Maguire

Agreed, with some qualification. There are some faculty members outside of Ivy/comparable schools who are notorious for pumping out TT faculty members. Even at top-tier universities, you have advisors who produce a disproportionate number of PhD students who go on to TT jobs.  I would counsel potential graduate students to look not only at the program's placement record, but their advisor's as well. 
Some faculty members are magnificent scholars and writers, but terrible advisors. I ran into several during my time in academia; I'm sure most of us have.

Thanks, honestly I was purely going off the advice of someone who told me that was a good filtration process but I agree with you that it is not. I definitely am not going to operate in this manner at all, and see now that was probably bad advice. I’ve had a hard month with two family members having surgery and at times I’ve latched on to any advice on how to proceed with applications as it’s been a stressful time. I really don’t want that previous sentence to be held against me as it was written under bad faith and at a highly stressful time. We all make errors in judgment and I realise now this is no way to decide where to apply.

Scarlet makes a good point on setting up a good filtration system and probably one that relies on multiple things. Eg: if a POI does not respond by x date, reach out the the DGS. 
Other forms of filtrating:
Programs that offer waivers on application fees or standardized tests.  Funding, not only your stipend but also the fees you'd pay (there are always hidden fees), healthcare coverage, available competitive funds, dependency of funding on your labor, etc. Additional support: mental health, digital humanities, graduate certificates, nearby consortiums of libraries, etc. Location, especially for those doing international research or from abroad, is there an airport? does it fly to your area? etc. Additionally, I mentioned this already, but also remember that that a POI that doesn't communicate much does not mean they are not interested in you. There are a million reasons before your project that could prevent any faculty from writing back: they are on leave, they are busy, they are doing research, they are prioritizing their own students, they are busier, etc. 
Similarly, when they do respond, while a great sign, it also doesn't mean you are in, as sadly many of us have learned. My best conversations during application season were in schools I was rejected. 
So, I agree with Scarlet in setting up a more intentional filtration system that matches your interests with the strength of the program, without paying so much attention to arbitrary rankings. 

Thanks, honestly I was purely going off the advice of someone who told me that was a good filtration process but I agree with you that it is not. I definitely am not going to operate in this manner at all, and see now that was probably bad advice. I’ve had a hard month with two family members having surgery and at times I’ve latched on to any advice on how to proceed with applications as it’s been a stressful time. I really don’t want that previous sentence to be held against me as it was written under bad faith and at a highly stressful time. We all make errors in judgment and I realise now this is no way to decide where to apply.

In answer to the first question -- what are the "smaller schools" on your list, in your opinion? And what are you thinking of as the "top programs". The top programs on a ranked list are not going to be the same as the top programs for you personally given your interests, personality, field, advisor etc. I attend the "lowest ranked" school that I was accepted to when I applied (5 acceptances, including an ivy league school and two in the "top ten") and four years into the phd I have no regrets about the decision and, importantly, have been able to win the kinds of major grants that can be just as important for getting a job as the school you attend. I definitely attribute the success with grants to having the right advisor. A friend who just completed at a very "low ranked" school (but with an advisor who is basically the leader in my friend's field) has secured a TT position. Others might disagree with me but imo advisor > school. 

Re the writing sample -- submit your best writing. Without having read the samples no one can really tell you which one you should use. There are plenty of undergrad essays that outshine "MA level" essays. 
Noooooo!!! To be blunt, that's a terrible terrible terrible basis on which to rule out schools. Don't think like this! There are so many reasons a potentially excellent advisor might not reply to your June email. They might be having a bad summer, they might be traveling, they might have family stuff going on, they might just miss your email because their inbox is being flooded. If a POI responds, cool; they don't reply, you have no idea why and it likely has nothing to do with you. 

