confusedmedievalist

I took out 10K worth of loans, worked 60hrs a week during the summers, 15 during the semester, and cannot be happier with where I've ended up. (I ended up deciding on Princeton, if anyone is curious). I am consistently happier than my friends who make 200k+ a year in a job they're just meh about. That said, there is a big difference between 10K and 50k worth of loans. Academics don't make enough to ever repay something that large, and we're not considered public servants even if we teach at community colleges or public universities, so no loan forgiveness there. So if it's so much debt that you'll tank your credit score and any chance of ever getting a car or even renting, never mind buying, someplace, it's probably not worth it. I get the not wanting to live year-to-year. Think about what you'd do this year to improve your application if you didn't do the MA. And think about if the MA is really going to help you. I'd say the vast majority of accepted students do have MAs, but I've also met as many people straight out of undergrad as people like me who needed a whole second MA to be competitive. What's most important is if the MA will actually help you become a more competitive candidate, or if there is something you can do independently which will push you over, since you're clearly so close already. Just a "more interesting" writing sample could do it, or 1 year of another language. And you don't need a degree for that. But degrees can also help clarify your own interests and are certainly helpful, so if it's financially feasible, it could be worth it. So these are the things I would consider. Hope it helps!

Some perspective that I think might be useful for people to know about waitlists. Between me and the 2 people I've met at visits so far, we're holding 12 spots at 6 different programs. That means 9 spots total WILL open up, and at some schools it will likely be that everyone accepted goes somewhere else, and every spot opens up. Idk if anyone else will find this as helpful/enlightening as I have, but I never knew it was like this and thought I would share.

I'm not sure being unable to decide for a while makes you an outlier! I'm leaning towards Princeton, but I've been told it's rude not to go to every school's visit days, make the connections, and hear their pitch, since these are future colleagues. I feel really bad, because I know how it feels to be waitlisted, but now my advisor has me worried about burning bridges if I don't give everyone an equal chance, and my visits have already been paid for. So I won't decide until last week of March the earliest, though I'll hopefully be able to narrow it down some sooner...

Thank you! I was so relieved. He didn't specify when exactly, just that they weren't even going to be done finalizing the list to send to the graduate school (aka, making decisions) until the end of the week. So I think people should hear good news sometime this week/early next week, and bad news the week after. Good luck!

Per my own request-I got an email from the DGS at Princeton at 9 this morning with an unofficial offer. Sounds like the unofficial decisions will be going out through the end of this week (not all today, so don't panic yet!) and then official results might take up to two weeks. Best of luck to everyone else!!! I am sobbing; I was literally up at 5 AM thinking about how bad I wanted this.

I'd say the funded MA is usually better, but you have to consider for yourself if you want to spend the extra year in school, living on a very small stipend. If you did the post-bac, you'd be getting your recommendations from your undergrad professors, the MA it should be from your grad ones--who do you think will have the most connections and the best letter? In most cases, getting the degree is better than not getting the degree, but you have to consider the schools themselves, the total funding/time, etc. Best of luck!

Hey all. I know I was literally the one who said a week ago that we won't hear from Princeton until March and not to worry until then. I am, however, worrying, lol, so if anyone does hear please let the rest of us know. Also, anyone have any thought/ tips on questions I should be asking as I meet with various profs/current students on Zoom/ recruitment days these next few weeks? I have no idea how I'm gonna decide, and would love a silver bullet if anyone knows one.

I can't say I know anything about that process, unfortunately! When I applied a few years ago, I heard nothing until I was rejected, but I don't know if that means they don't do interviews or I just didn't get one.

Princeton just got a new grad administrator start of February, and did interviews Feb 2 and Feb 9. They said no one will hear a peep until March, and not to worry before then. I greatly appreciate how direct they've been; if only that meant I didn't still check my portal, secretly hoping...

Looks from the results section that everyone is having a rough day, lol, so I'm just gonna drop this meme I just made for my students here, in case anyone else has a terrible sense of humor too.

I am in the ancient history subfield but the visit day is for everyone which is why I'm not sure. I see a lot of rejections went out this morning, but don't know about acceptances in other fields. Sorry y'all. If it makes anyone feel better, I got rejected there a couple years ago too. (I got rejected a lot of places my first 2 cycles, lol). Persistence is key, I guess.

The joint programs are definitely on their own timelines because I was accepted to the UMich history/Classics joint program back on 2/2.

I was accepted unofficially to UCLA History on 2/5 and officially on 2/9. It's never over until it's over, but since the RSVP deadline for the visit day was yesterday, I'm assuming most accepted candidates have heard. It could be a waitlist, though! Keep the faith and good luck!

On the topic of Yale, I'd love to find the common thread between those of us who didn't get accepted OR rejected last week. I know it's not subfield, since I've seen 3 different ones among those with nothing. Did others in this situation have interviews? Did anyone already rejected have an interview? Is it letter of the alphabet sort of thing? (I'm in the first half, what about others still waiting?) Do we all have brown hair? I know this is a futile quest and nothing is going to change the decision or when I'll get it, but this mystery is driving me nuts!

I don't know about DAGRS but AHMA decisions have been out for a few days. I suspect DAGRS should be soon if it hasn't happened yet because their visit days are supposed to be the same as AHMA. Best of luck!