Applications 2019

[mediumatcha]

13 hours ago, villageelliot said:

Does your last name begin with a letter towards the end of the alphabet? Mine does, and the same thing happened with Hopkins where I seemed to be the last one to get the official rejection. (My Columbia rejection is still yet to be posted) I wonder if these things go alphabetically?

My name is at the end of the alphabet and I have no update yet either... ?

[mediumatcha]

8 hours ago, HardyBoy said:

That was me - it was an email from the department chair, with official confirmation to follow. Fingers crossed for you!

@HardyBoy Do you think that all of the Princeton acceptances have been sent out?

[elx]

Would POIs ever email personalised rejections even if you haven't had prior contact? Or is that a thing POIs will do for the students who they've already established a relationship with? I've seen rejections via email by POIs, so just wondering.

Edited February 8, 2019 by elx

[Karou]

16 minutes ago, elx said:

Would POIs ever email personalised rejections even if you haven't had prior contact? Or is that a thing POIs will do for the students who they've already established a relationship with? I've seen rejections via email by POIs, so just wondering.

I don't know for sure, but I would assume they would only contact students that they've established some sort of rapport with already, but it most likely depends on their personality/inclinations as well. Perhaps professors who have relatively few students who applied to work with them can afford the time it takes to email all of them, perhaps others can't because of sheer numbers and only email those that were strong contenders etc. I think it's one of those things that's really hard to determine!

On that note, is it appropriate to email POIs at universities you've been rejected from? For instance, I'm pretty sure I'm rejected from Harvard at this point, but the person I spoke with when I was preparing my application was so kind and helpful, and I still want to acknowledge that. When the official rejection does come, would it be okay for me to email that professor and say that although I have been rejected, I'm still very grateful for them taking the time to help me out etc?

[elx]

46 minutes ago, Karou said:

I don't know for sure, but I would assume they would only contact students that they've established some sort of rapport with already, but it most likely depends on their personality/inclinations as well. Perhaps professors who have relatively few students who applied to work with them can afford the time it takes to email all of them, perhaps others can't because of sheer numbers and only email those that were strong contenders etc. I think it's one of those things that's really hard to determine!

On that note, is it appropriate to email POIs at universities you've been rejected from? For instance, I'm pretty sure I'm rejected from Harvard at this point, but the person I spoke with when I was preparing my application was so kind and helpful, and I still want to acknowledge that. When the official rejection does come, would it be okay for me to email that professor and say that although I have been rejected, I'm still very grateful for them taking the time to help me out etc?

That's what I was thinking too! 

Also, regarding emailing professors: current students may correct me if I'm wrong, but that sounds like building a connection that might end up being really useful, given you're going to attend a grad school next year? I'm pretty sure that most, if not all people (even busy ones) appreciate gratefulness

[DanaJ]

2 hours ago, Karou said:

I don't know for sure, but I would assume they would only contact students that they've established some sort of rapport with already, but it most likely depends on their personality/inclinations as well. Perhaps professors who have relatively few students who applied to work with them can afford the time it takes to email all of them, perhaps others can't because of sheer numbers and only email those that were strong contenders etc. I think it's one of those things that's really hard to determine!

On that note, is it appropriate to email POIs at universities you've been rejected from? For instance, I'm pretty sure I'm rejected from Harvard at this point, but the person I spoke with when I was preparing my application was so kind and helpful, and I still want to acknowledge that. When the official rejection does come, would it be okay for me to email that professor and say that although I have been rejected, I'm still very grateful for them taking the time to help me out etc?

This was my first (and hopefully last) application cycle. The very first school that I applied to proved challenging for me. I had help with my SOP within my current department, but the DGS at the first program I applied to was incredibly helpful to me, which in turn helped with my other applications. I had also been to visit that department (my mother lives an hour drive from the school), so I had met this DGS. Somehow my POI was never around when I was, so we only had brief email contact. All of this said, when I was rejected from their program I did send a polite email to that DGS thanking him for his help with the application process and for taking the time to show me all around campus when I went to visit. I don’t know if that’s technically proper conduct, I didn’t reach out to the other school that rejected me, but it was what felt natural to me after almost a year of frequent contact with this particular DGS.

Edited February 8, 2019 by DanaJ

[I_Am_In_Paine]

Anyone have Columbia updates? Did people who didn't have rejections posted yesterday get one yet? Still nothing from them for me.

[mediumatcha]

For those still wondering about the Harvard form "terms and conditions of acceptance" on the portal, I emailed Harvard and this was their reply:

 

[Karou]

Thank you @elx and @DanaJ for sharing your thoughts and/or experiences! I don't feel compelled to reach out to everyone I've spoken to either (as in, some professors may not even remember our interactions because they were quite brief - although still pleasant and helpful!), but some professors really went above and beyond to guide me through this process, and it would feel wrong to not even acknowledge that. A professor at Yale even offered to look at my SoP and then sent me substantial notes, which was incredibly helpful. I cringe to think I may have sent my SoP as it was before I revised it according to their suggestions!

[misternovember]

54 minutes ago, villageelliot said:

Anyone have Columbia updates? Did people who didn't have rejections posted yesterday get one yet? Still nothing from them for me.

Still nothing for me.

[luz.colorada]

3 hours ago, elx said:

Would POIs ever email personalised rejections even if you haven't had prior contact? Or is that a thing POIs will do for the students who they've already established a relationship with? I've seen rejections via email by POIs, so just wondering.

It depends. I think if you do get a personal email from someone you haven't spoken with it's generally a good sign that your application needs some tweaking but that you are a strong candidate. I had a few personal rejections last time from people that I had no prior contact with, and while it was upsetting to be rejected it was very encouraging in many ways. 

