Mertonian

4- 0.

He But yeah, any questions about Columbia - I would be happy to answer.

Hey guys! Concerning Columbia, unofficial acceptances are down to individual professors - last year I was contacted by my POI after I got the DGS e-mail. So the silence from there means little yet. Hang in there! If you have any questions about the institution and course, I would be happy to answer questions!

Yeah, I think it was very fresh news which I heard around the lunch-table. Hope she doesn't read this and think I am over-stepping the bound I think her name will be likely to appear on the site in the fall!

True, you are unlikely to venture into Toxteth - but you might by accident! It is so close to the Anglican Cathedral and the nice Georgian houses which stretch between the university and the place!

Again, like the others above, I am not a Liverpudlian or Scouser but have spent a fair bit of time there as my fiance is a native. The city is not as big in terms of population as London or Birmingham, but is still in the 600,000 people range so has a large city centre with enough to satisfy your needs - whichever they may be (including a huge shopping centre). The city does have negative reputation but judging by my impressions from the late 00s it has been revamped (if that reputation was deserved to begin with) and has plenty of nice areas. Check out the Docks, a really beautiful part of the UK, let alone Liverpool, and the huge Anglican cathedral (5th biggest in the world). As people have said it has a vibrant cultural scene with plenty of bars and venues to cater to all tastes. I have uniformly enjoyed my time there and while there are bits to avoid (Toxteth for example) that is no different to any large city anywhere.

Hey Orient, that's a mighty interesting topic (I am a Balkan historian, much more modern than that, but still have a burning interest in Ottoman studies). I recently attended a talk by Dr. Ayfer Karakaya-Stump who works on this kind of stuff. She was a post-doctoral fellow at Cornell this past year, working on "Sufism and the making of Heterodox Islam in Anatolia" and her talk was on the Qizilbash and their origins: it was very illuminating. From what I gather she has landed a tenure-track position at College of William & Mary from next year, so may be she is another specialist in your area that you might be interested in!

insatiable hunger

Applied to 2, rejected by 1. Going to Columbia, visiting it next week too (like kungfuzi). Quite excicted about it all, it was definitely the best fit for me.

Going to visit on the 23rd-27th March, even though the History visit day is March 4th. Just couldn't make it! So, who is thinking of Columbia as their firm choice? I only applied to two places, so the choice has been made for me - which I am glad for as it is the best possible department for me really!

Yeah, the waiting was definitely changed by the early reply from a program that was probably better suited to me anyway! Fall 2011, NYC, be there kungfuzi!

I am in the UK and got my Harvard rejection through snailmail today; it was marked the 16th too. Not sure how much stock you should put in that though.

Harvard rejection, ah well. Choice has been made for me, and probably for the best too!

I second the Summertown/general north of Oxford nominations. At a brisk walk you can get from the Summertown shops to the Maths Institute in about 30 minutes anyway. The place is quiet and nice. I am living in Kidlington this year and even that is not more than a 45-minute bike ride from the centre.

Regarding Columbia, there have been e-mails by the DGS, supervisors and administration. It seems they are done.