TransnationalHistory

Yes and no. It's 24K promised for the first two years, while it's 17K for the next three years + the ability to apply for additional summer funding/grants. I've been told summer funding is very easy to get as long as you have faculty support. Regardless, I'm certainly not complaining.

Exactly. Honestly, I'm not sure if I want to be a professor. Certainly I can think of far worse jobs, but that's never been my goal in life. Since I graduated college (2007) I've rarely been employed full-time, and the only "real job" I had was so horrible (my boss actually called me a "retard" and a "loser with a loser life") that I quit after seven weeks. So the idea that I'll get paid to read and write on a subject I find fascinating, with money to travel to do archival research in the summer....well that sounds pretty ideal to me. Plus I'll be making far more money than ever...the one advantage of living near the poverty line is that stipend actually looks like a gravy train. So yes, if I had managed to get a job that I found exciting and mentally stimulating, and rewarded creative thinking, I probably would not have applied to grad school this year. But I don't think that means I'm making a mistake by going next fall. Also, I don't think with PhD our options in the regular job market will be so glum. Besides academia, there are other jobs that value people with specialized knowledge.

I agree that the rankings need to be taken with a big grain of salt...some of the programs listed in US News' top ten for African history only have two faculty in the field. My comments were more in general. In the case of the OP, both programs that you got into are good programs, and whatever difference in the official rankings is negligible, and certainly overcome (if it even needs to be) with a strong dissertation/faculty connections. One more thing that has yet to get brought up, but that is really important to consider, is access to archival resources. Many top programs have earned their rank in part to the facilities on or near campus. Northwestern has the largest Africana archive in the country, which no doubt helped them get a #1 ranking for the field of African history this past year. While you can get summer funding to travel to archives, it obviously is a big help if you'll be able to get access to primary sources relevant to your field without leaving campus. I know I'm going to spend a fair amount of time feeling out the libraries at each place, and this going to weigh pretty heavily for me, more than official rank.

Given that this was the case with Chicago, I wouldn't be surprised.

Right, but my point is you might have a better chance of picking where you get to live if you pick the school with a better placement record. Obviously people from top-10 schools still have limited options, but they at least might get more than just one job offer. Certainly it was a different situation then, but a few of my undergrad professors from top schools shared with me their job market experience, and they all managed to get a few offers after school. Additionally, there is no law that says you have to go into academia. There's no reason not to keep your options open to working for a museum or some other public history position. And certainly it's also possible to get a post-doc fellowship, in which you do get to choose (within reason) where you go next. This is obviously just my opinion, but I think the time commitment is a lot more daunting in writing than in actuality.

Well can you make their visiting days? If I were you, I'd contact students currently in the program...if you can't find the information on their website, I'm sure you could ask the administration to give you some contact info.

Yeah, I got a consolation MA offer from MAPPS this morning. I guess that's why it took them so long. Only partially funded, so I'm going to pass.

I'm also in a similar situation, minus the husband and kids. I get the impression Michigan might be a better fit for me academically and it's certainly well regarded, whereas Vanderbilt is still a good program and Nashville and the general area appeals to me cultural and obviously the weather is preferable. I'm not going to decide anything until I visit, but arguments I've been tossing around in my head: 1. 5-7 years is a long time, but compared to the rest of your life, it's only 5-7 years. It's more important to be able to get a tenure-track in a location you are excited about then to get your PhD in a prime location. 2. It's impossible to know where you'll be happier before you start. I got my BA in the middle of nowhere in upstate NY. Beautiful Fall/Spring, but the winter was rough. But I've never regretted going there. It was a great fit for me, and in the end that mattered more than the climate/location. 3. Michigan is Sept-April. That leaves May-Aug to come up with a good excuse to do funded summer research somewhere. I realize this might be difficult for the OP in regards to family obligations, but the general point is that grad school is more flexible than a 9-5 job with only 2 weeks vacation. Anyway, I'm going to wait till I visit each place with the hopes that one will just feel right.

Got my formal letter finally, with a note on funding. They technically only guarantee the first year, with a promise that funding be given for proceeding years as long as I progress satisfactorily. Is this different than being told "we will fund you at X amount, as long as you progress satisfactorily" or could the amount given to me in the second year decrease? If anyone knows, especially in regards to Vanderbilt, I'd be curious to hear your insight.

I've already had to tell one program that I've been accepted elsewhere due to my travel plans (I'm going from one school to the next) and apparently word spread, since the first faculty member I spoke to at the school mentioned that he knew of my other offer...which funny enough was where he got his PhD. Anyway, schools know you applied to multiple places, and therefore might be exploring options other than their school--that's why they have open houses. If they thought they were the only option for all their admits they wouldn't bother trying to woo anyone. As for your other worry, I doubt that anyone is going to be comparing funding packages. Seems a little gauche.

Thanks, that's helpful advice.