[I_Am_In_Paine]

27 minutes ago, misternovember said:

Still nothing for me.

Jeez. I know we've probably been rejected and there's just a delay for some reason but it is so hard not to get false hope when you see a ton of rejections on the results page and one hasn't come for you yet. 

[misternovember]

Just now, villageelliot said:

Jeez. I know we've probably been rejected and there's just a delay for some reason but it is so hard not to get false hope when you see a ton of rejections on the results page and one hasn't come for you yet. 

It's devastating! Another person just submitted a rejection too...

[I_Am_In_Paine]

On a slightly better note, I have a phone call coming up with William and Mary to talk about their MA program. Are there any questions I should ask? What is important to know? Any advice is greatly appreciated! 

[historygeek]

Nothing from Columbia on my end, either.

[psstein]

26 minutes ago, villageelliot said:

On a slightly better note, I have a phone call coming up with William and Mary to talk about their MA program. Are there any questions I should ask? What is important to know? Any advice is greatly appreciated! 

Ask about funding for the MA.

[I_Am_In_Paine]

Just now, psstein said:

Ask about funding for the MA.

Thanks! I actually already got that info in my offer letter so I'm looking more for questions to ask about the specifics of the program.

[psstein]

13 minutes ago, villageelliot said:

Thanks! I actually already got that info in my offer letter so I'm looking more for questions to ask about the specifics of the program.

In that case, what are the placements like (ideally into other PhD programs), what resources are available (I have firsthand experience with William and Mary's library, it's not a great system), are there alt-ac resources, which there should be.

[I_Am_In_Paine]

Just now, psstein said:

In that case, what are the placements like (ideally into other PhD programs), what resources are available (I have firsthand experience with William and Mary's library, it's not a great system), are there alt-ac resources, which there should be.

What are alt-ac resources? I haven't heard that term before. 

[psstein]

Just now, villageelliot said:

What are alt-ac resources? I haven't heard that term before. 

It's shorthand for "alternates to academia." Given that the vast majority of PhD students in history will never have a tenured academic job, it's wise to know if there are other career paths available and supported.

[I_Am_In_Paine]

1 minute ago, psstein said:

It's shorthand for "alternates to academia." Given that the vast majority of PhD students in history will never have a tenured academic job, it's wise to know if there are other career paths available and supported.

Got it, thank you so much!

[AnUglyBoringNerd]

1 hour ago, Karou said:

some professors really went above and beyond to guide me through this process, and it would feel wrong to not even acknowledge that.

Totally with you on this! I wrote an email to my Harvard POI (I was rejected from Harvard), who very kindly replied with further advice on how to improve my profile. Then the second time I applied to PhD programs, I got in. (although I didn't apply to Harvard this time also based on that POI's advice) The field is really really small, and in my sub-field all established historians seem to know each other. And I actually met with two of my POIs last semester when they came to give talks at my current school, both are from programs that rejected me.  In my experience, our relationships with any of our POIs won't end just because we are rejected from their programs. 

[historygeek]

I'm not sure who the other Villanova admit was, but they have a visit day on April 6! 

[Gotya64]

38 minutes ago, villageelliot said:

On a slightly better note, I have a phone call coming up with William and Mary to talk about their MA program. Are there any questions I should ask? What is important to know? Any advice is greatly appreciated! 

I am going to assume that you would be getting an MA to bolster your PhD prospects for a future application cycle, as I did. Given that you say you've already received funding information (the most important aspect of choosing a school for an MA, in my opinion), I won't address that. 

You should ask questions that pertain to your thesis research and language abilities. A terminal MA student (with PhD aspirations), I believe, should strive to do at least three things: 1. Bolster your non-English language ability by either strengthening your primary non-English language or beginning work on a second non-English language 2. Gain experience giving conference presentations, preferably not at a graduate student conference, although anything is better than nothing and 3. Produce an MA thesis capable of either being mined for a publishable article or two or else leading to a PhD dissertation. 

With these priorities in mind, you can probably come up with some relevant questions. For example, what language resources are available to the students, and is there room (and funding!) in the MA timeline for you to take an extra language class or two (even if its over the summer)? Is travel funding available to MA students, both for research and conferences? In general, I think an MA student will have a tough time obtaining any sort of international funding, but a bit of cash for a regional archive shouldn't be out of the question. 

Also, most programs offer a non-thesis track history MA. Resist the temptation to go down this route; it will not serve you well when reapplying to PhD programs.

[I_Am_In_Paine]

3 minutes ago, Gotya64 said:

I am going to assume that you would be getting an MA to bolster your PhD prospects for a future application cycle, as I did. Given that you say you've already received funding information (the most important aspect of choosing a school for an MA, in my opinion), I won't address that. 

You should ask questions that pertain to your thesis research and language abilities. A terminal MA student (with PhD aspirations), I believe, should strive to do at least three things: 1. Bolster your non-English language ability by either strengthening your primary non-English language or beginning work on a second non-English language 2. Gain experience giving conference presentations, preferably not at a graduate student conference, although anything is better than nothing and 3. Produce an MA thesis capable of either being mined for a publishable article or two or else leading to a PhD dissertation. 

With these priorities in mind, you can probably come up with some relevant questions. For example, what language resources are available to the students, and is there room (and funding!) in the MA timeline for you to take an extra language class or two (even if its over the summer)? Is travel funding available to MA students, both for research and conferences? In general, I think an MA student will have a tough time obtaining any sort of international funding, but a bit of cash for a regional archive shouldn't be out of the question. 

Also, most programs offer a non-thesis track history MA. Resist the temptation to go down this route; it will not serve you well when reapplying to PhD programs.

That's great advice, thank you!