2020 application thread

[aaaddd]

4 hours 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!

Thanks for sharing! Does Brown have interviews?

[dr. t]

4 minutes ago, aaaddd said:

Thanks for sharing! Does Brown have interviews?

Nope. It's a pretty rare practice in history.

[aaaddd]

18 minutes ago, telkanuru said:

Nope. It's a pretty rare practice in history.

I see. Thank you for your help!

[ithaca99]

Does anyone know if there are any schools who have released all their decisions yet? And are most schools doing rolling rather than releasing decisions all on one day? Thanks! The wait is making me more and more nervous each day! 

[FruitLover]

2 hours ago, lietuva96 said:

Does anyone know if there are any schools who have released all their decisions yet? And are most schools doing rolling rather than releasing decisions all on one day? Thanks! The wait is making me more and more nervous each day! 

You can search “history” on the results page. Most schools have yet to release any decisions. Based on results from previous years, many schools send out their acceptances around the same time (i.e. one school informs all of their admitted students on the same day, another school does so within the span of a few days, etc).

[eloiwy]

3 hours ago, lietuva96 said:

Does anyone know if there are any schools who have released all their decisions yet? And are most schools doing rolling rather than releasing decisions all on one day? Thanks! The wait is making me more and more nervous each day! 

The only one I've heard that does rolling is William and Mary as they do 1-2 waves of admission based on responses. (source: friends applied last year and I applied this year to WM. I haven't heard anything though. Last year my one friend didn't hear until almost april because of where they were on the waitlist other friend heard early one)

[Carrots112]

I just had my interview with Yale and they said the committee will make their final selections tomorrow. Then it will take up to two weeks to have it approved and released by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Hope this helps clarify things for anyone waiting on Yale. 

[snackademic]

33 minutes ago, Carrots112 said:

I just had my interview with Yale and they said the committee will make their final selections tomorrow. Then it will take up to two weeks to have it approved and released by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Hope this helps clarify things for anyone waiting on Yale. 

Does that mean that if we haven't gotten an interview we won't be admitted?

[Carrots112]

Just now, snackademic said:

Does that mean that if we haven't gotten an interview we won't be admitted?

I don’t know if this just applies for the American strand 

[snackademic]

1 hour ago, Carrots112 said:

I don’t know if this just applies for the American strand 

I'm applying in American unfortunately. Man, that's such a bummer.

Edited January 21, 2020 by snackademic

[DennisGreenFan]

Has anyone who applied to study Middle Eastenr/Arab history gotten a reply yet?

[snackademic]

Does anyone know what other schools typically require interviews?

Also does not getting an interview mean that one can safely presume a rejection?

Edited January 21, 2020 by snackademic

[Titus Flavius]

52 minutes ago, DennisGreenFan said:

Has anyone who applied to study Middle Eastenr/Arab history gotten a reply yet?

I have not, but last time I applied I didn't hear back until the middle of February.

[HazeySchwazey]

1 hour ago, snackademic said:

Does anyone know what other schools typically require interviews?

Also does not getting an interview mean that one can safely presume a rejection?

I don't think interviews are a requirement for admission, but they might be used for the admissions department if they want more information on an applicant. Personally, I never interviewed with Rice, but just got my acceptance last week. I think it completely depends on the department. 

[HazeySchwazey]

6 hours ago, eloiwy said:

The only one I've heard that does rolling is William and Mary as they do 1-2 waves of admission based on responses. (source: friends applied last year and I applied this year to WM. I haven't heard anything though. Last year my one friend didn't hear until almost april because of where they were on the waitlist other friend heard early one)

Rice has informed some applicants of their decision, either with an acceptance letter or with an interview request. I think the "results" page is likely a good source to keep tabs on what has been sent out! 

[psstein]

19 hours 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!

Same is true with Wisconsin, for any applicants on this board. I'm on leave, but I still check my emails pretty regularly, so I'll tell you guys as soon as I know.

[Manana]

I've noticed about 8 people in results page reporting that they got interview requests from Berkeley. I didn't get one so... probably not a great sign.

[ithaca99]

At Emory:  applications recommended by POIs are going to the graduate committee, who makes final decisions on admissions, on Friday or the latest on Monday!

[FruitLover]

Does anyone know what the common ratio of students nominated by faculty vs students admitted is? Does each POI nominate a few people or just one and does each POI get to nominate someone (that is, if there are prospective students interested in working with them and they are not retiring)?

