Applications 2019

[misternovember]

6 minutes ago, fortsibut said:

Anyone else get an offer from Columbia to transfer your application to an MA program?  (I'm assuming everyone did and it's a cash cow for the school)  I was like "I already have an MA in history, Broseph."

I mean don't get me wrong, if I had Oprah money I'd do another MA at an Ivy just for the hell of it!

lmao my exact feelings

[historygeek]

14 minutes ago, fortsibut said:

Anyone else get an offer from Columbia to transfer your application to an MA program?  (I'm assuming everyone did and it's a cash cow for the school) I mean don't get me wrong, if I had Oprah money I'd do another MA at an Ivy just for the hell of it!

I just got it. I looked into it and the fellowship consideration deadline was in January.

[fortsibut]

2 minutes ago, historygeek said:

I just got it. I looked into it and the fellowship consideration deadline was in January.

Ivy league trolls, all of them.

[mediumatcha]

3 minutes ago, historygeek said:

I just got it. I looked into it and the fellowship consideration deadline was in January.

I did the MA in Paris last year actually, and I received 25% fellowship. I got this "25% off" offer without applying by January. I just forwarded my app to the MA dept after it was rejected for PhD. It could be worth it if you get funding and are considering among MAs. I chose it over Carnegie Mellon PhD in history. However -- it is really expensive so if you do not get any funding, I wouldn't recommend it.

Edited February 13, 2019 by mediumatcha

[fortsibut]

Just now, mediumatcha said:

I did the MA in Paris last year actually, and I received 25% fellowship. It could be worth it if you get funding and are considering among MAs. I chose it over Carnegie Mellon PhD in history. However -- it is really expensive so if you do not get any funding, I wouldn't recommend it.

You did a Columbia MA in Paris?  How expensive was it before the fellowship?  I didn't even look at Columbia's sticker price for an MA because I figured it was prolly $50k/year plus living expenses.

[mediumatcha]

Just now, fortsibut said:

You did a Columbia MA in Paris?  How expensive was it before the fellowship?  I didn't even look at Columbia's sticker price for an MA because I figured it was prolly $50k/year plus living expenses.

Yes, I did the Columbia MA in Paris 2017-2018 year. This is a copy/paste from my acceptance letter:

"On behalf of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Columbia University, I am pleased to offer you admission as a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in the History and Literature Program at Reid Hall in Paris, beginning in Fall 2017. As a student in the program, you will be enrolled full time in the Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 semesters. We are pleased to offer you a 25% tuition scholarship in the amount of $13,589. Your program will provide you with information about your specific package of support and how it will be disbursed. The estimated tuition for 2017-2018 is $54,356 ($27,178 each for the fall and spring terms)."

The department is tiny and helps you to find housing. The program has one option for au pairing-- I babysat for about 8-15 hours a week and got a studio for free. However, I know that it works differently this year, and the au pair has to pay a bit each month. There is also a work option for tutoring French students that pays between 400-500 euro a month. 

[fortsibut]

4 minutes ago, mediumatcha said:

Yes, I did the Columbia MA in Paris 2017-2018 year. This is a copy/paste from my acceptance letter:

"On behalf of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Columbia University, I am pleased to offer you admission as a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in the History and Literature Program at Reid Hall in Paris, beginning in Fall 2017. As a student in the program, you will be enrolled full time in the Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 semesters. We are pleased to offer you a 25% tuition scholarship in the amount of $13,589. Your program will provide you with information about your specific package of support and how it will be disbursed. The estimated tuition for 2017-2018 is $54,356 ($27,178 each for the fall and spring terms)."

The department is tiny and helps you to find housing. The program has one option for au pairing-- I babysat for about 8-15 hours a week and got a studio for free. However, I know that it works differently this year, and the au pair has to pay a bit each month. There is also a work option for tutoring French students that pays between 400-500 euro a month. 

Man, that'd be an awesome program.  I love France and it'd be sweet to be able to go and do another MA there.  That cost, though, wow.  Thanks for sharing your experiences, though!  What was the coursework like?

[mediumatcha]

33 minutes ago, fortsibut said:

Man, that'd be an awesome program.  I love France and it'd be sweet to be able to go and do another MA there.  That cost, though, wow.  Thanks for sharing your experiences, though!  What was the coursework like?

Coursework is super heavy because it's a 1 year program. Fall- 2 classes with CU faculty (fly in from NY) and 1 or 2 courses at French universities (in French or English language). Spring - 2 courses with CU and 2 outside classes. Then in the summer there is a short but intensive course with a CU professor. The thesis is due in Sept. 50-75 pages. It might not seem like a lot, but you write a lot of papers and you need to find your own time to research for your thesis. 

Edited February 13, 2019 by mediumatcha

[John Stamos]

Pro Tip: If it is driving you crazy that you have not yet heard back from your programs. Call Them! I just did and I remained anonymouss just in case it would somehow reflect negatively for me calling. Never mentioned my name once and got the info I needed. It's such a weight off my shoulder to know for instance that UWashington hasn't even met yet due to the snow! 

