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I PM'd a MAPSS alum regarding the program (I too was accepted for this fall). I found their advice helpful, so I thought I'd repost it here:

-The program is designed to be completed within one calendar year, and I never knew of anyone who took longer. UChicago is on the quarter system, not the semester system. Most students (I think about 60% in my year) are able to finish their thesis during the third quarter in the spring. There is an option to take a "ghost class" to free up your time to work on the thesis, which is the option I chose. However, plenty of students opt to work on their thesis during the following summer quarter. There is no additional tuition charged for this extra quarter (although I think there might be a nominal fee to have library checkout privileges.)

-The students are fairly evenly divided between history, anthropology, sociology, etc., and I think in general, history kids hang out with other history kids, political science with political science, etc. That said, everyone in the program has to take a required core class on social theory in the first quarter called "Perspectives in Social Science Analysis," which tends to foster some cross-disciplinary unity. However, you should be aware that UChicago in general is not known for its social cohesion, and the super-intensive nature of MAPSS in particular does not lend itself to a lot of socializing and partying. There were many, many weekends that I did absolutely nothing but study, and you kind of have to to survive there. Some people are really nice and friendly, but plenty more are pretty cutthroat and competitive. I think it bothered a lot of other students more than it bothered me, but this lack of a real social scene is probably one of the biggest drawbacks to program.

-People do a lot of different things during their gap year. I was fortunate enough to get a very good job pretty quickly as a corporate archivist. Many people have seemed to stay in the Hyde Park area and work in some administrative capacity for the university, or at one of the research institutes on campus. This is also a great time to work on languages, and I would say most people do that.

-There is a full time staff member who is there for the sole purpose of helping MAPSS students find jobs. He sends out a weekly, extensive email listing a wide variety of jobs in business, governments, research, and the non-profit sector. There is also a university-wide staff in career services of about thirty people, and they're fantastic -- they hold seminars and lectures on job searching techniques, maintain a database of jobs, etc. And the best part is, you can use their services for life.

Just some general thoughts -- it is super, super intense. I can only compare it to academic boot camp. It's very sink or swim. Everything is squeezed into one year, and you will be tired and exhausted and overwhelmed. It was probably the single most challenging thing I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. I feel like I learned as much in that year as I did in four years as an undergrad. It will get you more prepared than you thought you could be for a PhD program. I didn't even realize how ignorant I was about theory, historiography, methodology, etc. before I started. And the campus is gorgeous, the neighborhood isn't nearly as bad as many people say (awesome architecture and a few decent bars and restaurants), and Chicago is a wonderful city. And you have a 90% chance of getting in somewhere. They tell you exactly how to write your statement of purpose, and they write you an incredibly detailed and personalized letter of recommendation. So far, that's gotten me into CUNY, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Regarding your situation, I knew several people in the program in a very similar situation to you -- history teachers coming back to academia. I came back after several years in the workforce, and its an ideal way to re-enter the academic world.

So yeah, I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have a good PhD offer (although plenty of people turned down good, funded PhD offers to attend MAPSS). It helps if you are funded, of course, but I wasn't, and I don't regret it at all.

I PM'd a MAPSS alum regarding the program (I too was accepted for this fall). I found their advice helpful, so I thought I'd repost it here:

-The program is designed to be completed within one calendar year, and I never knew of anyone who took longer. UChicago is on the quarter system, not the semester system. Most students (I think about 60% in my year) are able to finish their thesis during the third quarter in the spring. There is an option to take a "ghost class" to free up your time to work on the thesis, which is the option I chose. However, plenty of students opt to work on their thesis during the following summer quarter. There is no additional tuition charged for this extra quarter (although I think there might be a nominal fee to have library checkout privileges.)

-The students are fairly evenly divided between history, anthropology, sociology, etc., and I think in general, history kids hang out with other history kids, political science with political science, etc. That said, everyone in the program has to take a required core class on social theory in the first quarter called "Perspectives in Social Science Analysis," which tends to foster some cross-disciplinary unity. However, you should be aware that UChicago in general is not known for its social cohesion, and the super-intensive nature of MAPSS in particular does not lend itself to a lot of socializing and partying. There were many, many weekends that I did absolutely nothing but study, and you kind of have to to survive there. Some people are really nice and friendly, but plenty more are pretty cutthroat and competitive. I think it bothered a lot of other students more than it bothered me, but this lack of a real social scene is probably one of the biggest drawbacks to program.