[TMP]

3 minutes ago, FruitLover said:

Does anyone know what the common ratio of students nominated by faculty vs students admitted is? Does each POI nominate a few people or just one and does each POI get to nominate someone (that is, if there are prospective students interested in working with them and they are not retiring)?

Honestly, this practice varies from program to program.

[Sigaba]

ALCON--

Please resist the understandable urge to read the tea leaves and the rolls of the bones.

Instead, I encourage you to find strength in the knowledge that you have all worked very hard to  get to this point and that you've done the best that you can under the circumstances to put forward the best version of yourself in your application materials.

Instead, I urge you to invest your time and your energy in matters where the outcomes are in your control: your current courses, assignments, and research projects. If you're in the private sector, you can focus on your projects and the needs of your team mates. Such an investment will have the added benefit of developing your ability to stay focused in stressful situations.

If you cannot focus on academics or work, focus on taking care of yourself in ways that have immediate benefits. A good meal, time with friends, reading for pleasure, "Netflix and chill," some physical activity, a good night's sleep. If you can, tune out of social media and this BB for a few days.

Right now, at this very moment, individuals against whom you will compete for funding, jobs, and professional awards are developing their trade craft. For some, it is because they "know" they're getting into Happyland University. For others, it is because they don't know but they understand that graduate school is hard and that they need every moment that they can get studying their craft.

[DeNovo]

On 1/21/2020 at 10:35 AM, snackademic said:

Does anyone know what other schools typically require interviews?

Also does not getting an interview mean that one can safely presume a rejection?

I’m pretty sure that Penn typically interviews. Several interviews mentioned at Penn, Yale, and Berkeley, possible also Notre Dame, from around this time last year on the result thread. 

[AP]

1 hour ago, Sigaba said:

ALCON--

Please resist the understandable urge to read the tea leaves and the rolls of the bones.

Instead, I encourage you to find strength in the knowledge that you have all worked very hard to  get to this point and that you've done the best that you can under the circumstances to put forward the best version of yourself in your application materials.

Instead, I urge you to invest your time and your energy in matters where the outcomes are in your control: your current courses, assignments, and research projects. If you're in the private sector, you can focus on your projects and the needs of your team mates. Such an investment will have the added benefit of developing your ability to stay focused in stressful situations.

If you cannot focus on academics or work, focus on taking care of yourself in ways that have immediate benefits. A good meal, time with friends, reading for pleasure, "Netflix and chill," some physical activity, a good night's sleep. If you can, tune out of social media and this BB for a few days.

Right now, at this very moment, individuals against whom you will compete for funding, jobs, and professional awards are developing their trade craft. For some, it is because they "know" they're getting into Happyland University. For others, it is because they don't know but they understand that graduate school is hard and that they need every moment that they can get studying their craft.

I second this very strongly.

I've said this before: acknowledging that your part is done is already part of your graduate education. It's a way of admitting you don't have control over everything. Believe me, this will not be the last time you click "submit" and anxiously wait for answers. You will be applying for funding, fellowships, jobs in the next five, six, eight years. 

@Sigaba is right on point in suggesting look after yourselves. Expectation can trigger anxiety and it's certainly not worth it because, at this point, there is nothing you can do regarding the admission process. At this point, focus on the next thing. In fact, go out and celebrate, you completed all these damn applications while working/finishing school/ writing a thesis. You contacted scholars and did your research, you are already amazing. Remember that because academia can sometimes make you forget it...  

 

[historyofsloths]

3 hours ago, lietuva96 said:

At Emory:  applications recommended by POIs are going to the graduate committee, who makes final decisions on admissions, on Friday or the latest on Monday!

WELP time to see what happens with this crapshoot (POI never responded to my email)

[psstein]

5 hours ago, FruitLover said:

Does anyone know what the common ratio of students nominated by faculty vs students admitted is? Does each POI nominate a few people or just one and does each POI get to nominate someone (that is, if there are prospective students interested in working with them and they are not retiring)?

It varies by university, and it's also incredibly political. Dr. Schneider on the admission committee might say that Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. has taken a graduate student each of the last 5 years and it's not fair to the other faculty members. Therefore, Dr. Jones won't have any graduate students for the next 2 years. (Yes, I watched Indiana Jones recently)

At some (predominantly state) universities, admissions can also take current and future TA needs into account. My program accepted several students in one subfield after having a significant problem filling TA slots in that subfield earlier that semester.

Edited January 22, 2020 by psstein