Simple Twist of Fate

As much as I've been reading about the hugely competitive job market, I still became a little bit nauseous after reading that.

I think that depends very much on the POI and department. I've had a mixed experience with this. At one school which I'm wait listed at, they've had at least three current graduate students contacting waitlistees to answer questions (which is very nice but also sort of weird given that I've not even been admitted). At one I've been admitted to, my POI, who is extremely friendly and forthcoming and has probably expressed the most interest in me of any POI, has not offered to put me in contact with anyone. At the other, I brought up the idea of contacting some graduate students and my POI enthusiastically agreed it would be a good idea (and I'm glad I did it). So I wouldn't try to read the tea leaves based on that.

Congrats monster!

Had a good conversation with a POI this morning. Today is my "recovery" day, so I asked him to call within a pretty broad time frame. However, as soon as I hopped out of the shower, my phone was ringing, so I ended up having the entire conversation in my towel. I guess I'm just lucky he didn't want to skype.

Congrats. I like Philly a lot, and Temple has some awesome profs. I'm glad you have some great options c&i. I think you have single-handedly proven the karmic value of anxiety this season (only joking. sorta).

Congrats sandy and enjoy. I'm sure it's a relief to have the decision made.

So very true. Best of luck to next year's crop of applicants. It's strange how much more confident about my scholarship I feel now than I did a year ago. I hope to hang around this forum a little bit during the summer, and possibly on occasion next fall (if I have any time). Many of the past applicants and currently attending students were so helpful to me, I'd like to be able to pay it forward a little bit.

Okay - yeah, I'm favor of think some controlled flaunting as long as it's tactfully done and doesn't seem forced. I'm not sure how fluid the wait lists I'm on actually are. Someone said IU ranks theirs, so it doesn't matter how much you flaunt/plead/tell them they're your first choice, it's just based on the math.

Now that I have multiple offers, I finally allowed myself to read this thread. I also wasn't really expecting profs to be so forthcoming about "selling" their program. I had read about that, but it's still a (very pleasant) surprise.

It's weird how wait lists are so different between institutions. People lament the WalMartization of America, but there's still a lot of uniqueness and charming inefficiency in history departments across the country. The two institutions I'm wait listed at have been very kind and attentive to me, even sending unsolicited encouraging emails, which I'm choosing to take as a sign that a possibility remains of an offer. I can't imagine doing that. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but I couldn't do it. At least not how you seem to be describing. However, I did tactfully mention that I had received other, generous offers and that I was reluctant to keep them waiting until April 15... and that I would be keeping in regular contact with the DGS so that I might be able to make a final decision as quickly as possible.

I just got into Boston U (and posted it in the Results board). I had my guard down, it being a Saturday afternoon. It was an email from a POI, so don't fret if you applied there but didn't receive notice yet. He mentioned that the grad school won't sent out official offers for a while. (if you want more details feel free to PM, I don't want to be tacky) Congrats to the other recent acceptances. But I wanted to say thanks so much to everyone on this board for being so supportive and helpful over these past few months. The kind comments and PMs have helped me immeasurably. Since my application season is winding down (save for a couple of wait lists and an imminent rejection from ND) I just wanted to sincerely wish everyone who's still waiting the best possible luck. This time last week I was thinking of alternatives next year (partly where to live, partly what to research, partly which Starbucks to work at), and now I have a couple of funded offers that are great fits for me - which just goes to show the importance of staying hopeful and optimistic. Thank you all so much.

Well, that's just weird because I can definitely confirm that I have received an offer from UConn. I've heard from the DGS and the official website. It may have something to do with the fact that I was apparently nominated for a fellowship. Speaking of which, I did get information on funding from UConn last night. So unless something unexpected happens (like getting off a couple of waitlists or having BU or ND come through) I'm looking forward to Storrs. It's a great fit for me, the funding package looks solid, I think I'll be happy there, and perhaps most importantly, they seem to really want me there. In a way, I'm glad things happened as they did. Getting rejected from a bunch of top programs first was painful at first, but ultimately humbling. It really helped me put things in perspective. It would have been much worse if the order had been reversed. I feel like I've grown significantly in the past month. tmp - 1 Europeanist out of 20 at IU is just shocking. And I say that as an Americanist who hopes to benefit from that.

