2021 Application Thread

[nws]

50 minutes ago, HRL said:

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? 

So I have some info on UChicago. I'm a current undergrad there and I was talking with my BA thesis advisor (who is also my POI) yesterday and I mentioned the two early acceptances and asked about my application (I didn't get in, with such a small class it was near impossible that I'd get in without a MA, but he said he pushed for me to get accepted with very good funding to the MA program, so I'm not too upset about it)

He said that all the decisions have been made but no one officially knows and he was surprised that professors had already reached out. He made it sound like results were still incoming in general. Also, there were 13 people accepted to UChicago this year, down from 27. They decided to do smaller admit class, bigger waitlist. He predicts next year they'll accept at least 20 people.

 

[wluhist16]

Chiming in from Penn State - offers have been extended, at least by my advisor. We're expecting a cohort of 4, maybe 5 -  one student in each of our four primary fields. 

Looks like it'll also be another cohort of 4-5 next year as well. We're a small program in non-covid times though, I came in with a cohort of 7 in 2016. 

[Maguire]

22 minutes ago, nws said:

So I have some info on UChicago. I'm a current undergrad there and I was talking with my BA thesis advisor (who is also my POI) yesterday and I mentioned the two early acceptances and asked about my application (I didn't get in, with such a small class it was near impossible that I'd get in without a MA, but he said he pushed for me to get accepted with very good funding to the MA program, so I'm not too upset about it)

He said that all the decisions have been made but no one officially knows and he was surprised that professors had already reached out. He made it sound like results were still incoming in general. Also, there were 13 people accepted to UChicago this year, down from 27. They decided to do smaller admit class, bigger waitlist. He predicts next year they'll accept at least 20 people.

 

Thanks for letting us know this information, and hope all goes well with the MA if you decide to stay at Chicago!

Do you know if they are planning to offer MAs as an alternative for people who applied to the PhD program? And if they would offer funding potentially? 

I'm starting to worry that even though a lot of places say they routinely admit straight from undergrad, not having an MA will be a disadvantage this year. At least I know I've been accepted to Cambridge for the American History MPhil so if worst comes to worst and I have to apply again next year having that will benefit my applications (really hoping one in the US might come through though as I do have research assistant experience with a couple professors, one of whom is quite well known in the US as he writes for The Washington Post)

Edited February 5, 2021 by scarletwitch

[nws]

1 minute ago, scarletwitch said:

Thanks for letting us know this information, and hope all goes well with the MA if you decide to stay at Chicago!

Do you know if they are planning to offer MAs as an alternative for people who applied to the PhD program? And if they would offer funding potentially? 

I'm starting to worry that even though a lot of places say they routinely admit straight from undergrad, not having an MA will be a disadvantage this year. At least I know I've been accepted to Cambridge for the American History MPhil so if worst comes to worst and I have to apply again next year that will boost my applications (really hoping one in the US might come through though!) 

I think they offer MAs (it's a one year program at UChicago) as an alternative to PhD pretty much every year. And generally they offer at least some sort of funding, I think. Although, the MA is like 60k, so even if they offer like half tuition it's still ridiculous. They supposedly give better funding to people who applied to PhD and got rejected rather than people who applied directly to MA.

I'm also worried about not having an MA being a disadvantage this year (mostly based on my conversations with my UChicago POI/thesis advisor). Like when Harvard is only accepting 6 people, what's the likelihood that they pick someone without an MA?

[HRL]

6 minutes ago, scarletwitch said:

Do you know if they are planning to offer MAs as an alternative for people who applied to the PhD program? And if they would offer funding potentially? 

 

Yeah, as someone who attended Chicago's MA program, I can confirm that UChicago routinely offers the MA as an alternative to PhD applicants and offers funding packages for the MA program. In fact, they tend to offer more generous MA funding to PhD applicants than to direct applicants to the MA program (but never full funding, as I recollect). Doubt it'll be all that different this year, except perhaps in the generosity of funding offers? 

[d1389jjch]

Guys we really need to stop thinking about the result. It will come sooner or later, and we can't do anything about it. It is ok to be anxious. But it is not ok to refresh the email and result page all the time! Just do the work we currently have and go get some fun at the weekend. If you can't, force yourself to.