I think the analogy made to marriage is a little flawed....it's more like getting cold feet before an arranged marriage. Sure, you can read about a program and visit for a few days, but you really can't tell what grad school will be like till you've already uprooted your life and committed. For undergrad I visited, talked with a lot of students, and really did my research. The school I picked was absolutely the right choice, but my experience was not entirely what I expected. Luckily the surprises were mostly positive, but there were parts of student life that existed on campus that had I seen beforehand, would have totally turned me off from attending. All this is just to say that no matter how hard we try to figure out what a new location/degree program/etc. will mean, we really can't know. And that's scary. I was (and still am) hoping to get into the school located in my current residence (New York). But since I know getting off the wait list is a rarity, it's looking like I'm going to end up a plane ticket away from where I've spent the last four years building up a fairly comfortable life for myself. Mainly, I know I'm really going to miss my social circle. I was thrilled to get my two acceptances, more than I even expected I would be, but now as April 15th gets closer I do feel a bit of resistance. Not enough to make me turn down both great offers of course, but I think it's natural to mourn the loss of what's at stake. I'm not so worried about the work, because the idea of getting paid to learn, read and write history is my dream job. I just wish I didn't have to give up my current community in the process. I also have a bit of impostor syndrome, so it's great to hear I'm not alone. I've always considered myself smart, but never an authority of knowledge....I still can't actually imagine myself as a professor, but I suppose I have a bit of time to get a handle on that one.

Well since they got a funded offer, I'm assuming they are not paying any tuition. And since they said it was their top-school with good funding, I'm also assuming that their is a good chance that it won't be so far for them to get as much summer funding as they want. My evidence is just based on the two programs I got into, but grad students in each have made it very clear that if want it, it's pretty easy to get. So I'd say the OP should ask grad students before they put themselves in a potentially uncomfortable situation.

I've known of people who've done it, but not their first year. I'd say live in New Brunswick the first year, and then once you don't need to be on campus so much you could move to Manhattan. And who knows, maybe you'll find New Brunswick not so bad, and it possible to get all the NYC you need by visiting once a week. It' certainly cheaper.

Since I'm considering the possibility of getting a car, I'm curious if there is anything I need to know about winter car care. I've had a car before in upstate NY, but I didn't do any special for taking care of the car....I wasn't so far north that it snowed all the time. If I do end up buying a car, will I need to worry about maintenance more?

Wrote my undergrad thesis on the development of the British Boy Scouts in relation to the colonies in Africa and South Asia. I applied mostly to the African field with a secondary interest in Britain/British Caribbean, though for some departments I applied to do Atlantic World. Certain programs peg Atlantic World as just 15th-18th C, which wouldn't work for me.

I'm also wondering this...as well as if e-mailing the main professor I want to work with would help my chances....

This is something I am also curious about...so far most of this thread has been from the sciences. Anyone in the humanities care to talk about what Orals are like? I'm not afraid of writing, but when under pressure I can get tongue-tied.

I think this might be true...I think it makes sense if you really can't tell if you're a fit or not, but you definitely do not have to contact any professor. I did not contact any of my programs beforehand except U Chicago because I was unsure as to whether I'd fit better in the African or Atlantic World field....the places I got in/waitlisted I didn't contact at all. You have to remember that at most schools, three faculty read your application when deciding whether you make the cut. Usually at least one will be in your field, but it's quite possible the three that read your application won't be anyone you've identified as a potential adviser. And in the end, I get the impression that professors take applicants with specializations that interest them. The process of applying to grad school is expensive and takes a lot of time...I think it's assumed that anyone who applies to grad school, with strong essays and LORs, is serious. You don't need to contact future PAs to prove that. Just my opinion though.

I would ask a current grad student. That said, I don't think most universities give funding before a student officially starts their first semester, so I doubt that's something you could negotiate. As far as the language requirement, you will be required to take a test, but if you fail the first time around you just get enrolled in a language class the first year...so I wouldn't worry about that. As for negotiating about summer funding in general, I don't know your field, but I've found that for history, even schools that only promise one year of funding often make it easy to get summer funding every year as long as you have a good reason for needing it (archival research, language learning, etc.)...you'll just have to apply to a few available scholarship funds.

There are lots of bridges out there to burn, don't worry.

Also, while money is not everything, at Michigan the GSIs (their name for TAs) are unionized, and the compensation does seem pretty generous: http://www.hr.umich.edu/acadhr/grads/gsi-gssa-memo.html

The History department is March 20-22nd. You'll have to let us know any tips after your stay.

I couldn't have said this better. And it's why I'm not worrying about what to wear. Granted, I'm in the humanities and I could see another field being different, but I feel like the way to make a good impression on a visit is exactly this: read articles by the professors you want to work with, ask intelligent questions, be able to talk about your goals, be polite. I'm just going to dress like I would to go to a class. Also, open houses for accepted students are when they are trying to win you over, not the other way around, so I think it's okay to relax about it.

I feel the same way, though I've been in contact with a current grad student who moved there from Cape Town....I figure if she was able to adjust and enjoy it, I should be able to tough it out. Also, the way their academic calendar works, you're only there Sept-April....so you have 1/3 of the year to go off and do research, and I've been told summer funding is very easy to get. I still wish it was a different location though.