-People do a lot of different things during their gap year. I was fortunate enough to get a very good job pretty quickly as a corporate archivist. Many people have seemed to stay in the Hyde Park area and work in some administrative capacity for the university, or at one of the research institutes on campus. This is also a great time to work on languages, and I would say most people do that.

-There is a full time staff member who is there for the sole purpose of helping MAPSS students find jobs. He sends out a weekly, extensive email listing a wide variety of jobs in business, governments, research, and the non-profit sector. There is also a university-wide staff in career services of about thirty people, and they're fantastic -- they hold seminars and lectures on job searching techniques, maintain a database of jobs, etc. And the best part is, you can use their services for life.

Just some general thoughts -- it is super, super intense. I can only compare it to academic boot camp. It's very sink or swim. Everything is squeezed into one year, and you will be tired and exhausted and overwhelmed. It was probably the single most challenging thing I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. I feel like I learned as much in that year as I did in four years as an undergrad. It will get you more prepared than you thought you could be for a PhD program. I didn't even realize how ignorant I was about theory, historiography, methodology, etc. before I started. And the campus is gorgeous, the neighborhood isn't nearly as bad as many people say (awesome architecture and a few decent bars and restaurants), and Chicago is a wonderful city. And you have a 90% chance of getting in somewhere. They tell you exactly how to write your statement of purpose, and they write you an incredibly detailed and personalized letter of recommendation. So far, that's gotten me into CUNY, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Regarding your situation, I knew several people in the program in a very similar situation to you -- history teachers coming back to academia. I came back after several years in the workforce, and its an ideal way to re-enter the academic world.

So yeah, I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have a good PhD offer (although plenty of people turned down good, funded PhD offers to attend MAPSS). It helps if you are funded, of course, but I wasn't, and I don't regret it at all.

I PM'd a MAPSS alum regarding the program (I too was accepted for this fall). I found their advice helpful, so I thought I'd repost it here:

-The program is designed to be completed within one calendar year, and I never knew of anyone who took longer. UChicago is on the quarter system, not the semester system. Most students (I think about 60% in my year) are able to finish their thesis during the third quarter in the spring. There is an option to take a "ghost class" to free up your time to work on the thesis, which is the option I chose. However, plenty of students opt to work on their thesis during the following summer quarter. There is no additional tuition charged for this extra quarter (although I think there might be a nominal fee to have library checkout privileges.)

-The students are fairly evenly divided between history, anthropology, sociology, etc., and I think in general, history kids hang out with other history kids, political science with political science, etc. That said, everyone in the program has to take a required core class on social theory in the first quarter called "Perspectives in Social Science Analysis," which tends to foster some cross-disciplinary unity. However, you should be aware that UChicago in general is not known for its social cohesion, and the super-intensive nature of MAPSS in particular does not lend itself to a lot of socializing and partying. There were many, many weekends that I did absolutely nothing but study, and you kind of have to to survive there. Some people are really nice and friendly, but plenty more are pretty cutthroat and competitive. I think it bothered a lot of other students more than it bothered me, but this lack of a real social scene is probably one of the biggest drawbacks to program.

-People do a lot of different things during their gap year. I was fortunate enough to get a very good job pretty quickly as a corporate archivist. Many people have seemed to stay in the Hyde Park area and work in some administrative capacity for the university, or at one of the research institutes on campus. This is also a great time to work on languages, and I would say most people do that.

-There is a full time staff member who is there for the sole purpose of helping MAPSS students find jobs. He sends out a weekly, extensive email listing a wide variety of jobs in business, governments, research, and the non-profit sector. There is also a university-wide staff in career services of about thirty people, and they're fantastic -- they hold seminars and lectures on job searching techniques, maintain a database of jobs, etc. And the best part is, you can use their services for life.

