Kashew_Nuts93

I haven’t heard anything either. My interview will be three weeks ago on Thursday (it was feb 3rd). Hopefully we still have a chance. What is your field? 

Ah great, Notre Dame does sound like a tight fit for Byzantium! I study early modern confessional education and similarly think ND would be the best fit for me. I also felt like my interview went well but with how competitive everything is this year it’s impossible to draw any conclusions. Fingers crossed still! 

Ah great, Notre Dame does sound like a tight fit for Byzantium! I study early modern confessional education and similarly think ND would be the best fit for me. I also felt like my interview went well but with how competitive everything is this year it’s impossible to draw any conclusions. Fingers crossed still! 

I study Byzantium. Notre Dame would be an awesome fit for that. Felt like my interview went well, but with the way things are going this year...
Wbu?

This is creepy. This site in general is terrible and feeds and profits from our terrible anxieties. Goodbye.

Yeah of course Kashew Nuts! I'm a modern Europeanist 

American history; both 19th and 20th C interests mentioned in statement.

Would the Columbia acceptances be willing to share what field they’re in? I know Columbia admits by field and just curious if I should just cross it off now. 

Would the Columbia acceptances be willing to share what field they’re in? I know Columbia admits by field and just curious if I should just cross it off now. 

Would the Columbia acceptances be willing to share what field they’re in? I know Columbia admits by field and just curious if I should just cross it off now. 

Would the Columbia acceptances be willing to share what field they’re in? I know Columbia admits by field and just curious if I should just cross it off now. 

No one in this thread is suggesting I'm "special" or giving me hope of a TT job here, nor am I asking them to. I've already addressed these strawmen and red herrings several times now, and I don't think it's worthwhile for me to continue this conversation. 
As for my good old boys comment, several of us have expressed frustration today because this forum has been mostly dominated (in often unhealthy ways) by those who have a Ph.D. and "already know" all of the advice. I suggest you listen to the women and people of color who've begun to express how they feel differently about this space. Most importantly, I'm very disturbed by the diversity comment posted today and the initial lack of reaction to it. This forum won't improve if criticism is met with gaslighting, strawmen, etc. I've read about your path to the Ph.D. on this forum, and although I still don't know the intricacies of your personal history beyond what you've already shared here, I know you're a white man with a Ph.D. from an ivy. Like all of us (myself included), you have certain privileges and blind spots. 
You frequently remind us all that we aren't "special," but that same truth should lead the more seasoned users to act with humility and grace when interacting with others. Moving forward, it seems like many of us who're truly using this platform as it's intended want things to change as far as attitudes and the focus/organization of this forum. We've all read and presumably benefitted from the statistics and experiences shared by the more established users that are meant to warn us, so perhaps starting to share them more on the appropriate threads or websites would be a good first step. There needs to be healthier outlets for those of us who rightly feel burned, bitter, and disappointed due to the state of the academy to work through through issues. As I noted earlier, I'm stepping away from this discussion for now. I hope to see this forum becomes a more positive, balanced, and equitable space

To out myself, I am one of the people that is impacted by the race/diversity comment. I literally had a professor get a tap on the hand and quietly sat out for allowing a bunch of racist shit to happen in a grad seminar for AA history... and he's a professor/scholar of AA history... as a cishet white male. I literally heard that someone said a slur in a grad seminar last night for no reason. Too many institutions have not enough diversity as part of their faculty, and if they do, it's at the expense of people lost in the intersections. As a black femme, I want to see faculty representation reflect the students that they are serving. Especially in light of everything going on right now in the academy.
However, to be quite frank, I think everyone just needs to take a break from this thread for a day... unless you're asking about notifications/application stuff. Message people if you have questions about anything specific that was posted, but it just feels like there's a lot of hostility, and I ... don't come on here for that. I come on here to be surrounded by other anxious people that just want answers about what their trajectory looks like for the future. This isn't to negate advice, demean anyone, however, it is to acknowledge that I think we all just need a break right now. However, I will also echo sentiments that there is a post here that felt really demeaning and reeked of privilege.  
You can't expect for others to give you grace if you are being a butt and giving snarky advice to people who didn't even ask for it. 