Yes, I second this.
I think communicating with potential doctoral advisors plays a different role in the application process in the UK than it does in the US. From what I remember, at Cambridge at least it's pretty much impossible to get admitted without speaking to your potential advisor and securing their support for your proposed project first. That's not the case in America, where PhD programs are longer and include coursework. Most POIs pretty much assume the topic of your dissertation won't be the same as what you put down in your statement of purpose, unless you have two master's degrees or are transferring from another PhD program or something. So emailing your potential advisor is entirely optional, and not a method of establishing a shared understanding of what your research will be about. All the information they need from you is in the application, so if they like your materials, they'll push for your acceptance regardless of whether there's been prior communication or not. I hadn't said/written a single word to my advisor before I got my acceptance email.
Anyway. I don't know how well this advice will go over in this thread, where seemingly everyone is in constant communication with multiple POIs throughout the entire application cycle, but unless you have a good reason for emailing someone, like wanting to know whether they're too old/junior to accept grad students, well, don't email them before you've been accepted. It has no bearing on the outcome of your application and it's frankly a waste of their time.

1. I know that compared to Yale or Harvard, UCL and Cambridge pale in comparison and I wasn’t suggesting this would help my application next year, just that as a U.K. applicant these are our top schools (and are both in the top 10 for the QS world rankings.) I know that in some ways being an international applicant, even though I’m a US citizen, is to my disadvantage.
2. Thanks - I think most likely my dissertation will be the best writing sample to use. 
3. I applied to too many schools this cycle and it wasn’t the best idea, but I was trying to maximise my chances. I did tailor my SOP to each application but I’m going to make sure that I do this even better for next cycle. It’s what I’ll be working on over the summer after I finalise my list of where I’ll be applying.

I appreciate and thank you for your candidness but I have come away from this answer feeling discouraged about my chances of getting in next year as an applicant from the U.K. I think it may be time for me to step back from Grad Cafe, I appreciate everyone’s advice and support but I need to concentrate and avoid distractions. I’m pretty sure this cycle is over for me, so wishing you all the best and for my fellow 2022 applicants, good luck next year!

This is a good reminder -- I've similarly received several kind emails from POIs at this point explaining that while I was on their shortlist I wasn't accepted for X reason...and that they're certain I'm going to be accepted elsewhere. 
I think it's a good reminder to everyone, faculty and prospective students, that it's possible to be considered a qualified, highly competitive candidate at every single school you apply to, and yet also be rejected from every single school (especially with these small cohorts). 

Thinking a lot of thoughts and feeling a lot of feelings right now. I did not receive any offers this year— I was waitlisted at Berkeley, and rejected everywhere else. I technically haven’t heard from Princeton yet, though I assume rejection at this point. 
I did however just receive an extremely thoughtful and affirming email from a POI at another school. She wrote to tell me that I had one of the strongest applications she had ever read, but my area of interest was outside of the department’s target for the year. She is now the second POI to reject me personally who said they hoped I was not too disappointed because they assumed I was accepted somewhere else. I’d like to very gently recommend to any faculty in contact with potential graduate students that they not assume the applicants they’re in contact with were accepted at other schools, because while I’m sure it was meant to be a compliment, it was upsetting and frustrating to hear after the string of rejections. Also, ??????? Really not sure what to make of that after getting this outcome. 
Anyway. I may not have come out of this cycle with any actual acceptances (still keeping my fingers crossed for Berkeley), but a historian whose research I admire a great deal wrote to tell me I would make a great historian. It was a much needed reminder that these setbacks, as upsetting as they are right now, don’t need to stop me from producing work that matters and that I (and hopefully other people) care about. So while I wait to see if Berkeley can offer me a spot this year, I’m going to be shifting my attention away from stressing about applications and acceptances and prestige and towards my research (before I have to worry about looking for a job next year. Yikes!) 
Sending lots of good vibes and gratitude to other applicants and to the many helpful current grad students on this board! If/when I reapply, I will definitely have a lot more insight than I did this time around.