Just some general thoughts -- it is super, super intense. I can only compare it to academic boot camp. It's very sink or swim. Everything is squeezed into one year, and you will be tired and exhausted and overwhelmed. It was probably the single most challenging thing I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. I feel like I learned as much in that year as I did in four years as an undergrad. It will get you more prepared than you thought you could be for a PhD program. I didn't even realize how ignorant I was about theory, historiography, methodology, etc. before I started. And the campus is gorgeous, the neighborhood isn't nearly as bad as many people say (awesome architecture and a few decent bars and restaurants), and Chicago is a wonderful city. And you have a 90% chance of getting in somewhere. They tell you exactly how to write your statement of purpose, and they write you an incredibly detailed and personalized letter of recommendation. So far, that's gotten me into CUNY, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Regarding your situation, I knew several people in the program in a very similar situation to you -- history teachers coming back to academia. I came back after several years in the workforce, and its an ideal way to re-enter the academic world.

So yeah, I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have a good PhD offer (although plenty of people turned down good, funded PhD offers to attend MAPSS). It helps if you are funded, of course, but I wasn't, and I don't regret it at all.

I PM'd a MAPSS alum regarding the program (I too was accepted for this fall). I found their advice helpful, so I thought I'd repost it here:

-The program is designed to be completed within one calendar year, and I never knew of anyone who took longer. UChicago is on the quarter system, not the semester system. Most students (I think about 60% in my year) are able to finish their thesis during the third quarter in the spring. There is an option to take a "ghost class" to free up your time to work on the thesis, which is the option I chose. However, plenty of students opt to work on their thesis during the following summer quarter. There is no additional tuition charged for this extra quarter (although I think there might be a nominal fee to have library checkout privileges.)

-The students are fairly evenly divided between history, anthropology, sociology, etc., and I think in general, history kids hang out with other history kids, political science with political science, etc. That said, everyone in the program has to take a required core class on social theory in the first quarter called "Perspectives in Social Science Analysis," which tends to foster some cross-disciplinary unity. However, you should be aware that UChicago in general is not known for its social cohesion, and the super-intensive nature of MAPSS in particular does not lend itself to a lot of socializing and partying. There were many, many weekends that I did absolutely nothing but study, and you kind of have to to survive there. Some people are really nice and friendly, but plenty more are pretty cutthroat and competitive. I think it bothered a lot of other students more than it bothered me, but this lack of a real social scene is probably one of the biggest drawbacks to program.

-People do a lot of different things during their gap year. I was fortunate enough to get a very good job pretty quickly as a corporate archivist. Many people have seemed to stay in the Hyde Park area and work in some administrative capacity for the university, or at one of the research institutes on campus. This is also a great time to work on languages, and I would say most people do that.

-There is a full time staff member who is there for the sole purpose of helping MAPSS students find jobs. He sends out a weekly, extensive email listing a wide variety of jobs in business, governments, research, and the non-profit sector. There is also a university-wide staff in career services of about thirty people, and they're fantastic -- they hold seminars and lectures on job searching techniques, maintain a database of jobs, etc. And the best part is, you can use their services for life.

Just some general thoughts -- it is super, super intense. I can only compare it to academic boot camp. It's very sink or swim. Everything is squeezed into one year, and you will be tired and exhausted and overwhelmed. It was probably the single most challenging thing I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. I feel like I learned as much in that year as I did in four years as an undergrad. It will get you more prepared than you thought you could be for a PhD program. I didn't even realize how ignorant I was about theory, historiography, methodology, etc. before I started. And the campus is gorgeous, the neighborhood isn't nearly as bad as many people say (awesome architecture and a few decent bars and restaurants), and Chicago is a wonderful city. And you have a 90% chance of getting in somewhere. They tell you exactly how to write your statement of purpose, and they write you an incredibly detailed and personalized letter of recommendation. So far, that's gotten me into CUNY, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Regarding your situation, I knew several people in the program in a very similar situation to you -- history teachers coming back to academia. I came back after several years in the workforce, and its an ideal way to re-enter the academic world.

