History Admissions 2009

[chlobot]

I just got an email from the head of the Medieval Studies cluster at Northwestern saying that I've been awarded a fellowship in additional to full funding, etc. She said I should be receiving an official letter next week after the history department finishes its admissions decisions. I am beyond thrilled as this was by far my top choice!

Congrats! That's awesome!

FYI, for anyone who is interested, Emory has finished giving out its first round of acceptances and is hoping to finish making decisions by next week.

[slawkenbergius]

Just found out I was admitted to UCSB... nominated for funding, but that info won't come until later this month.

Awesome! At least the UCs didn't shut you out completely.

Oh, and sorry about UIUC, misterpat, that sucks.

[misterpat]

Thanks. It worries me a bit since many of the other schools I applied to are ranked somewhat above them. But I suppose I fit better at other programs (hopefully they agree), so maybe I can write it off to that.

[TMP]

Just got my rejection e-mail from Illinois (UIUC):

Dear Applicant:

The Department of History Admissions Committee has now met regarding applications to our graduate program. We received a near-record number of applications this year, and the quality of the applications was very strong, making it very difficult to select from among so many highly qualified applicants. We sincerely regret that we are unable to offer you admission. Please forgive the impersonality of this letter, but we wanted to convey our decision as speedily as possible. We thank you for your interest in the graduate program in history at Illinois.

Diane P. Koenker

Professor

Director of Graduate Studies

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Kind of bummer, but oh well.

Sorry to hear that! But... *snickers* What would I rather have? A "speedy" but "impersonal" rejection letter, or a "slow" but "personal" rejection letter? Ohhh tough choice.

Congrats on UCSB though! You won't need to leave Cali!

[futurePhD]

Thanks. It worries me a bit since many of the other schools I applied to are ranked somewhat above them. But I suppose I fit better at other programs (hopefully they agree), so maybe I can write it off to that.

I'm in the exact same situation, so I feel for you. I have no acceptances and a good portion of the schools left I applied to are "ranked" slightly better than UIUC. With this crazy numbers game who knows how it is going to work out. Strangely, after the rejection from Illinois my expectations have really been lowered and I feel less stressed out than I have in weeks.

[synthla]

Strangely, after the rejection from Illinois my expectations have really been lowered and I feel less stressed out than I have in weeks.

Exact same thing happened to me when I got rejected by UCSD, before I'd heard from anyplace else. Tension disappeared to a large extent, even though the news was bad.

[misterpat]

Congrats on UCSB though! You won't need to leave Cali!

I believe you are confusing me with synthla, but hopefully you just told my fortune about UCSB (despite the fact I live in Chicago).

And thanks, and sorry to hear your news as well. Urbana-Champaign smells like cow shit anyway.

[misterpat]

Exact same thing happened to me when I got rejected by UCSD, before I'd heard from anyplace else. Tension disappeared to a large extent, even though the news was bad.

It is a strange feeling. Somewhat of a relief to finally hear something.

I hope that I hear some good news from Temple soon. Lowest ranked of the schools I applied to, but I think Philly would be fun and the potential advisor I was in contact with is perhaps the best fit from all of the programs to which I applied.

[synthla]

I hope that I hear some good news from Temple soon. Lowest ranked of the schools I applied to, but I think Philly would be fun and the potential advisor I was in contact with is perhaps the best fit from all of the programs to which I applied.

I'd stay positive with UCSB too; the letter was dated Monday (2/9), but wasn't mailed until yesterday (2/11), and I imagine a similar letter would take longer to get to you than to me. Also, the website still hasn't been updated because apparently that doesn't happen until it gets official Graduate School approval.

[thepoorstockinger]

I got an e-mail saying that I am in at the MA program at Trent (Canada). The funding letter is in the mail but they pretty much make the same offer to everyone ($13k). It's the first school I've heard back from so this is a relief.

[hooleeya]

Thanks, lbw! Good luck to everyone as decisions start pouring in!