(speaking to myself)

[Ryan_The_Grogu_Fan]

40 minutes ago, d1389jjch said:

Guys we really need to stop thinking about the result. It will come sooner or later, and we can't do anything about it. It is ok to be anxious. But it is not ok to refresh the email and result page all the time! Just do the work we currently have and go get some fun at the weekend. If you can't, force yourself to.

(speaking to myself)

While I second this advice about not being glued to the results page or your email, I'll also admit it's easier said than done! I'm an Occasional Teacher (a supply teacher) and it was a snow day today in my school board so the school I was called to is absolutely empty and I'm just sitting here refreshing the results page and my email to pass the time ?

Edited February 5, 2021 by Ryan_The_Grogu_Fan

[HRL]

54 minutes ago, nws said:

So I have some info on UChicago. I'm a current undergrad there and I was talking with my BA thesis advisor (who is also my POI) yesterday and I mentioned the two early acceptances and asked about my application (I didn't get in, with such a small class it was near impossible that I'd get in without a MA, but he said he pushed for me to get accepted with very good funding to the MA program, so I'm not too upset about it)

He said that all the decisions have been made but no one officially knows and he was surprised that professors had already reached out. He made it sound like results were still incoming in general. Also, there were 13 people accepted to UChicago this year, down from 27. They decided to do smaller admit class, bigger waitlist. He predicts next year they'll accept at least 20 people.

Thank you so much for sharing this intel! I don't know about everyone else, but this really puts my mind at ease going into weekend - that the majority of the offers have yet to go out, and that there's still a shot. 

Also congrats on (definitely? probably?) getting admitted to the MA at Chicago with strong funding! As I'm sure you already know, it's a great program with an excellent placement record into top PhD programs, including, of course, Chicago itself. 

What's your field, if you don't mind sharing? 

 

[aco2]

3 hours ago, setori said:

Did anyone hear back from Harvard History of Science Dept?

I'm waiting on them too, nothing yet! 

[Maguire]

1 hour ago, nws said:

I think they offer MAs (it's a one year program at UChicago) as an alternative to PhD pretty much every year. And generally they offer at least some sort of funding, I think. Although, the MA is like 60k, so even if they offer like half tuition it's still ridiculous. They supposedly give better funding to people who applied to PhD and got rejected rather than people who applied directly to MA.

I'm also worried about not having an MA being a disadvantage this year (mostly based on my conversations with my UChicago POI/thesis advisor). Like when Harvard is only accepting 6 people, what's the likelihood that they pick someone without an MA?

 

1 hour ago, HRL said:

Yeah, as someone who attended Chicago's MA program, I can confirm that UChicago routinely offers the MA as an alternative to PhD applicants and offers funding packages for the MA program. In fact, they tend to offer more generous MA funding to PhD applicants than to direct applicants to the MA program (but never full funding, as I recollect). Doubt it'll be all that different this year, except perhaps in the generosity of funding offers? 

Thanks for this information, both of you ☺️ Well I guess let’s just see what happens. 

I get the sense that having an MA is beneficial this year but I’ve also seen people applying to Political Science PhDs and getting in without an MA on a different forum. So in some ways I think departmental and POI fit may also be crucial to decisions. I’m hoping that might be the case as for example with Michigan Ann Arbor my research project aligns with a whole new Carceral State project they started there in 2019, so I’m really eager to hear back from them!

Edit: I just saw on the results page that there’s a waitlist notification for Chicago? Are they sending out results today perhaps?

Edited February 5, 2021 by scarletwitch

[coffeehum]

Sorry to add to the stress pool, but has anyone heard anything from UIUC? They've consistently been on the quicker side of admissions for the past few years, so I'm a little surprised to have not heard anything yet. 

[Maguire]

7 minutes ago, coffeehum said:

Sorry to add to the stress pool, but has anyone heard anything from UIUC? They've consistently been on the quicker side of admissions for the past few years, so I'm a little surprised to have not heard anything yet. 

I was actually thinking about asking this myself earlier! They are quite behind, but so is Duke who have usually gotten back by now. I would reckon they’ll probably get back next week as several years ago they released acceptances around the 8th of Feb (before they started the January acceptances pattern) so reckon next week could be when we hear. Would be interested to see if anyone else has any more information though. 