So yeah, I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have a good PhD offer (although plenty of people turned down good, funded PhD offers to attend MAPSS). It helps if you are funded, of course, but I wasn't, and I don't regret it at all.

I PM'd a MAPSS alum regarding the program (I too was accepted for this fall). I found their advice helpful, so I thought I'd repost it here:

-The program is designed to be completed within one calendar year, and I never knew of anyone who took longer. UChicago is on the quarter system, not the semester system. Most students (I think about 60% in my year) are able to finish their thesis during the third quarter in the spring. There is an option to take a "ghost class" to free up your time to work on the thesis, which is the option I chose. However, plenty of students opt to work on their thesis during the following summer quarter. There is no additional tuition charged for this extra quarter (although I think there might be a nominal fee to have library checkout privileges.)

-The students are fairly evenly divided between history, anthropology, sociology, etc., and I think in general, history kids hang out with other history kids, political science with political science, etc. That said, everyone in the program has to take a required core class on social theory in the first quarter called "Perspectives in Social Science Analysis," which tends to foster some cross-disciplinary unity. However, you should be aware that UChicago in general is not known for its social cohesion, and the super-intensive nature of MAPSS in particular does not lend itself to a lot of socializing and partying. There were many, many weekends that I did absolutely nothing but study, and you kind of have to to survive there. Some people are really nice and friendly, but plenty more are pretty cutthroat and competitive. I think it bothered a lot of other students more than it bothered me, but this lack of a real social scene is probably one of the biggest drawbacks to program.

-People do a lot of different things during their gap year. I was fortunate enough to get a very good job pretty quickly as a corporate archivist. Many people have seemed to stay in the Hyde Park area and work in some administrative capacity for the university, or at one of the research institutes on campus. This is also a great time to work on languages, and I would say most people do that.

-There is a full time staff member who is there for the sole purpose of helping MAPSS students find jobs. He sends out a weekly, extensive email listing a wide variety of jobs in business, governments, research, and the non-profit sector. There is also a university-wide staff in career services of about thirty people, and they're fantastic -- they hold seminars and lectures on job searching techniques, maintain a database of jobs, etc. And the best part is, you can use their services for life.

Just some general thoughts -- it is super, super intense. I can only compare it to academic boot camp. It's very sink or swim. Everything is squeezed into one year, and you will be tired and exhausted and overwhelmed. It was probably the single most challenging thing I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. I feel like I learned as much in that year as I did in four years as an undergrad. It will get you more prepared than you thought you could be for a PhD program. I didn't even realize how ignorant I was about theory, historiography, methodology, etc. before I started. And the campus is gorgeous, the neighborhood isn't nearly as bad as many people say (awesome architecture and a few decent bars and restaurants), and Chicago is a wonderful city. And you have a 90% chance of getting in somewhere. They tell you exactly how to write your statement of purpose, and they write you an incredibly detailed and personalized letter of recommendation. So far, that's gotten me into CUNY, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Regarding your situation, I knew several people in the program in a very similar situation to you -- history teachers coming back to academia. I came back after several years in the workforce, and its an ideal way to re-enter the academic world.

So yeah, I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have a good PhD offer (although plenty of people turned down good, funded PhD offers to attend MAPSS). It helps if you are funded, of course, but I wasn't, and I don't regret it at all.

I PM'd a MAPSS alum regarding the program (I too was accepted for this fall). I found their advice helpful, so I thought I'd repost it here:

-The program is designed to be completed within one calendar year, and I never knew of anyone who took longer. UChicago is on the quarter system, not the semester system. Most students (I think about 60% in my year) are able to finish their thesis during the third quarter in the spring. There is an option to take a "ghost class" to free up your time to work on the thesis, which is the option I chose. However, plenty of students opt to work on their thesis during the following summer quarter. There is no additional tuition charged for this extra quarter (although I think there might be a nominal fee to have library checkout privileges.)

