Applications 2019

[hpleon]

Does someone who get any news from UCSB?

[sickeagle]

14 hours ago, hpleon said:

Does someone who get any news from UCSB?

I finally cracked and emailed my POI at UCSB on March 18, who replied:

"I expect the department will be communicating with you shortly... There may be some chance of your being admitted still, depending on what others choose to do, but it's not likely at this point.  So if you have other options, I would strongly consider taking them."

Not sure if that advice only applies to my case, but maybe it is helpful to give you a general idea of things. Good luck!

[hpleon]

4 hours ago, sickeagle said:

I finally cracked and emailed my POI at UCSB on March 18, who replied:

"I expect the department will be communicating with you shortly... There may be some chance of your being admitted still, depending on what others choose to do, but it's not likely at this point.  So if you have other options, I would strongly consider taking them."

Not sure if that advice only applies to my case, but maybe it is helpful to give you a general idea of things. Good luck!

I get my reject letter...

[eks933]

On 3/21/2019 at 1:57 PM, adsperli said:

If anyone has been accepted to American and doesn't plan to attend, please let me know! I'm first on the waitlist and it's my only good news this cycle.

Similarly for me, any UVA admits please let the department know! 

[displayname343q]

On 3/19/2019 at 11:44 AM, The Last Byzantine said:

I see that NYU has sent out some rejections, but has it sent out *all* its rejections? It's March 19th, so I'm presuming the total lack of communication is reflective of an oncoming rejection, but it just seems odd that I've heard nothing at all at this point given that others were rejected more than a week ago. 

I haven't heard back at all from them either (joint History MEIS program)

[historygeek]

Just got a voicemail that I was accepted to Loyola's PhD program! I'm not going to take the offer (no real European history and it's unranked) but it's exciting nonetheless.

[DanaJ]

3 hours ago, historygeek said:

Just got a voicemail that I was accepted to Loyola's PhD program! I'm not going to take the offer (no real European history and it's unranked) but it's exciting nonetheless.

That still has to make you feel good!! Congrats! These late decisions are killing me, I still have one I haven't heard back from and accepted another offer yesterday. I just gave up waiting.

[historygeek]

Attended Nova's Admitted Students Day and couldn't be happier with my choice!

[The Last Byzantine]

Finally got some good news: I was admitted to Central European University's MA program in Late Antique, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies with a full tuition waiver, so it looks like I'll be in Vienna for the next two years. After a 4 month slog of non-stop disappointment, it's nice to end my season with some good news. 

[Tigla]

4 hours ago, The Last Byzantine said:

Finally got some good news: I was admitted to Central European University's MA program in Late Antique, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies with a full tuition waiver, so it looks like I'll be in Vienna for the next two years. After a 4 month slog of non-stop disappointment, it's nice to end my season with some good news. 

Vienna is a beautiful city and in a great spot travel within Europe. Also, I know a couple of the PhD students at CEU if you ever consider doing a PhD there or just want to meet other graduate students. Best of luck with your MA!

[TexasTiger]

I've decided to accept my admission into Villanova's MA program

[Sigaba]

1 hour ago, TexasTiger said:

I've decided to accept my admission into Villanova's MA program

If you've not done so already, do what you can to schedule "exit interviews" with those at your current institution who have helped you get to this point. Pick their brains for suggestions on how you can improve as a historian at Villanova.

Please consider the advantages of not, repeat, not asking what you could do to become a stronger applicant.

[Nicator]

Accepted Cornell's offer. This Aussie is on his way to the US - woo!

[psstein]

15 hours ago, Sigaba said:

If you've not done so already, do what you can to schedule "exit interviews" with those at your current institution who have helped you get to this point. Pick their brains for suggestions on how you can improve as a historian at Villanova.

Do this. Pay attention to what you hear. Faculty tend not to be incredibly direct, but if you keep hearing the same thing, you need to take it into consideration. 

[historygeek]

23 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

I've decided to accept my admission into Villanova's MA program

Exciting! See you in class next fall.

Not exactly grad school related, but I just got the first draft of my thesis done! I still have to do edits on three chapters that my advisor reviewed, but all of the big writing is out of the way. 

[underthewaves]

 

 

 

2 hours ago, historygeek said:

Not exactly grad school related, but I just got the first draft of my thesis done! I still have to do edits on three chapters that my advisor reviewed, but all of the big writing is out of the way. 

Congratulations -- it's a great feeling. I just handed in my honours thesis (still have the defense ahead, but finally printing the three copies was an awesome feeling, although 90 pages x 3 copies is an expensive printing job!) and it's such a nice feeling.

[thisisnew]

probably a silly question, but ... if I have been accepted to a program and have been put on the waitlist for another,  do I have through april 15th to make my decision without worrying about the school dropping my funding/offer? The waitlist school said I would likely hear back on the 15th - so I'm just making sure that if I don't get off the list, I can still accept the offer at the other school before midnight on the 15th without penalty. 

