2023 Application Thread

[waitingforresults]

1 hour ago, AnonPhDAppilcant said:

Hello, 

Have been through this process before, and am going through it again. I read these threads, but have never contributed, so here you go: 

 

 I have recieved rejections from Michigan State and UNC Chapel Hill. I have not heard back from Yale, Cornell, Michigan, Harvard, Chicago, and a few others I am blanking on right now. I expect to get rejected from all of these schools. 

 

My advice, which I would be smart to follow, is to just focus on improving yourself and stop worrying about school x or y. I have watched numerous people get into great schools, and numerous other people who are highly-qualified get rejected. I have seen some folks get into Ivies but get rejected from state schools where there are faculty aligned with their interests. It literally makes no sense, and is VERY political. 

Anxiety, depression and substance abuse are at all-time highs right now, especially amongst graduate students, so prioritize self-care --- focus on improving as a scholar, pitching journals, applying to conferences, working out at the gym, and let the rest figure it else out. If these schools are smart, they will accept everybody reading this thread:)

It is also better to spend some years in the field in which you wish to pursue a PhD, rather than applying from college or directly from Masters (saying it as a person who applied at 30). Most professors are aware of the dire job market situation, and some are even hesitant to accept any graduate students because they do not want people to waste their formative years and come out jobless.

I applied with a European MA and a US MA in progress (graduating in May), 6 years of experience in the field, a professional career as an established social researcher in my country, fellowships, research grants, publications, teaching experience, 5+ languages, and 4 recommendation letters (3 from Ivy professors, whom I know since I was 21, and who saw me in this process of becoming). Essentially, if something goes wrong, I can return to my previous job without having to look around in the US job market. And while pursuing my MA (though fully funded), I continue to work with colleagues from previous jobs and have volunteered as an administrator/assistant for my Area Studies research center – just because I have those skills.

What I'm trying to say is that it's better to gain some real-world experience before committing to academia. It will be easier to find a good fit for your skills later in your 30s if you have that experience, rather than trying to realize what you can do except for acedemical work.

Edited February 2, 2023 by waitingforresults

[waitingforresults]

10 minutes ago, queenphilippaofhainault said:

I mean I guess that makes sense, though I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t give people a day to process before being recruited (again, the idea of recruiting PhDs in this way is sort of wild to me from UK anyway).

but it also seems like so many people have received unofficial rejections or acceptances from POIs which I also know for sure wouldn’t happen in the UK, unless you were incredibly close with a tutor. I guess that’s just part of the system but it seems like an odd way to do it personally, especially considering it’s not an explicit part of the application process how close you should be to POIs in order for that to happen

Sure, the idea of recruiting for PhDs in UK academia is absurd, given that they frequently come without or with laughable (on US and EU scale) stipends/funding. Because acceptance rates are only 3-5%, US schools want to "land" the students they've chosen, and they want to make you feel special.

And, in general, UK doctorate systems differ in that you can compete it without having a close relationships with your advisor, committee, or even peers because you only have 3-4 years to complete your dissertation. In the US schools, the lack of relationships with advisors is a problem, and cohorts are usually close because you study together for the first 2-3 years before ABD and going into the fields.

[queenphilippaofhainault]

I get what you’re saying and I suppose as a student it’s not really your critique to answer, it just seems like an inordinately unfair and stressful part of the process that people find out at different times, from a multitude of sources. Obviously I understand the benefits to the US system overall (that’s why I applied!), however I can’t get my head around this method of releasing results. Just seems to make a huge number of people extremely stressed and despondent for what are already some of the most depressing weeks of the year - and also opens up the way for trolls on here! Apologies if this seemed like a personal criticism, it really wasn’t meant to be.

 

 

[waitingforresults]

2 minutes ago, queenphilippaofhainault said:

I get what you’re saying and I suppose as a student it’s not really your critique to answer, it just seems like an inordinately unfair and stressful part of the process that people find out at different times, from a multitude of sources. Obviously I understand the benefits to the US system overall (that’s why I applied!), however I can’t get my head around this method of releasing results. Just seems to make a huge number of people extremely stressed and despondent for what are already some of the most depressing weeks of the year - and also opens up the way for trolls on here! Apologies if this seemed like a personal criticism, it really wasn’t meant to be.

