Fall 2012 Applicant Chit Chat

[taybaxter]

Or maybe she's just interested in your work. I have contact with PoIs from places that both rejected with me and I turned down a year after the process. One of them may be an outside reader for me. Remember you are entering a profession and you will be seeing these people for the rest of your career.

Yes I understand the value of connections and already know that Ive made a great one at Duke (which rejected me) but she also explicitly talked about the possibility of me coming there and working with me.

Edited February 12, 2012 by taybaxter

[Gene Parmesan]

Yes but she also explicitly talked about the possibility of me coming there and working with me.

So that is a good thing! It sounds like she's pulling for you and that you are on her/their radar in some positive way!

[New England Nat]

Yes I understand the value of connections and already know that Ive made a great one at Duke (which rejected me) but she also explicitly talked about the possibility of me coming there and working with me.

So the option may still be open. Though she may have limited power in the situation. There is only so much even a field cohort in a department can do. A situation like "I want G to be admitted" often runs up against "Well we are admitting 25 students and your field already got A, B, C, D, E, and F."

[Hopin'-n-Prayin']

So its the middle of a sunday afternoon, and I got struck by an urge to check the Rutgers status page- even though there has not been one peep from anybody about Rutgers decisions. Guess what it said? No Decision. Oh, well. We'll just see what it says on Sunday night!

Can anybody relate??

[New England Nat]

So its the middle of a sunday afternoon, and I got struck by an urge to check the Rutgers status page- even though there has not been one peep from anybody about Rutgers decisions. Guess what it said? No Decision. Oh, well. We'll just see what it says on Sunday night!

Can anybody relate??

I know something about the Rutgers system (not a lot mind you) and they informed last year around this week or next.

[goldielocks]

I know something about the Rutgers system (not a lot mind you) and they informed last year around this week or next.

Good to know. Thank you!

[sandyvanb]

Dear C&I -- I wonder if this POI is an Assistant Professor or Associate Professor? Typically, at least in my experience, Assistant Professors are in the process of getting tenure while Associate Professor is the rank that one acquires post-tenure.

This is not necessarily true. My spouse has the level of Associate Professor and he does not yet have tenure.

[TMP]

Am I the only one who's neglected her Google Reader? How did I get almost 1,000 unread blog posts already?

[New England Nat]

This is not necessarily true. My spouse has the level of Associate Professor and he does not yet have tenure.

Yeah, this is the case at both Harvard and Hopkins and one or two other places that are escaping me at the moment.

[Loimographia]

UToronto's Center for Medieval Studies announced. Don't know if anybody else here applied.

I'm another medievalist for Toronto ^^ But I applied only to the MA... I'm going to pray that's why I haven't heard anything Hopefully they decide MAs after PhDs. In all honesty, Toronto would be my dream school if only they funded their MAs. As it is, even if I get in I'm unlikely to be able to afford to go I'm pretty sure there are a couple other hidden medievalists on the board who have applied as well. What's your focus?

[volta36]

Hi everyone!

I've been invited to a Skype conversation with a POI tomorrow. It's an interview stage, but they are just calling it a "conversation".

Any thoughts on what to expect? Should I prepare or read up on anything? Any and all advice much appreciated.

Thanks!!

[SapperDaddy]

Hi everyone!

I've been invited to a Skype conversation with a POI tomorrow. It's an interview stage, but they are just calling it a "conversation".

Any thoughts on what to expect? Should I prepare or read up on anything? Any and all advice much appreciated.

Thanks!!

not a bad idea to find out a bit about the POI and talk about their research. Professors really love to talk about their research.

[telemaque]

Hi everyone!

I've been invited to a Skype conversation with a POI tomorrow. It's an interview stage, but they are just calling it a "conversation".

Any thoughts on what to expect? Should I prepare or read up on anything? Any and all advice much appreciated.

Thanks!!

I'd also recommend printing out your SOP and resume, reading through them, and highlighting the main points. I helps me during phone conversations when I'm asked something specific about my background and I can just glance down and find it more quickly...definitely makes it seem less stressful.

[WendyDarling]

You guys, I've elected to keep this window open and obsessively refresh it every time I take a break from my writing and am tempted to obsessively refresh something.

I think it's healthier.

Or at least slightly less crazy-making.

(I thought hearing from a school would make me feel less jumpy and anxiety-ridden about my email. Seems I was not exactly correct. )

[Safferz]

I'd also recommend printing out your SOP and resume, reading through them, and highlighting the main points. I helps me during phone conversations when I'm asked something specific about my background and I can just glance down and find it more quickly...definitely makes it seem less stressful.

This, and read over your writing sample too! Be prepared to talk about your research interests as outlined in your application, as well as your plans for the future. It's also a good idea to have some questions in mind to ask your POI if you're given the opportunity.

[telemaque]

This, and read over your writing sample too! Be prepared to talk about your research interests as outlined in your application, as well as your plans for the future. It's also a good idea to have some questions in mind to ask your POI if you're given the opportunity.

Also, have something to say in response to "is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" I was asked this at the end of an interview and it was...awkward.

[volta36]

Thanks Telemaque, Safferz, SapperDaddy and everyone else! These are super-helpful suggestions!

[StrangeLight]

Hi everyone!

