is the grad schcool’s policy on banked semesters for external fellowships? That is, if you win a year-long fellowship (Fulbright, SSRC), do you get an extra year of funding “banked,” or do they just take your money?

1) Language study support
2) Are there enough courses to support  your needs? (This is critical if the program is looking to get smaller) What if there aren't enough courses? Will your adviser be willing to supervise independent study?
3) How good is the student health insurance? Does it cover dental and vision? (Trust me, you will need the vision even if you don't currently wear glasses  )
4) What is the teaching/grading load like?  
5) How does stipend increases work in the university?  Is it be progress in the PhD program or by class enrollment?
6) What kinds of jobs are graduates getting after they defend? Are they happy with their non-academic jobs?
7) What is the continuous enrollment policy, if there is one? (Essentially, it means that graduate students are required to pay tuition to stay enrolled as they work on their dissertations if they don't have tuition waivers.)
? How much time does the Graduate School give to students to graduate after completing their exams?
9) Can you tell me about the university's dissertation completion fellowship? What does a successful application package look like? (Asking this question will give you a sense of the department's highest standards)
10) If you are a NON-US citizen, ask international students about external funding opportunities. (Unless the faculty member has lots of experience of advising non-US citizens or was a non-US citizen during his/her PhD, you aren't going to get a good answer out of them. They're that clueless.)

The two most important questions are:
1) What options are available to fund research travel? 
2) What sorts of funding are available for my sixth and seventh years? 
ANY hesitation on the part of faculty in response to these questions - if they don't know, if they say such monies aren't necessary, if they defer you to grad students - is to be taken not so much as a red flag but rather a full on May Day parade.
 
Much harder to negotiate are the questions you can't just ask but still need answered: How supported do the graduate students feel in both academics and teaching? Do faculty treat them like members of the department or as if they were their paterfamilias? Are departmental politics collegial or a knife fight? Do graduate students get dragged into them? 

Hi, bitter grad student here to implore you to ask about sixth-year funding on your visiting weekends. Don’t accept vague reassurances along the lines of “well, sixth-year students often find their way to getting funding somehow.” Get a clear answer. Talk to advanced grad students and read the student newspaper/union newsletter if you have to. And treat periods of “austerity” at universities with the utmost seriousness.

I guess this is a lesson not to count your chickens before they hatch. It appears I was wait listed for the Harvard History and East Asian Languages program. As I am now on two wait lists, there is now lots of waiting to do apparently. 

Hey guys, 
I'm a third-year in a PhD program and I lurk on these forums every year...
Quick advice - as you turn down offers, please remember that if you've done your legwork properly, these are probably big names in your field that you will continue to see and cite for years to come. I turned down an offer three years ago and continue to email that professor regularly. In fact, she reviewed my comps list for me! 
All this is to say, please keep in mind that academia is a small small world. If you liked these people enough to apply to work with them, you probably want to be able to come back to them over the years. 
 
Good luck to everyone! You're almost there!

That's so nice of you, thank you!  Hopefully we'll all get Cornell acceptances over the next day or two!  ?  Hoping it's just a matter of POI's sending emails out at their own rate and mine being busy atm!

I'm getting nervous about Cornell and I did not even apply. ?

Yes, I'd echo what @EAstudies said. I'm not an American citizen myself, and I definitely agree that the situation in the US seems incredibly scary, but remember that the current president is fairly unpopular and the election is coming up soon, so you will very likely not have to experience this for the entire 6 years you spend in graduate school in the US.
Also, while Toudai is a great school, keep in mind @EAstudies point about the way a foreign degree will be looked at in the US. I'd also encourage you to think about the way the training you will receive in Japan will be perceived in the US because there are major differences between Japanese-style scholarship and US-style scholarship. Japanese historians, for example, tend to produce works that are very descriptive and focus narrowly on a particular subject or particular documents, while in the US you will be encouraged to make a more analytic "big picture" argument. Both styles have their positives, but it might be difficult to make a name for yourself in the US if you produce Japanese-style work.