2020 application thread

[jocelynbymarcjacobs]

@whatkilledthedinosaurs I also applied to Boston, Columbia and NYU for Modern British History, and have not heard anything yet. Hopefully we will hear at least something soon.

[TMP]

3 hours ago, whatkilledthedinosaurs said:

Hi all. New to this forum and wanted to introduce myself.

I graduated with a BA in Sociology and minor in History from a fairly high ranked liberal arts college last May. My research interests are focused on the history of Irish working-class women's organizing during the Troubles.

I applied to eight schools. I applied to History programs at Boston College, Columbia, CUNY, Notre Dame NYU, Rutgers, and Yale. I also applied to the joint PhD in Women's Studies and History at UMichigan.

I can read Spanish and am in the process of learning Irish which is killing me softly. I have a decent amount of research experience and have presented at one conference. I'm most nervous about my research being a bit too niche (the market for Irish history is pretty much non existent it feels like sometimes) and basically not being prepared for actually applying. I'm a first-generation student from a working-class background so I kind of just went into PhD applications figuring things out as I went and rolling dice. I haven't heard anything back and it's just now really started to stress me out. 

I wouldn't worry about being focused on Irish history as being "too niche".  You will have a major field in Modern Europe, which will prepare you for applying to any "Modern European history" job.  You will have themes in your work that you can apply for thematic-focused positions as well.  I have seen several posts for Irish history here in the US and in the UK.  Your goal is to demonstrate the importance of Irish history and why historians should not overlook it.  You will be fighting an uphill battle but your passion for it will gain you some recognition and respect.

[hadrianic]

Just wanted to let you know that the history professor I talked with at Yale said that things are moving relatively quickly so the earliest we might hear back will be in the next 10 days. Good luck to everyone!

[dr. t]

22 hours ago, whatkilledthedinosaurs said:

I can read Spanish and am in the process of learning Irish which is killing me softly.

Ah yes. I found this guide very helpful, myself.

 

[Carrots112]

45 minutes ago, hadrianic said:

Just wanted to let you know that the history professor I talked with at Yale said that things are moving relatively quickly so the earliest we might hear back will be in the next 10 days. Good luck to everyone!

Thanks for this!

[LucasL]

Just heard back from Rice. They waitlisted me. Do you guys think it is a lost cause or I still having chances to get that spot?

I hope to have more luck with Notre Dame.

[TMP]

12 minutes ago, LucasL said:

Just heard back from Rice. They waitlisted me. Do you guys think it is a lost cause or I still having chances to get that spot?

I hope to have more luck with Notre Dame.

No.  But be sure to stress your interest in Rice and ask how the waitlist will work-- is it ranked? If so, where do you fall? It's okay to ask those questions. When you email the DGS, be sure to CC the person you're interested in having as an adviser.

Edited January 17, 2020 by TMP

[idoitchicagostyle]

8 hours ago, LucasL said:

Just heard back from Rice. They waitlisted me. Do you guys think it is a lost cause or I still having chances to get that spot?

I hope to have more luck with Notre Dame.

Hi, I hope this helps. Below are some useful information (don't ask me how I get it ?)

Wait-lists. Your first response to a wait-list should come within 24 hours, expressing enthusiasm for the department and gratitude that your application is still in the running. Attach any funded offers you have to that email, and write a few sentences on why the wait-listing department is very much your top choice. Then, as you receive other funded offers, and allowing a gap of no more than 10 days to go by, write the wait-listing department's Director of Graduate Admissions to restate your continued interest, attach newly-arrived competing offers, remind that person of earlier offers you forwarded, and provide an update the departments you're still waiting to hear from.

 

[Sigaba]

9 hours ago, idoitchicagostyle said:

and write a few sentences on why the wait-listing department is very much your top choice.

I strongly recommend that one only say a school is one's top choice if the statement is true. You never know if professors from different schools are talking shop about graduate admissions. "That's odd, I'm looking at an applicant who has a background very similar and he says that we're his top choice..."

[Michael Scarn]

Just received my first acceptance from Ohio State University! Received a nice email and then a congratulatory follow up email from my POI later in the day. I know I should respond within the next 24 hours at least acknowledging the acceptance, but also am not sure how to go about it since I will obviously be waiting for a decision until I hear back from the other schools. How does one go about responding to these emails? I'm super excited for my first offer, I certainly did not expect to hear back so soon! 

 

[Balleu]

I'm sending well wishes to this year's applicants as you struggle through the waiting process. It's a painful stretch of time, as I remember viscerally from my experience last year. I applied to five programs, was wait-listed at one Jan. 31, got four rejections in February, made peace with striking out, and then ultimately received an offer April 12. 

My experience with a wait list: 

• Write to the DGS and your intended adviser to express your thanks and confirm your continued interest. I did this once upon initially being wait-listed and once in early March after I had all of my decisions. @idoitchicagostyle suggests above to send updates as each of your other results come in; I chose to send fewer emails and try to make each one count. To each their own. 
• Ask questions of the DGS. How is the wait list organized? Ranked, by field, another way? How do they make decisions about wait list candidates? In their experience, when are students from the wait list typically notified? Can you arrange a visit to the campus or a video visit with a grad student involved in the recruitment process? 
• Reach out to grad students. Ask questions about the program and the area (COL, availability of housing, opportunities for your partner and children, transportation, health/dental/vision/mental health care, etc.). What will you want to want to know when you're deciding (on short notice) whether to accept an offer and relocate?
• Whether in person or via Skype/email, ask your intended adviser if they have any feedback should you choose to apply again. Am I targeting the right programs? Who else in your department/the institution/The Academy Writ Large would you suggest I contact? 
• You are asking to join their department as a junior colleague. Show that you respect their time, their process, and their feedback. 