[HRL]

Would the Chicago waitlist person be willing to share how they were notified (POI? DGS?) and their field? 

[setori]

1 hour ago, aco2 said:

I'm waiting on them too, nothing yet! 

Did you contact POI beforehand? When's the last time you mailed or interacted with him/her?

[aco2]

Just now, setori said:

Did you contact POI beforehand? When's the last time you mailed or interacted with him/her?

Yeah I've had email and zoom contact with them, but it has been a while. They told me some time ago that their admissions were likely going to be cut by 50-75%, so it's a long shot for everyone I think. I don't have high hopes.

[setori]

Just now, aco2 said:

Yeah I've had email and zoom contact with them, but it has been a while. They told me some time ago that their admissions were likely going to be cut by 50-75%, so it's a long shot for everyone I think. I don't have high hopes.

Oh my god. I only applied to Harvard. But I didn't have zoom interview. So what's their major evaluative criteria?

[aco2]

9 minutes ago, setori said:

Oh my god. I only applied to Harvard. But I didn't have zoom interview. So what's their major evaluative criteria?

I don't think mine was really an interview, just kind of an informal chat with POI before I submitted my application, to make sure we had good communication, fit, etc. I think, like any other school, that they evaluate all parts of the application pretty holistically.

It sounded like History of Science will maybe take 2-4 students this year, and it's likely to be on the lower end of that.

What made you decide to only apply to Harvard?

[setori]

1 minute ago, aco2 said:

I don't think mine was really an interview, just kind of an informal chat with POI before I submitted my application, to make sure we had good communication, fit, etc. I think, like any other school, that they evaluate all parts of the application pretty holistically.

It sounded like History of Science will maybe take 2-4 students this year, and it's likely to be on the lower end of that.

What made you decide to only apply to Harvard?

Because of a few prof. If they take just  2-4 students then it's unlikely that I will get in. Btw when will they send the offer/ rejection letters? Did you submit GRE scores?

[aco2]

Just now, setori said:

Because of a few prof. If they take just  2-4 students then it's unlikely that I will get in. Btw when will they send the offer/ rejection letters? Did you submit GRE scores?

I have no clue when decisions will go out! I'm just trying to be patient, hard as that is! 

[HRL]

1 hour ago, scarletwitch said:

Edit: I just saw on the results page that there’s a waitlist notification for Chicago? Are they sending out results today perhaps?

Looks like more Chicago waitlists went out. So yeah, maybe notifications are happening today?

[generalstrike]

2 minutes ago, HRL said:

Looks like more Chicago waitlists went out. So yeah, maybe notifications are happening today?

So anxious. As far as I can tell, this was my best shot – had encouraging (informal) interviews with two POI who said they'd recommend me to the committee. Nevertheless, both were very clear that I should align my expectations with the realities of the cycle.

Good luck to everyone else waiting!

[Maguire]

56 minutes ago, HRL said:

Looks like more Chicago waitlists went out. So yeah, maybe notifications are happening today?

Yup - interesting in that it looks like waitlisted applicants are getting notified first? I guess acceptances are next and then rejections. I ain’t optimistic about this one, ‘‘twas a long shot. Good luck to everyone else who’s applied!

[TagRendar]

I just saw that about the U Chicago waitlists on the results page and checked portal - nothing thus far, nor anything via email.  I'm not optimistic (considering my other two rejections thus far)--much more hopeful about UIC but trying not to pin anything too high.

The upshot is that I do already have a masters, just in a different research area than the one I'm applying for now.  This said, I can only hope that maybe it will make me more interesting?

Just the waiting game for most of us now.

[tulips23]

Reached out to Harvard DGS who mentioned the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences would be in touch within two weeks. Taking that to mean an imminent rejection?

[Ryan_The_Grogu_Fan]

12 minutes ago, tulips23 said:

Reached out to Harvard DGS who mentioned the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences would be in touch within two weeks. Taking that to mean an imminent rejection?

I don’t think hearing that from the DGS is any indication either way. The DGS may have an internal deadline for result notification or generally know the history department’s timeline. 
 

I think it would be much more beneficial to reach out to the history department directly if you want more information because the DGS won’t know the specifics of what’s going on with each department. 

Edited February 5, 2021 by Ryan_The_Grogu_Fan