-The students are fairly evenly divided between history, anthropology, sociology, etc., and I think in general, history kids hang out with other history kids, political science with political science, etc. That said, everyone in the program has to take a required core class on social theory in the first quarter called "Perspectives in Social Science Analysis," which tends to foster some cross-disciplinary unity. However, you should be aware that UChicago in general is not known for its social cohesion, and the super-intensive nature of MAPSS in particular does not lend itself to a lot of socializing and partying. There were many, many weekends that I did absolutely nothing but study, and you kind of have to to survive there. Some people are really nice and friendly, but plenty more are pretty cutthroat and competitive. I think it bothered a lot of other students more than it bothered me, but this lack of a real social scene is probably one of the biggest drawbacks to program.

-People do a lot of different things during their gap year. I was fortunate enough to get a very good job pretty quickly as a corporate archivist. Many people have seemed to stay in the Hyde Park area and work in some administrative capacity for the university, or at one of the research institutes on campus. This is also a great time to work on languages, and I would say most people do that.

-There is a full time staff member who is there for the sole purpose of helping MAPSS students find jobs. He sends out a weekly, extensive email listing a wide variety of jobs in business, governments, research, and the non-profit sector. There is also a university-wide staff in career services of about thirty people, and they're fantastic -- they hold seminars and lectures on job searching techniques, maintain a database of jobs, etc. And the best part is, you can use their services for life.

Just some general thoughts -- it is super, super intense. I can only compare it to academic boot camp. It's very sink or swim. Everything is squeezed into one year, and you will be tired and exhausted and overwhelmed. It was probably the single most challenging thing I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. I feel like I learned as much in that year as I did in four years as an undergrad. It will get you more prepared than you thought you could be for a PhD program. I didn't even realize how ignorant I was about theory, historiography, methodology, etc. before I started. And the campus is gorgeous, the neighborhood isn't nearly as bad as many people say (awesome architecture and a few decent bars and restaurants), and Chicago is a wonderful city. And you have a 90% chance of getting in somewhere. They tell you exactly how to write your statement of purpose, and they write you an incredibly detailed and personalized letter of recommendation. So far, that's gotten me into CUNY, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Regarding your situation, I knew several people in the program in a very similar situation to you -- history teachers coming back to academia. I came back after several years in the workforce, and its an ideal way to re-enter the academic world.

So yeah, I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have a good PhD offer (although plenty of people turned down good, funded PhD offers to attend MAPSS). It helps if you are funded, of course, but I wasn't, and I don't regret it at all.

I PM'd a MAPSS alum regarding the program (I too was accepted for this fall). I found their advice helpful, so I thought I'd repost it here:

-The program is designed to be completed within one calendar year, and I never knew of anyone who took longer. UChicago is on the quarter system, not the semester system. Most students (I think about 60% in my year) are able to finish their thesis during the third quarter in the spring. There is an option to take a "ghost class" to free up your time to work on the thesis, which is the option I chose. However, plenty of students opt to work on their thesis during the following summer quarter. There is no additional tuition charged for this extra quarter (although I think there might be a nominal fee to have library checkout privileges.)

-The students are fairly evenly divided between history, anthropology, sociology, etc., and I think in general, history kids hang out with other history kids, political science with political science, etc. That said, everyone in the program has to take a required core class on social theory in the first quarter called "Perspectives in Social Science Analysis," which tends to foster some cross-disciplinary unity. However, you should be aware that UChicago in general is not known for its social cohesion, and the super-intensive nature of MAPSS in particular does not lend itself to a lot of socializing and partying. There were many, many weekends that I did absolutely nothing but study, and you kind of have to to survive there. Some people are really nice and friendly, but plenty more are pretty cutthroat and competitive. I think it bothered a lot of other students more than it bothered me, but this lack of a real social scene is probably one of the biggest drawbacks to program.

-People do a lot of different things during their gap year. I was fortunate enough to get a very good job pretty quickly as a corporate archivist. Many people have seemed to stay in the Hyde Park area and work in some administrative capacity for the university, or at one of the research institutes on campus. This is also a great time to work on languages, and I would say most people do that.

-There is a full time staff member who is there for the sole purpose of helping MAPSS students find jobs. He sends out a weekly, extensive email listing a wide variety of jobs in business, governments, research, and the non-profit sector. There is also a university-wide staff in career services of about thirty people, and they're fantastic -- they hold seminars and lectures on job searching techniques, maintain a database of jobs, etc. And the best part is, you can use their services for life.