[dr. t]

19 minutes ago, thisisnew said:

probably a silly question, but ... if I have been accepted to a program and have been put on the waitlist for another,  do I have through april 15th to make my decision without worrying about the school dropping my funding/offer? The waitlist school said I would likely hear back on the 15th - so I'm just making sure that if I don't get off the list, I can still accept the offer at the other school before midnight on the 15th without penalty. 

I would ask this of the school which accepted you, and get an answer in writing.

[thisisnew]

17 minutes ago, telkanuru said:

I would ask this of the school which accepted you, and get an answer in writing.

I agree and have done so, but as it is the weekend, I am worried that such an email won't be opened until the question is moot.

The official offer used both phrases: "until april 15th" and "no later than april 15th", if more context helps, and the accepted school knows that I am waiting for another program's decision  (and when told this I did not receive a response of "make sure you tell us before the 15th" of your final decision). 

[dr. t]

I see. You should have until 5pm on 4/15 to accept or reject an offer.

[potsupotsu]

It's very last minute but I'm still struggling whether to choose Harvard or Yale. I like my POIs at both places a lot but, even outside of my field, Yale's program is definitely the better intellectual fit. But I feel the quality of life would be much better in Boston than in New Haven...

Adding to this, I cannot find anyone who can name someone from my field who came out of Yale after studying with my POI (though he has mentored at least two "big names" when he was at Harvard) and I was kind of shrugged off when I asked about the job market: "If you're good you shouldn't worry about finding a job" "you can just do something else." But at Harvard they seemed very sympathetic and said that they try their best to promote their students at every opportunity. 

[ashiepoo72]

35 minutes ago, potsupotsu said:

It's very last minute but I'm still struggling whether to choose Harvard or Yale. I like my POIs at both places a lot but, even outside of my field, Yale's program is definitely the better intellectual fit. But I feel the quality of life would be much better in Boston than in New Haven...

Adding to this, I cannot find anyone who can name someone from my field who came out of Yale after studying with my POI (though he has mentored at least two "big names" when he was at Harvard) and I was kind of shrugged off when I asked about the job market: "If you're good you shouldn't worry about finding a job" "you can just do something else." But at Harvard they seemed very sympathetic and said that they try their best to promote their students at every opportunity. 

The brush off re: what happens after the PhD would really concern me. Elite programs place the most people without a doubt, but because the job market is so bad many of them end up in departments in which you may not want to work (really heavy course load, little to no research support etc). And yes, even elite PhDs don't get jobs in academia. I can't say if this would be enough to decline the offer in your case, obviously, but it would probably be enough for me.

[dr. t]

3 hours ago, potsupotsu said:

"If you're good you shouldn't worry about finding a job"

This is so far removed from reality that you should have laughed in his face. Not a red flag; a May Day parade in Moscow.

[L13]

3 hours ago, potsupotsu said:

It's very last minute but I'm still struggling whether to choose Harvard or Yale. I like my POIs at both places a lot but, even outside of my field, Yale's program is definitely the better intellectual fit. But I feel the quality of life would be much better in Boston than in New Haven...

Adding to this, I cannot find anyone who can name someone from my field who came out of Yale after studying with my POI (though he has mentored at least two "big names" when he was at Harvard) and I was kind of shrugged off when I asked about the job market: "If you're good you shouldn't worry about finding a job" "you can just do something else." But at Harvard they seemed very sympathetic and said that they try their best to promote their students at every opportunity. 

Big yikes, but in the interest of fairness, who said this? Was it a random faculty member/panelist/grad student or someone you would expect to mentor you or support your career directly?

[Dark Paladin]

I am trying to make a decision very last minute between my two top programs - Penn and Yale. I am an early Americanist who, very broadly speaking, is interested in studying the American Revolution from the perspective of the backcountry, Indian affairs, and the development of 18th and early 19th-century Indian policy. I'm extremely conflicted and think there are a lot of pros and cons to each program both academically and lifestyle wise. I had settled on going to Yale until I was recently offered a spot in Penn's JD/PhD (American legal history program) off the waitlist. 

I was able to visit Yale and had very productive talks with my advisors and other students. I feel very comfortable with the support I would get there and quite liked New Haven even if my quality of life would probably be a fair bit better in a big city like Philadelphia. In contrast, I haven't been able to visit Penn itself and have only been able to speak with my potential advisors over the phone.

That said, in theory, my prospective advisor at Penn is probably the best fit and is among the very biggest names in my area of interest with a proven track record of advising students who do well on the job market. He is, however, transitioning towards retirement and will be living permanently on the other side of the country starting in what would be my third year. He has committed to advising me throughout my Ph.D. career (and I have heard nothing but praise when I ask about him as an advisor) but after my second year, most of this would have to be done over Skype and phone. I am trying to figure out how big of a red flag that is. 

 

Edited April 14, 2019 by Dark Paladin