Am I Accepted?

[Jdealla]

Please help me decipher this e-mail that I received today. Am I accepted or not??

Here are the important parts:

"Dear jdealla,

I am very impressed with your application and would certainly like it if you joined our program. With over 300 applications, the competition for funding, however, is severe. I would like to suggest a possible alternative to direct admission to the PhD program. The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies has its own (limited) funding sources for its MA program.I can think of six students who took this route, enrolling in the MA program and then moving into our PhD program (another went to another program). I can think of no one who concentrated on history in the MA program and did not go onto a PhD program, if so desired.

Please let me know if you would like to be considered for this program.

Best Regards,

Field Chair, Latin American History"

I think I received this so early because the LA Studies program deadline is Jan. 15th, and the FLAS scholarship deadline is Feb. 1.

Here's what I plan on asking him, let me know if I should add/take out something.

1) If this means I'm admitted to the history PhD program but without funding

2) If being considered for the MA in LAS will affect my history PhD funding (or admissions if I'm not in already)

3) Would I have to reapply to the history PhD program after doing the MA in LAS

Help, please!

Thanks all.

Edited January 12, 2011 by Jdealla

[ChibaCityBlues]

Please help me decipher this e-mail that I received today. Am I accepted or not??

Here are the important parts:

"Dear jdealla,

I am very impressed with your application and would certainly like it if you joined our program. With over 300 applications, the competition for funding, however, is severe. I would like to suggest a possible alternative to direct admission to the PhD program. The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies has its own (limited) funding sources for its MA program.I can think of six students who took this route, enrolling in the MA program and then moving into our PhD program (another went to another program). I can think of no one who concentrated on history in the MA program and did not go onto a PhD program, if so desired.

Please let me know if you would like to be considered for this program.

Best Regards,

Field Chair, Latin American History"

I think I received this so early because the LA Studies program deadline is Jan. 15th, and the FLAS scholarship deadline is Feb. 1.

Here's what I plan on asking him, let me know if I should add/take out something.

1) If this means I'm admitted to the history PhD program but without funding

2) If being considered for the MA in LAS will affect my history PhD funding (or admissions if I'm not in already)

3) Would I have to reapply to the history PhD program after doing the MA in LAS

Help, please!

Thanks all.

Don't email. Call.

[rsldonk]

Please help me decipher this e-mail that I received today. Am I accepted or not??

Here are the important parts:

"Dear jdealla,

I am very impressed with your application and would certainly like it if you joined our program. With over 300 applications, the competition for funding, however, is severe. I would like to suggest a possible alternative to direct admission to the PhD program. The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies has its own (limited) funding sources for its MA program.I can think of six students who took this route, enrolling in the MA program and then moving into our PhD program (another went to another program). I can think of no one who concentrated on history in the MA program and did not go onto a PhD program, if so desired.

Please let me know if you would like to be considered for this program.

Best Regards,

Field Chair, Latin American History"

I think I received this so early because the LA Studies program deadline is Jan. 15th, and the FLAS scholarship deadline is Feb. 1.

Here's what I plan on asking him, let me know if I should add/take out something.

1) If this means I'm admitted to the history PhD program but without funding

2) If being considered for the MA in LAS will affect my history PhD funding (or admissions if I'm not in already)

3) Would I have to reapply to the history PhD program after doing the MA in LAS

Help, please!

Thanks all.

My bet would be that they like your application, but couldn't fund you, but you fit well with what they do. They have the other program, and you would probably be a shoe in to get in there, so apply there, that way they can still admit you, not have to fund you through the history department, and when it comes to it, you have an inside track to upgrade to their doctoral program since you're already there, already known to the faculty and adcom. Not a bad deal all things considered. Not to mention, if you want to go some other direction, you'll at least have the MA to show for it.

[Jdealla]

Don't email. Call.

Good idea, I'll call in the morning.

rsldonk,

Yea, I figured the same, I guess just optimism saying otherwise.

