2021 Application Thread

[Historyman217]

Just now, HRL said:

Did you receive an email or portal update for Vanderbilt? Or just assuming it's a probable rejection at this point since the acceptances went out?

POI told me. All acceptances were sent out. A real bummer because Vanderbilt is an excellent program. 

[mercuetio]

45 minutes ago, boydivision said:

Thanks for the info- doesn't surprise me, sadly. I had emailed with a potential POI at Berkeley (in modern Europe) in the fall, and he said that he wouldn't be accepting anyone this cycle because of the pandemic, so I decided not to apply rather than wait for certain rejection. Seems like this is just a bad year for all applicants, some more than others.

 

53 minutes ago, Historyman217 said:

As an addendum, I’ve been told that, at least in some places, americanists are being preferenced this year. There is also the fact that the job market for Europeanists is dire. 

This was my experience with Berkeley too, and decided not to apply (I'm a medievalist, not a modern europeanist). Early on in the apps process, many schools I was interested in either explicitly or implicitly expressed a preference for Americanist scholars, especially those interested in studying race/ethnicity in America (probably as a direct result of the horrific events of this past summer). I'm also told that time to degree for Americanists can be faster than for medievalists or european scholars because they have fewer language prereqs and don't need to go overseas to reach their archives, and it's probably in a school's best interest to fund a student for 5-6 years as opposed to 6-7 years. 

Good luck to you both! This cycle has been brutal. 

[Maguire]

30 minutes ago, mercuetio said:

 

This was my experience with Berkeley too, and decided not to apply (I'm a medievalist, not a modern europeanist). Early on in the apps process, many schools I was interested in either explicitly or implicitly expressed a preference for Americanist scholars, especially those interested in studying race/ethnicity in America (probably as a direct result of the horrific events of this past summer). I'm also told that time to degree for Americanists can be faster than for medievalists or european scholars because they have fewer language prereqs and don't need to go overseas to reach their archives, and it's probably in a school's best interest to fund a student for 5-6 years as opposed to 6-7 years. 

Good luck to you both! This cycle has been brutal. 

I hope what you say about Americanists is right because that field (race/ethnicity) is incorporated within my research (I’m kind of within the African American/Carceral State History and US Foreign Policy research fields) and have yet to get an acceptance - do have 15 still pending so one can but hope!

 

Edited February 4, 2021 by scarletwitch

[Thucydides34]

3 hours ago, HRL said:

I'm with you on this. I'm assuming UCLA and Vanderbilt are done extending offers (except perhaps for waitlist folks), and so no news at this point probably means a rejection.

I'm slightly uncertain what to make of Harvard - the one person that was waitlisted said that the DGS email noted that only 6 offers were made (past tense, I believe), but none were reported on the results page. I think it's more likely that those 6 folks just aren't on GradCafe than that the offers haven't gone out yet. Getting word of even just 1 person with a Harvard offer would make me more certain of this, though. (Would be curious to hear how other people waiting to hear from Harvard are thinking about it.)

And, to be honest, I'm mentally bracing for Yale being out too, but with a much lower level of certainty, based on the fact that I didn't get an interview and, at least in past years, the interview seemed to be critical (to the point that, in 2018 ish, a person's POI told them they were required to be admitted - found this on the results page). But this year is anything but typical, and I imagine there must be exceptions to the rule, if it was/is a rule. (Would be keen to hear from any folks from prior cycles on this thread who got into Yale without an interview.)

I personally cope better if I anticipate a "no" (and then get pleasantly surprised with a "yes"), so in these gray zones, I'm defaulting to that. Wouldn't necessarily recommend that mindset for people who cope better with optimistic expectations. 

 

I suspect that the Harvard acceptances might not yet have been notified, whereas waitlisted have, only because waitlists are the department's own shortlists, but acceptances must be approved by the Graduate School, and so maybe, especially since admissions are uncertain this year, the department/POIs are holding out until final approval by the Graduate School before notifying their accepted students. On the one hand, hard to believe that no acceptances would post in the Results, but then again, only a small fraction of total applicants post results anyway, so the 6 people, as you say, could simply not be on GradCafe. 

[psstein]

1 hour ago, scarletwitch said:

For anyone applying to Wisconsin-Madison, I just heard from the Graduate program coordinator that decisions will come out next week. Bit scared as she said there were 400 graduate applications this year ? (but then they also have History of Science, Medicine and Technology which is separate from the History PhD, as well as the MAs but I’d guess like 200 of those applications at least are for the History PhD!) I emailed my POI there earlier about a research enquiry so will see if she gets back also! Fingers crossed! I’m hoping that as usually they take 30-40 applicants per year they will still take around 15-20 this year. 

HSMT is part of history at this point. The two departments merged in July 2017, just before I started my first semester at Wisconsin.  30-40 is a bit on the high end of acceptance. It's usually somewhere between 25-30, depending on needs for the upcoming year.

Regardless, I'm happy to discuss Madison with anyone who gets in.