 

 

You are completely correct; I would prefer that each university release everything at once, without these strange moves. And the sheer popularity of this forum/website is rooted in this somewhat chaotic system.

[cladthecrab]

Any word on UVA or University of Maryland? My advisor recently asked and it makes me wonder if it's time to be concerned yet!

Edited February 2, 2023 by cladthecrab

[missamericana]

10 hours ago, cladthecrab said:

Any word on UVA or University of Maryland? My advisor recently asked and it makes me wonder if it's time to be concerned yet!

My application portal for UVA was updated last Friday to say that I was waitlisted. 

I had interviewed with a professor there earlier in the month and they emailed me this week to let me know about the waitlist as well. 

[mb08]

15 hours ago, cladthecrab said:

Any word on UVA or University of Maryland? My advisor recently asked and it makes me wonder if it's time to be concerned yet!

I got waitlisted on the 30th. I suppose acceptances are yet to arrive 

[Bo23]

I applied UMD and UVA as well! My application UVA portal is the same. There is no any updates on the website. super cringe

[cladthecrab]

Thanks for this info, everyone!  I guess I live to hope another day lol.

 

3 hours ago, Bo23 said:

I applied UMD and UVA as well! My application UVA portal is the same. There is no any updates on the website. super cringe

Oh very cool! If you don't mind my asking, what's your field?

[Bo23]

26 minutes ago, cladthecrab said:

感謝大家提供這個信息！ 我想我活著希望有新的一天，哈哈。

 

哦很酷！如果你不介意我問，你的專業是什麼？

history! "All human wisdom is contained in these two words, 'Wait and Hope.” ?

[prospectiveafricanist]

Anyone know anything about Emory?

I saw two people claim to have received interview offers in late January but no acceptances or rejections.

I had an interview with the professor before I applied and I think it went well so maybe (hopefully) I missed the interview wave but will be accepted in the acceptance wave.

Edited February 3, 2023 by prospectiveafricanist

[lm56]

30 minutes ago, prospectiveafricanist said:

Anyone know anything about Emory?

I saw two people claim to have received interview offers in late January but no acceptances or rejections.

I had an interview with the professor before I applied and I think it went well so maybe (hopefully) I missed the interview wave but will be accepted in the acceptance wave.

I met with a professor before applying and then had an interview last week with her and two other professors (US field), they said decisions wouldn’t come out till mid February at least though because of funding negotiations with admin

[Manuscriptess]

Hi, I'm a fifth year and I just wanted to pop on and say that you shouldn't be hard on yourself if you don't get in somewhere. As someone on the other side of this process, I've seen that a lot of who gets admitted has nothing to do with the applicant, but with the administration. My department was known for one field and took three students in 2017, two students in 2018, and then three professors suddenly retired, so no one got in after. Some professors may already have too many grad students and would find it too big of a responsibility to take on another. The department may realize that they didn't take enough people in one field in the prior year, so they're specifically favoring those applications that year. I know it can feel like a slap in the face, and I certainly felt that way for the programs I got rejected from, but sometimes it really is a case of "it's not you, it's me"

[emeraldsapphire]

On 1/26/2023 at 5:06 PM, redbeanbread said:

I also interviewed with Berkeley and was told that results would likely come out in the first week(s) of Feb – the POI used the parentheses in this exact manner. I was told that things are going to take a bit longer this year. 

Congrats on the interview. What's your subfield? 

[jordan12]

Have people received Princeton rejection emails yet? Are they just drawing out the inevitable?

[Bubfun]

2 hours ago, jordan12 said:

Have people received Princeton rejection emails yet? Are they just drawing out the inevitable?

I've been wondering the same...wish they would just get it over with

[AmramtheAgronomist]

Just been waitlisted by Chicago... I thought I had a good shot on this one, but I guess waitlisted is also an excellent reply and means that my application is not a total disaster, and I might have a shot at other universities. Does anybody know how this waiting list thing goes? How many people are usually there, is there a ranking, is it divided into fields, etc... I'm dying to know my chances

[ladydobz]

I saw Illinois sent out Wait list emails. I didn't get one, so, I'm assuming it's a no from them. Oh well. 

