misterpat Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 I would guess that those numbers wouldn't take you out of consideration at Duke, but I think anyone applying exclusively to those two programs needs to be conscious of the fact that they are potentially going to be taking the next year off of school for reasons beyond their control.
habu987 Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Those are the only two schools I applied to. I could only afford to apply to two schools and my academic adviser thought they were as good as any other to apply to, in my specific field, that is. I picked Duke because it has a military history program in conjunction with Carolina, so that works out pretty well if I get into Duke and not Carolina, for example. I already know I'm gonna be going to the area no matter what, either as a PhD student or as a seeker of full time employment. If I don't get in this year, I'm gonna work on raising my GRE scores and re-working my SoPs and writing sample. In addition, I will have the money by that point to be able to afford to apply to more than two schools.
canadiana Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Congratulations to the Wisconsin-Madison acceptance posted up! Hope the rest of us hear back soon...
John_E Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Moving forward, a macro question: It's my understanding that the deciding factor in finding a professorship at a university (starting out) is networking--if people at the hiring institution receive references from people with whom they are already acquainted, that's huge. After that, a candidate's heaviest ammo is publications. Following that, it is the "name" value of the candidate's school. Say candidate Z is going to Zotero University. Candidate H is going to Harvard. Zotero is, well, little-known. H's advantage is not only Harvard, but the profs he knows at Harvard with whom he can network and use connections to get a job. Z does not have those advantages. However, if Z publishes a book (or 2) by the time he finishes dissertation, he will be competitive with Z. Thoughts? True or false? To what degree? Do we really have to stress this much over getting into a top 10 "name" program?
John_E Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 However, if Z publishes a book (or 2) by the time he finishes dissertation, he will be competitive with Z. Sorry, I meant "competitive with H." I'm getting dyslexic in my old age.
slawkenbergius Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 However, if Z publishes a book (or 2) by the time he finishes dissertation, he will be competitive with Z. I think you're dramatically overestimating the time you have available in grad school. Your dissertation is generally your first book, and that doesn't get published until several years after you get your PhD. Most people will be lucky if they can publish 3 articles during their grad school years. But the networking advantage never really ends. Someone from a top-10 program will always have a better chance at getting a job than someone from a top-50 school.
misterpat Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Someone better get in somewhere today! These admits need to start rolling out. :x
futurePhD Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Someone better get in somewhere today! These admits need to start rolling out. :x I second that. This is torture in its most cruel form....at this rate I'll need a heart transplant by mid March. At least I'm not the only one going through it.
Boz Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Hey, historians. I read your threads rather wistfully, as history was my much-beloved second major in undergrad. I've always been fascinated with European history, especially France during the period 1789-1945. However, I'm a stronger student in English, which I'm equally passionate about, so I decided to pursue a PhD in this discipline instead. Sigh. Still, I strongly believe in the importance of understanding literature in its historical context. Anyway, best of luck to all of you in the admissions process! Please, someone write a dissertation on something that concerns the historiography of the French Revolution .
limeinthecoconut Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 I second that. This is torture in its most cruel form....at this rate I'll need a heart transplant by mid March. Do they give like bulk discounts? Maybe all of us going nuts from the dreadful silence and waiting can go for it together then.
canadiana Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 ARGH! Climbing the walls here. Literally. I've taken up rock climbing to ward off application anxiety. I really hope, for everyone's sake, that we hear from our respective schools soon.
habu987 Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Just heard from Duke. Got an email from them today--it's out. "Mr. XXXXXX, I'm sorry to say that you were not accepted into our program. We had a strong pool of over 200 applications and only 8 fellowships to offer." Bummer. As far as I know, I'm still in the running for UNC-Chapel Hill....
synthla Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Just heard from Duke--it's out. Very sorry to hear that. The only silver lining is that at least it's an indication that departments are starting to get on with the notification process. Good luck with UNC.
futurePhD Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 sorry to hear about Duke, only 8 spots is crazy tough. I'm also waiting to hear from UNC, but I've heard that they tend to drag their feet making decisions. Best of luck to both of us.
Sonic Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 8 spots sounds even fewer than normal for Duke. Good luck with UNC. Well, it seems to have begun. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for all of us!
misterpat Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Yeah, hearing about the 8 spots makes me really glad I took them off of my list. On the bright side habu, Chapel Hill is a way bigger program, so maybe your odds are better.
John_E Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Sorry habu. 8 slots & 200 applicants is nuts. Though probably that's what I'm looking at also with my schools... Yikes.
canadiana Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Sorry to hear about Duke. 8 spots is really very few. I hope you get into Chapel Hill.
Nicolay Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Best of luck habu on UNC!! Congratulations to the folks with good news from Minnesota and Wisconsin.
TMP Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 To habu987- it's only your first round of PhD admissions. There's been an increase in number of people applying for second time the following year. Often if they're proactive, they learn what went wrong and work on remedying those problems during their year off. Most of the time they will succeed. So don't fret, work on Plan B, and keep your eyes on the end goal Some of us here back here again from last year or so. (Not me actually, I'm in middle of my MA program and will apply for Fall 2010). Somebody here got into Minnesota....
hist-09phd Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 Out of curiosity, did anyone else hear from Duke today? Has anyone heard from Stanford?
baxter Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 Has anyone received news from Cornell, Pittsburgh, UNC-CH, or Vanderbilt? :?:
limeinthecoconut Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 So far, the admits are doing American history. Are they like doing it by fields?
Louiselab Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 So far, the admits are doing American history. Are they like doing it by fields? unless people are just mistakenly selecting American History when they respond? Although it is the most popular field I think, so that might be why... and I think they do things by field, but acceptances tend to be together? After examining response dates of last year, it seems UNC still has at least 2 weeks... they're so sloooooow.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now