Nytusse

I can't believe Virginia might take three more weeks!

It is a bit early for spazzing, but I honestly think having some schools answer so much earlier is worse somehow. My proposal is that students apply to ONE website. Schools can still charge us all separate application fees, but the format would be the same and the requirements would be the same. Then, all the schools must decide on a certain day. Make life easier for both sides, I would think.

I think some serious stuff might go down this week....!

My general hunch is that they are likely trying to fund that first group of admits, since it is so very early to admit people. What I don't understand is why other admits from Wisconsin from different disciplines have already been notified that they were nominated for University fellowships, when presumably some of the History folks have been too?

If the History department website has its own events calendar, it could show up there. I saw it on Wisconsin's calendar, but I don't know if that is only because they had already sent out some admissions. I haven't tried other schools yet.

I've been wondering myself, but I have been told to keep it simple, especially if you are still waiting on other possible admits.

Personally, I think ADHD gives us super powers...!

Does anyone know the procedure as far as notifying recommenders of acceptances? I know it is expected to tell them what happens, but if you are applying to a whole bunch of schools, would I tell them I got accepted to one place so far? Wait until more things happen? I am so incredibly awkward with these things. (My apologies for the insensitive question when most schools have not even done acceptances yet. I just don't want to make some sort of social error )

Update for fellow Wisconsin admits: I did receive an official letter today notifying me of acceptance (pending that final review by grad school). So, apparently no computer virus.

Congrats! I decided against UNC at the last minute....

Someone posted UNC.....!

I actually started coming here when I applied for my Master's, which is funny because I sort of did it on a whim and was totally out of my league. Now that I got into such a good school, it's like the stakes have been raised really high, and my insecurity has gotten exponentially worse.

Does this board attract the higher end of the applicant pool? I have wondered about that. I would expect a certain level of insecurity among those who obsessively check this site. Are there applicants out there who are just confident?

That would be great...it seems so strange to have so many admits when schools are generally slashing their numbers.

I actually wish that Wisconsin had not come up so early, if other schools are not going to follow suit. I was prepared to wait, but now I'm not, and tomorrow is the first day of my classes, and I just can't bring myself to care at the moment. Are we sure there isn't a computer virus over at UW? How can everyone be accepted, and this early? Their website was acting funny all weekend....!

Yeah, I almost did not apply, either, except there was an extraordinarily good advisor fit at UW. It also seems like state schools give a lot of money for good GRE scores for some reason, which is actually one of my strongest points, so I was hoping they might cough up some funding for me. It stinks to have the first acceptance be so early and so unexpected, because now I feel like things should be happening...and they are still not! However, an acceptance means I probably actually have to do this whole PhD thing, YIKES. I was halfway hoping I might get rejected by everyone so that I could go insane in a totally unprecedented manner.

The summer program at Harvard Divinity uses Jannach's German for Reading Knowledge. It is rather expensive (about 60 or 70 dollars), but I found it to be a great book for picking up German quickly. I also have the Wilson book and I like that one as well, but it is longer and a bit more involved. I found it to be useful after I already knew a bit of German.

I'm finishing my MTS at Harvard this semester, and I would have to second the comment about Religion and Literature courses not offering a heck of a lot of classes. What is really nice about Harvard's program, though, is that the requirements are quite minimal; you only need six courses in your concentration, and it is even possible to use cross-registered courses from other departments to get credit for those. For example, I am "transitioning" into History, and I have been able to take other graduate courses outside the Divinity School. My funding was extremely good, but like everywhere else, the Div school has cut funding somewhat, I believe. The lowest I have ever personally heard of is a half-tuition grant, but there are those with full tuition and a stipend. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions....I'm waiting on applications anyways!

Well, I believe it said on the website that they accept like 100 out of 450 applications, knowing that the yield will be substantially lower (30 or so) due to the dicey funding. I actually felt that UW was one of my better chances for acceptance, based on that percentage. That being said, what I am wondering is if there is one large group of Wisconsin admits that went out yesterday in several disciplines because they are the ones who are nominated for University fellowships (seemingly the only way to get good funding there?) If schools are facing budget troubles (and what school isn't), then the money factor may need more time to be discussed than the admissions themselves.

BTW, I also applied a few weeks earlier than the deadline, so I'm sure that might factor in.

I have no credible insight, but after looking through all the results from last year, it did seem like some of UW's acceptances went out a week or so later than others. Besides, it seems like they accept a lot more students in general than a lot of other history programs, so I would expect several more acceptances on this board at least. They are also bizarre because they are one of the few top departments that does not guarantee funding, so who knows what kind of crazy system they have for picking acceptances?

Thank you so much. I'm still waiting for TEN more answers, but at least I know that I won't be rejected across the board. Does this mean every other school is making decisions early? This is totally unexpected.

I am completely blindsided....I've been checking University of Wisconsin's page for the heck of it, since it seems to be one of the only ones that updates. The site has been down most of the day, and then when I get in...recommended for admission. I was not prepared to hear anything this soon. I don't even want to tell anyone yet in case I'm wrong. What the.....? There goes my masochistic waiting game, I guess.

I LOVE that new paragraph. Really interesting and engaging.

Your first paragraph seems too abrupt, like the reader interrupted in the middle of some conversation. Start with a focused statement of your interests in general, and maybe then start talking about how they evolved. The admissions folks will read the statements so quickly initially that you want to have your main area right in that first paragraph (as awkward as that makes the rest of the essay!) That first paragraph is really the weakest, so try to make it more precise instead of immediately launching into a history. I'm totally from a different sort of field than you, but maybe start with an interesting sentence or question but not a GIMICKY sentence or question. Something like, "When my robot was able to compete against those of the top universities in the world, and I had been responsible for the programming, I knew for sure that I belonged in robotics. I would like to study the ways in which ------ is applicable to -------- and how the mathematical framework of ------- influences the ------- of robotics." Since I am utterly ignorant of any math and science stuff, I imagine I have given you pretty silly sentences, but you get the idea. Just start with a short, focused paragraph explaining your interests in a few sentences, then go into your academic development.