futurePhD

Take this for what it's worth, but according to the US News Rankings, Penn State is tied at #51 with about seven or eight other programs. What do you want to study, and with whom do you want to study are probably more important questions to ask regarding Penn State (and any other program). Penn State has tons of faculty for 19th Century US/Civil War era. If thats what you want to study, then its probably a good place to apply. For ancient history, however, I really haven't the slightest idea as to their reputation. Even though they rejected me, I think it seems like a pretty strong program, certainly not worthy of the sub 100 ranking you referred to.

Update for anyone waiting on Penn State: I emailed the DGS this morning regarding my application status. I was told that the evaluation process is complete and that I have been rejected. I will say,however, that the rejection email was the most considerate one that I have received.

I am still waiting to hear from 2 schools, and I haven't seen any evidence that either has started notifying applicants. I pray that this doesn't go on until the amen hour, but I have a feeling that I will not know for sure where I am going until very close to April 15th.

Regardless of the state of the economy, under no circumstances should you be willing to go into any amount of debt to get a Ph.D. in history. The job market for History has been horrendous even when the economy has been relatively strong. Even if you are able to find a decent job, how are you going to pay off debt with your meager salary from a job in academia? Going after your dream is fine (I'm doing the same thing), but realize that accepting any debt to continue your education in the humanities would be a colossal mistake.

I Was out of town for a few days and had a rejection letter waiting for me when I returned. If I didn't already have a nice offer on the table this would hurt more, but its still disappointing.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, especially all of the information on housing. My field is history, if that helps you at all. One other question I have: How far is the Gainesville Airport to campus? Are there regular buses that run from the airport to the University (and vice-versa) or will I have to take a taxi?

I live in NC and went to the mailbox with terror this evening after seeing that result. It snowed on Sunday night, so my rejection letter is probably just stuck somewhere in the middle of the state.

I'd like to get some more feedback about Gainesville. I have been accepted at UF with a very nice funding package and will be visiting in a couple of weeks. Is there anything in particular that I should do while I'm there to get a feel for the town? Also, I might look around at some apartment complexes while I'm in the area. Any suggestions on where to look for a one bedroom place close to campus but reasonably quiet? Thanks in advance...

I didn't make the most recent post, but I got a phone call from the DGS on Tuesday night about my acceptance to Florida. I'm unsure if they have made all decisions.... I would guess probably not.

Interesting that someone just posted an acceptance to UNC on the results page. I wonder if they have made most decisions, or if this is just an exception.

Since you've been great about sharing information with all of us, I'll bite. If you are looking for news that will brighten your day however, its probably best you ignore the rest of this message. I applied to Chapel Hill for US History, and for a number of reasons, I feel less than optimistic. The State of North Carolina is currently dealing with a massive budget crisis, worse than most states. Rumors are that the budget for the entire UNC system will be cut by as much as 7 % next year. Almost certainly, graduate stipends are going to take a considerable hit. Secondly, I corresponded with someone in the department in the fall and was told that due to an unusually high acceptance rate last year, there would be less slots than usual for Fall 2009. This was before the Economy took a nose dive in September. I don't mean to be a downer, but you seem like someone who likes to know all the facts. That being said, Chapel Hill is an awesome town, and NC is a beautiful state. The history department is top notch as well. In many ways its my top choice, but I feel like I'm playing blackjack in Vegas against a stacked deck. Hopefully both of us can beat the odds......I can't believe we will have to wait until late March.

UVA has sent out rejections. My application status on the website says "DENY" in big bold letters. Maybe I'm just delirious because I'm 0-3, but I found it mildly amusing.

I'm in the same boat. My field is US and mine still says pending. I'm not sure whether this is good or bad news for us.......

Does anyone have any information on the University of Virginia or Emory? I've seen a couple of acceptances for UVA, and I saw that a few people were invited to some sort of accepted students weekend at Emory, but I've received no communication from either school.

We definitely spoke to a different person then. Nevertheless, it seems like it will be a long wait for Penn State. In the meantime, I hope you continue to dig around for information so we are not all completely in the dark!

First off thanks for all the info. Are you sure that you contacted the right person at Penn State? Did you mean you spoke with the graduate secretary? When I contacted the director of graduate studies at Penn State early in the process (A different person), she was cordial and extraordinarily helpful.

I'm not sure what to think. My school, and all public universities in my state, are running on a normal schedule. I have no idea if this is the case elsewhere...

I'm in the exact same situation, so I feel for you. I have no acceptances and a good portion of the schools left I applied to are "ranked" slightly better than UIUC. With this crazy numbers game who knows how it is going to work out. Strangely, after the rejection from Illinois my expectations have really been lowered and I feel less stressed out than I have in weeks.

Also out at Illinois. It was one of my top choices, so this one really hurts. 0-2 now......

Don't worry, I'm in the exact same boat, except I've actually had one rejection. Time to take a sleeping pill and pray for good news tomorrow!

Today seemed like a bad day overall for people on the site..... tons of rejections and only a few acceptances posted. The rest of the week has to be better...

Much appreciated. At least I'm not the only one... it appears rejections were sent out en masse. Who wants to live in New Haven anyway? In all seriousness however, congrats to anyone accepted at Yale.

Carolina seems to have always been a litter slower in notifying people, but I think this year their decisions are going to be especially difficult. As you may know, there is a massive budget crisis in North Carolina, and its likely that graduate school funding will take a hit. Its quite possible that they still don't know how many offers they will be able to make.... I'd be surprised if we hear anything in February. Moreover, and you can take this for what its worth, but I was also told by someone in the department that they had an unusually high acceptance rate last year, thus leaving fewer spots open for Fall 2009. Putting all of these factors together leaves me less than optimistic about my chances for UNC.

Is it safe to say that your less likely to receive notification on a Saturday or Sunday (at least by email or phone)? I'd really like to get some work done without checking this site or my email every 10 minutes.

Props for the good information. However, hearing that people are being notified by a program I applied to has increased my anxiety to the 10th power. As we speak, the historians at Yale are probably making a nice bonfire with the remnants of my application.