[Maguire]

Just now, psstein said:

HSMT is part of history at this point. The two departments merged in July 2017, just before I started my first semester at Wisconsin.  30-40 is a bit on the high end of acceptance. It's usually somewhere between 25-30, depending on needs for the upcoming year.

Regardless, I'm happy to discuss Madison with anyone who gets in.

Thanks for this information - seems like it’ll be a tough competition this year with that many applications ?

[AP]

4 hours ago, TagRendar said:

I feel like this season is especially a bit of a mess because everyone's department funding is a bit of a mess.  Everyone still seems to be in a bit of a scramble mode with everything constantly shifting around them.  I imagine that a lot of schools were thinking that maybe by September the world would be a little closer to normal but the reality that's emerging is that we're probably going to be into 2022 before we hit that benchmark, at least in the US.

Actually, our budget has already been decided. Nothing in the departments is "messy" or "chaotic." What is uncertain is our current doctoral students, their funding, their prospective job market, their research opportunities. They are our priority right now. A commitment to a new cohort would take into account these uncertainties. As the reality in our country and abroad changes rapidly, we sensitive to those realities. 

3 hours ago, boydivision said:

What do you mean by the above? Has there been a huge number of applicants interested in Europe, fewer slots for Europeanists, etc? And why do you think that is?

(If you can't tell, anxious modern European applicant here!)

From where I stand, the situation is more complex. There are no jobs for Europeanists and too many of you. Also, departments are trying to diversify their cohorts by admitting more research on the rest of the world, as well as Americanists. That said, they are also grappling with the challenges posed by the pandemic as mentioned above. No one is in a hurry of creating a cohort of students who won't be able to do research or find jobs. 

[TMP]

3 hours ago, Historyman217 said:

As an addendum, I’ve been told that, at least in some places, americanists are being preferenced this year. There is also the fact that the job market for Europeanists is dire. 

 

3 hours ago, boydivision said:

What do you mean by the above? Has there been a huge number of applicants interested in Europe, fewer slots for Europeanists, etc? And why do you think that is?

(If you can't tell, anxious modern European applicant here!)

Transnational Europeanist here.  There were VERY few jobs for Europeanists this year:

1) At a regional campus in a major city (222 applicants)

2) In a Christian college in PNW

3) In a teaching college in middle of nowhere in the Plains

4) In a semi-rural area of Kentucky

 

That's it. 4 tenure-track jobs alone.  Plus 2 on "France and the World" in liberal arts colleges.  Meanwhile, there are over 35 tenure-track jobs in.... you guess it, African American history or US history emphasizing race and ethnicity. PhD programs are certainly responding to the demands of BLM too.

[OHSP]

2 hours ago, Thucydides34 said:

I suspect that the Harvard acceptances might not yet have been notified, whereas waitlisted have, only because waitlists are the department's own shortlists, but acceptances must be approved by the Graduate School, and so maybe, especially since admissions are uncertain this year, the department/POIs are holding out until final approval by the Graduate School before notifying their accepted students. 

You might be right but I highly doubt it -- there's no real reason for them to hold off on telling accepted students, they just add the caveat that an acceptance is contingent upon the university's approval. 

[TagRendar]

3 hours ago, AP said:

Actually, our budget has already been decided. Nothing in the departments is "messy" or "chaotic." What is uncertain is our current doctoral students, their funding, their prospective job market, their research opportunities. They are our priority right now. A commitment to a new cohort would take into account these uncertainties. As the reality in our country and abroad changes rapidly, we sensitive to those realities. 

From where I stand, the situation is more complex. There are no jobs for Europeanists and too many of you. Also, departments are trying to diversify their cohorts by admitting more research on the rest of the world, as well as Americanists. That said, they are also grappling with the challenges posed by the pandemic as mentioned above. No one is in a hurry of creating a cohort of students who won't be able to do research or find jobs. 

That makes a lot of sense!  Thank you.  I guess I was looking at some of the grad realities through the lens of the realities being faced by the departments that I’m currently engaged with at the undergrad level.  There has been a lot of uncertainty with how things are going to continue to look so it’s had a huge impact on the shape of department offerings and class types both this year and for the coming year.  I’ve been lucky enough to have some very frank conversations with professors about the state of things in the past few months, hence my (erroneous) assumption.

[generalstrike]

Hi everyone! This is my first post, but this thread has been a valuable source of comfort the past couple of weeks, in addition to providing some intel. I'm wondering if anyone has any information on the University of Washington that they'd feel comfortable sharing (in addition to whoever submitted the recent acceptance, whom I've already solicited on the results page). Also waiting on Georgetown and UIC, as well as a number of other schools mentioned here.

Post-war U.S. labor history and history of capitalism, FWIW.

Thanks – and solidarity!   

[tulips23]

2 hours ago, generalstrike said:

Hi everyone! This is my first post, but this thread has been a valuable source of comfort the past couple of weeks, in addition to providing some intel. I'm wondering if anyone has any information on the University of Washington that they'd feel comfortable sharing (in addition to whoever submitted the recent acceptance, whom I've already solicited on the results page). Also waiting on Georgetown and UIC, as well as a number of other schools mentioned here.

