diplodocus

Congrats TMP and Haig on Ohio State! That's great news and a great school. I guess I can only hope I've been waitlisted.

Hey Cooperstreet and haig, Looks like we have Columbia and Vandy in common. I'm interested in the U.S. role in French decolonization in North and West Africa. Good luck to both of you with Princeton! That would be a nice school to get into.

Thanks Goldie. That makes a bit of sense. I guess I'll find out more on Monday; maybe they just stopped in the middle of their rejections cause it was late at night. My last name is towards the end of the alphabet. Congrats to you! You've really been cleaning house around here. It's quite impressive, especially knowing how competitive things are right now.

Congrats to all the Wisconsin and Berkley admits! Two quick questions. Are any of the Northwestern admits Americanists? And, does anyone know how Northwestern makes decisions? Thanks a million.

Hmm, well my interests are tied to France, so who knows? I surely don't. Maybe our application response is lost in some vortex and we'll have to battle an evil dungeon lord to find out. My guess is I'll die in the process. I did have a dream last night that I got into one of my schools, and the campus visit was a trip to Copacabana. I'll blame that on too much Portuguese studying yesterday. Anyway, congrats again on all the acceptences to Northwestern. Sorry to all of those who didn't make it in. Not a fun feeling.

U.S. foreign relations. And you?

I don't either. I wonder if some parts of the department have made decisions and others haven't. Or maybe the system is just slow to upload our rejections.

Congrats to all the Northwestern acceptences! It really is a wonderful program. Is there anybody out there who doesn't have a decision posted to their Northwestern account? Maybe the person posting rejections got tired and stopped halfway through. My status just says submitted.

Hello fellow UT Austin Rejects!!! And congrats to everyone who got in or wait listed!!! I have to say it wasn't fun getting my first rejection, and UT was a school I thought I had good chance of getting into. It was the only school I allowed myself to get my hopes up for, just because I had heard some positive feedback through the grapevine. I think that just shows how in the end all the variables such as funding, hierarchal deference in the department, department needs, vision, and the fit and quality of those in the same subfield compared to you all play a role in whether you get in. You can't take it personal, even if that doesn't make it hurt any less. It looks like things are pretty competitive this year. I guess that's why I applied widely. Anyway, congrats again to all the accepts. And dear friends who didn't get in, I'm feeling your pain.

Hey friends, Congrats to all the acceptances!!! I'm sure that feels good. I just wanted to share that I found out a little while ago that I've been accepted to Texas A&M. It would be a very good situation. My advisor is a great guy and scholar, and he has a lot of interesting contacts. It definitely reduces the stress waiting to hear back from the remaining schools I applied to. I would have posted earlier, but I didn't want people freaking out because it was so early in the game. Here's hoping for more news soon, but I'm not expecting anything for 2 1/2 weeks. Also, this week I have the chance of meeting someone at one of the schools I applied to. I'll post if I find out anything interesting; I know it is a school others here are interested in. Okay, back to work.

Yay!!! I'm glad it worked. And yes, it is rather sad that is what solved it. On the bright side, maybe our $105 application fee will help them fix the problem.

I don't know what just happened, but I somehow got it submit. I clicked on it, and it gave me the same error sign. I clicked on it again, and while it was loading, I clicked again. Somehow it worked. It was a delayed double click type of action. Maybe it will work for everyone else, or maybe I got lucky somehow. Gotta love technology.

I sent another email, referencing the previous one I sent, and tried to be even more detailed in my description of the problem. I'll post if I hear anything back. Hopefully they get it figured out soon.

I also got an email, though it addresses uploading supplementary documents and not the financial aid section. Did anyone get an email addressing the actual financial aid part?

Yeah, I have as well. I've been trying off and on for the past week to submit it, but nothing seems to happen. I just sent off an email asking for help. I'll let you know if I hear anything back.

I have finally finished all 11 of my applications. I somehow thought that during this process I would have a sense of relief as I finished up a school's application, but instead I just got more nervous wondering if I had done everything correctly. Besides some stupid mistakes, I think they all turned out decent. If for some reason I don't get in anywhere, I will be much better the next application round, but I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that. Good luck to everyone finishing up!!!

Hey Eigen, thanks for the response. I just wanted to make sure 253805 we felt for their situation. It doesn't sound like a lot of fun at all, nor does it look like it's their fault. As far as terminal MA is concerned, that might be the best option. I don't know if employers would know the difference, but I also don't know how marketable a History MA is in the first place. (Or a PhD for that matter). But if the professors end up not being that helpful in helping you transfer, it might be the best option. The question you might want to ask yourself is how likely you are to get a job if you were somehow able to continue with your current program? Would these professors be that helpful in the job search if you were somehow able to figure out how to stay on? Especially if you are paying for your program, it might be better to cut your losses and run. Good luck with those two professors; I hope for your sake things work out in a way that's best for you. I think this is a good reminder for all of us when choosing school to keep in mind how supportive our potential advisor is. Is this someone who can help you if things get rough? I had some very weird things go down with my current program, and it was invaluable to have some allies by my side. Anyway, best of luck.

Hey guys, I’m a longtime lurker, but this was something I thought would be good to respond to. The responses to 253805 fall well below the collegial nature that has been expressed on this board, so I thought I would try a different approach. Dear 253805. I am very sorry to hear that you have a difficult family situation, and I hope things are going well and that they get better. As much as academia likes to think their research is the most important thing, I’ve found my family and friendships to be the much more rewarding than any “innovative” research I have done. So here is my advice, which may or not be helpful. Do not take no for an answer. I think some of the responders believe that they would never end up in a situation like this. The problem is, there are often issues that come up, and even if we are stellar students, we can run into trouble. The main thing is to remain calm, and don’t say or write anything that you will regret later. But keep trying to figure this out. I had an issue earlier this year, and I thought there was no solution. Thankfully I had a great mentor professor who helped me figure all the bureaucratic machinations out. Can you talk to the department chair, graduate studies office, or someone higher up? Be persistent, but also be patient and calm. Talk to a trusted professor in the field. While it seems your current department is being less than helpful, do you have anyone at your undergraduate institution that you could trust telling your story to? They can provide insight and support that your fellow students in your program and here on the grad board can’t. Avoid legal action at all costs, but find out your legal options. I think legal action is the last resort, and in most cases, not even something you want to consider. Even if it is the last resort, it is likely not the best option. You would ruin your relationship with the professors and would likely scare off future schools from taking you on. That being said, it might be helpful to know about your legal options. That way you can go in informed. In law, there two similar concepts called reliance and promissory estoppel, which means that if someone has said we have this deal, and then you act on that assurance, and if your action is reasonable, but they don’t hold to the end of their bargain, then you might have a case. Despite all the legal answers from history grad students, I doubt this is the best place to look for legal advice.There are often free legal clinics where you can get advice from local attorneys.The state courts website often has a list of clinics by city. Even if they say they are set up for a specific area of law, usually the person handling the questions can give you some idea of where you stand. Once again, I don’t think suing is an option you want to take.Would you really want to work with a professor who you forced to advise you because of a lawsuit?That just doesn’t seem like a good idea.But because you are paying for your tuition, and if you somehow can’t transfer to another school or get an advisor, maybe this would be a last resort to get your money back.I’m not a lawyer, so I wouldn’t know. Good luck with everything. I know that times like this can be lonely, so I hope that it works out for the best. Just remember to keep your cool and to be kind. You don’t want to burn bridges. I better get off to class.