If anyone has questions about Northwestern, message me and I'll do my best to help. 

Edited January 18, 2020 by Balleu
Strange formatting

[dr. t]

6 hours ago, Michael Scarn said:

Just received my first acceptance from Ohio State University! Received a nice email and then a congratulatory follow up email from my POI later in the day. I know I should respond within the next 24 hours at least acknowledging the acceptance, but also am not sure how to go about it since I will obviously be waiting for a decision until I hear back from the other schools. How does one go about responding to these emails? I'm super excited for my first offer, I certainly did not expect to hear back so soon! 

 

"Thank you so much! This is very exciting! I'm looking forward to visiting in [ ]!"

They know the game.

[TMP]

13 hours ago, Michael Scarn said:

Just received my first acceptance from Ohio State University! Received a nice email and then a congratulatory follow up email from my POI later in the day. I know I should respond within the next 24 hours at least acknowledging the acceptance, but also am not sure how to go about it since I will obviously be waiting for a decision until I hear back from the other schools. How does one go about responding to these emails? I'm super excited for my first offer, I certainly did not expect to hear back so soon! 

 

Congrats! From your previous posts, I have a pretty good idea of your POI is.  PM me with any questions about OSU.

[AP]

21 hours ago, Michael Scarn said:

Just received my first acceptance from Ohio State University! Received a nice email and then a congratulatory follow up email from my POI later in the day. I know I should respond within the next 24 hours at least acknowledging the acceptance, but also am not sure how to go about it since I will obviously be waiting for a decision until I hear back from the other schools. How does one go about responding to these emails? I'm super excited for my first offer, I certainly did not expect to hear back so soon! 

 

You are already in so all you have to write is a thank you e-mail. There is no need to explain that you are waiting to hear back from other places. They know you probably will (after all, they wouldn't have accepted you if they didn't think you were a good candidate). 

[Carrots112]

Received an email from one of the committee members (US History PhD) at Yale requesting an interview. I currently have bronchitis and therefore no voice. They requested to have the call tomorrow but I don’t know if my voice will be back by then...is it ok to request a call later in the week to insure my voice has returned? Or will that impact anything? Thanks

[Manana]

People who applied in previous years: when did you get the answers/interview requests? 

I have applied to the History programs at: Harvard, Brown, Chicago, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Rutgers, U-Mich, Chicago, Oxford and UCL. I am so freaking anxious, is this what being in limbo feels like

[Carrots112]

1 hour ago, Manana said:

People who applied in previous years: when did you get the answers/interview requests? 

I have applied to the History programs at: Harvard, Brown, Chicago, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Rutgers, U-Mich, Chicago, Oxford and UCL. I am so freaking anxious, is this what being in limbo feels like

According to last year’s thread Harvard’s acceptances go out between 1/31 and 2/7 (aprox.) and rejection letters were received around 2/14. 

I don’t believe they require an interview. 

Wishing you the best of luck! I’m at Oxford and the decisions were rolling for Masters students, not sure about decisions and interviews for the Ph.D. 

[LucasL]

Has anybody heard back from Notre Dame?

The waiting is killing me.

Edited January 19, 2020 by LucasL

[TMP]

9 hours ago, Carrots112 said:

Received an email from one of the committee members (US History PhD) at Yale requesting an interview. I currently have bronchitis and therefore no voice. They requested to have the call tomorrow but I don’t know if my voice will be back by then...is it ok to request a call later in the week to insure my voice has returned? Or will that impact anything? Thanks

Just be honest.  Tell them straight up right away that you are sick without a voice.  Hopefully they'll accommodate you.  If you have an interview without a voice, you're just wasting everyone's time, including yours.

[Carrots112]

3 minutes ago, TMP said:

Just be honest.  Tell them straight up right away that you are sick without a voice.  Hopefully they'll accommodate you.  If you have an interview without a voice, you're just wasting everyone's time, including yours.

They were accommodating and allowed me to schedule it later  

[Manana]

3 hours ago, Carrots112 said:

According to last year’s thread Harvard’s acceptances go out between 1/31 and 2/7 (aprox.) and rejection letters were received around 2/14. 

I don’t believe they require an interview. 

Wishing you the best of luck! I’m at Oxford and the decisions were rolling for Masters students, not sure about decisions and interviews for the Ph.D. 

Thank you!

[snackademic]

5 hours ago, Carrots112 said:

They were accommodating and allowed me to schedule it later  

Good luck with your interview! Has anyone else heard back from Yale in the US history field?

[aaaddd]

On 1/16/2020 at 11:24 PM, hadrianic said:

Just wanted to let you know that the history professor I talked with at Yale said that things are moving relatively quickly so the earliest we might hear back will be in the next 10 days. Good luck to everyone!

Congratulations on your interview invitation and I hope it went well! Thanks for sharing this handy info. Could you please tell me if this date applies to all history applicants? Thanks a lot

[dr. t]

17 hours ago, Manana said:

People who applied in previous years: when did you get the answers/interview requests? 

I have applied to the History programs at: Harvard, Brown, Chicago, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Rutgers, U-Mich, Chicago, Oxford and UCL. I am so freaking anxious, is this what being in limbo feels like

Brown will almost certainly come out in the 2nd week of February. If you have any questions about the program, let me know!

[Manana]

48 minutes ago, telkanuru said:

Brown will almost certainly come out in the 2nd week of February. If you have any questions about the program, let me know!

Thank you so much!