NewEnglandNat

Anyone waiting on Univ. of Oregon, someone in my masters cohort got an acceptence from them today. No results yet on the board but i figured I'd send a heads up.

I still have a North Carolina drivers license and voters registration so as it happens that did come up in the interview. The answer is yes in that the department gets some break on their tuition remission money, but that it wouldn't be a make or break factor in any one application.

Honestly? It's not. I recieved a very good undergraduate education at Chapel Hill but from what I could see the grad students were over worked and underpaid. I had a interview for a PhD program there (I've gone elsewhere for my masters) and it sent off a ton of red flags about how they saw their grad students. Despite having driven five states for the interview I didn't end up applying there.

As an alumni of UNC's history department I feel I should point out that it's often not the most coherent or organized place. There are a lot of professors there that aren't as clued into department policy as they should. I would caution those of you who are waiting on that department not to assume organization or system in the way it handles informing people.

I think the thing to understand is that reading in grad school is not like reading in undergrad. No one could possibly read closely the 1500-2000 pages a week that a full load in my masters program would call for. I wouldn't turn down a grad program because you didn't think you could read that much, everyone who is coming in from an undergrad will be in the same boat. There are a number of tricks used, I don't particularly like the first and last sentence trick, I find it too choppy. I read the acknowledgements (always read them, they will sound like giberish at first but soon you'll pick up the feel of theoretical approach and people they studied under). I read the introduction and conclusion closely. I look through the notes to try and get a grasp of the kind of sources used. Than I go through the chapters and read two or three closely and skim the rest. Turn every page even if you aren't reading every word.

My reading classes have had a load of about 1 book and 1 scholarly article per week per class for the entire sixteen weeks of the semester. Some a few books lighter, some a few heavier. Heavy discussion of the books, though what is discussed about them depends on the professor. A couple short papers (5-7 pages) in the middle of the semester and a 15 page histrographical review at the end. My research seminar had one reading book (the Craft of Research) and than a bunch of intermediate assignments on the way to writing an archive based research paper of between 25-30 pages. In my program it's understood that the research seminar paper done in year one will be the basis for a masters thesis written in year two. I've not taken an exam since undergrad. ETA: I should also add that my UG department was obsessed with the 1-2 page reading response paper every week. Damn those things were evil. Especially the "1 page limit" ones.

I've heard about it in Religious Studies from a professor who participated in it. But that's a much smaller field than History. I find it incredibly implausable in history. There are too many "top programs" and for such a conspiracy to work it would require schools to go share vast lists of applicant pools in the middle of the semester when the adcoms are quite busy. I think in such a circumstance what would be more likely to happen is Professor at School X tells their friend Professor at School Y that they are very interested in a particular candidate and School Y decides to take a second look at the application. When the process (the religious studies one) was described to me at a cocktail party the lawyer standing next to me said that it was likely breaking a number of laws.

Thanks for the advise. I think i'm just being driven a little mad by the Cornell thing. Last year's results boards for that department show them sending out decisions as late as March 31 and it's a program that's only taking 5 people this year. In theory the department is about half social sciences and half historians but the historians haven't gotten a student in three years.

The Princeton acceptance is to the straight history program. The Cornell application was as a historian wishing to do work informed by social science. I've basically already given enough identifying data for anyone who knows me so I'll give a small description. I'm a military environmental historian working on the peace time and post conflict environmental history of the United States Army. I came out of my undergrad with a background in both history and a natural science and so being an odd duck with a foot in two fields is not new to me. But it's also not something i would really recommend.

The idea that they aren't treating Cornell like an Ivy is hilarious to me too. Believe me, this has been a running thing for about five months on the subject of Cornell being an Ivy. I'm not attributing motives. Several of the faculty have said them outright. I was beyond annoyed in the middle of working very hard on my masters thesis to be told that it was proforma because it was now in the department's best interest to graduate me. You don't even want to get me started about how I think they've done badly by members of my cohort who have gotten into great schools but are being overshadowed by this. The difference really is do I want to be a historian or a historian/sociologist. My work speaks to both paths but would be very different. I was honestly very surprised by the Princeton acceptance as it was a reach school in my application pile. Until the letter came I honestly hadn't even thought about what it would be like to live there. Do I think I'd take a Cornell offer over the Princeton offer... I don't think so but I would give it consideration. I just feel very strongly about not taking up spots at places I know I'm not going when so many other people are sitting on waiting lists.

So I need some advise from people who are not financially interested in where I end up going.... ... I'm finishing my MA at a second tier state school in a nonstandard field (I'm an environmental historian). A month ago I was accepted to Princeton, rejected by Brown and Yale. I withdrew most of my remaining applications (UC Davis, UW Madison, SUNY Stoney Brook) and decided I'd wait on what had been my dream program: Cornell's Science and Technology Studies program. I knew Cornell can't match the Princeton offer but I had really liked them. My MA faculty think I'm a fool for even considering Cornell (decision or not), but they've never gotten a student into an Ivy and I'm pretty sure they're already planning on using me in their recruitment for future MA students. The longer the wait goes on the more I am getting emotionally invested in Princeton. It's a big deal for me. I have a community college degree, though I went to UNC for my undergrad and in my subfield my current department is decent. The Results board just shows one rejection from Cornell's STS program from about a week ago. Should I just go ahead and withdraw the Cornell application and accept Princeton? Am I being silly to wait on an offer I know at it's best will not be as good as the one I have in hand?

Has anyone heard anything from the Cornell STS department? I ask because I'm a historian and the interdisciplinary board is a bit dense....

There is the TAing option, but I am surprised no one else has mentioned how many Princeton grad students get teaching experiance. There area great many adjunct dependent history departments in New Jersey that often hire Princeton students. TCNJ is one off the top of my head.

I'm still waiting on one school but I've all but made the decision. History.