Funny memes, but those of us who voiced concern weren’t doing so based on a false, naive view of the academy or our trajectories within it. As a longtime lurker, I've seen a lot of patronizing attitudes and what appears to be personal bitterness hidden under the guise of concern. We’ve done our research, accepted the risk, and understand the financial consequences since that seems to be what the forum is most concerned about right now. Still, we've chosen to apply in spite of the academy's dire state (as I’m assuming you also did before choosing to get your Ph.D.). Everyone has a different financial situation and doing a PhD is going to mean different things for different people of different backgrounds. If you're from the upper middle class in Boston where PhDs are a dime a dozen, getting one feels different than if you're from the Imperial Valley of California. Doing one has different financial costs for students with debt/no debt, students at schools with stipends that match the area's cost of living vs low stipend schools, and students in growing fields (i.e., African American history) vs shrinking fields (i.e., medieval history), etc.
Again, this is a website primarily for those currently navigating the application process. Especially as a woman, I don't need another space in academia where a man centers himself when it isn't about him and uses his experience, Ph.D., etc. as an excuse to be dismissive and patronizing. That might sound harsh or like I'm pulling "the woman card," but I'm being 100% genuine when I say that. 

I agree! Most of us are here to navigate grad admissions, so the balance has felt a little off on this forum. While advice from those who have already been admitted and/or completed grad school is, of course, needed, we don’t need to feel any more stressed or demoralized during the application process. Most of us (myself included) don’t need an extra reminder that we aren’t special or the exception as a lot of the schools we applied for are already letting us know that lol 
As others have noted, we’re adults who’ve done our research. We’ve heard the anecdotal warnings (there’s already been plenty provided on this forum), seen the dire statistics, and have decided to apply anyways for a variety of reasons. The vast majority of users I’ve seen seem realistic and aware of the risks and likely outcomes of getting a Ph.D. I appreciate feeling the need to inform others about the exploitative nature of the academy, but these warnings occasionally have patronizing tones and are often extraneous and/or repetitive. 

I didn't see this! I definitely wanted to post something similar, but didn't feel it was my place. 
Expanding on this though -- I definitely get that the future after a PhD is not that bright. I still want a PhD in spite of that. I'm a first gen low ses college kid, where neither of my parents earned degrees after HS. Yes, I want to have a PhD to be a producer and disseminator of knowledge, to learn and read old documents and spark conversations. I want it for the reasons that most of us want it. However, at the end of the day -- I want it for me. 
We're all too stressed over notifications to deal with the doomsday stuff as well. If someone applied for a PhD without accepting that a TT job/academic job may not be their reality in the future, that's an individual thing. I spent the first semester... year... all of my MA hearing about how bad the job market is and all that. Just let people be happy. 

Okay, so I understand the realities associated with obtaining a history PhD and how it's grueling work for the duration of the program, and then basically impossible to obtain a tenure-track position once you're out. But I do wonder why we constantly talk about how getting a PhD in history is a "bad idea" and the "wrong choice." I can't speak on behalf of other people, but I feel as though we get enough of that from our family and friends.
I just don't understand why forums about getting a PhD in history need to be similarly discouraging. We are all here because we applied to PhD programs and hope to get in. We have already made the decision that it is right for us. Why do we need to be bombarded by kind internet strangers that are concerned for our well-being and decision-making abilities? We are all adults. We have read the statistics and are very much aware of what awaits us. Why can't this be a place where we celebrate each other for wanting to pursue something that we are truly, deeply passionate about?

Good luck to everyone this week in what will likely be a big decision week! At the end of the day, the judgment is not about your worth as a scholar but more about the “fit” within the department. Nevertheless, best of luck!

Just received acceptance to Vanderbilt. I'm in disbelief 

For Columbia, as far as I could work out, in the past acceptances were sent out on every first Tuesday of February, if you go back through the years available on the results page you’ll find this to be the case in how they’re reported. This year nobody reported any on Tuesday but somebody else said that they are running behind their usual schedule so I wonder when we could expect to hear back. 
 
Sorry for some reason I can’t include quoted text @TheGradCocaCola

For Columbia, as far as I could work out, in the past acceptances were sent out on every first Tuesday of February, if you go back through the years available on the results page you’ll find this to be the case in how they’re reported. This year nobody reported any on Tuesday but somebody else said that they are running behind their usual schedule so I wonder when we could expect to hear back. 
 
Sorry for some reason I can’t include quoted text @TheGradCocaCola

For Columbia, as far as I could work out, in the past acceptances were sent out on every first Tuesday of February, if you go back through the years available on the results page you’ll find this to be the case in how they’re reported. This year nobody reported any on Tuesday but somebody else said that they are running behind their usual schedule so I wonder when we could expect to hear back. 
 
Sorry for some reason I can’t include quoted text @TheGradCocaCola

Modern British/International! 

@Mile6, I'm a Berkeley admit, but nope, haven't heard anything. I zoomed with a current student yesterday who said the base stipend now is around 34k. (Wasn't always that much, however...) Anyway, I think the department's just slow in getting the funding package info sent out. I'm also planning on flying out there to visit, hopefully soon, to expedite the decision making process. 

@Kashew_Nuts93, if you're applying in early modern for Notre Dame, I'm happy to talk. I was an early modernist in the History PhD program there for a few years.