1. I know that compared to Yale or Harvard, UCL and Cambridge pale in comparison and I wasn’t suggesting this would help my application next year, just that as a U.K. applicant these are our top schools (and are both in the top 10 for the QS world rankings.) I know that in some ways being an international applicant, even though I’m a US citizen, is to my disadvantage.
2. Thanks - I think most likely my dissertation will be the best writing sample to use. 
3. I applied to too many schools this cycle and it wasn’t the best idea, but I was trying to maximise my chances. I did tailor my SOP to each application but I’m going to make sure that I do this even better for next cycle. It’s what I’ll be working on over the summer after I finalise my list of where I’ll be applying.

I appreciate and thank you for your candidness but I have come away from this answer feeling discouraged about my chances of getting in next year as an applicant from the U.K. I think it may be time for me to step back from Grad Cafe, I appreciate everyone’s advice and support but I need to concentrate and avoid distractions. I’m pretty sure this cycle is over for me, so wishing you all the best and for my fellow 2022 applicants, good luck next year!

@scarletwitchthe Oxbridge to PhD route is a time-honored one, for better or for worse.  It will definitely be a huge boon to your applications next time around. 

1. I know that compared to Yale or Harvard, UCL and Cambridge pale in comparison and I wasn’t suggesting this would help my application next year, just that as a U.K. applicant these are our top schools (and are both in the top 10 for the QS world rankings.) I know that in some ways being an international applicant, even though I’m a US citizen, is to my disadvantage.
2. Thanks - I think most likely my dissertation will be the best writing sample to use. 
3. I applied to too many schools this cycle and it wasn’t the best idea, but I was trying to maximise my chances. I did tailor my SOP to each application but I’m going to make sure that I do this even better for next cycle. It’s what I’ll be working on over the summer after I finalise my list of where I’ll be applying.

I appreciate and thank you for your candidness but I have come away from this answer feeling discouraged about my chances of getting in next year as an applicant from the U.K. I think it may be time for me to step back from Grad Cafe, I appreciate everyone’s advice and support but I need to concentrate and avoid distractions. I’m pretty sure this cycle is over for me, so wishing you all the best and for my fellow 2022 applicants, good luck next year!

Yes, it's the debate many of us are having in our departments. I stand by what I said: you and 200 other people are passionate about history. This is not what gets you in. 
If you are trying to word it in the SOP, I think you could phrase it as your commitment to doing something with that passion, like answering questions about inequality, advancing the field in terms of accessibility, organizing events for the dissemination of scholarship on campus, etc. These are concrete ways in which your passion is visible. 

1. I know that compared to Yale or Harvard, UCL and Cambridge pale in comparison and I wasn’t suggesting this would help my application next year, just that as a U.K. applicant these are our top schools (and are both in the top 10 for the QS world rankings.) I know that in some ways being an international applicant, even though I’m a US citizen, is to my disadvantage.
2. Thanks - I think most likely my dissertation will be the best writing sample to use. 
3. I applied to too many schools this cycle and it wasn’t the best idea, but I was trying to maximise my chances. I did tailor my SOP to each application but I’m going to make sure that I do this even better for next cycle. It’s what I’ll be working on over the summer after I finalise my list of where I’ll be applying.

I appreciate and thank you for your candidness but I have come away from this answer feeling discouraged about my chances of getting in next year as an applicant from the U.K. I think it may be time for me to step back from Grad Cafe, I appreciate everyone’s advice and support but I need to concentrate and avoid distractions. I’m pretty sure this cycle is over for me, so wishing you all the best and for my fellow 2022 applicants, good luck next year!

That's fine. However, this was LITERALLY something that came directly from a professor at Duke. They mentioned that they are tired of seeing people who want to seek careers in the field directly because the careers are dwindling. Show them your passion and WHY you want to do this even if there isn't a job at the end of it - obviously not explicitly by saying "I don't expect a career."