I've been invited to a Skype conversation with a POI tomorrow. It's an interview stage, but they are just calling it a "conversation".

Any thoughts on what to expect? Should I prepare or read up on anything? Any and all advice much appreciated.

Thanks!!

1. DO NOT ASK ANY QUESTIONS THAT COULD BE ANSWERED BY READING THE WEBSITE.

2. read the department's website very carefully. be able to talk about the program in a way that shows you already know how it functions (what the major and minor fields are, what kind of summer research funding opportunities the department provides, any affiliated area studies centers that have title VI funding, how the work of a prof who studies a different regional field is related to your interests thematically, etc.)

3. ideally, you should know about your POI's published research. i'd really, sincerely hope that no one applied to a school when they didn't already know (AND LOVE) their POI's work. but, most of us are so wooed by "top 20" lists that we apply to programs with high "rankings" (that are meaningless, btw) instead of the places where our favourite historians work (i was incredibly guilty of this myself, so no judgment there, just calling it like i now see it). so... if you don't know the POI's published research front and back yet, learn it now and make sure you DON'T ask about it. instead, ask about what their NEXT project is.

4. you can (BRIEFLY!) highlight some of the good parts of your CV, but this actually isn't that necessary. odds are the prof is looking at your CV as he/she is talking to you. instead, you should take this as an opportunity to elaborate on what kind of research you want to do. all the things you wanted to say, but didn't have space to say in your word-limit SOP, should be said now. and with clarity. practice a 1-sentence version and a 3-minute version of your proposed research. and do your best to know when the POI is asking for the 1-sentence version or the 3-minute version.

5. ask about the city/town. don't make this your first question. save it for the wind-down. if you ask it up front, they won't think you're all that serious. but ending with a question like this (after a good long conversation of talking about work) will make you seem like a human being. and these places like to accept human beings they think they'll like instead of reese witherspoon in "election" crazies.

good luck. if you're on skype, please dress appropriately. he/she can see you. business casual.

Edited February 12, 2012 by StrangeLight

[StrangeLight]

also, all that stuff i wrote up there is a sort of paint-by-numbers for giving a GREAT interview, gleaned from people on the job market (mostly about what adcoms wanted to hear, rather than what the job candidates actually gave them). so if you don't have the time to learn the POI's work well or memorize the department website (or if you didn't do that for an interview you already had), never fear. what i wrote there is really the basics of how to ACE the interview, not how to survive it. you can survive it without doing all that and still get an acceptance.

[oseirus]

You guys, I've elected to keep this window open and obsessively refresh it every time I take a break from my writing and am tempted to obsessively refresh something.

I think it's healthier.

Or at least slightly less crazy-making.

(I thought hearing from a school would make me feel less jumpy and anxiety-ridden about my email. Seems I was not exactly correct. )

Welcome back ... I kind of took today off ... I was teaching the neighborhood youths "how to dougie" ... apparently I looked like I was convulsing from electroshock therapy ... now as far as the folks with the interviews skype/phone/in person ... don't worry too much about appearing nervous because once you get to talking about your interests your mind will take over and the nerves will fall in line ... good luck fellow academics!

[Gene Parmesan]

Nothing nothing nothing. That's what I've heard so far. I would even welcome a rejection at this point - honestly! I just need some sort of definitive answer, for at least one place. NOW.

I've probably just cursed myself. Oh well.

It seems like responses for certain schools have come a bit early this year, but the majority still have not reported. I was told that the decisions start really coming in after presidents day. You'll get that acceptance, no curses!

[Ganymede18]

I am actually my SO's lurker on Gradcafe, but she does a lot with gender and history of christianity. She was admitted to the Ph.D.I didn't see any MA admits, so they probably do them separately--probably because putting together funding is what they're working on now, at least for the PhD admits. They didn't ask for cv, so now they are asking for those to see who gets what kind of fellowship.

I'm another medievalist for Toronto ^^ But I applied only to the MA... I'm going to pray that's why I haven't heard anything Hopefully they decide MAs after PhDs. In all honesty, Toronto would be my dream school if only they funded their MAs. As it is, even if I get in I'm unlikely to be able to afford to go I'm pretty sure there are a couple other hidden medievalists on the board who have applied as well. What's your focus?

[volta36]

also, all that stuff i wrote up there is a sort of paint-by-numbers for giving a GREAT interview, gleaned from people on the job market (mostly about what adcoms wanted to hear, rather than what the job candidates actually gave them). so if you don't have the time to learn the POI's work well or memorize the department website (or if you didn't do that for an interview you already had), never fear. what i wrote there is really the basics of how to ACE the interview, not how to survive it. you can survive it without doing all that and still get an acceptance.

Thank you!!! Those tips are amazing. Many thanks!

[mstrandmark]

Are there any other Indiana applicants who haven't heard from them yet? I'm a dual MA History/MLS applicant, and I was hoping to hear last week. Just wondering, good luck to everyone!

[zb642]

I'd also recommend printing out your SOP and resume, reading through them, and highlighting the main points. I helps me during phone conversations when I'm asked something specific about my background and I can just glance down and find it more quickly...definitely makes it seem less stressful.

I would go a step further and suggest you have some talking points, CV, and SOP up on your screen along with the Skype interview. That way you can quickly reference them without looking away frequently.