I submitted my results, yep. Second thing I did after I kissed my girlfriend and danced around with her.

Thanks everyone. It's great to know I'm wanted somewhere, especially because I just checked the Ohio State website and saw that they had rejected me. There goes that bubbly feeling from an hour ago, but I was sort of expecting it. All in all, good day so far.

Just admitted to the University of Connecticut. My first acceptance. Funding is still mysterious. I'm really pleased, although I'm still planning to see how W&M and Indiana turn out. I would have found out sooner, but my mail client thought that UConn's email was junk mail. I didn't check it until I saw someone else posted on the results board.

I'm in the same boat. Someone mentioned that OSU uses a more rolling model than many other schools. But I really don't know how it works. If nothing changes after a few more weeks, I may call asking for either a decision or a refund. (except I'll be polite) For some reason, while I was writing this post, it occurred to me that I've almost certainly read every single post in this thread. At over 4,000 now, we're talking about a serious time commitment. Anyone else?

Congrats historyguy. W&M is awesome. I actually just received a very polite email from the DGS informing me that I was placed on the wait list for the PhD program. They said the wait list was relatively short, but I'm certainly not expecting anything. To be honest, I was expecting another rejection (I wouldn't characterize it as my very best fit, though I guess someone saw something interesting in my research) so this is fine. My chances of living somewhere on the east coast next year are seriously dwindling.

Oh, and as I'm being reminded - I have the benefit of youth still. I'm just coming out of undergrad now.

Ha, thanks I appreciate that... though I'm not sure I totally agree. Condolences on your rejection. No acceptances yet. A month ago, I would have been freaking out at the prospect of having no idea what I'll be doing next year, but if I'm not accepted anywhere I think I would enjoy and benefit from a year "off" at this point.

There's something about this whole interview thing that really softens the blow...

Rejected from Penn. Totally expected. I feel nothing. Nothing to see here, folks...

Yeah, but there's the problem. The impressiveness of your application doesn't always determine whether or where you'll be accepted. Honestly, getting accepted to 1/4 isn't a terrible track record, especially when you're applying to really competitive programs like Rutgers and Columbia. I definitely believe my application can be improved, as you do, (and I personally found this board very helpful over the summer for certain aspects of my app) but I know that if I enter myself into the applicant pool again, I'm also just hoping that the stars are aligned somewhere.

Hello, I'm a fellow early Americanist, and I feel like we're basically in a similar position (except I don't have a funded offer yet). I've got similar numbers to yours, similar language skills, and though I did contact my POIs to see if they were accepting students, I didn't build a relationship with them. My SOP could have maybe been improved too. So, like you, I feel like I have a high ceiling and if I only get accepted to my last choice, I'll have to think about it a little bit. Of course, the rule in applications is that you should only apply to places that you'd be willing to go to if you got rejected from everywhere else. But things do change - especially with the family emergency. I know I'm not in exactly the same place I was in Oct-Nov. I would suggest you talk it over with your any professors/mentors you're still in touch with, and your family. It's hard to make a meaningful comment without knowing you and your situation. For instance, if you have a steady job now, that's different from if you would have no way of supporting yourself over the next year. Turning down a funded offer is difficult, but if you think you can come back as a much stronger candidate a year from now, then it may be a good decision.

I appreciate that - and it's true. But I'm all about keeping my expectations realistic, and with 9 PhD acceptances on the big board and apparently only 15 extended, I'm about ready to call that one for me.

Seems like it. This is my only year in the applicant pool, but I keep hearing about smaller incoming cohorts and record numbers of applications. Is this something that gets said every year?