I think next cycle will be about the same in terms of competitiveness in that there may be more people applying next year. However, I think there’s some factors which might help 2022 applicants in that cohort sizes may increase slightly (but probably won’t be back to normal), more places will be open for applications so that will spread things out, plus there’s indications that tons of people applied this year due to COVID panic and feeling like going back to graduate school is a safe option right now, especially when you can get a stipend from a PhD program. Moreover, I think applicants who have gone through this 2021 cycle (such as the both of us) will be able to put together a better set of materials for the 2022 cycle and/or proceed on to Masters level study in the interim year (as I will be doing), so likely will be in a stronger position in the 2022 cycle compared to some for whom it may be their first cycle. A POI I talked to recently said they were hoping things would be more normal next cycle. I think things won’t entirely be the same but we’ll start to see improvements in terms of the pandemic later this year which should hopefully help decision-making overall. Wishing you best of luck with the remainder of decisions this cycle and don’t be too discouraged if not as I’m sure things will work out better next cycle! ?

I think next cycle will be about the same in terms of competitiveness in that there may be more people applying next year. However, I think there’s some factors which might help 2022 applicants in that cohort sizes may increase slightly (but probably won’t be back to normal), more places will be open for applications so that will spread things out, plus there’s indications that tons of people applied this year due to COVID panic and feeling like going back to graduate school is a safe option right now, especially when you can get a stipend from a PhD program. Moreover, I think applicants who have gone through this 2021 cycle (such as the both of us) will be able to put together a better set of materials for the 2022 cycle and/or proceed on to Masters level study in the interim year (as I will be doing), so likely will be in a stronger position in the 2022 cycle compared to some for whom it may be their first cycle. A POI I talked to recently said they were hoping things would be more normal next cycle. I think things won’t entirely be the same but we’ll start to see improvements in terms of the pandemic later this year which should hopefully help decision-making overall. Wishing you best of luck with the remainder of decisions this cycle and don’t be too discouraged if not as I’m sure things will work out better next cycle! ?

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. 

Thanks so much, this is all really useful
I agree, and I will most likely apply to some smaller schools. I think the main thing will be seeing who responds to my introductory emails when I send them in June, and that will give me a good idea of which departments are interested in my project! 
I'm also hoping to get some funding for my MPhil, but I may not find out until March/April! Good luck! 
I think re the SOP, I know I need to emphasise fit with the department and POIs slightly more than I did in this round. I think over the summer I will devote quite a bit of time to preparing materials, particularly the SOP as besides that the only major piece of writing is the personal statement which is only needed for a couple of schools. 
Yes, it is definitely frustrating! I am top of my dept. at UCL but I do think being able to say I'm doing the masters in this interim year will make quite a bit of difference reapplying next year! Maybe also some POIs will notice my name in the acknowledgments section of a book one of my Professors has coming out in the fall! (I was his research assistant last summer) He's pretty well known in the US as talks regularly about US politics and elections. 

Feel free to DM me about Emory – I may be able to give some insight.

Thanks so much, this is all really useful
I agree, and I will most likely apply to some smaller schools. I think the main thing will be seeing who responds to my introductory emails when I send them in June, and that will give me a good idea of which departments are interested in my project! 
I'm also hoping to get some funding for my MPhil, but I may not find out until March/April! Good luck! 
I think re the SOP, I know I need to emphasise fit with the department and POIs slightly more than I did in this round. I think over the summer I will devote quite a bit of time to preparing materials, particularly the SOP as besides that the only major piece of writing is the personal statement which is only needed for a couple of schools. 
Yes, it is definitely frustrating! I am top of my dept. at UCL but I do think being able to say I'm doing the masters in this interim year will make quite a bit of difference reapplying next year! Maybe also some POIs will notice my name in the acknowledgments section of a book one of my Professors has coming out in the fall! (I was his research assistant last summer) He's pretty well known in the US as talks regularly about US politics and elections. 

