veilside

Her official title is "student affairs--graduate" via the website. She was the person that the secretary transferred me to. Like I said in my reply to misterpat, she was already in a bad mood when I called. She very well may be very nice, but she surely wasn't when I called.

Misterpat, I don't know, I mean if 1 out of 6 secretaries get upset and are rude, well I can live with that. Besides, the people that you talk to are not those who make decisions about you nor will they really matter to you once your there. Of the five other programs that I contacted they were very friendly and eager to share information, so frankly, if Penn State's secretary is going to be rude, let her, I'm going to find out what I can when I can, and urge others to do the same.... Certainly you shouldn't call constantly, and don't ask if you are accepted... Simply ask if the process is finished, how many applicants there are, and how many in your sub-field, and how many were accepted. This is part of their job. Gathering statistical information is not, nor should be considered unprofessional on a prospective's part... We're all history students, and finding/using valuable information makes it possible to understand. Knowing a little more about the environment that we're in makes things... well not OK, but maybe a little better. btw... She sounded very irritated and short as soon as she answered the phone to begin with, so no matter what I called about she would have been so...

Harvard: The number (500) is for all fields. They have notified first round rejections for all fields. The rejections were sent about 7-10 days ago, not sure how, but probably postal. So, if you have heard nothing you're still in the running... although if there is no contact from a prof. for an interview, most likely your not a "shoe-in" yet, but hey, I'm glad just to know that even if Harvard rejects me, at least they felt confidant enough to keep me around a little longer in the pile of apps! I think that it is safe to say that by now all first round rejections have been delivered. Also, there is no harm in contacting the graduate coordinator for the history Dept. at any school that you want stat info on.... if anything it will make you feel a little better to know something.

I am a prospective PhD student like the rest of you, and also, like the rest of you am getting very, very restless... So I have at least attempted to find out something. I have called some programs that I have applied to and found out the following information..... Bear in mind that I am going for Ancient History, so, some of these are for the Classics dept. others for the History dept.... they are clearly marked as to which dept. they refer to......hope this helps somewhat. UChicago (History): They received 431 applicants for history, 12 in the ancient field. They have made all their decisions and letters will be sent out sometime next week. They said that due to the economy they admitted far fewer than normal applicants and that they even are doing waitlisting this year, they said that they normally do not waitlist. Harvard (History): Received over 500 applications for history, 20 in the ancient field. Still looking at applications as of Feb. 13th. Upon a phone call to the graduate director, they are still reviewing applications BUT... rejections have already gone out. Well, the first wave anyways. If you have heard nothing from Harvard as of Feb. 17, then you at least made it to round two!! I'll keep my fingers crossed. Princeton (Classics): They received over 120 applications, and will offer admission to about 8-12. They, as of Feb 13th, have finished their process, and notifications will go out first week of March. Penn State (History): Jenn Gilbert, the graduate director is very rude there, so no information. And if history repeats itself then people will find out from Penn State as late as April 20th. Unfortunately this is my safety school and I will most likely here from them last. UNC-Chapel Hill (History): Very friendly staff there by the way. The department received 436 applications, 11 in the field of ancient. They will be able to offer admission to 2, maybe 3 in the field of ancient. Again, as in the case of UChicago, they will be doing waitlisting this year due to the poor economy. They, as of Feb. 13th, are still reviewing applications, and final decisions are not due from the department to the graduate school until March 15. So... this is probably a late notifying school. Expect to hear in the last weeks of March. UPenn (Classics-PAW): Decisions available online. I was rejected.

For the two who have heard from Chicago, What is your field/who was the prof. that e-mailed you??? I called chicago on Friday the 13th and was told this: All decisions are made. They are doing a good deal of wait-listing. 431 applicants this year. They normally make offers to 60 or so, this year far less. There were 11 ancient field applicants. I am an acient history applicant, and being such a small field (of their 350+ current grad. students, 3 are ancient) there is surely a limited number of seats, and if the two already notified.... well... time to make my record 0-2 Please, if you mention on the results page or here about an acceptance via e-mail, say your field/prof. Thanks.

Semper ubi... First of all congrats on all the positive news for you! This is my first time around applying to grad programs, and am unsure about something. You mentioned that you applied to the Classics Dept. at Princeton, as have I (PAW for Ancient History), and were contacted for an interview.... If one has not been contacted, does this mean that they do not stand a chance? Or is an interview more for those that they just want to find out more about since they may not be a good fit, yet are very strong? I mean, obviously if they want to interview you, it is good, but does any grad school not contacting you mean that you going to be told no? Thanks.

