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2020 application thread


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24 minutes ago, historyofsloths said:

Just received my rejection from Emory. It was a reach for sure and not the strongest fit, but it would have been a great program. Congrats to the accepted and waitlisted!

I’m sorry! I hope you receive good news today. 

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1 hour ago, historyofsloths said:

I'm really hoping UPenn starts sending out news soon, they're probably the last big hurdle I'm facing right now, beyond the waitlists.

I think they may send out responses tomorrow, if last year's release date is anything to go by.

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13 hours ago, psstein said:

It's a systemic problem. Rhetoric about "useless degrees" has pushed a lot of students into business degrees and STEM, though there's an oversaturation issue, now.

 

Yes, STEM is the most popular pursuit at my university, though over-saturation doesn't seem to stem the tide.  At least there are fewer papers to grade in history courses. 

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13 hours ago, ltr317 said:

Yes, STEM is the most popular pursuit at my university, though over-saturation doesn't seem to stem the tide.  At least there are fewer papers to grade in history courses. 

Interestingly, at Ivy+ schools, the history major is booming. My department has been adding 1-2 TT professors a year since I got there in 2015.

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1 hour ago, OmniscienceQuest said:

Saw this on Reddit this morning --

"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." -- Captain Picard

One of my very favorites, along with Adventure Time's "You know, sucking at something is the first step towards being kinda good at something."

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13 hours ago, FruitLover said:

I got my visit days schedules, and I’m trying to figure out what I should plan to do other than what is on the schedule already. How many professors should I set up appointments with before the visit day? (And should I?) Other than the POI, that is.

Meet with other professors that might inform your research. Eg: if you do environmental history, meet with environmental historians, even if they don't work on your geographical region. Also meet with others in your geographical region that might be readers of your work. Eg: If you are Americanist, meet with one or two more if you can, especially one that does a different time period. 

It's ok to ask your POI who they suggest meeting with. They might know of someone in another department. At my institution, I've met with PhD applicants that study Europe or the US but who are interesting in my research focus (urban history in Latin America). 

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10 hours ago, telkanuru said:

Interestingly, at Ivy+ schools, the history major is booming. My department has been adding 1-2 TT professors a year since I got there in 2015.

It might be a socioeconomic thing, based on social class of the average Ivy student vs. that of students who go to state schools. Or it might be that Ivies engage students better at the introductory level. A lot of interesting potential explanations, IMO.

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1 hour ago, psstein said:

It might be a socioeconomic thing, based on social class of the average Ivy student vs. that of students who go to state schools. Or it might be that Ivies engage students better at the introductory level. A lot of interesting potential explanations, IMO.

In the departments I'm familiar with (non-Ivies but R1 or SLAC institutions), they have been hiring TT professors since at least 2012. Once or twice, the hires were for senior professors. In all four departments I'm thinking of (my grad program, my current job, my former SO's program, and their current job), people also left (retired/moved to another institution/moved to administration). 

These are, of course, the minority within Higher Education. they are the exception, not the rule. They only represent how privileged I am and they do not represent the stae of the job market nor of history enrollments nationwide. 

In addition, as programs are shrinking across the board, several Ivies continue to admit 20 students per cohort. What this model suggests to me is that Ivies/R1 will feed Ivies/R1 even more than they do now. To me, this incredibly dangerous not because Ivies are mean or anything (I have incredible friends and colleagues from Ivies), but because we, scholars, want diversity in academia. Diversity means, among other things, diversity of backgrounds, education, and approaches to the study of the past. If only a couple of programs survive this debacle, that's unlikely to happen... 

[It's Friday and I've been grading all day. I think I'm thinking out loud and my thoughts are kind of messy]

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1 hour ago, psstein said:

It might be a socioeconomic thing, based on social class of the average Ivy student vs. that of students who go to state schools. Or it might be that Ivies engage students better at the introductory level. A lot of interesting potential explanations, IMO.

My own hypothesis is that they're less worried about the power of their degree on the other side.

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For everyone still in a liminal state of not knowing, hang in there and at least try doing something you enjoy instead of being in nervous anticipation.  It does not change the application process unfortunately.  The academic gods decide, so have a good read, listen to good music, eat a good meal, watch a good flick, and engage in a great conversation with friends.  The best of luck for everyone still waiting to hear!   

Edited by ltr317
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5 hours ago, AP said:

In the departments I'm familiar with (non-Ivies but R1 or SLAC institutions), they have been hiring TT professors since at least 2012. Once or twice, the hires were for senior professors. In all four departments I'm thinking of (my grad program, my current job, my former SO's program, and their current job), people also left (retired/moved to another institution/moved to administration). 

These are, of course, the minority within Higher Education. they are the exception, not the rule. They only represent how privileged I am and they do not represent the stae of the job market nor of history enrollments nationwide. 

In addition, as programs are shrinking across the board, several Ivies continue to admit 20 students per cohort. What this model suggests to me is that Ivies/R1 will feed Ivies/R1 even more than they do now. To me, this incredibly dangerous not because Ivies are mean or anything (I have incredible friends and colleagues from Ivies), but because we, scholars, want diversity in academia. Diversity means, among other things, diversity of backgrounds, education, and approaches to the study of the past. If only a couple of programs survive this debacle, that's unlikely to happen... 

[It's Friday and I've been grading all day. I think I'm thinking out loud and my thoughts are kind of messy]

What is scary and pathetic about this observation is how this kind of trend will mirror that of law schools. You have to get into Top 14 to land a solid lawyer job right out of law school (or so I've heard).  Isn't this pattern the crticism that political science was heavily criticized for several years ago? I think Economics as well? Even a Harvard or a Berkeley PhD isn't a guarantee ticket ('m thinking of two people who I just looked up with stellar CVs including an ACLS-Mellon dissertation fellowship who didn't get tenure-track jobs right out of grad school).

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TMP - Your observation parallel the experiences of two undergrad friends who earned their PhD at Berkeley and Columbia, and are still in search of a tenured track after spending the past two decades in visiting and non-tenured jobs.  I fear that the train has left the station for them.  

Edited by ltr317
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