[limeinthecoconut]

To those who posted UC Berkeley rejections, if you are reading the forum, just a question:

Did you actually e-mail for a decision, or was the e-mail sent out by the department/DGS/whatever?

Thanks in advance, and best wishes for the rest of your applications!

[stanford315]

UC-B:The department sent me email. I did not contact them at all. They attached a rejection letter.

[hegemony]

UGHHH! So many people seem to have heard from Yale and I haven't heard a word. I am going crazy! Anyone know what the deal is? OMG, this is lame.

[sra08]

Still haven't heard anything besides the Yale rejection and am getting nervous. I talked to my adviser today and my heart sank when she mentioned that another student of hers (from an adjacent college) got an acceptance from Stanford last week. That was my first choice. She reminded me that it doesn't mean I'm definitely out, and that a lot of this has to do with who is taking grad students/has funding/is on the admissions committee, but it still hurts. I also wondered if admissions committee compares recommendation letters from students from the same departments. I know of at least one other student who is applying to some of the same schools, though in a different field. I'm not worried about what my recommendation letters say, but I am wondering about it.

[humblemumblings]

Speaking of Stanford, has anyone heard anything? Or are there just not many people applying there this year? The results page is oddly quiet...

[limeinthecoconut]

UC-B:The department sent me email. I did not contact them at all. They attached a rejection letter.

Hey stanford 315, thanks for the reply. Hope you have better luck with the rest of your applications!

As for those who haven't heard anything from other schools, maybe we can hope we are waitlisted?

[Xenia]

Humblemumblings, I'm another Stanford applicant and have heard nothing also.

Anyone else apply to USC? The results page shows that in previous years their decisions were out the last week of January or the first week of February but my status page hasn't changed from "reviewing materials" in months.

[fortiesgirl]

misterpat-

I don't know if this helps, but when I applied to Temple in the past, I was notified of my acceptance on Feb. 20. I was notified online via the Temple portal system. My previous application is still there and the decision date is still posted. I'm waiting until that date to check my status. I applied there as well.

[fortiesgirl]

Someone posted a rejection from Penn this morning. A few others posted acceptances yesterday. I still haven't heard anything. Ugh. I checked the department website and it states that applicants will be notified mid-late March of their admissions status. What gives? It appears that several of us seem to be in the same situation with our respective schools.

[8in2009]

For the person wondering about my waitlisting at Notre Dame, I received an email from the head of Graduate Studies relating to me that while I would be an ideal addition to their programme, due to class constraints and cuts they cannot have as large a class as they did in previous years. Thus, I have been placed on a very desirable candidates alternate list containing not more than three candidates. I am still unsure how good or bad this is.

Thanks for the information, Shancis. Congratulations on making it at least to the short waiting list.

[feisty]

Stupid question: how many people on average get accepted per year to top history programs?

I know it varies, but a ballpark?

[smo2102]

Are any admits to UC schools concerned about the struggling California economy? Will this factor into your decision to attend?

[feisty]

Are any admits to UC schools concerned about the struggling California economy? Will this factor into your decision to attend?

I thought about that. My other top choice, Chicago, is also having trouble though.

I have a friend who works at UC Press in Berkeley, and one of his supervisors is the history editor, who insists so far they have been good about not cutting student funding.

But yes, I'm very concerned. Especially, if things are still the way they are, about finding funding for the final 1-2 years. I plan on getting a lot of information about this when I visit.

[Louiselab]

Someone posted a rejection from Penn this morning. A few others posted acceptances yesterday. I still haven't heard anything. Ugh. I checked the department website and it states that applicants will be notified mid-late March of their admissions status. What gives? It appears that several of us seem to be in the same situation with our respective schools.

I applied to Penn last year, and can say from experience: The rejections usually got out en masse a la Yale. It's a computer generated email saying "Go check your status page." So if they were rejected (and you weren't yet) it's could be because a) they're [the department] not done and still debating about taking you the email was sent from a professor with a big mouth who just sent them a head's up or c) they've decided against you but think you should be the last to know and can wait awhile longer to hear about it.

It's irritating, but there you have it. Here's to hoping it's A!