Just some general thoughts -- it is super, super intense. I can only compare it to academic boot camp. It's very sink or swim. Everything is squeezed into one year, and you will be tired and exhausted and overwhelmed. It was probably the single most challenging thing I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. I feel like I learned as much in that year as I did in four years as an undergrad. It will get you more prepared than you thought you could be for a PhD program. I didn't even realize how ignorant I was about theory, historiography, methodology, etc. before I started. And the campus is gorgeous, the neighborhood isn't nearly as bad as many people say (awesome architecture and a few decent bars and restaurants), and Chicago is a wonderful city. And you have a 90% chance of getting in somewhere. They tell you exactly how to write your statement of purpose, and they write you an incredibly detailed and personalized letter of recommendation. So far, that's gotten me into CUNY, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Regarding your situation, I knew several people in the program in a very similar situation to you -- history teachers coming back to academia. I came back after several years in the workforce, and its an ideal way to re-enter the academic world.

So yeah, I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have a good PhD offer (although plenty of people turned down good, funded PhD offers to attend MAPSS). It helps if you are funded, of course, but I wasn't, and I don't regret it at all.

I PM'd a MAPSS alum regarding the program (I too was accepted for this fall). I found their advice helpful, so I thought I'd repost it here:

-The program is designed to be completed within one calendar year, and I never knew of anyone who took longer. UChicago is on the quarter system, not the semester system. Most students (I think about 60% in my year) are able to finish their thesis during the third quarter in the spring. There is an option to take a "ghost class" to free up your time to work on the thesis, which is the option I chose. However, plenty of students opt to work on their thesis during the following summer quarter. There is no additional tuition charged for this extra quarter (although I think there might be a nominal fee to have library checkout privileges.)

-The students are fairly evenly divided between history, anthropology, sociology, etc., and I think in general, history kids hang out with other history kids, political science with political science, etc. That said, everyone in the program has to take a required core class on social theory in the first quarter called "Perspectives in Social Science Analysis," which tends to foster some cross-disciplinary unity. However, you should be aware that UChicago in general is not known for its social cohesion, and the super-intensive nature of MAPSS in particular does not lend itself to a lot of socializing and partying. There were many, many weekends that I did absolutely nothing but study, and you kind of have to to survive there. Some people are really nice and friendly, but plenty more are pretty cutthroat and competitive. I think it bothered a lot of other students more than it bothered me, but this lack of a real social scene is probably one of the biggest drawbacks to program.

-People do a lot of different things during their gap year. I was fortunate enough to get a very good job pretty quickly as a corporate archivist. Many people have seemed to stay in the Hyde Park area and work in some administrative capacity for the university, or at one of the research institutes on campus. This is also a great time to work on languages, and I would say most people do that.

-There is a full time staff member who is there for the sole purpose of helping MAPSS students find jobs. He sends out a weekly, extensive email listing a wide variety of jobs in business, governments, research, and the non-profit sector. There is also a university-wide staff in career services of about thirty people, and they're fantastic -- they hold seminars and lectures on job searching techniques, maintain a database of jobs, etc. And the best part is, you can use their services for life.

Just some general thoughts -- it is super, super intense. I can only compare it to academic boot camp. It's very sink or swim. Everything is squeezed into one year, and you will be tired and exhausted and overwhelmed. It was probably the single most challenging thing I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. I feel like I learned as much in that year as I did in four years as an undergrad. It will get you more prepared than you thought you could be for a PhD program. I didn't even realize how ignorant I was about theory, historiography, methodology, etc. before I started. And the campus is gorgeous, the neighborhood isn't nearly as bad as many people say (awesome architecture and a few decent bars and restaurants), and Chicago is a wonderful city. And you have a 90% chance of getting in somewhere. They tell you exactly how to write your statement of purpose, and they write you an incredibly detailed and personalized letter of recommendation. So far, that's gotten me into CUNY, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Regarding your situation, I knew several people in the program in a very similar situation to you -- history teachers coming back to academia. I came back after several years in the workforce, and its an ideal way to re-enter the academic world.

