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IronDuke

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Everything posted by IronDuke

  1. I'll be going in the fall for a History PhD. (concentration: British Empire and South Asia). Definitely made my choice with location in mind!
  2. I will be attending Harvard for a PhD. in History (concentration: British Empire and South Asia).
  3. I think if you've started the PhD. you might as well finish it...but you have to think seriously about how much additional income you will be able to earn with this degree versus your old job. In your field it might make a huge difference, or it might not. As far as the living situation goes, Ann Arbor is great and so much better than Irvine. Orange County is the place where culture goes to die. You'll have a great time at Michigan, I'm sure.
  4. I turned down Cornell and felt fucking miserable about it. Hopefully I will make someone on the waitlist happy.
  5. After a long, agonizing process I've decided to attend Harvard studying British Empire and South Asia. I've sent in my forms and turned down the other offer, so it's official.
  6. The best book to come out in British history in the last decade is, in my view, Priya Satia's Spies in Arabia, about intelligence gathering during World War I. The sections on air power in Iraq are extremely relevant for today's situation. That having been said, it's a long (400 pages) and complicated book, so if you want popular history there's tons of choices on your average Barnes & Noble bookshelf.
  7. Ok so I have struggled with this for over a month and I want to make my decision by Friday to put myself out of my misery. Here is the scenario: #1) Harvard, where I'm in a sub-field that I don't want to be in, and the proverbial "fit" (methodologically and politically) isn't quite there. I would have to work alone with minimal supervision to produce a top-notch dissertation. For many of you that would clinch it, and you would advise me not to go. However, the school has the following advantages: whereas there is no one professor with whom I mesh completely, there are many (about 5-6) whose interests are related to mine. I would be working in a highly competitive, inter-disciplinary environment that would push me beyond my undergrad focus. It could also potentially open up new possibilities for jobs. The funding is great, beyond a full package I have the opportunity to receive many grants from different centres. The library resources are some of the best in the country. And, though I would not be in the same field as them, there are at least 10 or so brilliant fellow grad students working on similar topics. Plus, living in an urban area is extremely important for me on a personal level (I am coming from the SF Bay Area). #2) Cornell, where there are two professors whose interests match exactly with mine, and I am in the field that I want. I could potentially get a job in this specific field with more ease than at Harvard. In writing my dissertation I would benefit from expert and friendly advice. However, beyond these two faculty members there is practically no one else whose work is in my general area of focus. The library and resources are good, and the funding is comparable. There are no other grad students doing similar work. I absolutely don't want to live in Ithaca (I'm from upstate New York, and I am not complaining about the weather - merely the size & scope of the town). Give it a shot and tell me what you think.
  8. Never mind...I got rejected via impersonal e-mail this morning. I must have really pissed them off at the prospective weekend.
  9. Well, I'm waiting for NYU as well...I have no idea when they will notify, or if they've already taken someone for South Asia (I assume they don't have many applicants since it's a brand new field, so this long wait is a bit strange). At Harvard I actually applied under British history with an imperial focus, but I was told I could work closely or even within South Asia. So I can't exactly tell you when or how they notify people who applied under South Asia. You asked to work with Bose, right? My own interests are social/cultural (early 19th century Hindi popular press, social reform movements) and also economic (from the agrarian/environmental angle), but all mainly North India and all focused on the early period of British colonisation.
  10. I don't know about US history but in the case of my field (I applied under Modern Britain for Stanford) I was told that they took zero applicants...which means there is no chance I will get in unless some magical decision happens. I am taking my name off the waitlist. For other fields the situation might be different, and you should probably just wait. I would contact the professor you're in touch with and ask them honestly what the list is like and if you have a shot.
  11. Rejected from Columbia (via link to website) and I don't care...three years ago I never would have been caught dead saying something like that. But times have changed, and there are better places for me. My field is South Asia btw, for anyone else waiting.
  12. So I'm confused...based on my visit day experience I was expecting an offer, and on the results page I saw that several people have already been notified. Post here: 1) What your status is (accepted, still waiting, rejected) 2) How/when you were notified 3) If you have any inside info or scoop on the process Also mention your field. Just for the record, I'm not desperate, it's just that I have offers from elsewhere and I need to start thinking seriously about decisions.
