2021 Application Thread

[beorn1968]

anybody not getting into Northwestern writing  their POI to get a sense of what happend? after difficult deliberations I am.

[exitiumax]

22 minutes ago, beorn1968 said:

anybody not getting into Northwestern writing  their POI to get a sense of what happend? after difficult deliberations I am.

I didn't apply to NW this cycle but I did a few years ago. I had great correspondence with my POI there so I did reach out to ask where my application faltered. Largely, he chalked it up to my area of interest (modern American - they only admitted two folks that year) and a non-historical writing sample. I'd say you could give it a shot gauging how your earlier correspondence with them went!

[AP]

On 1/30/2021 at 10:51 AM, LtotheOG said:

I have also posted this elsewhere:

Can a single negative LOR (amongst 3 or 4) ruin your chances for good?

Pls excuse the long story.

I was already pursuing a phd in History at nyu from 2019. A year later (during the height of the pandemic in NY), my department and my advisor declared me unfit with the discipline of History, and recommended that I withdrew. I have historically been a student of Literature (in Eng), having completed both my bachelor’s and my master’s in it.

I subsequently redirected my energy and resources towards securing a PhD position in Lit. Unfortunately for me, all the places I applied to this cycle kinda demanded that I supplied them with at least one LOR from the last school I attended. And it turned out that nobody but my former advisor eventually decided to help me with the recommendation. (Initially she was reluctant, but she proved quite prompt at the end). 

However, I have good reason not to trust her given our history, and now I’ve had my first rejection from a program I thought was a good fit. 

I would really appreciate any thoughts you cared to share on this. Thank you!

It depends. Based on the information you are providing, it seems you did not "click" with the discipline, not with the work. If the recommender makes this distinction, I'm sure it won't hurt. 

Let me also add this: it hurts more not to have a LOR from your last school than a non-stellar one. 

On 1/30/2021 at 10:50 AM, LtotheOG said:

I have been speaking to my POIs on and off throughout Jan, and cannot imagine this being a problem. It is a delicate time true, but I do not surmise our reaching out would make a difference one way or the other.

in fact, i can think of one reason to do so: consistency. I can also think of a reason not to: impatience. So I’d probably ask myself, do I want a potential show of consistency more than hate being a potential nuisance? 

so while I do not think it is consequential, whether or not we make contact is entirely up to us!

Hope this helps, and all my best!

Faculty here, this is not necessarily true. You don't show consistency by emailing people just because you emailed them before. Unless you have a specific question, there is no need to email anyone.

22 hours ago, TagRendar said:

I legit just signed up for the forums based on the last reply after lurking for a little while.

I, too, just got a dreaded rejection from Northwestern and it stings like mad.  I'm going to be reaching out on Monday to see if I can get any insight into the reasons for the rejection, but I suspect that I already know the answers: smaller incoming cohort and no exact fit with professors currently available to mentor Ph.D students.

That makes two rejections for me (I was the one that reached out to Loyola Chicago and found out that they were only taking two Ph.D students this year) with two still pending (UIC and U Chicago).  Crossing fingers but trying to steel myself for the possibility of having to do this all again next year when this non-traditional student is a year older.

Before you email a POI looking for answers, remember that:

• Nobody owes you an explanation, no matter how bad the rejection stings. I've said this many times in this forum, so apologies for those re-reading this but: applying to grad school is already part of your graduate training. You will get rejections in the future from grants, fellowships, and jobs. No one, except maybe one of the big grants, will offer feedback.
• There are reasons that are bigger than you, your program, or your professor. Sometimes it has to do with long-term funding. Sometimes with TA/RA appointments availability. Often, faculty at not at liberty to discuss these with you (and some other times, they don't even know).
• This one is the one I use on me a lot: A rejection of your application is not a rejection of you as a person. We sacrifice a lot to apply and go to grad school, so it is very easy to take things personally. However, this rejection does not speak to you as person, and not even as an academic. Trust that. 

If you do email them, be strategic. Instead of asking "Why was I rejected?" (which makes you sound bitter), ask "Is there any advice you could share so that I can improve my application?" Remember that you might not have gotten into Northwestern, but that doesn't mean you won't cross paths again. In a couple years, you can organize a panel for a national conference and invite this POI to comment. You might collaborate with one of their students. This is not the end. 