Edited January 12, 2011 by Jdealla

[rsldonk]

Good idea, I'll call in the morning.

rsldonk,

Yea, I figured the same, I guess just optimism saying otherwise.

The other that I didn't say before was that they probably want to bring in as many students as they can, and if they can get you to take the MA slot and get funded there, they can get you in and also someone else. Honestly, i think that it's a pretty good option that you should strongly consider.

[eklavya]

my 2 cents: 'direct admit', in majority of the cases, means that you are not guaranteed a spot unless you can obtain funding - be it through a professor or on your own. so you might want to start emailing professors in the department asap.

nonetheless, this shows that you have a GREAT application, and you should stay confident about getting into other programs. good luck!

[TMP]

Just do what the DGS says. They'd like to accept you but you just weren't chosen for the departmental funding. But do what he says and see where else you get in. Ultimately, unless this school is your dream school, think about picking another program that actually can admit you for the PhD and fund you to make a point that you should've gotten the funding from the department and not have go through the hassle of looking for funding during the MA and thereafter.

And do call. Just like any job seeker, call the employer to confirm your strong interest in the program, and who knows, you might get moved up on the funding waitlist. Actually, ask if there is even one.

[Nytusse]

That is a truly puzzling email. I think that would have driven me crazy if I received it...especially after business hours when nobody could answer my questions.

I think it is some kind of good reply, but apart from that....?

Funding is just in a miserable state all around right now, it seems.

[Jdealla]

UPDATE:

I spoke with the professor that e-mailed me today and asked him about the situation. He said, because of severe competition for funding, applying for a MA in LA studies would offer me a greater chance of actually receiving funding. The deadline is Jan. 15, so that explains why I received the e-mail so soon. However, he said that they haven't made any decisions regarding funding so far, and that applying for the MA wouldn't affect my History PhD application at all. I didn't get any numbers about funding or admittance or anything like that.

So, I'm hoping that he just wants me in the program and is trying to help me out by increasing my funding chances in a tough year. I'm hoping that this suggestion was not because I was low on the list, although I'm an optimist and a more reasonable answer would be something like I'm the odd man out of the funding equation.

[StrangeLight]

nevermind. didn't see the update.

Edited January 13, 2011 by StrangeLight

[rsldonk]

UPDATE:

I spoke with the professor that e-mailed me today and asked him about the situation. He said, because of severe competition for funding, applying for a MA in LA studies would offer me a greater chance of actually receiving funding. The deadline is Jan. 15, so that explains why I received the e-mail so soon. However, he said that they haven't made any decisions regarding funding so far, and that applying for the MA wouldn't affect my History PhD application at all. I didn't get any numbers about funding or admittance or anything like that.

So, I'm hoping that he just wants me in the program and is trying to help me out by increasing my funding chances in a tough year. I'm hoping that this suggestion was not because I was low on the list, although I'm an optimist and a more reasonable answer would be something like I'm the odd man out of the funding equation.

I don't think it means you're low, I think it means that he wants you there and he knows that the upcoming funding battle is going to be particularly bitter and is giving you a way to double your chances of getting in and getting funding. This is more about him trying to short circuit the departmental politics in order to get the student he is interested in. Actually pretty cool of him to do this.

Edited January 13, 2011 by rsldonk

[TMP]

By all means, do it. Do what he says. He apparently really liked your application.

[MoJingly]

This is very good. It's always great having friends in high places looking out for you.

[Jdealla]

I submitted the LA studies application today after a long talk with assistant director of the program. I also found out that this is a somewhat common occurrence at this school, so I wanted to go ahead and let it be known for future Latin American History applicants that it's Indiana.

And this has really made me eager to find out about decisions. I had it blocked out of my mind until I got that e-mail last week.

[TMP]

That program has really turned into a lottery since they changed the funding package rules from best offers (like Wisconsin) to guaranteed funding. My contacts at Indiana weren't surely kidding when they said that it's horrible there. Well, we'll just have to sit tight and wait.