Dark Paladin

It was the hardest decision I've ever made but I have declined Penn's offer and will be heading to Yale next year. I honestly still feel very conflicted, but I am incredibly excited for what is to come. Best of luck to everyone else!

I am trying to make a decision very last minute between my two top programs - Penn and Yale. I am an early Americanist who, very broadly speaking, is interested in studying the American Revolution from the perspective of the backcountry, Indian affairs, and the development of 18th and early 19th-century Indian policy. I'm extremely conflicted and think there are a lot of pros and cons to each program both academically and lifestyle wise. I had settled on going to Yale until I was recently offered a spot in Penn's JD/PhD (American legal history program) off the waitlist. I was able to visit Yale and had very productive talks with my advisors and other students. I feel very comfortable with the support I would get there and quite liked New Haven even if my quality of life would probably be a fair bit better in a big city like Philadelphia. In contrast, I haven't been able to visit Penn itself and have only been able to speak with my potential advisors over the phone. That said, in theory, my prospective advisor at Penn is probably the best fit and is among the very biggest names in my area of interest with a proven track record of advising students who do well on the job market. He is, however, transitioning towards retirement and will be living permanently on the other side of the country starting in what would be my third year. He has committed to advising me throughout my Ph.D. career (and I have heard nothing but praise when I ask about him as an advisor) but after my second year, most of this would have to be done over Skype and phone. I am trying to figure out how big of a red flag that is.

I remember after the Yale acceptances last week you were feeling discouraged. Now you are in at one of the best programs in the country! I'm happy it worked out for you. Congrats!

Congrats!

At risk of being overly blunt, if you chose a thesis topic primarily because you thought it would be "easier," it's probably not the sub-field you should get a Ph.D. in. It does sound like you are truly more passionate about European history and already have Italian under your belt so it shouldn't be too painful of a switch. That said, I really think you should still keep in mind what @gsc put so well. If you got a Ph.D. offer tomorrow for an American history program at, say, NYU or Michigan would you take it? Just make sure you are not emotionally rationalizing changing paths because of the way this admissions cycle has gone. I'm guilty of thinking like this all the time.

Obviously only you can answer this but I would give yourself some breathing room from the thesis before you definitely change focus. I remember feeling the same way sometimes when I was in the later stages of my undergrad thesis (although my thinking never went to such a dramatic shift), only to reaffirm my research interests after a couple months break. What's new and exciting today might not always feel that way. Just make sure you are making the shift for the right reasons and not running away from your research for something you'll be just as bored with in the long run.

I got an official email (Yale). Some schools won't send out offers until late February (e.g. Penn and Berkeley) so you still have time.

Should we respond to the email informing us of acceptance if it is sent by office staff? Not sure whether confirming receipt is the polite thing to do in this case or just bothersome.

I didn't get anything from current Yale graduate students ? I'll definitely see you guys on the 3rd and 4th. Kind of an odd question, but are we supposed to respond to the offer email in any way? I'm scared they are going to take it away LOL.

Yeah, I interviewed in late January.

I WAS JUST ACCEPTED AT YALE!!!! Crying with happiness.

Broadly speaking, my interest is in how the "ideology(s)" of the American Revolution informed the logic and infrastructure of American expansion from the perspective of "frontier" actors in the early national period. Joanne Freeman is amazing indeed! If you haven't already read it, I strongly suggest Robert Parkinson's recent book The Common Cause.

We have similar interests, although your focus is a fair bit broader than my own. I look forward to reading your work one day ?

You would enjoy Freeman's earlier book: Affairs of Honor.

What does everyone think about post-interview etiquette? I have an interview coming up, should I send thank you emails afterward?