21 hours ago, scarletwitch said:

Yeah, for sure. One of my POIs at Northwestern wrote me later after I had sent in all my applications to say he wasn't taking students this year anyway and he's who I would've wanted to work with mainly so I'm not going to beat myself up too much for not applying there. 

Wishing you all the best with the rest of your applications and I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties you experienced while getting your MA, but congrats on completing it! 

It's always, always fundamental to contact POIs before applying!

When I was at that stage, I almost didn't contact one POI who was the POI. When I did, he said he school was not prepared to fund international applicants (me). Then I almost didn't contact another POI because they did something different from me. In the end I did and, well, they became my advisor. 

Good luck everyone.

[beorn1968]

13 minutes ago, exitiumax said:

I didn't apply to NW this cycle but I did a few years ago. I had great correspondence with my POI there so I did reach out to ask where my application faltered. Largely, he chalked it up to my area of interest (modern American - they only admitted two folks that year) and a non-historical writing sample. I'd say you could give it a shot gauging how your earlier correspondence with them went!

Thanks for the advice. I went through with it. after everything this year life is too short not to take chances on what you love.   best and solidarity

[Maguire]

Best of luck to everyone for this upcoming week and all the rest of February! ☺️

[beorn1968]

58 minutes ago, scarletwitch said:

Best of luck to everyone for this upcoming week and all the rest of February! ☺️

back at ya!

[TagRendar]

7 hours ago, AP said:

It depends. Based on the information you are providing, it seems you did not "click" with the discipline, not with the work. If the recommender makes this distinction, I'm sure it won't hurt. 

Let me also add this: it hurts more not to have a LOR from your last school than a non-stellar one. 

Faculty here, this is not necessarily true. You don't show consistency by emailing people just because you emailed them before. Unless you have a specific question, there is no need to email anyone.

Before you email a POI looking for answers, remember that:

• Nobody owes you an explanation, no matter how bad the rejection stings. I've said this many times in this forum, so apologies for those re-reading this but: applying to grad school is already part of your graduate training. You will get rejections in the future from grants, fellowships, and jobs. No one, except maybe one of the big grants, will offer feedback.
• There are reasons that are bigger than you, your program, or your professor. Sometimes it has to do with long-term funding. Sometimes with TA/RA appointments availability. Often, faculty at not at liberty to discuss these with you (and some other times, they don't even know).
• This one is the one I use on me a lot: A rejection of your application is not a rejection of you as a person. We sacrifice a lot to apply and go to grad school, so it is very easy to take things personally. However, this rejection does not speak to you as person, and not even as an academic. Trust that. 

If you do email them, be strategic. Instead of asking "Why was I rejected?" (which makes you sound bitter), ask "Is there any advice you could share so that I can improve my application?" Remember that you might not have gotten into Northwestern, but that doesn't mean you won't cross paths again. In a couple years, you can organize a panel for a national conference and invite this POI to comment. You might collaborate with one of their students. This is not the end. 

It's always, always fundamental to contact POIs before applying!

When I was at that stage, I almost didn't contact one POI who was the POI. When I did, he said he school was not prepared to fund international applicants (me). Then I almost didn't contact another POI because they did something different from me. In the end I did and, well, they became my advisor. 

Good luck everyone.

Thank you for the feedback!

I actually took the route you suggested when I reached out to Loyola's program after I received my rejection a few weeks ago--just asking if they could provide any advice for me going forward.  I received a very nice response the same day letting me know that it most definitely was factors larger than me that resulted in my rejection.  I had actually already reached out to the grad coordinator for NW yesterday a few hours before results came out, so my biggest question (cohort size) will be answered.  Probably won't reach out after all, though, because in reflecting on all of it, I think I know more reasons why I didn't make it in than I wanted to believe (there were professors there that would have been far better for my research interests than the ones that were taking students this year, but that's the way things go).  It just stings like hell, in part because one of my recommenders was a Northwestern PhD herself (though from a different social science discipline), which I thought MIGHT help.

I did end up having a nice correspondence with the graduate chair at UIC yesterday via email that I am trying not to read too much into, so that also helped ease some of the sting.  All four of the schools that I applied to this year were very close when it came to preferences and I would be happy to be accepted at any of them.

For anyone curious, UIC's decisions should be coming out at the end of February (though admits from their very active waitlist will range from March through April).

