HRL

I'm in the same boat. Two years ago when I applied to programs and didn't get in anywhere, the obvious answer to "what do I do now" was get the MA. Now that I have the MA, it's less clear to me how to proceed to best position myself for next cycle (and if I even should apply again next cycle). Do you already have an MA?

Seconding this. Somehow missed that 1 acceptance posted back on 2/11. And apparently 1 waitlist on 2/10. Has anyone heard any news on Duke?

Saw a Duke acceptance yesterday. Don't know about my fellow applicants waiting on Duke, but I think if I see even one more acceptance, I'm assuming it's a done deal. (And am thinking it possibly/probably already is.)

Not doing so well this cycle and just have 4 schools left out of 11 that I originally applied to (Duke, Georgetown, UT Austin and Indiana). I'm hoping Duke and Georgetown get back to us by end of this week or beginning of next to get ever closer to closure on this cycle. And to shift more fully to thinking of how (and whether) to approach next year's applications. In particular, I wonder if next year will in fact net out as less competitive than this cycle - if cohort sizes will rebound (albeit not necessarily to pre-covid levels), if schools that didn't take students this year (NYU, Columbia, Brown, etc) will resume taking students, and if there was a greater surge in applicants this year than people who (perhaps wisely) decided to postpone applying to next cycle. What are other people's thoughts on these factors? And any early ear to the ground on schools that plan to increase cohort size next year? Would be great to aggregate this information upfront (insofar as it exists currently) to better assess the situation for next year as early as possible. I know I number myself among the folks on here that would probably have not applied this year if they knew a little more concretely just how dramatically cohort sizes were going to be cut before submitting applications.

I spy a Duke waitlist on the results page...

Ah, one more question for you - did you apply twice after getting the MA? Or once before having an MA/being in an MA program and once after?

This is really encouraging to hear. I just finished my MA this fall at Chicago and have been of the mind that on the heels of finishing an MA is the most competitive I'm going to be for the PhD. As it looks increasingly more likely that I'm not going to get in anywhere this cycle (and this is my second attempt), I've been feeling discouraged (as if this is the outcome at my most competitive) and am somewhat at a loss for what I could do between now and next cycle - besides continuing to work on application pieces - that would make me markedly more competitive. I think I'm also specifically worried that if I take a non-history job (been considering paralegal work) it will look like...I'm not committed to this pathway? Would you mind sharing what you've done between finishing the MA and your successful PhD cycle (either on here or by PM)? Also any wisdom you could impart re what you felt you did differently on your application pieces to be more competitive this time around?

Looks like some Wisconsin decisions just posted on the results page...

It looks like at least one Chicago acceptance went out Friday (along with the waitlists) after all. So I'm starting to think Chicago is a done deal now. By the way, is that person on this thread by chance and willing to share their field?

Did anyone happen to hear approximately how many Yale was looking to admit this year?

I don't think anyone's claimed the 4 Chicago waitlists. But gosh I would be astonished if any, let alone all, were trolls. I just wonder where any of the other acceptances are if waitlists have gone out. (I have been assuming acceptances typically precede or are concurrent with waitlist notifications, but don't really have anything concrete to base it on.)

Looks like more Chicago waitlists went out. So yeah, maybe notifications are happening today?

Would the Chicago waitlist person be willing to share how they were notified (POI? DGS?) and their field?

Thank you so much for sharing this intel! I don't know about everyone else, but this really puts my mind at ease going into weekend - that the majority of the offers have yet to go out, and that there's still a shot. Also congrats on (definitely? probably?) getting admitted to the MA at Chicago with strong funding! As I'm sure you already know, it's a great program with an excellent placement record into top PhD programs, including, of course, Chicago itself. What's your field, if you don't mind sharing?

Yeah, as someone who attended Chicago's MA program, I can confirm that UChicago routinely offers the MA as an alternative to PhD applicants and offers funding packages for the MA program. In fact, they tend to offer more generous MA funding to PhD applicants than to direct applicants to the MA program (but never full funding, as I recollect). Doubt it'll be all that different this year, except perhaps in the generosity of funding offers?