So yeah, I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have a good PhD offer (although plenty of people turned down good, funded PhD offers to attend MAPSS). It helps if you are funded, of course, but I wasn't, and I don't regret it at all.

So I'm in an interesting quandry at the moment.

I have managed to narrow down my options for next year to two solid programs at two very different universities. Of these two universities (B and A) I am much more drawn to A and feel as if I would have many more opportunities and resources at my disposal through my years as a student there. The only issue is that my funding package at A is significantly less than that which B has offered me. So far this sounds just like an introduction to your typical "negotiate for more funding" post, but here's where the twist comes in.

I haven't actually recieved an official award letter (university letterhead, etc) from B, but was told by my POI during my visit and through email that they have awarded me full funding and assistantships for my incoming year. Now when I told my POI at university A what university B had offered me, he said he would be able to push for more funding for my incoming year to cover non-resident tuition costs and match the competing offer. The only problem? They need a copy of the official funding letter from university B.

Now, when I pressed B for an official letter, the grad secretary proceeded to break down the costs of attendance and my award in full in an email, but there is no official letter in sight. They seem to be treating the issue much more casually than I expected and in the email the secretary seems to shrug off the necessity for an official letter because "[they] can take care of all the financial details when get [there] and set [me] up in Payroll". I asked her nicely if she could send me an official letter for my records, but I feel like if I keep pushing the issue they are going to catch wind that there is something up, namely I am trying to get my hands on an official award letter so I can use their offer to get myself more funding at university A, which is where I really want to go.

How far is too far? Aren't they required to provide me with some sort of official documentation? I really don't want to step on any toes as I greatly enjoyed my time visiting university B and enjoyed talking to the grad secretary in person, but I also don't want to lose out on additional funding at A because of any hesitation on my part.

I PM'd a MAPSS alum regarding the program (I too was accepted for this fall). I found their advice helpful, so I thought I'd repost it here:

-The program is designed to be completed within one calendar year, and I never knew of anyone who took longer. UChicago is on the quarter system, not the semester system. Most students (I think about 60% in my year) are able to finish their thesis during the third quarter in the spring. There is an option to take a "ghost class" to free up your time to work on the thesis, which is the option I chose. However, plenty of students opt to work on their thesis during the following summer quarter. There is no additional tuition charged for this extra quarter (although I think there might be a nominal fee to have library checkout privileges.)

-The students are fairly evenly divided between history, anthropology, sociology, etc., and I think in general, history kids hang out with other history kids, political science with political science, etc. That said, everyone in the program has to take a required core class on social theory in the first quarter called "Perspectives in Social Science Analysis," which tends to foster some cross-disciplinary unity. However, you should be aware that UChicago in general is not known for its social cohesion, and the super-intensive nature of MAPSS in particular does not lend itself to a lot of socializing and partying. There were many, many weekends that I did absolutely nothing but study, and you kind of have to to survive there. Some people are really nice and friendly, but plenty more are pretty cutthroat and competitive. I think it bothered a lot of other students more than it bothered me, but this lack of a real social scene is probably one of the biggest drawbacks to program.

-People do a lot of different things during their gap year. I was fortunate enough to get a very good job pretty quickly as a corporate archivist. Many people have seemed to stay in the Hyde Park area and work in some administrative capacity for the university, or at one of the research institutes on campus. This is also a great time to work on languages, and I would say most people do that.

-There is a full time staff member who is there for the sole purpose of helping MAPSS students find jobs. He sends out a weekly, extensive email listing a wide variety of jobs in business, governments, research, and the non-profit sector. There is also a university-wide staff in career services of about thirty people, and they're fantastic -- they hold seminars and lectures on job searching techniques, maintain a database of jobs, etc. And the best part is, you can use their services for life.