Post-war U.S. labor history and history of capitalism, FWIW.

Thanks – and solidarity!   

also waiting on Georgetown! has anyone heard anything from admissions at all?

[Boarskin]

26 minutes ago, tulips23 said:

also waiting on Georgetown! has anyone heard anything from admissions at all?

I think Georgetown usually gives out decisions on late Feb but in this year it could possibly be even later. I know they are taking only 8 students this year. 

[Maguire]

Reckon we won't hear anything more this week - I think the next two to three weeks (but particularly the next 2 weeks) will be when the bulk of decisions come out for most places, minus UT Austin which typically gets back first week of March.

Good luck to all, and hoping your weekends can be somewhat restful! ?

[Crispy_Pancake]

12 hours ago, OHSP said:

You might be right but I highly doubt it -- there's no real reason for them to hold off on telling accepted students, they just add the caveat that an acceptance is contingent upon the university's approval. 

Yeah - it's more likely that the six acceptances have already been notified of their admission, but because it is such a small sample size we aren't seeing the results on GradCafe.

 I was accepted to Harvard History last year but declined the offer. I was notified by the Director of Graduate Studies through an email with my POIs cc'ed, that I would be recommended to the GSAS for admission. I was still a little nervous at the time (as if the GSAS could still refuse the recommendation) but my POI reassured me that it was formality and everyone who gets nominated by the department is all but accepted.

[brownrose95]

So with Harvard being done (it makes sense that the 6 students accepted are not on GradCafe) and Yale and Wisconsin-Madison (most likely) releasing their decisions next week, there isn't much to else to do than anxiously wait over the weekend..

[Maguire]

6 minutes ago, brownrose95 said:

So with Harvard being done (it makes sense that the 6 students accepted are not on GradCafe) and Yale and Wisconsin-Madison (most likely) releasing their decisions next week, there isn't much to else to do than anxiously wait over the weekend..

Wisconsin-Madison is definitely releasing their results next week, according to the graduate coordinator. Would expect those decisions to come early in the week as they have in past years. Unclear on whether Yale is next week or the following, but I hope their decisions will be soon. 

Edited February 5, 2021 by scarletwitch

[brownrose95]

1 minute ago, scarletwitch said:

Wisconsin-Madison is definitely releasing their results next week, according to the graduate coordinator. Would expect those decisions to come early in the week as they have in past years. Unclear on whether Yale is next week or the following, but expect their decisions to be soon. 

Really thought Yale was going to be this week based off last year releases but oh well. Does anyone have any information on Boston University? I applied there because of Dr. Thornton and Dr. Heywood, but have not heard anything since I applied back in November.

[setori]

Did anyone hear back from Harvard History of Science Dept?

[Ryan_The_Grogu_Fan]

36 minutes ago, brownrose95 said:

Really thought Yale was going to be this week based off last year releases but oh well. Does anyone have any information on Boston University? I applied there because of Dr. Thornton and Dr. Heywood, but have not heard anything since I applied back in November.

While I don't have anything to contribute re: BU, I'm not too surprised Yale didn't release results this week. While they did release them the first week of February last year, other schools are several weeks late so far with their results (Duke is over 2 weeks late and counting). I think its best if we just expect most schools to be at least 1 week late this year given COVID and what sounds like increased application numbers.

Edited February 5, 2021 by Ryan_The_Grogu_Fan

[Ryan_The_Grogu_Fan]

46 minutes ago, scarletwitch said:

Wisconsin-Madison is definitely releasing their results next week, according to the graduate coordinator. Would expect those decisions to come early in the week as they have in past years. Unclear on whether Yale is next week or the following, but I hope their decisions will be soon. 

That's so exciting! Fingers crossed for next week! Also I hope you don't mind that I copied your signature 

[Maguire]

2 minutes ago, Ryan_The_Grogu_Fan said:

That's so exciting! Fingers crossed for next week! Also I hope you don't mind that I copied your signature 

I don't mind at all!  Wishing you best of luck! 

I think also Princeton will be out next week based on the fact that in the past five years they've always come out the second week of February and also as their website says mid-February results are released. 

Duke will either be next week or the following, but since they're behind next week may be likely as their webpage also says mid-February for results. 

Hoping our Michigan POIs will let us know info soon too, even though official results with funding will probably come later! 

 

[ithaca99]

I had an interview with Emory last week and they said that they expect decisions to be released by next Friday.  

[Maguire]

Just now, lietuva96 said:

I had an interview with Emory last week and they said that they expect decisions to be released by next Friday.  

Thanks for the information - if you don't mind me asking, what field are you in & did the interviewers make clear that interviews were necessary in order to get an offer? Best of luck  

[HRL]

What do people think the scoop is with UChicago? That there were 2 early POI notifications and the rest are incoming still...or that they've all come in now and we just only happen to have 2 folks on GradCafe reporting acceptances?