superfluousflo

Several years ago, I applied to a school without contacting anyone. Then, after getting rejected, I contacted the prof with whom I would have naturally worked. In her response, among other things, she noted that having not contacted her kept me from realizing that she would be on leave and thus not taking students. She indicated that her presence on campus would have aided my application but since she was away, my application was adrift. This taught me to contact people before hand. But, only to make sure they were taking students and interested in the broad strokes of my research topic.

Conventional Wisdom has it that communicating with POIs between application submission and decision isn't necessary or, potentially, even desirable. That is, unless your POI has invited you to continue the correspondence during that period, or contacts you first.

(first of all, apologies for liberal excerpting of Strangelight's post.) A couple of thoughts: I got a rejection email on March 8, about two weeks after the acceptances were sent out. Thanks to having made contacts over PSW and knowing about acceptances and a few extenuating circumstances, the wait was a huge nuisance but, in my experience, on par with other institutions. Regarding their willingness to tell you decisions before official emails, Strangelight is spot on. I had very open communication with my POI, but once I didn't recieve an acceptance, I was told to wait. And, to the last point: That's the reason I'm reapplying.

did you find it beneficial?

This is interesting. I didn't get a call from Cambridge. Did you have an email correspondence too?

When I went to the PSW at NYU last year, no one had been accepted. I think it is more common that people are only accepted after this weekend (or, in some cases, at this weekend). And, as has been repeated for years on this forum: if you aren't invited to the PSW, that doesn't mean you won't get in and vice versa.

After my little phone conversation, I'm a bit too rattled to say where I might be admitted. It must be said that my conversation was lovely, 100%, but still: Heart pounds.

I'm happy you like it. Do you have similar interests?

Dukelover50, I am interested in mid-20th century South Asia and Indian migration to England...

Well, the Emory interview is mine. I don't suppose the word interview was said but he does want to talk about my application.

I feel very much the same about my experience at NYU last year. It hasn't kept me from reapplying.

So, from my reading of the last few pages, who is freaking out? A lot of stuff about pets, and interviews, but I don't see much that would constitute being told to calm the eff down.

I'd like to add that NYU has a prospective students weekend. It's not exactly an interview but, since it's prior to decisions, you'd need to be on your game.

It just doesn't strike me as pertinent to the original intent of this thread. Not that I'm trying to police how people use the forum.

Thanks for the reminder.

So, I was rejected from Oxford, but Duke's basketball loss certainly dulls the sting.

the trick to beating this waiting game would appear to be getting nominated for one of these fancy internal fellowships.

So, I started a different thread on this topic, which was mentioned above. Holdon, can you explain what you mean by the second sentence above? I can't find any reliable information on this.

Hey Lustforlife: The Cambridge school as such is defunct. Cambridge has moved a bit away from Imperial apologists. Not only that, but also the Subaltern Collective has come under considerable theoretical fire in the American, British, and Indian academy over the last 5 years if not longer. But, your point about looking for placements and looking at current faculties is a good one. I've found that Oxbridge seems to have as many profs at a lot of these schools as a Princeton or Yale, though it is difficult to find the young faculty members. Recent placement lists from Cambridge History have been more difficult to find.

Yeah yeah, I have a duplicate submission from a recommender too. Not sure what's up with that.

This is a silly question, since I applied to a different department at Emory, but when was your application due? I'm curious to see if other departments are moving along more quickly than history.

Thanks Crater21. Now, for some funding. Seems that you are interested in SA too?

Yeah, it's totally easy to find out the actual identities of folks. On another note, here is my contribution to this thread: Undergrad Institution: Small LAC, improving reputation Senior Thesis: Yes, not required. Honors Program: Yes and I participated. It's been a while and I can't recall the specifics. Major(s): History, English Literature Minor(s): GPA in Major: 4.0, 4.0 Overall GPA: 3.9 (science and German: what the hell?) Position in Class: Top 5% Type of Student: white, male, Southern Appalachian MA Institution: Well regarded university in the UK Thesis: Yes, with distinction Major Field: World History, Modern South Asia focus GPA: 4.0 (converted) Position in Class: Near top, I guess. GRE Scores (old version): Q: 540 V: 720 W: 5 Research Experience: For BA paper, I conducted archival research at Library of Congress and National Library of India, Kolkata. For MA paper, I conducted research at the British Library, London. This summer, I spent a month in Delhi doing independent research at important archives and made some contacts along the way. In college, I also held a research assistant position on an anthology of German poetry. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 4 year full tuition scholarship to UG institution. Other smaller merit scholarships and honors for research. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Intern at the Smithsonian (3 months); Teacher Assistant at a primary school in Kolkata (3 months); Program Coordinator for Civic Engagement at a 4 year university (12 months). Volunteer at myriad local museums, preservation societies, and historical associations. Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Applying to Where: See my signature. All history department applications. Research Interests & Areas of Focus: mid-20th century India and Indian diaspora Languages: English (native), Hindi (intermediate), French (beginner) Letters of Recommendation: 3 from postgraduate program: My MA paper supervisor, moderately well-known; 1 course lecturer, well-known in England, and supervised my first publication; 1 course lecturer who has his PhD from the US and is increasingly well-known, though young. 1 from undergraduate: not especially well-known but knows my work very well, supervised my UG thesis/2nd publication. Statement of Purpose: How specific was it? It was basically a 500 to 1000 word dissertation prospectus, per the advice of at least three POIs. Did you tailor it to each program? No, but I made sure that each school had the faculty to support my project. Did you identify professors you would like to work with? Yes and I contacted each of them. Received considerable support for my application but I take it with a grain of salt until I am admitted. or point more broadly to the program’s areas of emphasis? I also did this by tying my interest with faculty outside my immediate field, specifying relevant research centers on campus, and mentioning pertinent library resources. Writing Sample: Is it excerpted from a longer work? Yes, my MA paper Does it relate to the research interests described in your SOP? Yes, though last year's SOP was much more related to my MA paper; I decided to move away slightly from that topic. Communication with POIs: As noted above, I contacted professors at each of my intended programs. All my correspondence was met positively but some POIs seemed more interested than others. In the past I did not apply to schools that did not respond to my correspondence. This year that wasn't an issue. Lessons Learned from Application Process: From the application process there isn't much that I would do differently. A couple of POIs asked to read my SOP prior to submission but I sent it to an addition POI who did not ask for it: I would not do that again. As a re-applicant, I have learned about the importance of language training during other application cycles. I have worked on that over time. Positive contact with professors is not a rubber stamp: Although I've had great correspondence with POIs in the past, it wasn't enough to lift me over the bar. More lessons to come.

That sounds fun.

I am interested in South Asia and South Asian migration to England (London and Birmingham) in the middle of the 20th century. Thanks for the point about teaching at Cambridge. That's reassuring. At UNC, in most fields, TAing involves basically tutorials but it's 1 on 20, not 1 on 1.