Just some general thoughts -- it is super, super intense. I can only compare it to academic boot camp. It's very sink or swim. Everything is squeezed into one year, and you will be tired and exhausted and overwhelmed. It was probably the single most challenging thing I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. I feel like I learned as much in that year as I did in four years as an undergrad. It will get you more prepared than you thought you could be for a PhD program. I didn't even realize how ignorant I was about theory, historiography, methodology, etc. before I started. And the campus is gorgeous, the neighborhood isn't nearly as bad as many people say (awesome architecture and a few decent bars and restaurants), and Chicago is a wonderful city. And you have a 90% chance of getting in somewhere. They tell you exactly how to write your statement of purpose, and they write you an incredibly detailed and personalized letter of recommendation. So far, that's gotten me into CUNY, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Regarding your situation, I knew several people in the program in a very similar situation to you -- history teachers coming back to academia. I came back after several years in the workforce, and its an ideal way to re-enter the academic world.

So yeah, I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have a good PhD offer (although plenty of people turned down good, funded PhD offers to attend MAPSS). It helps if you are funded, of course, but I wasn't, and I don't regret it at all.

I PM'd a MAPSS alum regarding the program (I too was accepted for this fall). I found their advice helpful, so I thought I'd repost it here:

-The program is designed to be completed within one calendar year, and I never knew of anyone who took longer. UChicago is on the quarter system, not the semester system. Most students (I think about 60% in my year) are able to finish their thesis during the third quarter in the spring. There is an option to take a "ghost class" to free up your time to work on the thesis, which is the option I chose. However, plenty of students opt to work on their thesis during the following summer quarter. There is no additional tuition charged for this extra quarter (although I think there might be a nominal fee to have library checkout privileges.)

-The students are fairly evenly divided between history, anthropology, sociology, etc., and I think in general, history kids hang out with other history kids, political science with political science, etc. That said, everyone in the program has to take a required core class on social theory in the first quarter called "Perspectives in Social Science Analysis," which tends to foster some cross-disciplinary unity. However, you should be aware that UChicago in general is not known for its social cohesion, and the super-intensive nature of MAPSS in particular does not lend itself to a lot of socializing and partying. There were many, many weekends that I did absolutely nothing but study, and you kind of have to to survive there. Some people are really nice and friendly, but plenty more are pretty cutthroat and competitive. I think it bothered a lot of other students more than it bothered me, but this lack of a real social scene is probably one of the biggest drawbacks to program.

-People do a lot of different things during their gap year. I was fortunate enough to get a very good job pretty quickly as a corporate archivist. Many people have seemed to stay in the Hyde Park area and work in some administrative capacity for the university, or at one of the research institutes on campus. This is also a great time to work on languages, and I would say most people do that.

-There is a full time staff member who is there for the sole purpose of helping MAPSS students find jobs. He sends out a weekly, extensive email listing a wide variety of jobs in business, governments, research, and the non-profit sector. There is also a university-wide staff in career services of about thirty people, and they're fantastic -- they hold seminars and lectures on job searching techniques, maintain a database of jobs, etc. And the best part is, you can use their services for life.

Just some general thoughts -- it is super, super intense. I can only compare it to academic boot camp. It's very sink or swim. Everything is squeezed into one year, and you will be tired and exhausted and overwhelmed. It was probably the single most challenging thing I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. I feel like I learned as much in that year as I did in four years as an undergrad. It will get you more prepared than you thought you could be for a PhD program. I didn't even realize how ignorant I was about theory, historiography, methodology, etc. before I started. And the campus is gorgeous, the neighborhood isn't nearly as bad as many people say (awesome architecture and a few decent bars and restaurants), and Chicago is a wonderful city. And you have a 90% chance of getting in somewhere. They tell you exactly how to write your statement of purpose, and they write you an incredibly detailed and personalized letter of recommendation. So far, that's gotten me into CUNY, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Regarding your situation, I knew several people in the program in a very similar situation to you -- history teachers coming back to academia. I came back after several years in the workforce, and its an ideal way to re-enter the academic world.

So yeah, I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have a good PhD offer (although plenty of people turned down good, funded PhD offers to attend MAPSS). It helps if you are funded, of course, but I wasn't, and I don't regret it at all.

I just heard back from Chicago...I thought it couldn't hurt to inquire. And, apparently the 'f' simply means that they have already created a file for you. Phew.

Though, the best-case scenario of f = fellowship would have been lovely