What do people think the scoop is with UChicago? That there were 2 early POI notifications and the rest are incoming still...or that they've all come in now and we just only happen to have 2 folks on GradCafe reporting acceptances?

Did you receive an email or portal update for Vanderbilt? Or just assuming it's a probable rejection at this point since the acceptances went out?

I applied to MA's two cycles ago with a focus on US history and did a lot of research on funding (mostly on this site - lots of good information here). I ended up with a full scholarship offer at UGA and somewhere between a half and a quarter scholarship from UChicago. I ended up going with UChicago and quickly learned that my cohort-mates who had applied directly to the PhD and were offered the MA instead were given even more generous funding (so that's the route I would take if I could do it again).

I'm with you on this. I'm assuming UCLA and Vanderbilt are done extending offers (except perhaps for waitlist folks), and so no news at this point probably means a rejection. I'm slightly uncertain what to make of Harvard - the one person that was waitlisted said that the DGS email noted that only 6 offers were made (past tense, I believe), but none were reported on the results page. I think it's more likely that those 6 folks just aren't on GradCafe than that the offers haven't gone out yet. Getting word of even just 1 person with a Harvard offer would make me more certain of this, though. (Would be curious to hear how other people waiting to hear from Harvard are thinking about it.) And, to be honest, I'm mentally bracing for Yale being out too, but with a much lower level of certainty, based on the fact that I didn't get an interview and, at least in past years, the interview seemed to be critical (to the point that, in 2018 ish, a person's POI told them they were required to be admitted - found this on the results page). But this year is anything but typical, and I imagine there must be exceptions to the rule, if it was/is a rule. (Would be keen to hear from any folks from prior cycles on this thread who got into Yale without an interview.) I personally cope better if I anticipate a "no" (and then get pleasantly surprised with a "yes"), so in these gray zones, I'm defaulting to that. Wouldn't necessarily recommend that mindset for people who cope better with optimistic expectations.

Ah that's awesome! Congratulations!! It sounds like your POI said the other offers will be going out really soon, possibly even tomorrow?

Just seeing a second person admitted to UChicago today. Is that person on this thread by chance? Would be really curious to know which field.

Wow. Similarly, in my chat with my UChicago POI last week, I was told that the department is only admitting max 2-3 Americanists.

@aco2 I wasn't one of the two folks who originally posted a UChicago interview but got word yesterday evening from a POI at Chicago that he'd like to chat. He said it would help him better support my application if he's met me. (We had had one email exchange before I submitted my application, but never ended up actually setting up a time to speak.) For reference, I'm an Americanist. What about you?

I'm actually quite surprised at how many professors I've heard back from, all things considered. That said, I do have a number of schools with fast-approaching 12/1 deadlines where I would not apply if certain POIs would not be taking students (and have some calls I'm really not sure about in the absence of confirming whether certain profs are taking new students - at one such school, my 2 main people are in their early 70s). Given everything on faculty's plate right now, would you advise even sending a follow-up a few weeks after the original email (and about a week and a half before the deadline)? If so, how would you recommend wording the email to be least invasive/obnoxious? Is this...too direct?: Dear Professor ____, I hope this email finds you well and anticipating a restful holiday break. I just wanted to quickly follow up on my email from a few weeks ago. I am hoping to confirm whether you are taking on new students next year before I submit my PhD application to _____ to work with you. Best, ____

@emhafeI'm not sure if this is gauche to ask -- if so, please disregard! -- but would it be possible to find out what university you're at that advised departments, presumably including History, to basically cut the cohort size in half? I'm assuming smaller cohort sizes is going to be the norm for most programs this year, but where I can more or less confirm it is the case for programs I am considering applying to, I'm trying to do so. It helps that some programs are overtly broadcasting this information (e.g. Rutgers, UT).