fortiesgirl

I, too, sent my recommenders gift cards. I don't think it was crossing the line as one poster said. But I am in a bit of a different situation than the typical student because I graduated from my program years ago. I now live over 6 hours away from my recommenders so I couldn't hand deliver a gift and I wouldn't want to risk something getting broken or lost in the mail. When I used to live closer to that campus, I did the gift thing. I also waited until weeks after I knew all the recommendations had been submitted (and I confirmed this fact with each of them), so there was absolutely no risk of the thought of bribery crossing their minds.

Sorry to hear that. I'm going to repeat what everyone else said because you can never hear enough good advice. Definately visit the schools and see if you get a different feel. You never know, you might end up having a new top priority school. As one poster mentioned, one never knows what next year admissions cycle will hold. If you wait and reapply next year, you might kick yourself later that you didn't take a school up on a great offer. I only say this because I had to refuse offers a few years ago for personal reasons and it is now much tougher to get into programs even though my credentials are better than before. Good luck in making your decision.

. That's what I was told by the dept. They take about 15 per year and that amounts to about 2-3 per field, depending on the field (some fields accept more). We should all keep our chins up. Some of us (though not me I'm afraid!) have been accepted into more competitive programs.

I also met and kept in contact with a grad student there who does history and museum studies. I wonder if we know the same person.

Do you know if the visiting days are for the general history program or for the American Culture program? I know the AC program has visiting days for successful applicants that is a separate entity from the general history program. I mean, if the committee met in two weeks to make decisions they can't just tell admitted students to come the following week, in terms of arranging travel, etc. That's why I was wondering if the visiting days were for the same program. In any case, thanks so much for relaying this info. I can't wait to find out! Good luck to you.

You are awesome. 8)

Well said. I've worked (in the position as a "lowly office secretary") and taught long enough to know that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. I love the sense of humor on this board. And respect, that is, oodles of respect for everyone in all the right places goes a long way. It doesn't pay to go through life as a jerk. You'll get so much more accomplished with a smile and by asking nicely. And as you mentioned, it seems like most people here feel the same way.

I did last year because I really needed to know. I did wait, however, until toward the end of the admissions cycle when all the craziness dissipated. I knew my GREs sucked at the time and that the was basically the answer I got. So I prepped all summer this year, and hopefully it will improve my chances this time around.

Me too, but I won't even consider going there without full funding and stipend because the tuition is so high. I'd rather wait another year and re-apply.

I'm assuming pretty much the same--and that makes me 0-3 now. I was told by my former advisor there that they only take 2-3 students per field, so I pretty much applied under the assumption that I wouldn't get in. What a depressing month.

You're likely to be given full funding if you apply Jan 15. At least that's what I was told when I visited. I guess I'll find out if that's true if I'm accepted. Otherwise I agree with you and wouldn't (and couldn't!) pay for it myself.

Good luck. I'm pretty sure I'm out too, though I applied to one of the joint programs. I think someone posted that they were notified already by that dept. That will make me 0-3.

Thanks Nikki for checking up on that. Based on the last time I applied, I was really expecting to hear something this week. It's good to know that I should sit tight on that notification for at least a week or so.

I know from experience that they do have a habit of entering the dates on you and this made me freak out before because I had two applications in their system and I wanted to make sure they had received the correct documents and used my updated LORs and GREs for evaluation. I had to call the departmental secretary (who is as nice as can be) and she cleared it up for me and calmed my anxiety. So yeah, they probably updated your status and you'll hear on Monday. btw, when I was accepted in 2006, I heard from them the week of Feb 20(this year it happened to fall on a Friday so don't freak out). When I was rejected last year(before I retook the GRE), it took them until the week of the 28th to let me know. You seem to have an excellent record--I don't see why you'd be rejected.

misterpat-- Are you out there? Did you hear from Temple today? Someone got accepted. I haven't received any news on my online account. Here's hoping I hear something on Monday. Wish the best for you....

As a native Philadelphian, I would suggest that you don't live in North Philly. Center City, South Philly, parts of West Philly are fine if you want to live in the city. If you're willing to trek a bit, I can suggest other places. Congrats on your acceptance. I'm still waiting to here from Temple. Let me know if you have other questions about Philly.

Wake up to "alarm" around 7 am (my two-year old) Take son to daycare 8:30 am teach at college from 11-4, meet with students, grade, prep (mondays and wednesdays) Check email/status intermittantly Pick up son from daycare Make dinner/Straighten up house Husband home 6 pm Family time "me" time (either at the gym or prepping for courses) - depending on the day Son goes to bed 8:30/9 pm adult time, watch movies, discuss, etc. Home all day with son on Tues/Thurs/Fri.

Unfortunately I don't get time off during the semester, but going away does sound great. I do okay from Saturday until Wednesday because I need to prep for class, write lectures, go to meetings, grade papers, etc. That helps me go into my own little world. Once Wed. afternoon hits, I might as well be an chronic email checker zombie. Sounds like a nickname from Seinfeld. lol Anyone else know what I'm talking about? Oh yeah, and I totally get the overwhelming anxiety that overcomes you.

I suffer from awful migraines and the stress from this whole process is not helping. I know what you mean when you say you're going crazy because you haven't heard from Penn because I still haven't heard from Hopkins. It's probably a rejection on my end, but I'd still like to know.

Although it's not in the top ten programs, CUNY: The Graduate Center has an excellent American history program. I think CUNY is #22 on the US News rankings. Carol Berkin teaches there and is a renowned scholar in the field. There are others at the school as well but I am most familiar with her work.

I sure hope so. The waiting is making me sick. I keep second-guessing myself after what happened last year. It sounds cheesy, but after the first rejection I felt as if the other schools might "catch on to the fever" and all start rejecting me. Sure hope that doesn't happen.

not on this end. ugh. I feel sick and I've had a headache now for four weeks.

riss, I met with a professor in November who told me that they don't start reviewing apps until mid-February. He said that applicants are notified in mid-March, which is much later than other programs. I would venture to say that they have definately not made decisions yet. There was a mishap with my online app a few weeks ago and I had to call the dept to straighten it out. I was in contact with the graduate studies director who reassured me that they would straighten it out and if the document was missing, there was still ample time to secure a copy because they don't review apps until mid-Feb. Did you meet with anyone there or visit? They are the kindest, most humane group of faculty I think I've ever met. My impressions were backed up by what the grad students had to say (I gathered emails en route).

I applied to the joint PhD in French Studies/History. I know they are under the same umbrella at NYU, but different departments. How do you know that only 3 people were supposed to get in? Is that for each field of study or for the entire department? It was personal experience that the dept accepted 15-20 students, with 2-3 students per field of study. Peterson't data seems to support what I'm saying: Peterson's offers different admissions info http://www.petersons.com/gradchannel/co ... &sponsor=1 NYU does typically mail its results in March. I went there for my MA, and I remember that a professor called me just before their break to let me know that I had been accepted. Some programs relay the news to their accepted applicants early and then wait until March to let those they have rejected that they've been rejected. But I heard positive results from NYU in mid-March, and if you look on other posts on this board, other people were accepted as late as April to NYU. Is it possible that some applicants have been admitted early? Sure, I guess so. But I wouldn't say that you are necessarily out of the running yet. Bonne chance!