historyofsloths
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Posts posted by historyofsloths
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On 3/7/2021 at 5:41 PM, TagRendar said:
Out of curiosity, what has been people's experience with waitlists? Do you always receive word that you're waitlisted, or sometimes is there just nothing (I would imagine in some ways this is institution-dependent, but I could be mistaken)?
I received waitlist emails from U of Michigan and Indiana U at the beginning of March, both emails told me that if I didn't hear anything after a month passed that I should email X person and ask about my status. Once I did that, the DGS at IU let me know the waitlist was ranked and that he was waiting for just one person to reject their offer so he could extend one to me. U of M didn't tell me anything about their waitlist, just that I was on it and I should just hold tight.
As TMP said, it's institution dependent, I can't even guarantee that my experience was the norm, I was emailing as everyone was shutting things down due to COVID-19.
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17 hours ago, boydivision said:
As an update, received an email offering admission about an hour after this post! My only acceptance so far and a great academic fit, so I'm feeling great.
Congratulations! You'll get an email from someone in my cohort to welcome you, but if you have any questions about the program or Bloomington, feel free to send me a DM!
- aco2 and boydivision
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4 hours ago, Sigaba said:
I very sincerely suggest that you reconsider how you evaluate these kinds of opportunities. To paraphrase JFK, it's not what the profession does for you, it's what you do for the profession.
While a ROI approach to how the Ivory Tower is financed is probably long over due, I don't know if it is sustainable for a graduate student entering a program to gain training to join a profession in which personal relationship are generally vital to one's success. (The exception would be rock stars whose (apparent) virtuosity and charisma allow them to do what they like while being s-birds.)
But if one were to take a ROI approach, the initial fee is a one time payment for $50. Were you to put that into a savings account, in thirty years, your net would be about $1.37.As @ashiepoo72 and @starshiphistory have pointed out, there are diminishing returns for joining the society as an already admitted PhD student. I want to be part of societies and organizations that I can contribute to, not just passively participate in by holding a membership, and from what I can glean, participation would have been beneficial in undergrad. I thank you for your insight and will take your comments into consideration.
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1 hour ago, ashiepoo72 said:
I wouldn't have joined Phi Alpha Theta as a PhD student, but I did as an MA student after a very mediocre BA career. I figured being part of an honors society would help me find a more serious community of students, form a writing group and have a support network on a campus where I knew no one. I enjoyed my time with PAT and still talk to many people I met through it. Don't join because you think it'll make a difference on your CV--it won't. Most people remove PAT from their CV once they start receiving awards and honors at the PhD level. @starshiphistory is spot on: PAT's worth depends on how active the chapter is. Do they put together workshops for writing and presenting at conferences? Invite guest speakers? Do fun things together (movie night was my fave)? How involved are the mentors/professors?
Btw, PAT offers small grants to members who are pursuing a PhD. I haven't applied for one, but I like knowing it's an option if I ever need to.
Thank you for your response! I considered asking my advisors if I should join because the questions you brought up are definitely worth considering. And you're right, I'm not trying to pad my CV, I'm trying to determine if this will help with my growth as a historian not just to have a membership to list.
2 hours ago, starshiphistory said:I did it in undergrad. I was the president for two years -- which was mostly due to me and one other (who became the VP) showing up to the recruitment meeting! We were a pretty small chapter -- the actual membership at my university was fairly robust, but the people that showed up to meetings was a much smaller number. I enjoyed it - I gained leadership and public speaking skills, skills in organizing events, and got to know more the faculty members through event organizing. The events we put on were faculty panels, workshops, networking/mingling events (such as cider and donuts at the department lounge) and field trips to local archives, museums and so on.
I enjoyed the conferences and our faculty adviser would always really seriously edit our conference papers so that was always valuable. I also got the chance to go the National Conference as well as the local ones. The department always found funding for traveling to these conferences. In general, the undergrads were more involved than the grad students because they were so busy with TAing and other duties. My own grad school doesn't have a chapter, they have a history graduate student society instead. I'll probably join that for networking and getting to know my fellow students.
I think it does really depend on what you gain from it -- if the chapter isn't at all active, that has much less benefit- you're basically paying for the ability to submit journal articles and apply for scholarships (helpful, but not hugely). I suppose it might be worth asking if there is funding to send you to conferences despite there being no active chapter and asking in general what benefits students at your uni get from it.
To summarize, it was great for an undergrad, but I can't really say if it would be helpful or not for a grad student. Let me know if you have specific questions because I was pretty immersed in it for two years!
Thank you so much for your reply! Your last sentence also confirms what my friend said: he was an active member in his undergrad and throughout his PhD and he was able to attend the regional conferences held by our alma mater, but that was the extent of it. I think if I had been asked to join during my undergraduate career I may have considered it more seriously, but from the sounds of it, I think I'm going to pass on this one and actually invest in becoming a member in a society that's tied to my subfield (this advice is per my friend).
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Just now, AP said:
Is it worth it for what?
Worth it in terms of networking and engaging other historians. They have their own journal, regional conferences, and awards/scholarships, I had just never heard anyone in the History department speak of it during my undergraduate years. I also think you're right, joining a professional organization may serve me better than an honor society.
Just now, Sigaba said:I am not a member. My question is why would you not join?
I suppose if I didn't find valuable engagement. For example, if the regional conferences they advertise don't take place near me (from what I can see, my department technically has a chapter, but it isn't active) and I can't network. I've been invited to join honor societies before for nominal fees, but I've never joined them and I was really curious to know if I should start now.
I appreciate your input AP and Sigaba!