I've applied to a variety of departments since I am ancient history, so some classics departments and some history departments and this is what I have found out from placing some calls: UChicago (History): They received 431 applicants for history, 12 in the ancient field. They have made all their decisions and letters will be sent out sometime next week. They said that due to the economy they admitted far fewer than normal applicants and that they even are doing waitlisting this year, they said that they normally do not waitlist. Harvard (History): Received over 500 applications for history, 20 in the ancient field. Still looking at applications as of Feb. 13th. IUpon a phone call to the graduate director, they are still reviewing applications BUT... rejections have alreadu gone out. Well, the first wave anyways. If you have heard noting from Harvard as of Feb. 17, then you at least made it to round two!! I'll keep my fingers crossed. Princeton (Classics): They received over 120 applications, and will offer admission to about 8-12. They, as of Feb 13th, have finished their process, and notifications will go out first week of March. Penn State (History): Jenn Gilbert, the graduate director is very rude there, so no information. And if history repeats itself then people will find out from Penn State as late as April 20th. Unfortunately this is my safety school and I will most likely here from them last. UNC-Chapel Hill (History): Very friendly staff there by the way. The department received 436 applications, 11 in the field of ancient. They will be able to offer admission to 2, maybe 3 in the field of ancient. Again, as in the case of UChicago, they will be doing waitlisting this year due to the poor economy. They, as of Feb. 13th, are still reviewing applications, and final decisions are not due from the department to the graduate school until March 15. So... this is probably a late notifying school. Expect to hear in the last weeks of March. UPenn (Classics-PAW): Decisions available online. I was rejected.

Well, I think that you would appear to be at the top of the list at a good number of those schools. The only real deciding factor is going to be their direct interest in you. I have spoken to numerous faculty at numerous ivies, and par-ivies and they all said essentially the same thing: No matter how great an applicant is on paper, if they do not fit the dept. they are discarded. For example, let's say you wish to study classical history. Look at Cornell. There are two ancient historians there, Eric Rebillard and Barry Strauss. Eric is the Roman historian, and Barry the Greek. First, Barry rarely, if ever, takes in grad students as he prefers to teach UG courses. Eric is interested in the late Roman Empire. So, if you have a stellar applicant (like yourself) who wishes to focus in on the Punic Wars, they'll likely reject you due to no compatabilty. Likewise, if you have a solid, and somewhat-stellar applicant (3.6 GPA, 600's for GRE, etc...) who wishes to study the role of Christianity in the late Roman Empire he would stand a good chance. I would say that as long as there is a good match with a prof. somewhere for you, you are as good as in with a record like that. Congrats too by the way for such an impressive record. Good luck as well, although you don't need it

Hello, I am applying for a PhD in Ancient History, and am quite limited by what schools offer this degree. They tend to be located in either their "classics" dept. or "history" dept. and unfortunately there are very few to choose from...Basically it is the top of the top that tend to have this specialization for whatever reason. I am concerned because my GRE's are quite low... What do you think of my chances to the following programs of Ancient History are: Harvard--- Classics Harvard--- History Princeton--- Classics UPenn---Joint Prog. UChicago--- History UNC-CH--- History Penn State---History Stanford---Classics with these stats: Cumm. GPA: 3.55 Major GPA: 3.71 GRE: Verbal: 530 (68%) Quant: 610 (51%) Analyt: 5.5 (90%) Language Exp: Latin: 10 semesters Greek: 5 semesters German: 1 semester French: 2 semesters, plus 2.5 yrs High School I also have extremely strong LOR's, and a very well received writing sample. My current school is a middle of the road institution, SUNY-Albany. I will have a BA with a dual major in History and Classics. Thanks.

Yeah, my languages are fairly strong: Latin: 10 semesters Greek: 5 Semesters German: 1 semester French: 2 semesters, plus 2.5 years in High School This is one aspect that might keep me in the running, so to speak, for a while longer. I would be very shocked if I get any positive replies from the Ivies... As far Stanford goes, one of my Reccs is an alumnus there, and tends to believe that by him placing phone call for me will help me out some. UNC-CH invited me to go down to campus and meet with all the ancient profs, even after knowing my GRE scores, and all seemed well with that, but, Princeton is still my top choice and I fear that I'll be knocked out of the running before the race. I have contacted some of the profs at Princeton (Champlin, Shaw) and feel that I made a good impression, but the bottom line is that my GPA is not a 3.9, and my GRE's are not in the 1400's, and I do not have published articles and such....

Hello, I am quite limited by what schools in their "classics" dept. or "history" dept. offer a PhD in Ancient History, so unfortunately there are very few to choose from...Basically it is the top of the top that tend to have this specialization for whatever reason. I am concerned because my GRE's are quite low... What do you think of my chances to the following programs of Ancient History are: Harvard--- Classics Harvard--- History Princeton--- Classics UPenn---Joint Prog. UChicago--- History UNC-CH--- History WUSTL---History Stanford---Classics with these stats: Cumm. GPA: 3.55 Major GPA: 3.71 GRE: Verbal: 530 (68%) Quant: 610 (51%) Analyt: 5.5 (90%) I also have extremely strong LOR's, and a very well received writing sample. My current school is SUNY-Albany. Dual Major in History and Classics Thank you.

Hello, I am quite limited by what schools in their "classics" dept. or "history" dept. offer a PhD in Ancient History, so unfortunately there are very few to choose from...Basically it is the top of the top that tend to have this specialization for whatever reason. I am concerned because my GRE's are quite low... What do you think of my chances to the following programs of Ancient History are: Harvard--- Classics Harvard--- History Princeton--- Classics UPenn---Joint Prog. UChicago--- History UNC-CH--- History Penn State---History Stanford---Classics with these stats: Cumm. GPA: 3.55 Major GPA: 3.71 GRE: Verbal: 530 (68%) Quant: 610 (51%) Analyt: 5.5 (90%) I also have extremely strong LOR's, and a very well received writing sample. My current school is SUNY-Albany. Dual Major in History and Classics Thank you.