schlesinger1

Well, everyone, it's been a wild season of ups and downs, but I've now received responses from all the programs to which I applied, have finished up my campus visits, and have now accepted my offer at Princeton (a wonderful department -- New England Nat does not lie!). I hope everyone who hasn't heard back yet hears in the positive soon, and if any 2014-ers have any questions about the process, don't hesitate to reach out at any time and message me. I'm no expert, but I think I did a couple things right (and probably just as many wrong). Thanks for all the support, history grad cafers! Y'all are the best. So glad to be done with this process. Now on to the real work -- which I wish you all the best of luck in, as well.

I don't think i'm blowing minds.  I think there is some self delusion going on in some corners here.  And not generally from the people who are current grad students.  And I'll totally cop to people who aren't impressive coming out of prestigious institutions.  I'm in class with them  , and I certainly don't think i'm that impressive.

I think some people are putting a bit more of a rosy tint on things than you, but I don't think anybody really disagrees either.  I think your right generally, but at the end of the day people from my school who finish (which is the only one I really speak for) are generally getting jobs, not prestigious ones usually but tenure track jobs.  I met a couple of them at the AHA.  Don't get me wrong, few of them are dream jobs, but they are tenure track at four-year institutions.  Also Nat, do you really think we don't know the realities of the job market?  I have been hearing it from my professors since day one.  People do make it though from second/third tier institutions and it's not one in a million.  You're not being unpopular, you are just stating the obvious. 
 
I know a chicago PhD with a book contract from a really good press, who is languishing compared to people from lesser schools.  It really isn't as cut and dry as you depict it (which doesn't mean your wrong in general though).  I hope this doesn't come off as a rant or anger at you Nat, I generally appreciate your input, but if you think you are blowing minds here, I would say for the most part, you are wasting your time.  We all know the numbers, and we are not idiots.

FROM THE RESULTS BOARD:

UCSB History, PhD (F13) Accepted via E-mail on 8 Mar 2013No mention of funding. Still in shock. Thought I struck out this season.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Cook, since eating out is expensive. Invest in appliances that will let you make things like coffee more cheaply at home. Buy food from farmers' markets, since it's fresh but relatively inexpensive. Although it's tempting, try to avoid going out a lot and go to parties in apartments with free drinks/food when you can. Never take cabs, always take the subway. You've better off in a cheap apartment near an express subway stop with good access to school than with a more expensive one that's physically closer. Learn to love the outer neighborhoods of outer boroughs in general and their abundant expanses of cheap food (Flushing and Jackson Heights are among my favorites). Never pay full admission at museums where there's only a "suggested donation" - give them a dime or something. Use student discounts -- like student rush tickets at theatres -- religiously.
 
And don't worry too much about coming to the US for the first time; New York will probably ease the transition since it's way more cosmopolitan than most parts of the country. There will probably even be some neighborhood here filled with people from your country that you can retreat to from time to time if that would make you more comfortable.

My favorite comment from the results page today:
"$175 for taking the GRE, $25 sending of the GRE scores to Columbia, $105 Columbia application fee....Getting rejected from Columbia: Priceless"

Just wondering

i'd contact someone in the office or the DGS before i'd contact my POI

The petit bourgeoisie likening themselves to the proletariat...only on grad cafe.  If I used twitter there would be a hashtag somewhere in my previous sentence.

You know nothing about my background (or anybody else's) to be making such an assumption.

I'm trying to decided between my current institution and another program.  Both are excellent fits in terms of research matches with potential adviser and committee members, but the school I don't currently attend has my academic idol.  That said, I do think staying where I am will mean there's less of a chance people on my committee will leave for another university.  I haven't looked at any numbers yet, but the locations are fairly comparable in terms of cost of living. 
 
I have no idea how I'm going to decide and, absent any meaningful difference in funding offers, I'm banking on either being fed up with being where I am or completely in love with it by the time I need to decide.

Congratulations, GradCafénards. It seems we've lived through yet another relatively massacre-less start of the week and our applications at many schools that have issued acceptances but not rejections will live to die another day. It must be an especially hard year to decide whose dreams die now and whose agony gets prolonged til April.