[Guest564]

Vanderbilt has just extended 7 offers for its freshly overhauled doctoral program. Feel free to reach out; I am an ABD in Modern Europe.

[Maguire]

4 hours ago, Guest564 said:

Vanderbilt has just extended 7 offers for its freshly overhauled doctoral program. Feel free to reach out; I am an ABD in Modern Europe.

Have they gone out already or are they coming out today? Thanks.

[samiwas]

Anyone hear anything from U Chicago? I saw a few people report interviews, but it looks like that was done by individual profs rather than as some formal part of the admission process. Best of luck to all in the coming weeks

[Maguire]

36 minutes ago, samiwas said:

Anyone hear anything from U Chicago? I saw a few people report interviews, but it looks like that was done by individual profs rather than as some formal part of the admission process. Best of luck to all in the coming weeks

nope, not yet. I'm not hopeful any response from them will be positive though. I think it was individual profs though, based on correspondence with another poster on the forum. Usually they get back around this time for acceptances based on past results. 

Best of luck to you too! I just got my first rejection from Vanderbilt, so just had a good cry. Feeling pessimistic but I still have 16 results to arrive. 

Out of interest, has anyone on here applied to Duke? They seem quite late in their responses this year. 

[wfchasson]

2 hours ago, samiwas said:

Anyone hear anything from U Chicago? I saw a few people report interviews, but it looks like that was done by individual profs rather than as some formal part of the admission process. Best of luck to all in the coming weeks

early feb. is when my interviewer said they would know how things are looking and begin reaching out.

[wfchasson]

1 hour ago, scarletwitch said:

nope, not yet. I'm not hopeful any response from them will be positive though. I think it was individual profs though, based on correspondence with another poster on the forum. Usually they get back around this time for acceptances based on past results. 

Best of luck to you too! I just got my first rejection from Vanderbilt, so just had a good cry. Feeling pessimistic but I still have 16 results to arrive. 

Out of interest, has anyone on here applied to Duke? They seem quite late in their responses this year. 

applied to duke, no word yet. never got any word from faculty on how their admissions process was changing or affected this year

[Maguire]

31 minutes ago, wfchasson said:

applied to duke, no word yet. never got any word from faculty on how their admissions process was changing or affected this year

Their website says that they release decisions by mid-Feb so I guess we can expect to hear back soon? 

[sayf]

hi friends, long-time lurker, have an interview coming up this week. any last-minute tips for a nervous colleague? Thanks!

[TMP]

On 1/31/2021 at 11:06 AM, beorn1968 said:

anybody not getting into Northwestern writing  their POI to get a sense of what happend? after difficult deliberations I am.

Please, please, please refrain from getting in touch with POIs before hearing from other schools if you applied to more than one.  All it really matters is ONEFUNDED acceptance, everything will be moot.  I know it really hurts to be rejected and confused why, but you really need to heed @AP's and others' insights in what's happening in PhD programs this year given the pandemic's impact on the economy and undergraduate enrollment as well as foundations and non-profit institutions that provide external grants and fellowships for dissertation research. 

Departments are seriously making very, very difficult decisions in building a cohort that will enable seminars to run.  Many schools have a minimum limit on enrollments in graduate seminars (In my program, it's 5 people!). So there is a lot of calculation at play in figuring out what kinds of seminars will be viable in the next 2 years. In addition, departments have to take into consideration the long-term prospects of who and whose research questions will be a commodity on the academic job market and elsewhere.  This is a reason why Penn State has been so bold in being explicit what fields will be accepted for that particular year. 

95% of the time, the rejection is not about you. It's about them and their needs to keep their PhD program viable and productive when the Powers to Be are looking for excuses to slash their ability to admit more students (though the Powers to Be will hypocritically allow PhD programs to survive at bare minimum because of the need for TAs).

So, if you *need* to reach out to find out how to improve your applications, please wait until you have heard from all schools. Then you legitimately write, "Hello, I am writing to learn more about the ways I can improve my applications.  This cycle did not work out for me and I'd like to try again next year." Also, maybe, in two months' time, you might feel differently about the whole process.

Exercise patience as hard it is.  It will serve you very well on the long run.