Call them saying you are a phd applicant for ____ program and want to know 1) when/if the committee has yet met 2) when decisions are expected to be made.  It's nice to know timelines. Not one of the 8 programs I spoke to indicated that I was pestering them. Just make sure to call the appropriate admin person and NOT the dean or something. 

 

[Taorluath34]

On 2/13/2019 at 10:15 AM, John Stamos said:

Pro Tip: If it is driving you crazy that you have not yet heard back from your programs. Call Them! I just did and I remained anonymouss just in case it would somehow reflect negatively for me calling. Never mentioned my name once and got the info I needed. It's such a weight off my shoulder to know for instance that UWashington hasn't even met yet due to the snow! 

Call them saying you are a phd applicant for ____ program and want to know 1) when/if the committee has yet met 2) when decisions are expected to be made.  It's nice to know timelines. Not one of the 8 programs I spoke to indicated that I was pestering them. Just make sure to call the appropriate admin person and NOT the dean or something. 

 

What else did you learn? Did you happen to talk to Penn State or UVA?

[TMP]

1 hour ago, fortsibut said:

Anyone else get an offer from Columbia to transfer your application to an MA program?  (I'm assuming everyone did and it's a cash cow for the school)  I was like "I already have an MA in history, Broseph."

I mean don't get me wrong, if I had Oprah money I'd do another MA at an Ivy just for the hell of it!

My reaction to any PhD program that I applied to with a strongly related MA in hand. Made me wonder if they double checked my CV before sending that letter of rejection...   Yeah, I was a bit insulted.

[DanaJ]

3 hours ago, fortsibut said:

Anyone else get an offer from Columbia to transfer your application to an MA program?  (I'm assuming everyone did and it's a cash cow for the school)  I was like "I already have an MA in history, Broseph."

I mean don't get me wrong, if I had Oprah money I'd do another MA at an Ivy just for the hell of it!

Glad to know the Ivy’s do this too! One of the small regional universities that I applied to did the same to me. And they ONLY ACCEPT DOCTORAL CANDIDATES WHO ALREADY HAVE AN MA IN THE FIRST PLACE! I applied because they are a quick program (4 years) with a decent placement rate in the types of jobs I’m interested in, but if they already require an MA because they’re such a fast paced doctoral program, why would I want to get a second MA from them? 

Edited February 13, 2019 by DanaJ

[Balleu]

4 hours ago, fortsibut said:

Anyone else get an offer from Columbia to transfer your application to an MA program?  (I'm assuming everyone did and it's a cash cow for the school)  I was like "I already have an MA in history, Broseph."

I mean don't get me wrong, if I had Oprah money I'd do another MA at an Ivy just for the hell of it!

Haha, I love the sound of using my nonexistent Oprah money on MA after MA! ?

I have an etiquette question for you all: Following a rejection, is it a good idea to email POIs with whom I'd been in contact during the application process? Does it matter how recently you were in touch with them? Should I wait until I have an offer finalized elsewhere before writing to POIs at schools that rejected me?

I was thinking along the lines of "Dear Professor X, I wanted to reach out and thank you again for your helpful correspondence as I prepared my application. Although ABC University did not recommend me for admission, [I have accepted an offer from XYZ University and] I hope we will have the opportunity to work together in the future." Thoughts?

[historygeek]

Just got the official rejection from Michigan. The subject line said "Hello from the University of Michigan History Department," so I was hopeful for a second. 

[Tantive5]

3 hours ago, John Stamos said:

Pro Tip: If it is driving you crazy that you have not yet heard back from your programs. Call Them! I just did and I remained anonymous just in case it would somehow reflect negatively for me calling. Never mentioned my name once and got the info I needed. It's such a weight off my shoulder to know for instance that UWash hasn't even met yet due to the snow! 

Call them saying you are a phd applicant for ____ program and want to know 1) when/if the committee has yet met 2) when decisions are expected to be made.  It's nice to know timelines. Not one of the 8 programs I spoke to indicated that I was pestering them. Just make sure to call the appropriate admin person and NOT the dean or something. 

 

Hi! I DMed you for info about Washington. If anyone else has knowledge of the program for future applicants, let me know! (I know there is a new thread for such advice, but I wanted to take advantage of the mention of the subject in this high-traffic thread to increase my visibility. DM me if you would like to share info).

[fortsibut]

45 minutes ago, historygeek said:

Just got the official rejection from Michigan. The subject line said "Hello from the University of Michigan History Department," so I was hopeful for a second. 

"Greetings from Michigan, and FU!"  As a lifelong Ohio State football fan whose parents both got their doctoral degrees at OSU, that checks out for Michigan! 

[historygeek]

1 minute ago, fortsibut said:

"Greetings from Michigan, and FU!"  As a lifelong Ohio State football fan whose parents both got their doctoral degrees at OSU, that checks out for Michigan! 

Yeah, as a native Ohioan, probably shouldn't have surprised me coming from them! 

[Karou]

4 hours ago, Taorluath34 said:

What else did you learn? Did you happen to talk to Penn State or UVA?

Not sure whether that'll be helpful, but a couple of people here were accepted to UVA a little while ago, so they may have sent all admits already. ? 

