GuitarSlayer

Yes, yes, and absolutely yes. York was in my top 2 programs, and the POI was #1. So far, it's my only accept, and no idea yet about funding. I may not know until July, past the point of no return. I got 2 rejects on Monday, and the OSU one shook me up. I finally had the will to post it today - it stung. However, I STILL GOT INTO MY #2. WTF can I be so sad about? I've emailed my POI and my financial person, and if it's a bust, I have a deferring option. However, I want to go. This is where I want to go and who I want to be with. So note the last line in my sig. So while I'm waiting for the final offer, I'm going to go ahead and set up a GoFundMe tomorrow -- financial aid will NOT cover my move or bringing my pets over to any school I attend anyway. So hey - I've got to start somewhere.

Not heard anything here either. App status hasn't budged since I submitted it 3 January. I did see a lot of Greco-Roman admits, however, so if they're starting a new program/refurbishing with new students, that may have top priority.

UMich's History and Anthro decisions were apparently supposed to go out this morning, but the email fubared. So a decision has been reached. On one hand, I'm fearful because the two people from the results page called in early (before they had crisis protocol in place) and got rejected. On the other hand, we haven't seen any admits from the program at all. (History and Anthro is separate from regular History in terms of admissions, from what I understand.) I don't know what to think right now.

I called the department just now, and they stated that there was supposed to be emails going out early this morning, but they had misunderstood how the system operated. As a result, my email (no idea what the decision is) will be going out later today. They are TOTALLY besieged by all the program applicants -- I think they decided all at once, and now everyone is calling to see what the result is.

Write down anything you want to know about the school that you can think of tonight and have it with you at all times. Your brain is likely to keel over and die of happies, but there are things that you DO need to ask about, as the above poster said.

I've dabbled in that area when studying king vs kingship issues. Fun times

I actually poked around the site a few weeks ago, and that's what I saw. So I don't think that is indicative of anything. My history area is medieval -- what's yours?

Thanks for the heads up! I just logged into UMich, and I have the same message on the page. I am assuming we're either getting a phone call, email, or snail mail this week. Given that I had to mail in my transcripts (no electronic submissions), I would bet on phone or snail mail. Good luck! (I'm just going to go over here and freak out now, don't mind me.) On the bright side, I haven't heard of anyone being accepted to the program yet, and acceptances tend to come before rejections, since folks need to figure out what direction is up. So fingers crossed!!

I applied for PhD programs in History only, but I made sure that I had the option of getting a Medieval or Early Modern certificate. That indicates that 1) you're well-rounded enough to teach those freshmen; 2) you're specific enough to teach the specialty courses. Interdisciplinary is awesome, but you can't do a solely medieval degree and expect to get hired to teach US History I to freshmen -- which is where a lot of us are going to start our careers, honestly.

I noticed that no less than 3 medieval tenure jobs became available this year at schools I was interested in. I think a lot of the medievalists who came out of the 1960s and 1970s are retiring, so the schools can't take on a large medieval cohort, or they are tapering off in anticipation of that.

Absolutely!

Northwestern had over three dozen applicants for medieval history and one slot. I feel better now. I REALLY feel good that my POI at my acceptance school is really, really eager for me to come and is sending me stuff for my thesis. Maybe I should just chuck the rest of the apps and just start planning "how" rather than "if." Still waiting on 5 schools, however.

Well, still waiting on 5 of my 8 schools. That art history OSU admit nearly made me keel over, especially when "interview weekend" was mentioned. Also still waiting on funding results from York, and I promised myself that I would not harass the poor history office guy until March 1. On the bright side, I survived giving my first conference paper. Got good reviews, and my department head -- who normally bounces around the conference to see his various students -- sat all the way through my panel. Sent it to York POI, got a nice email back, and then got a "thank you for coming and sharing your paper, can't wait to read more of your work" email from the panel chair. Maybe this year isn't my year, but at least I know I have some sort of mojo going on and I'm not totally misguided.

I don't think many if any have heard from OSU unless it's been from the POI. They're late this year compared to years prior, which is making me batty too.

I'm cognizant of the risks involved. That's not the likely final scenario at all -- however, at this time, I'm just telling myself that so I'm not obsessing over the 5 schools I'm waiting on. I still need to do my conference this year and complete my thesis, and wasting away in front of the computer is counterproductive to that. The stress of waiting is affecting my ability to do work. So I'm telling myself, $100k or not, I'm going. End of obsession. Once I can pull my head out of my last cadaver, then I'll actually start thinking logically about deferring or whatever options I have in April. Worry not, I've not committed fiscal suicide yet.

