Safferz

I can't speak to Asian American studies, but I'm also interested in race, gender and critical theory and decided against applying to interdisciplinary programs. My thinking at the time was that many of the professors who teach in area studies and cultural studies programs are often trained in a 'traditional' discipline (with PhDs from History, Anthropology and Sociology programs), and that being in a history department does not prevent you from doing interdisciplinary work. But you also don't want to end up at a program with only one person there for you, and you're right to consider the intellectual environment of professors and fellow graduate students. So weigh your options carefully -- I know when I (hopefully!) have offers to consider, I'll be looking just as closely at the African Studies and Women & Gender Studies departments when deciding which history department to accept.

It's a mix of dread and excitement for me. I expect to hear back from quite a few schools this week, and while I'm optimistic, I know I won't get in everywhere. I just hope I don't start off with a string of rejections after Northwestern

Congrats!!!

Right?? I'm genuinely happy and excited for all of you whenever I hear about an acceptance! We've been in it together for months now

Congrats to telemaque and everyone who has received good news over the last few days!

It's just so easy to read a rejection as a statement on your strength as a candidate and feel defeated, when it's really more complicated than that. And it's certainly not an indication of how your application is received at other schools, which I think my example shows. Staying optimistic is the way to go! That said, I'll be stopping by Tim Hortons in a few moments to get myself a consolation honey cruller and a white hot chocolate with whipped cream Congrats to your partner, Ganymede18! I know quite a few of us applied to Northwestern, so hoping more people have positive news to share too.

Per year.

Well, I'm not disappointed about Northwestern but it goes to show how much of a crapshoot this whole process is. I thought I had a pretty good research fit with the professors there, and I didn't get in. But the school I almost didn't apply to, Yale, liked me enough to offer me an interview (the convo with my POI and news of a recent hire since changed my mind about my initial concerns about fit). You just try your best to submit the strongest application possible, and hope that what you have to offer matches the department/subfield's needs for that particular application season. If it doesn't work out, there's a new application season just months away with an entirely different applicant pool, so you try again. Hoping for better news next week

Rejected from Northwestern as well

Congrats to the new Berkeley admit on the results survey!

Congrats CPetersen!!

Aww sorry to hear that SapperDaddy! How did you find out?

Berkeley is on the results board!!

Congrats goldielocks!!

Wow, I haven't really checked in for the last two days and I feel like I've missed so much! Congrats to everyone who has received good news so early into the month. I'm really interested to see how things unfold next week... I suspect I'll hear from many of my schools on or around the 10th.

A lot of schools say they'll let you know in March, but actually notify most applicants in February. I think UCLA decisions went out in the third week of February last year, and there's already one acceptance on the results survey for this year.

Postwar is actually a required reading for one of my courses! Just finished reading Kwame Appiah's In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture, and about to start Gaurav Desai's Subject to Colonialism: African Self-Fashioning and the Colonial Library.

When I got the email last week, I was told by my POI that they're on a strict timetable and he had to have the interview done by the end of the week. My sense was that the subcommittees had to be done reviewing applications last week, before passing the file on to the two (or three?) committees left for applications to go through before final decisions. I'm guessing the new Yale result is someone who had an interview last week or this weekend, and only got around to sharing it now (I could be wrong!).

Aww! And isn't it great having a place full of people who get it? I'm the only one I know applying to grad school right now, so this forum has been a godsend. But I've been warned that it can also make the anxiety worse, especially once people start getting into programs you've applied to. As for brutalist architecture, I've spent the last four years studying in a building far worse -- a giant concrete turkey. And some of you applied there

Can you believe it? It only became real to me when I had to buy my February metro pass earlier today. This is the month I've been thinking about since I first started working on my applications in August, and it's almost here! SO excited.

Congrats to taybaxter and diplodocus! Has anyone claimed the UCLA acceptance yet?

We're so close

Perhaps Oseirus can give better suggestions since he's interested in precolonial Africa, but my favourite overview is a tiny little book from Oxford University Press called "African History: A Very Short Introduction." John Iliffe's "Africans: The History of a Continent" is best if you're looking for something more detailed.

Funny, I was just telling someone I'd like to wake up in March G'night! I actually don't have a first choice right now, but there are a few that I'd prefer to go to over others. I'm also trying my best not to get attached to any one particular school so I'm not disappointed later, and I plan to weigh my options and decide once I (hopefully) have some offers to consider. I spoke to Glassman by email briefly to see if he was taking on new students in the fall.

Fainted?! Poor kid Great schools btw, I'm guessing your first choice is NU? Really in line with your interests, from what I can see!