[TagRendar]

9 hours ago, samiwas said:

Anyone hear anything from U Chicago? I saw a few people report interviews, but it looks like that was done by individual profs rather than as some formal part of the admission process. Best of luck to all in the coming weeks

 

8 hours ago, scarletwitch said:

nope, not yet. I'm not hopeful any response from them will be positive though. I think it was individual profs though, based on correspondence with another poster on the forum. Usually they get back around this time for acceptances based on past results. 

Best of luck to you too! I just got my first rejection from Vanderbilt, so just had a good cry. Feeling pessimistic but I still have 16 results to arrive. 

Out of interest, has anyone on here applied to Duke? They seem quite late in their responses this year. 

I know U Chicago's website says that they usually send admits in March, too, so it could be that something changed a bit on their end due to everything going on this year.  Judging from the results from last year and the year before, looks like unofficial information comes from potential advisors with actual word coming from the university mid to late February, so it seems that most of us will probably have a couple more weeks to wait.

I am also not expecting anything positive to come from them on my end, but at this point, this season, anything is possible.

[Maguire]

Anyone claiming the UCLA acceptances? Says they are posted 2nd February which doesn't make much sense as it is currently the middle of the night in California but then the emails could have come out yesterday ?

[Maguire]

For anyone who's applied to Duke - they are currently evaluating applications and said decisions will come out 'within the next few weeks' so most likely will be next week or the following since their website says mid-February. 

[star21]

I've been lurking but meaning to make an account so I might as well now. I'm not one of the earlier UCLA acceptances but I also received one today. I got the email at 1 in the morning but didn't see it until I woke up. I have not heard anything about funding but it said I would hear from the department directly. This is actually the first I've heard anything so I'm excited it was an acceptance. Congratulations to those who also got in and good luck to everyone still waiting!

[Maguire]

7 minutes ago, star21 said:

I've been lurking but meaning to make an account so I might as well now. I'm not one of the earlier UCLA acceptances but I also received one today. I got the email at 1 in the morning but didn't see it until I woke up. I have not heard anything about funding but it said I would hear from the department directly. This is actually the first I've heard anything so I'm excited it was an acceptance. Congratulations to those who also got in and good luck to everyone still waiting!

Congrats on your acceptance! That's such bizarre timing but maybe it's different time zones - are you in the US or elsewhere in the world? I'm guessing if other UCLA applicants don't hear back the rest of this week we can assume rejections. Can I just ask what field you are in? (And congrats again - I would love to get just one US acceptance)

Edited February 2, 2021 by scarletwitch

[SAM311]

2 hours ago, scarletwitch said:

For anyone who's applied to Duke - they are currently evaluating applications and said decisions will come out 'within the next few weeks' so most likely will be next week or the following since their website says mid-February. 

I have also been lurking, but figured it was time to make an account. I am a little surprised about not having heard from Duke, but I am thankful for your note on the dept. When I talked with my POI several months ago, they made it seem like we would have heard by now at least! I am so anxious, ha. I have heard back from one school and it was a rejection so I am hoping for good news this month. 

[star21]

9 minutes ago, scarletwitch said:

Congrats on your acceptance! That's such bizarre timing but maybe it's different time zones - are you in the US or elsewhere in the world? I'm guessing if other UCLA applicants don't hear back the rest of this week we can assume rejections. Can I just ask what field you are in? (And congrats again!) 

Thank you! I'm in the US, two hours ahead of California. It was definitely an odd time. I'm not sure about the status of applications or if they've sent out all acceptances though. I'm in Latin American History.

[Maguire]

Just now, SadriannaM311 said:

I have also been lurking, but figured it was time to make an account. I am a little surprised about not having heard from Duke, but I am thankful for your note on the dept. When I talked with my POI several months ago, they made it seem like we would have heard by now at least! I am so anxious, ha. I have heard back from one school and it was a rejection so I am hoping for good news this month. 

Same here (for the US schools)! I've applied to quite a few so am hoping for at least one piece of good news this month! I'm guessing Duke will be next week or the following! Best of luck!

[samiwas]

Hello all, just coming to say that I wound up hearing back from U Chicago today. No official offer, but heard from POI that I had been accepted. Seems like I might be one of the earlier ones to find out, and that more news will be coming in the next few days.

FWIW, I was not asked to interview after turning in my application, as others have been.

Best of luck to those still waiting! And thanks for the posting and encouragement these last few weeks. It has been a struggle this year, knowing I was not alone made the difference