  13. I was in the same situation, I took the call and I'm glad I did. I'm considering the second program now and was very pleased with what I heard. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you at least didn't hear them out.
  14. OK a couple of responses to what I believe are a set of comments directed at me. 1) I clearly do not intend to be either "supportive" or "unsupportive" in responding to your post. I gave my 100% honest opinion about your situation...which is frankly what you would want to hear on an Internet forum. Your parents and friends have a duty to tell you nice things along with the bad. Anonymous people do not have such a social obligation, so you might hear some harsh or unpleasant things. 2) As far as a standard for "preparedness," it is subjective and probably not a very useful way to look at it. But of course I'm entitled to my opinion based on inference from your post. Since (again) I don't know you personally or your life history, this is all I have to go on. Furthermore, I don't like saying that there is such a standard but it's true. Academia, I'm realizing myself as I go through this process, is a very narrow, restrictive, competitive, and often unsatisfying career path. The very VERY small number of people who are successful in it show an intense and often single-minded dedication to it (for better or worse). The only thing I questioned in your post was why you would even apply to Chicago if you knew you wouldn't want to move out of your area for personal reasons. It's good to consider all possibilities beforehand in order to avoid being surprised. 3) I will re-phrase the last part of my post so as to not come across so mean. I believe you should do precisely what you want and what makes you happy. You don't have to go to Chicago to be successful in life. You can be a lawyer, journalist, garbage man, travel agent, zookeeper, artist, sports player, taxi driver, whatever. Being a professor isn't above or below these things. BUT you have to know for sure (this is point #2 above). In my opinion, turning down a good offer is something you are likely to regret because it doesn't sound like you have an equally good plan instead. If you find something you love more and you are completely sure that it will make you happier, then go do it (and yes, a side effect of that will be that someone on the waitlist will also be happier -- just stating a fact!). Just remember that "exploring" and dreaming is risky, especially in a time of recession and ever-closing prospects for everyone of working age in the US. Hope this clarifies my thoughts a bit, and good luck.
  15. Here's the thing: turning down a higher ranked grad program for a lower ranked school that's a better fit isn't a problem, and I might do that myself. But what you are doing is of a totally different order. When I applied to schools I expected that any one in which I would be accepted would be an option. It's totally unreasonable to apply if you have no intention of going someplace. In your case, if you've only been accepted to one (and what a great one it is!) it's completely baffling to me why you would even question yourself at this point. This indicates that you really weren't serious about your application process so it pretty much doesn't matter what you do -- if you're this uncertain about Chicago grad school then maybe academia isn't for you. Move along and make someone on the waitlist very, very happy.
  16. smo2102, are you going to Berkeley for South Asia? I'm an undergrad here in South Asia and have applied to a bunch of programs, Chicago and Columbia included but not Berkeley.
  17. I got in and am debating whether or not it is a good "fit." I have no other offers yet so I'm still very excited. What is your field?
  18. I've been accepted to a higher-ranked program than NYU so I'm uncertain as to what kind of attitude I should go with...I'm going to try very hard to seem interested but even if I got an offer I don't know if I would take it. Plus, what if I end up really liking NYU and then being faced with a difficult choice? Hmm.
  19. No, I am not. I wanted to see which applicants had been notified because I am on pins and needles...my field is Britain.
  20. WHO ARE THE HARVARD PEOPLE AND WHAT ARE YOUR FIELDS?
  21. As an undergrad at Berkeley, I can offer you the following two facts about the Rhetoric Department: 1) It is a major that attracts ambitious and intelligent undergraduates interested in going to law school. The others do Political Science. 2) I have no idea who the grad students are, but my best guess would be a variety of insufferably smart prigs with the hots for Judith Butler.
  22. I'm the person on the waitlist...a professor contacted me by e-mail to let me know last week. It was a very nice, personal and sincere e-mail, but it's pretty clear that I am NOT geting in. I suspect I will hear a more definite rejection soon. It certainly does sound like they've made their deliberations.
  23. I am not an "Americanist," nor do I ever wish to be. However, the Hartford Convention has always fascinated me. I feel like someone should write an Eric Foner-like, anti-slavery "the men of Hartford were abolitionist heroes" kind of paper at some point.
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