czesc

Based on what I've read about this process at other schools, might involve ensuring that the recommended applicants meet the minimum requirements for the grad school and that funding packages can be guaranteed, etc.

*suspense*

Don't know how I didn't notice Stanford had such widely-spaced acceptances. I guess I was only looking at last year where the late admit only looked like someone who may have gotten in off the waitlist. One thing to consider is that a larger cluster than usual was admitted around the same time this year. In any case, it's hard to tell with the tiny dataset of applicants (particularly acceptances) we have for Stanford on GradCafe. As for Cornell, they admitted 10 this year. getitlow, this is apparently NYU's modus operandi every year.

I checked and past protocol indicates that Chicago sends out acceptances first, then waitlists, then rejections, then consolation prize Masters in Social Sciences admissions with (maybe) tuition waivers. I have a feeling those of us who haven't heard are either still in the email queue to receive rejections today or being offered a masters. At this point I'm betting on the latter.

Well, Chicago hasn't gotten around to massacring me yet. I get the feeling I may get their MA-referral there too... I wonder if it's awkward to be a job candidate later on before people who thought you "weren't ready" for the PhD you just received?

To answer some of the above, There has been a small wave of Stanford acceptances, mostly by phone, but no rejections yet. There have been some UPenn interviews (for regular History) but no decisions yet. There have been some NYU invites to the admit weekend (does not exclude you from the running if you weren't invited) and interview requests, but I don't think any decisions.

Hopefully you haven't actually bombed out! The other way to look at it is that there's lots of official decisions / wave admissions / waiting list surprises still to come. Anyway, yes. Adjunct salaries vary widely, but $2000 a course is possible; it could be even less (at some schools, $2000 is a maximum). And often the courses are at different universities far from one another. Oh, and you cover health care yourself.

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.

If you wind up adjuncting for $2000 a course (which is a realistic possibility in this field) even a deal that pegs your $100k debt repayment to 10-15% of your income will be financially debilitating and leave you with tens of thousands of dollars in debt piled up on your deathbed even if you die very old. The adjuncting lifestyle is hard enough without such worries dogging you to the grave. It is more than worth the investment of another year's wait and reapplication not to put oneself in this situation for life.

Yeah, it was the email Sankaty got that I was referring to. I haven't heard anything from Penn, but some people have had interviews.

It's hard to tell, but my impression is they don't do acceptances in waves and someone said the official email went out, so I'm not hopeful.

Same here, plus an invitation to the prospective weekend just now.

midnightfox - First, I don't think your non-history job is a big deal. I was in grad school in another discipline for three years and have been working for nearly three in that field now. While I emphasized that I took some history-oriented classes in law school, I didn't get an MA or do research while working and was still accepted. I also don't think it's a big deal that your writing sample is in a different subject area; my impression is that the point of a writing sample is to show that you 1) can write and 2) can do history, at least at a high enough level to warrant admission to a grad program. Fit seems to be a big deal and you may not be fitting into the programs you applied to through no fault of your own - the people you picked to work with might be on extended leave, or leaving, or interested in different things than in the past. The department might only be offering a certain number of spots or a certain amount of funding for your subfield this year. I think these issues are where it really does help to contact POIs and get a sense of what they're looking for in that cycle if you have to reapply. Based on what you find out, you might want to apply to a different roster of schools or change your proposed projects.

Beyond the pleasure of engaging in academic reading/writing, the schedule is definitely a big part of it for me. I don't have to be in my office right at 9, but I work more overall hours than people with 9-5s (at any time of day on any day, thanks to a Blackberry), and I have to keep track of everything I do in tiny increments for billing purposes. And there's pressure from different sources either to maximize the hours I can bill to clients or minimize them, and different projects to juggle, and the stress of possibly being fired for messing up any of these one things. Take it from me, don't ever turn to law if grad school doesn't work out! Stability and freedom with my time will be great.

Oh. I guess I can let go of hope for that, then...

Yes, I agree and this seems like the general attitude of most. I was just relaying what a prof told me about how some try to avoid interaction because they don't want to give someone who went a step beyond the formal process an unfair advantage. I don't think it militates against contacting POIs (since how could you know what their attitude is before you do?), but it may at least explain some of the no-replies.

Thanks to everyone for your congrats and especially to those still waiting on acceptances - your time will come! Goingcrazy, I only really talked to POIs at two schools (a combination of seeing them in person and via email). This doesn't seem to have meant anything with regard to my results so far; in fact, it looks like I might be rejected from both places (whereas where I was accepted/waitlisted I hadn't spoken to anyone). The advice I got about contacting POIs is that you never really know if it's helpful or otherwise. Apparently some profs are receptive, while others don't like people trying to circumvent the formal process, and others don't care. A prof from one of the schools I applied to told me that there have been years when no one they admitted had been in touch before they were admitted.

Thanks for the update, Safferz. Any Harvard admits know about the official email going out?

Congratulations!

Hi! I just got in for a PhD in History. First acceptance; happy finally to be able to post on this board.

Definitely true in more than one sense. I wonder whether St. Andrews or Cornell is more isolated...

It was Cornell - you called it! I really wonder what the situation is with Harvard. A lot of people seem to have heard, but Safferz and telkanuru disagree as to whether the decisions have been finalized...

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!

Nice choice. I think Yeats' "Second Coming" could work for my mood right around now, too.

And meanwhile I have failed to get in anywhere during an apparently "easy" year. Makes me feel that much more awesome.