I don't have a ton of advice to offer as this is my first application cycle as well, but I will say this: 
- If you get into a smaller school with good funding, that's wonderful. I haven't heard the "no point unless you get into a bigger school" but my philosophy in pursuing this PhD is to do so without the expectation of a career at the end of it. Yes, that's all of our goals. BUT I believe that you should do this because you're passionate about the subject and it brings you joy. For me, getting paid (even a small amount) to do something that's life-giving for 5 years is worth it...even if it's at a small school. That being said, the faculty and board that you'd be working with is far more important than school name (at least that's what I have been told at every stage of this process). 
- I am right there with you on the middle/high school teaching front. I used to teach middle school without licensure and it truly allowed me to bring my passion for history into my daily life which is so much more than many can say. I think this is a solid plan. I got into an MA program as well and am waitlisted for funding. If that funding comes through I think I will tack education onto my plan and get my licensure to teach bio/history (weird combo, double major in undergrad) it the high school level. 
- Jumping back up to the top of your post. We can all work on our SOP, for sure. However, you seem like an excellent candidate already. Don't beat yourself up about not being a great "fit" this year or even whether or not you displayed it in this year's SOP. I feel like this year is truly a combination of luck, chance, and random choice between top candidates (which I am sure you were in for a ton of schools). Hopefully next year will be better, but at the end of the day - your worth isn't defined by any of this. 
Nonetheless, it's WILDLY frustrating. I agree about trying once more and then maybe throwing in the towel. This is a tough GAME and I have been shown more than ever that this is truly a game of chance (my husband is top of his dept. at Duke and didn't get in #tears) 
 
Best of luck to you. It's not over til it's over, as they say! 

Hi all,
I'd appreciate some advice just re applying next cycle as I'm pretty sure that's what I'll be doing. I'm going to spend a lot of the summer working on my statement of purpose for each school and really show in each one that I'm a good "fit" for the department and relevant POIs. 
So by the time I start filling out applications next September I will have graduated from a top UK university - UCL - (hopefully with a 1st) and will be heading to Cambridge for my MPhil. I'm hoping that will put me in a better position when I apply next year. 
I'm an Americanist, specialising in 20th Century US History - Race & Ethnicity and its connections with the Cold War/US Foreign Policy. 
I'm thinking that I'm going to reapply to the following schools - Yale, Princeton, Michigan, Wisconsin, Duke, Berkeley, Emory, Illinois, Vanderbilt, and UT Austin. And then newly apply to - Northwestern, NYU, Brown, Cornell, UCSD. I'm wondering about also some smaller ones like UMass Amherst, Indiana Bloomington, Boston University and Ohio State. 
I don't want to apply to as many as 20 places but more like 12-15. Is it worth applying to some of these smaller places? I read that there's no point doing a History PhD unless you get into one of the top programs so am a bit wary but still open to applying. 
Also, in terms of writing sample, I have a MA-level essay (I'm taking an MA level module in my final undergrad year) I'm working on that corresponds to some of the themes I want to pursue in the PhD, but then I am also working on my dissertation, which also tackles issues of race and incarceration in US history. Would it be best to submit the MA-level essay or a section of the dissertation for the writing sample? Or simply perhaps adapt based on the required page length for each institution? 
I think next cycle will be my last as I can't afford multiple application cycles. This one itself has been costly enough. I think my backup will be to try to get a job teaching Social Studies/History at middle or high school level after I'm done with my masters - either in the US or at an international school abroad. It seems like a more practical path in many ways as you can focus more on teaching rather than the 'publish or perish' culture of academe. That said, if I got into a top PhD program next cycle, I'd be ecstatic. 
Thanks all. I think after this cycle ends I'm going to hop off Grad Cafe as I think I'm going to try to not go on here as much during the 2022 cycle and also as I need to focus on my final dissertation for undergrad  

That is true (didn't look at Yale's because I didn't interview and assume that was pretty much it for me either way)... at the same time, way more corroboration for Yale (quantitative and qualitative here), when, with a similar cohort size, it would seem odd not to have the same from Princeton? Though, as I said, its an abnormal year, who knows! The detective work and conjecture here is (if slightly unproductive--acknowledging my own role in it...) thrilling in itself. Best of luck to everyone ?

 

While I would like to agree with you (to give myself hope still), I don't think we can rely on the timetable of past years for Princeton. Yale usually sent all of their results out over the period of a day or two, but this year it looks like they sent out acceptances almost a week ago with no word yet for anyone else.