[sciencehistorian]

Rejection from Chicago History on my portal (strangely without an email), although I'm still in contention for CHSS.

[ladydobz]

16 minutes ago, sciencehistorian said:

Rejection from Chicago History on my portal (strangely without an email), although I'm still in contention for CHSS.

I hope you hear back favorably for that one!

[histosci123]

4 hours ago, sciencehistorian said:

Rejection from Chicago History on my portal (strangely without an email), although I'm still in contention for CHSS.

Hi! I'm also an applicant for the History of Science programs. I noticed that you interviewed(ing) for Harvard, Yale, Penn and Chicago. Would you mind sharing how they reached out to you for an interview? Did you receive emails from POIs? 

[sciencehistorian]

6 hours ago, histosci123 said:

Hi! I'm also an applicant for the History of Science programs. I noticed that you interviewed(ing) for Harvard, Yale, Penn and Chicago. Would you mind sharing how they reached out to you for an interview? Did you receive emails from POIs? 

I am applying through a dual-degree program in which my applications are not centrally coordinated by the graduate program, so I'm afraid my experience won't be helpful. Chicago is the only place where I submitted a full parallel graduate application.

Edited February 4, 2023 by sciencehistorian

[SpiralJetty]

16 hours ago, Bubfun said:

I've been wondering the same...wish they would just get it over with

I was sure it was going to get sent last night but still nothing..I don’t get what they’re doing, unless the acceptances were all “unofficial” and the automated acceptances are coming with the automated rejections…

[bxl_whitepaper]

I'm wondering is it still possible for PhD programs to directly admit from BA/without any MA degree after the pandemic for any field?

My field is modern China and I've been rejected by more than half of the schools I've applied to at this point. At least two POIs (at an Ivy) told me directly they didn't admit me because I don't have a MA (even though I'm among the strongest) and it's very rare for them to directly admit from BA. But I don't think this is empirically accurate after checking for example Chicago and Princeton's newly-admitted grad students last year; BA-only vs. BA+MA is almost half and half.

[waitingforresults]

51 minutes ago, 50CentParty said:

I'm wondering is it still possible for PhD programs to directly admit from BA/without any MA degree after the pandemic for any field?

My field is modern China and I've been rejected by more than half of the schools I've applied to at this point. At least two POIs (at an Ivy) told me directly they didn't admit me because I don't have a MA (even though I'm among the strongest) and it's very rare for them to directly admit from BA. But I don't think this is empirically accurate after checking for example Chicago and Princeton's newly-admitted grad students last year; BA-only vs. BA+MA is almost half and half.

Yes, and it will gradually become more common, because the job market is overcrowded with people who pursued a PhD without a clear plan for the rest of their lives. Going straight to a PhD from college is often referred to as "postponed unemployment" in place where I am from.

And the best way to get a "taste" of academia is to get a 2-year MA degree (you can transfer some credits to your PhD studies later) and some work experience in the field to realize what you are truly capable of and whether it is what you want to do with your life.

I wrote about it a few days ago, based solely on my personal experience, so take it with a grain of salt.

On 2/1/2023 at 8:32 PM, waitingforresults said:

It is also better to spend some years in the field in which you wish to pursue a PhD, rather than applying from college or directly from Masters (saying it as a person who applied at 30). Most professors are aware of the dire job market situation, and some are even hesitant to accept any graduate students because they do not want people to waste their formative years and come out jobless.

I applied with a European MA and a US MA in progress (graduating in May), 6 years of experience in the field, a professional career as an established social researcher in my country, fellowships, research grants, publications, teaching experience, 5+ languages, and 4 recommendation letters (3 from Ivy professors, whom I know since I was 21, and who saw me in this process of becoming). Essentially, if something goes wrong, I can return to my previous job without having to look around in the US job market. And while pursuing my MA (though fully funded), I continue to work with colleagues from previous jobs and have volunteered as an administrator/assistant for my Area Studies research center – just because I have those skills.

What I'm trying to say is that it's better to gain some real-world experience before committing to academia. It will be easier to find a good fit for your skills later in your 30s if you have that experience, rather than trying to realize what you can do except for acedemical work.

 

Edited February 4, 2023 by waitingforresults