Accepted at Mississippi State and the University of Alabama (my top choice)! Truly one of the best days of my life!
 
THE DREAM LIVES ON!!!

You guys should really pick up when you get a blocked number call because it might, in fact, be a program offering admission. I got in too!
 
Katzenmusik, I'd also be really interested to hear where you're in!

anyone else watching the results page and thinking, "Hm, yeah, I could get a PHD in HATS from MIT, that might be a good plan..."?

Caroline 5, I see you're new, so you may not yet be aware of the Results Survey: http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php
 
May you find the answers that you seek.

Or is American ham really bacon?...
 

Well, I'm one of those crazy people pursuing a PhD in History because I enjoy it, not because I dream of a tenure-track position where I can sit at the same desk for 30 years.  I already had one career like that and have thankfully moved beyond such frivolity.
 
That is one of the primary reasons I even considered taking up a PhD in the UK.  I do not necessarily even care to work at a US school.  It isn't as if I am not aware of many of the points raised concerning the difference in standing overall but I am completing a 2yr MA now in which I have already received a great deal of the "professional" training and I primarily just want something different.
 
This is another reason why I chose Miami.  Aside from the fact that my advisor there comes highly recommended I think I will enjoy the climate.  An absolutely horrendous reason to consider a school, I know.  But it is what it is.
 
I am not inclined to wait another year, attend a few more conferences, add a couple more lines to my CV and seek out placement at a higher ranked US school.  Quite frankly, if that is what I wanted then I would have applied to them to begin with.  I did my undergrad at Chapel Hill so I do have connections in the field.
 
I will be very happy at Miami if that is what I decide to do, I just wondered what peoples thoughts were on going into debt for schools like Edinburgh, which for Medieval Studies are top notch, even if outside the US system.  Thanks.

I don't know much about Engineering since I'm in Higher Ed but what I would suggest considering what you want to do with those degrees. Both are great schools but did you ever lean towards one over the other (before you heard back from them)? What career opportunities would one give you versus the other? Also, as someone who graduated in 2010 and took some time off from school before pursuing grad school, I'd seriously advise you to think about the next 5 years. Are you ready to commit to a long process as a PhD? Or would you prefer a MA which might give you flexibility to try different things out professionally before committing to a 5-7 year program. Best of luck! I know any of those two choices will be great.

i knew i'd get called out on throwing iowa around like that
 
let me be clear, i by no means am disparaging iowa, but i'm sure the UofI's satellite campus in Podunksville is nothing special

WAITLISTED AT PRINCETON! I am worth something, at least, even though I know I'm not getting in.

Wow, I just got into Indiana!!!!! The weight off my shoulders feels so good!

Yes, there is.  Being on the same page, 10.5 months apart.
 

Congrats!
 
I just finished an entire day of interviews (SEVEN!) at a prospective school.
 
I reviewed questions from various websites I found by googling "grad school interview tips", but the whole strengths/weaknesses-career goals-extracurricular activities-most influential book-stuff never came up.
 
I'd practice:
 
"So tell me about yourself."
 
"Why did you apply to ____? How are you a 'good fit'?"
 
"How did you become interested in ______?"
 
"How does your interest in ____ provoke questions about the larger topic of _____?"
 
AND definitely:
 
"Do you have any questions?" <---you'll hear this a million times! Prepare a substantial list. One of my 15-minute "interviews" was just an open Q&A, so be ready to do some interrogating yourself
 
Of course, I had seven 15-minute interviews and rarely made it through all of the questions above with each prof before our time was up; you might have a longer interview and want to prep for other "fluffy" questions. But I'd definitely recommend running through these ones so you can answer confidently and concisely under all the pressure you'll inevitably feel.
 
Finally, I'd bring a water bottle, an extra copy of your CV, a list of questions, a nice padfolio, printouts of the dept website info (to quickly match names with faces, make sure you're not asking questions covered on the website, etc.), and a campus map.
 
Strike a power pose (http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html) and you'll be set!
 
Best of luck, and congrats on making it this far

I can't imagine why you wouldn't lead off with the historiography. Especially if you're using theory more typically drawn upon in other disciplines-- part of your argument will be justifying this application, right? So you'd want to set that up early on.