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Hello everyone,
I've recently been invited to join Phi Alpha Theta, the National Honor Society in History. I was sent an email from the faculty advisor of my alma mater and I'm curious if it's worth joining. I've been invited to join Honor Societies before, but I didn't know that one existed for the field of History, and I'm curious what benefits come from being a member. I've read the website, but I can't seem to find any definitive opinions on it, though there are some wishy-washy answers.
Thank you for your help!
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18 minutes ago, AGingeryGinger said:
Does anyone still have the link? I checked and apparently its not working for me.
Thanks!
It's this link, it was updated on Page 5 of this thread.
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12 hours ago, telkanuru said:
For all things related to applying to graduate school in history in the fall of 2020.
Shouldn't this be the Fall 2021 thread? Or am I misunderstanding.
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Hello!
I'm coming to IU for a PhD in History and minor in Jewish Studies.
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Finally heard from Michigan today. They said they're not taking anyone off of the waitlist this season because of financial restraints due to COVID-19. I'm not shocked, the odds were stacked against me (in terms of the amount of people who still had to make their final decisions) and I wouldn't have been able to make an informed decision had they accepted me, but it does still sting a little bit.
Onward and upwards, I accepted my offer from Indiana University and I'll be moving to the Midwest in the summer! Good luck to anyone else still on the waitlist, I know it's rough with only one week to go, but I hope it's good news.
- historyofamanda, FruitLover, vxn and 7 others
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A program offered me an extension on the deadline if I felt I needed more time, but that was the only one. The others have the deadline written in the acceptance letter and they seem to be sticking with it.
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1 hour ago, hajjibaba said:
If a school has yet to notify you and has notified others, can you assume you’re on a waitlist? I’m sick of emailing them and of not knowing what’s going on.
Typically when they've notified people of acceptances they also send out emails to the waitlisters. You're not out until you're out, but it took weeks for UPenn to reject me, so who knows.
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1 hour ago, histori041512 said:
The grad program lead emailed yesterday to say they are offering students the option to defer to next year with all of their funding. He said it might be a good option for international students to consider. That could potentially get the waitlist moving.
Oh wow, I mean, given that they haven't sent me an email saying that I've been rejected, I assumed people were continuing to wait to make a decision, but now that they've sent that out, you're probably right, that may set off the dominoes needed.
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11 hours ago, histori041512 said:
Has anyone decided where they are going yet?
Nope, still waiting to hear from Michigan.
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I've been taken off the waitlist at Indiana! Just received my formal offer today and I have to say that I'm relieved/emotional/over the moon. I'm going to get a PhD!
I'm still on the waitlist at Michigan and will be sending them an email on Monday to check on my status there and to let them know that I've been offered a doctoral position at IU. Fingers crossed that I can make my final decision soon and start my journey to a PhD in the Fall!
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Just for some clarity: I'm currently on two waitlists right now and have been in correspondence with both programs and have been assured that I'd receive an update as soon as they have one (said in the positive about being taken off the waitlist). My question is, if everyone accepts their offers, will they contact me to say that they can't offer me admission once they find out or will I have to wait until April 15th?
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I use Zotero and Evernote. Zotero to save the location of the source, the bibliographic info, and keep them in subfolders so it's not one big list. I use Evernote to take notes on each source. Although Zotero allows you to insert notes for each source saved, I've found that writing all the notes in EverNote and having new "notes" (pages, really) for each source has been incredibly helpful, mainly because I have Evernote on my phone, computer, and I can have it on the tablet I plan on getting for grad school.
- Manana and FruitLover
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1 hour ago, histori041512 said:
I am pretty set on Michigan but I really did want to see the town and meet the cohort and other grad students. I was planning to try to scope out a potential roommate. I'll have to start looking at Facebook groups so something now.
Let me know if you'd like to speak to someone who went through UofM for their undergraduate and graduate degrees, a good friend of mine has been in Ann Arbor for 10+ years and lived on campus/worked as an RA. She knows the city like the back of her hand.
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13 hours ago, histori041512 said:
Anyone else have schools they've been accepted in cancel their campus visits? Michigan just emailed me saying they are cancelling the entire weekend (was supposed to start this Thursday). Doesn't sound like they are rescheduling but doing some teleconference stuff. I understand why they are doing it but I am quite disappointed.
Damn. I wonder if Indiana will do the same with theirs at the end of the month. I know a lot of people use their visit weekends to make their final decisions (obviously a smart move) but if Michigan isn't holding theirs this week, that means some people may not make a decision until closer to April. I'm still on the waitlist and I've been informed that I'm an alternate for any Americanist who doesn't accept their offer, but it's going to be rough holding out until the last minute.
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5 hours ago, Titus Flavius said:
Still waiting on Penn and Fordham; was waitlisted at Indiana.
Do you think Penn isn't done with sending out their acceptances? They sent out acceptances and waitlist emails a few weeks back. I'm in the same boat, though. Was waitlisted by Indiana and Michigan.
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8 hours ago, histori041512 said:
Anyone going to the University of Michigan accepted student weekend next month?
If they take me off the waitlist (fingers crossed), I'd probably go. Though it's unclear if I'd make it off the waitlist in time for them to invite me.
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Just now, Titus Flavius said:
All is proceeding as I have foreseen.
This tracks with your username, you clearly possess ancient knowledge a la the Oracle at Delphi (I know your un is Roman, but I'll stretch the Classics)
2021 Application Thread
in History
Posted · Edited by historyofsloths
I haven't heard anything about MA students yet, but if I do, I'll keep you posted!
ETA: Of course, as soon as I hit send, I get an answer. Looks like the vast majority of acceptances for the History MA have already gone out. IU doesn't waitlist the MAs, but they do tend to hold onto rejections until the end of March. If you haven't heard anything either way, it's more likely to be a rejection. Sorry, @klynn