@Balleu, I was wondering the same thing a dew days ago, and I think I'll send something along the lines of what you said once I officially accept an offer. It just feels like the right thing to do, to keep in touch with professors who have been helpful (not to mention it's a small world and you will likely encounter these people at one point or another. @AnUglyBoringNerd was saying a few pages back that they kept in touch with POIs from schools they were rejected from, and ended up meeting these POIs later on).

@Tantive5, I think that unfortunately not many people on here are familiar with the University of Washington, but there are plenty of other resources on this site that I'm sure can be useful to you. Best of luck to you as you start researching programs!

[psstein]

1 hour ago, Balleu said:

Haha, I love the sound of using my nonexistent Oprah money on MA after MA! ?

I have an etiquette question for you all: Following a rejection, is it a good idea to email POIs with whom I'd been in contact during the application process? Does it matter how recently you were in touch with them? Should I wait until I have an offer finalized elsewhere before writing to POIs at schools that rejected me?

I was thinking along the lines of "Dear Professor X, I wanted to reach out and thank you again for your helpful correspondence as I prepared my application. Although ABC University did not recommend me for admission, [I have accepted an offer from XYZ University and] I hope we will have the opportunity to work together in the future." Thoughts?

I think that's fine. I would also try to solicit some feedback on your applications as well, as that may prove useful for your future applications.

[Aithera]

Does anyone know anything about Pitt's process, or if they do a visitation day for admitted students?

[I_Am_In_Paine]

7 minutes ago, Aithera said:

Does anyone know anything about Pitt's process, or if they do a visitation day for admitted students?

I had a looong skype call with my POI's before I applied back in October and there is a visitation day (I believe late march they told me). So far nothing seems to have happened from them yet. Their deadline was late so I wouldn't expect anything for a week or two (plus, last year it looks like acceptances went out the 24th).

One question I have for the group: how much contact did you all have with your POI's? I reached out to all of them before applying to introduce myself and make sure they were taking new PhD students but that was it for the most part. It seems like many of you had repeated contact with POI's throughout the process. Is that the norm? Did I mess up here by not staying in touch? I just didn't have questions and so I felt that reaching out to them throughout the process without actually needing anything seemed at best pointless and at worst harmful to my application. 

[Sigaba]

5 hours ago, John Stamos said:

Pro Tip: If it is driving you crazy that you have not yet heard back from your programs. Call Them! I just did and I remained anonymouss just in case it would somehow reflect negatively for me calling. Never mentioned my name once and got the info I needed. It's such a weight off my shoulder to know for instance that UWash hasn't even met yet due to the snow! 

Call them saying you are a phd applicant for ____ program and want to know 1) when/if the committee has yet met 2) when decisions are expected to be made.  It's nice to know timelines. Not one of the 8 programs I spoke to indicated that I was pestering them. Just make sure to call the appropriate admin person and NOT the dean or something. 

 

Of the eight programs, how many offered degrees in history?

Edited February 13, 2019 by Sigaba

[fordlandia]

32 minutes ago, villageelliot said:

I had a looong skype call with my POI's before I applied back in October and there is a visitation day (I believe late march they told me). So far nothing seems to have happened from them yet. Their deadline was late so I wouldn't expect anything for a week or two (plus, last year it looks like acceptances went out the 24th).

One question I have for the group: how much contact did you all have with your POI's? I reached out to all of them before applying to introduce myself and make sure they were taking new PhD students but that was it for the most part. It seems like many of you had repeated contact with POI's throughout the process. Is that the norm? Did I mess up here by not staying in touch? I just didn't have questions and so I felt that reaching out to them throughout the process without actually needing anything seemed at best pointless and at worst harmful to my application. 

Similar to yourself, I thought that reaching out to POIs without a specific reason may be pointless. As such, the only POIs I reached out to were professors who I heard might not be taking graduate students, might be retiring, or transferring to another university. In my experience, this didn't seem to hurt as I secured an interview invitation at my top choice, without frequent communication with my POI.

In short, I don't think that failing to reach out to your POI is a deciding factor in the admissions decisions, so I wouldn't worry about it! ?

[I_Am_In_Paine]

4 minutes ago, fordlandia said:

Similar to yourself, I thought that reaching out to POIs without a specific reason may be pointless. As such, the only POIs I reached out to were professors who I heard might not be taking graduate students, might be retiring, or transferring to another university. In my experience, this didn't seem to hurt as I secured an interview invitation at my top choice, without frequent communication with my POI.

In short, I don't think that failing to reach out to your POI is a deciding factor in the admissions decisions, so I wouldn't worry about it! ?

That is reassuring! I had *some* contact with all of my POIs (U Pitt was definitely the best), but I got worried after seeing SO many people here have repeated contact. 

[ssmall1]

Hey y’all! Long time lurker, (kinda) first-time poster. First of all, congratulations to everyone on their admissions, and good luck to people still waiting on good news from their programs. 

Secondly, I was wondering if anyone had applied and heard back from/ had any insight as to when UGA would release decisions about their MA program? Mostly asking bc the reported decisions in the past few years were received around the 7th-10th, and I am impatient and anxious.