wfchasson
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Posts posted by wfchasson
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U of M acceptances seem to have gone out--got one via email a moment ago. congrats to others as well.
- sonnybunny, HRL and historyofsloths
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1 hour ago, HRL said:
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 would say it's a mixed bag. I've spoken to people at a few universities this year who are hopeful that cohort sizes will rebound next year. On the other hand, I've spoken to a number of people who think that next year will remain a bottleneck year as well, and that universities may use the current cuts as justification for permanently reduced cohort sizes moving forward. And you have to consider that cohorts are going to get smaller because of market pressures as well. It's a real blemish on the reputation of top programs when they are minting too many degrees and a considerable number of their students are stuck adjuncting. So I'd say remain hopeful that next year will be better, but try to temper expectations about the long-term trends within humanities departments.
All this is going to create some pretty intense win-lose dynamics, I think. Some people may be shut out of PhD programs moving forward partially based on this austerity logic of making cuts now for the long-term viability of the program and the field in general. For those that get in, it may then mean more resources (internal funding, external grants, etc.) but the expense is obviously a pared down group of admits, and probably outweighs the poorly distributed benefits.
Don't want to dissuade anybody from applying or paint too grim a picture here. This is just the sense that I get from the people that I've been talking to.
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2 hours ago, Ryan_The_Grogu_Fan said:
Yeah that comment is pretty strange. And given what @history202- said he heard from Yale and Harvard, those timelines (especially Yale) doesn’t really seem like they’ve sent results out yet. Did anyone in the forum claim either a Yale or Harvard acceptance? (Sorry I’ve been away a few days and haven’t been keeping tabs)
i can vouch for the yale decisions--just waiting on the specifics of the offer package. but have been notified of admission.
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1 hour ago, flowersandcoffee said:
Congratulations!! That’s amazing. Do you mind sharing your sub field? Was it from DGS?
i toggle between international/global methodologies, thematically my emphasis is on IPE and the environment
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31 minutes ago, Ryan_The_Grogu_Fan said:
Congrats on the acceptance! Was it an email from the department or from your POI?
from someone in the dept., wasnt from the person i interviewed with
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4 minutes ago, scarletwitch said:
Congrats! Did you have an interview? Just trying to prepare myself for the fact that for me it’s probably another rejection.
yeah i interviewed. i didn't think that i did particularly well but i guess it worked out.
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3 minutes ago, scarletwitch said:
I spy a Yale acceptance on the survey results. Anyone here claiming it?
yeah that was me. international/global, got an email.
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Just now, aco2 said:
I kind of think this is inappropriate. People are just starting to get very early decisions back, and there are a lot of personal and important decisions to be made. The last thing anyone needs is a stranger on the internet (consciously or not) adding pressure to that process. Give it a few weeks and let people figure things out. Some waitlist spots will inevitably open up somewhere and we just have to wait it out.
Got to agree with this point. You don't want to give the impression that you're pressuring someone not to accept an offer. That should be their decision to make independently and without external influences. I know that isn't what you are trying to do, but it may be perceived that way. Best to just wait, as agonizing as that can be. Wishing you luck.
- aco2, CafeConGabi and Maguire
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1 hour ago, scarletwitch said:
nope, not yet. I'm not hopeful any response from them will be positive though. I think it was individual profs though, based on correspondence with another poster on the forum. Usually they get back around this time for acceptances based on past results.
Best of luck to you too! I just got my first rejection from Vanderbilt, so just had a good cry. Feeling pessimistic but I still have 16 results to arrive.
Out of interest, has anyone on here applied to Duke? They seem quite late in their responses this year.
applied to duke, no word yet. never got any word from faculty on how their admissions process was changing or affected this year
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2 hours ago, samiwas said:
Anyone hear anything from U Chicago? I saw a few people report interviews, but it looks like that was done by individual profs rather than as some formal part of the admission process. Best of luck to all in the coming weeks
early feb. is when my interviewer said they would know how things are looking and begin reaching out.
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23 hours ago, AP said:
That's a question best answered by each program because different programs (and different professors within each program) has different expectations.
The question of languages is important because you need to be able to relate to others beyond your field, especially if you are not an Americanist. Learning a language takes time, and some languages take more time than others.
If you haven't asked this to your POI, I suggest contacting them. Though the question to them should be: What level of expertise should I show command as a graduate from this program? That way, you don't disclose that you are anxious about admissions
or if you are lacking the training.
Thanks for the response! Yeah I'm not really worried about my own language training--I exceed the minimum language requirements for all the programs I applied to. I'm more interesting in how language ability factors into decisions, i.e. if faculty will look at an app and say, for example, oh this person can read 4 languages rather than the required 2, this makes them more desirable, etc. I guess what I'm getting at is how is this weighted relative to other criteria when departments are making their decisions? Obviously SOP, letters of rec., and writing sample seem to be the primary elements of the application, I'm just curious whether or not anybody has insight into some of the secondary considerations and how they factor in.
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hey all. i'm wondering if anybody knows how your language training factors into the decision process, what language training phd programs expect coming in, etc, particularly if you aren't doing American/British hist. anybody care to share their experiences with language abilities and the application process?
2021 Application Thread
in History
Posted
Thank you ! Won't be accepting, so I hope they take someone off of the waitlist and give them that spot.