coffeehum

No, but I'm in the same boat. Last program I'm waiting on and extremely restless about the prospects of waiting another few weeks! Hang in there...

Congrats!! Which Illinois program? Chicago or Urbana-Champaign?

Has anyone been able to find out how many applications all of these top schools (especially Northwestern, UW-Madison, Harvard, Princeton, UVA) received this year? I am very curious about what the total numbers look like this year. I also wonder if waitlists look different--it seems there haven't been as many waitlist offers extended this year (haven't seen any for Northwestern yet?) and I wonder if departments are just going to go with whoever accepts their initial offers. Wishing you all the best--it's not over until it's over, but man, this cycle is tough!

Interesting--everything I've seen on program funding spreadsheets suggests Michigan offers between $20-30K for 5 years. Can anyone say more about this? Btw congrats @BJL2021 and everyone who has shared an acceptance so far. Cheers to you all!

Sorry to add to the stress pool, but has anyone heard anything from UIUC? They've consistently been on the quicker side of admissions for the past few years, so I'm a little surprised to have not heard anything yet.

Hi! Your insight on this is much appreciated, thank you for giving me so much to think through. Shifting away from taking "fully funded" at its face value to considering cost of living, placement rates, research support, and other monetary and non-monetary forms of support seems like the most important step I need to take now. I've found it difficult to discern between programs that have a lot of money in the pot and programs that are smart and effective about distributing their money and resources for students, but your advice is helping me figure out what kinds of questions to ask.

I know we're all still a long ways out from making decisions, but I'm curious to hear some of your perspectives on choosing a program at a public vs. private institution. I applied to a good mix, and although the programs at state universities all guarantee full funding, I am increasingly concerned about the resources and security grad students might be able to access there in coming years. Several students at the private institutions I've applied to have pointed to their stipends and overall excellent access to research funding, summer support, and fellowships as defining factors of their experiences. That said, I have also seen users on this forum talk about how much that support differs between various private institutions. I'd appreciate any perspectives from current students or other applicants currently weighing these factors.

Sorry about the rejection, wishing you all the best with the rest of your apps! I heard Northwestern will be taking far fewer students than normal--maybe half the cohort size as usual. I don't think results will be out for a few more weeks, unfortunately.

Hello! Interesting--please let me know if you learn anything! I will do some poking around as well...

I am nearly positive that I am reading too much into this, but did any other UMich applicants notice the addition of a note about CertiFile on the ApplyWeb portal? No updates on status or anything, but I've checked the portal every day and this is the first time I've seen this addendum. Please forgive my grasping at straws... I should also note, I have a few other schools on ApplyWeb and none of them include this update.

I've gotten the best sense of the state of diversity efforts by either directly contacting or simply following current students on Twitter. A lot of students have been quite vocal about the initiatives (or more often, lack thereof...) in that regard as well as in relation to the pandemic and academic jobs crisis. Their honesty has been hard to swallow but so appreciated throughout this application season...

I think it's because there is a steady stream of "interview offers" recorded in the results database. Many of the interviews are with programs that don't say anything about an interview being a part of the application process. Hard to say whether all of the "interviews" being noted are formal or informal, standardized or unique to specific professors, but it sure does exacerbate one's nerves to see the list grow.

I've heard from one POI who wants to talk soon. The program doesn't seem to have a formal interview process, so I was surprised to hear from them and am more anxious about the radio silence from the rest of my programs as a result. I think it's to be expected though. Hang in there, everyone!

I panicked over this same issue a few months ago and emailed several of my schools. Every single school let me know that there is no expectation for applicants to include dual credit/IB/AP transcripts. You should be fine. I also think they'd contact you before simply throwing your application out!

I seriously screwed up and submitted a draft of my writing sample where the sample failed to cite one very short quote. I submitted it to my top school and the deadline has since passed. Is this going to knock me out altogether? Is it worth emailing the department a correction? I am terrified. **I was finally able to connect with my mentor and they assured me that this is not a big deal. Please disregard this query. Stress is getting to me...

I don't think @NoirFemmewas gatekeeping. It's important for prospective students to have clear, unvarnished perspectives on what the state of the field and top programs look like right now. Those who have big dreams/aspirations need to hear this kind of honesty and won't interpret this commentary as a "judgement" or a be all, end all on their career goals. FWIW, if I took all the advice I've read/received on here at face value, I wouldn't have managed to eke my applications out in the first place this year.

Sorry to hear about the recent rejections. I am also finding the end of this application season to be fairly miserable. Most of the programs I'm applying to will be accepting fewer students this year, my recommenders and other mentors haven't been able to provide much feedback on my materials (understandably so), and I am finding problem after problem every time I review my SoPs. Like you, I'm also beginning to panic at the very real possibility of getting rejected from all of my programs. I've also contemplated throwing in a few additional applications (applying for 5 programs), but I think our best shot at this point has to be focusing on in-progress applications. I have found throughout this cycle and other application processes that the last-minute adrenaline is best channeled into honing what I *really* mean and achieving as much clarity in structure/word choice as is possible. Just my 2 cents, and I apologize for being a complete downer.

Is it advisable to write an abstract or some kind of introduction to your writing sample if it is a portion of a larger thesis/article? I've received conflicting advice from my professors and I'd appreciate additional perspectives. I feel that the sample I'm using stands on its own, but it is a portion of my thesis and I wonder if it'd be good to explain how it fits into that larger project. Apologies if this matter has already been addressed. Best of luck to everyone finishing up applications this month.

Really sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but UMN decided to shutter admissions this cycle: https://cla.umn.edu/history/graduate/how-apply.

UT just updated their page: *Update, October 9, 2020: The Department of History is now accepting applications for Fall 2021 admission to its graduate program. The GRE will not be required for this year's application. Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we expect to admit a smaller number of students than in a typical year. We strongly recommend that all applicants reach out to faculty members in their prospective field before submitting an application. The submission deadline is December 8, 2020.* __ Several other PhD programs at Northwestern have announced in the past week that they will not be accepting a cohort. Have not heard anything definitive, but things don't seem promising...

I am doing quite a bit of reading between the lines and am still curious (and anxious) to hear what other prospective applicants are hearing from current students or programs. Beyond my own situation, I care about what this means for the future of the field. Additionally, I certainly feel for current students and understand that admissions are not of utmost concern at the moment. I am simply inquiring here because this thread is frequented by prospective applicants who likely share similar concerns, have been in contact with programs, and are entering the admissions cycle with their own pandemic-related challenges, job insecurity and otherwise. I understand that we ultimately need to be patient and make our own decisions.

Can anyone share more information on this front? I have received some very discouraging emails from prospective advisors in the past couple of weeks and everything I'm seeing from current students/higher ed news has been increasingly alarming. Most of my programs have updated their pages for the 2021 admissions season, but a few have not. I'm especially wondering if anyone has heard much about Northwestern, Ohio State, and Rutgers. Any and all information would be appreciated.

I have been planning to reach out to faculty and program administrators within the next couple weeks and wasn't sure when to bring up the GRE issue/how to frame it, so this is an incredibly helpful response. Thank you. Your point about shifting from the undergraduate mentality to that of the graduate student is also well taken.

Does anyone have a good sense of how many programs will actually stick with the GRE requirement this year? I know there is an at-home version but the nature & number of requirements to take the test at home seems incredibly prohibitive and I have a hard time imagining that most applicants will be able to take the test. Seems incredibly out of touch to be requiring scores at this point. I am becoming very anxious because there is no way I can make the at-home test work with my living situation/tech equipment, but I don't want to be viewed as a "problem" if I bring this up in my first communication with departments in the coming weeks...