As I posted on the history forum, I've just started telling myself that I'm going to take $100k out in loans and just do it, because I can't stand not continuing in the fall. Just can't. I haven't lost all hope for funding, but the wait is making me stir crazy.

Hmm, no new links or info on my Anthro/Hist app at Michigan. No idea what's going on there. Oh well, Michigan is cold anyway XD In other news, I've decided that the only way to keep my sanity while I wait is to simply say, "I'm going to York, and I'm taking out $100k in loans to do it, so there." I haven't accepted the offer (and won't til at least March, I think), but I need to stop being preoccupied by the process and the wait. I still have a good chance for funding, but I've already prepared myself for that scenario - it's not ideal, but it's better than not going and missing a chance to work with someone who doesn't think I'm Wednesday Addams incarnate due to my topic (mortuary and funerary practices of medieval and early mod Europe). Deferring remains an option, but I rather not lose a year, you know? And it also doesn't help that there is a question as to whether I could grab a job to fund my loan bills!

Unlike others here, I think you are giving appropriate weight to that question. When you go to conferences, people will give each other a look when they hear the name "Penn State." Your name will be connected with theirs -- in 10 years, when you're done, people might ask you, "Hey, were you there when...?" The problem with Penn State is the overwhelming football culture that trumps all things. The NCAA is trying to break it, but they are meeting a lot of resistance - students and adults both remain in denial. The culture there is pervasive -- I am a Yankee from New York who went to school in PA for undergrad who is living in Texas at the moment, and Penn State is/was Texas North as far as the all-consuming football culture. You may not be studying football, but you will be dealing with students and faculty that will be telling you those kids were lying, that Paterno did nothing wrong, and that the media was against them. Here's what it boils down to: Is Penn State your number one? Is Penn State your only fully funded offer? If the answer to either one of these questions is yes, then you do have a decision to make. If the answers to both of these is "no," then there is no dilemma.

Well, we have Bloodbath #3 of the season - first Berkeley, then Northwestern, and now Yale. It was a longshot for me, and I am fine with not getting in. I'm just relieved to finally know something. Other folks aren't taking it as well on the results page, and it's kinda disturbing O_o

I'm hating that a lot of schools that notified consistently on a certain week in February have not done so this year. 3 years running, and now they decide to change things up. (/rends clothing)

While I think selecttext's post may be a bit blunt, it is certainly valid. There may be something amiss with the application material itself. We also need more info -- again, as I mentioned in my post, if you're only applying to PhD programs from a BA three years in a row, that might indicate that you really need to get the master's first for your desired field. Some people get lucky and go straight through, but most of us get the MA first.

If you have been rejected, why not email your POI or the department to ask, "How can I improve my application?" Not "Why did you reject me?" -- that's not constructive, and that'll just batter your self-esteemed further. Also, step back. Are these schools that actually fit you? Or are they schools that you'd like to attend based upon factor xyz and not necessarily fit? If you're going straight from bachelor's to PhD, why not do the master's first? I think schools prefer that because it shaves 2 years off the time you need to be there, hence a shorter term funding package. Yes, it'll likely be at a cost, but it'll keep your feet in the game and grow the resume. Keep in mind that with a master's, you can teach at the community college level and also publish -- you may need a PhD to do the whole university thing, but all doors are not closed to you if you have to take a break between the master's and the doctorate. Take the time to grow your resume, do conferences, and write. So with the master's you're still further ahead than someone with just the BA.

For me, it comes down to how enthusiastic the POI is about my topic and me, but also funding. I rather have someone who is super supportive of me than a financial package with all the bells and whistles. I've worked full time while doing the masters, and while I would prefer not to do that again, it's not the worst thing in the world. Health insurance is a big deal. Funding opportunities in the summer as well as job positions on campus or otherwise also is worth considering. That said, I don't want to be saddled with debt for my PhD - $100-200k debt is not a happy thing, even if your adviser is the most awesome in the world. Since I do the history gig in late medieval/early modern Europe, having a Medieval Studies center/degree offering there (even if you aren't going to be doing medieval studies as your actual degree) indicates that significant support will be there for me in terms of languages and people in the field. Same idea for a Renaissance center, Asian studies, etc. You may not be going for that specific of a field, but you have the resources.

Northwestern rejects are out. I'm not as devastated as I thought I would be. I just wish the rest of the schools would hurry the hell up!

Got my first rejection. It burns and stings -- but I'm 1-1 so far, and it's on programs 1&2. I'm not devastated, but I do have a sad.