whatkilledthedinosaurs

Has anyone heard back from CUNY? Saw a few rejections and interviews in the results but nothing else

Hi all. I'm currently still waiting on my last program response but it looks like I'll be reapplying next application cycle; this was my first time applying for History PhDs and I've been rejected from all so far. I applied to eight schools not really knowing what I was getting into since I didn't really have a mentor/anyone to get advice/feedback from. That being said, I was told by a top choice program of mine that I was on the waitlist at one point but ultimately rejected. Knowing that I'll most likely be reapplying to the same program next year, would it be a good idea to reach out to programs (especially that one) and ask what I could improve on my applications next time around? I know people have done this but I feel a bit uncomfortable asking for something and worry that it might not be well-received. Is this a good idea? If so, how should I go about it? Ie, should I contact the admissions director, department chair, or another way? If it's not a good idea, what are some good ways to improve applications for a second round of admissions without much outside assistance? Thanks in advance to all!

quite a lot to unpack here. you assume that I’m not using this as a way to put a better application forward next year which is quite a big assumption to make. I’d like to recontextualize: I said I was a bit put off by a rejection not being BCC’d. For you to take that and then imply that I’m not listening to advice, am more concerned with being “right” than growing and many of the other things you have implied in your response is quite the assumption. The people on this forum are humans. We have reactions in the heat of the moment. Not everything human beings do is always about “helping to build a dynamic that encourages experienced members to stay and continue to help”. For this to then be applied on a bigger scale to “this is why academic historians don’t like speaking with undergraduates” is again a big assumption to make and if anything just highlights the issues with gate keeping in academia as an institution and the way it treats the human beings who make it up, something that I have consistently had to deal with as a marginalized person. I’m relatively new to this website and I’ve learned a lot of things about the grad school process. People have been very kind to me. The way a small comment has been blown out of proportion and the way I’ve been mischaracterized and told I have an attitude because of it is very disheartening and doesn’t make me want to reach out and in the future. That’s all I have to say about this. Have a good weekend and I hope we all can be kinder to those on the other side of the keyboard.

Not really sure what you meant by this - I know all of this and never objected to the rejection being handled by an "outsider" because it wasn't; it came from the program with the name of the director. It just bothered me that we didn't have our privacy respected in a very basic way. The "take your time rejecting me" line was mostly tongue in cheek; I obviously know programs are understaffed. This program gets about 20-24 applicants a year and one or two people get in; I assumed that with a smaller pool/program, we wouldn't all have gotten the same rejection without being BCC'd. Ultimately it's not even that big of a deal, I'm just venting on a grad school forum.

Yeah, it was super messy lol but even then can you not just send out individual emails? Take the time at least, around 20-24 people apply to this program each year and only one is accepted ? Even if it had been BCC'd it would've rubbed me the wrong way. Take your time rejecting me please!

Well, I got rejected from my dream program today (Joint PhD in Women's Studies and History at UMichigan). I thought I had a great application. I've worked with people in the joint PhD program before and thought maybe I had a good chance? I know it's competitive but sigh. I've officially been rejected from 6 out of the 8 schools I've applied to. Not feeling great.

Just got my rejection as well - two others (including you) have gotten rejections so looks like they're giving the axe today

I'd say so - I didn't get an email and just checked the portal like I do everyday lol so if there's nothing in your portal I'd say it's a good sign. Good luck!

Oh boy! That's good to know, thanks for the heads up. I've been wanting to email them because I wasn't super sure if the results would be posted on the portal. Thanks for letting me know. Good luck to you!

I'm hoping to study the solidarity practices of working-class women in Northern Ireland during the Troubles with US-based women of color. I applied to Boston College, Columbia, CUNY, Notre Dame, NYU, Rutgers and Yale, along with UMichigan's joint PhD in History and Women's Studies. I also got rejected from NYU today so it's been a rough day. I'm a bit worried because two of the three schools (ND, NYU, and BC) I applied to that have focused specializations in Irish studies/history and very relevant faculty have rejected me so I'm worried it doesn't bode well :(

Got my first two rejections yesterday and today: rejected from Notre Dame and Yale I'm trying to not have expectations so I'm not torn up about it, but I still am sad and really hope I get in somewhere

Oof, that's my field too. Hopefully I hear about an interview soon but I'm not trying to get my hopes up. Who exactly reached out to you about an interview? The department, a POI, etc? I'm just curious. Best of luck to you! I hope it works out.

My friend applied to the joint PhD in Women's Studies and Psychology and got rejected on Friday, 1/17 :( Another person posted on the results section that they got rejected from the psych joint PhD as well so I think psych might be done earlier just because it's psych and those are typically done earlier

Ah, thanks anyway! Good to know that at least part of it is almost done for people lol

Do you know if there's any info on Europe? Specifically Modern?

Yup, feel you. I applied to eight PhDs in history and haven't heard back from anything but I've slowly started to see people get interviews on the results page which is torture. None of my programs/my field doesn't really have a set deadline so it's just waiting until they decide to tell me it's over.

Hi all. New to this forum and wanted to introduce myself. I graduated with a BA in Sociology and minor in History from a fairly high ranked liberal arts college last May. My research interests are focused on the history of Irish working-class women's organizing during the Troubles. I applied to eight schools. I applied to History programs at Boston College, Columbia, CUNY, Notre Dame NYU, Rutgers, and Yale. I also applied to the joint PhD in Women's Studies and History at UMichigan. I can read Spanish and am in the process of learning Irish which is killing me softly. I have a decent amount of research experience and have presented at one conference. I'm most nervous about my research being a bit too niche (the market for Irish history is pretty much non existent it feels like sometimes) and basically not being prepared for actually applying. I'm a first-generation student from a working-class background so I kind of just went into PhD applications figuring things out as I went and rolling dice. I haven't heard anything back and it's just now really started to stress me out.

Anyone else apply to a joint PhD program at UMichigan? My deadline for Women's Studies & History was December 2nd and I haven't heard anything back yet

Applying to the History PhD too. I haven't heard anything unfortunately and it's starting to psych me out