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Fall 2012 Applicant Chit Chat


goldielocks

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I should warn people. The current first year cohort is extraordinarily large as far as the department is concerned and they may under accept this year to compensate.

Last year's acceptance letters went out by email on Feb 10th.

Hey Nat ... out of curiosity what about the other cohorts? Have they thinned out? Gotta give some of these folks some hope :)

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Hey Nat ... out of curiosity what about the other cohorts? Have they thinned out? Gotta give some of these folks some hope :)

They bounce up and down in yield numbers, i'm told the reason the first years were so high is because they had (relatively) poor yield in the current second years. I'm afraid I can't give you hope with the idea that there are people dropping out. It's relatively rare for people to leave or burn out.

Princeton is it's own animal though, so they might decide not to try and compensate for the excess. They can afford it.

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They bounce up and down in yield numbers, i'm told the reason the first years were so high is because they had (relatively) poor yield in the current second years. I'm afraid I can't give you hope with the idea that there are people dropping out. It's relatively rare for people to leave or burn out.

Princeton is it's own animal though, so they might decide not to try and compensate for the excess. They can afford it.

Oh I would never wish for anyone to burn out or leave but I have a feeling one or two people might take your message as a sign of doom and gloom, making themselves get all bummed out over the weekend. But I respectfully defer to your knowledge of the place, since you're already there.

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Not trying to bum people out. Believe me, I was super neurotic last year.

Oh I know ... and I'm relatively new to this forum but that is one thing I've quickly learned and that is people can read into something innocuous so quickly.

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Oh I know ... and I'm relatively new to this forum but that is one thing I've quickly learned and that is people can read into something innocuous so quickly.

Yeah, it will get worse before it gets better (I was active last year under a different name). There were a bunch of people convinced that people were posting false info on update board. Also NYU's process completely messes with peoples' heads.

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Yeah, it will get worse before it gets better (I was active last year under a different name). There were a bunch of people convinced that people were posting false info on update board. Also NYU's process completely messes with peoples' heads.

LOL I would ask you to expound on that, but I fear this could cause a minor panic and I do not want to unleash that sort of chaos on a weekend

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I wish I could tell you the neurotic thing was going to get better, but it wont until you get your first yes. The first thing I got was a no from a place I was really attached to and it just gutted me. And than I got a Yes four hours later and I could laugh about what a flake i had been just that morning.

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So, now we know that Princeton over-committed last year which figures to result in fewer offers this year. Michigan so over-committed last year that they canceled their 2012 cohort altogether. Is this evidence of a larger trend (either due to coincidence or some other circumstance common to mutliple schools) that will lead to less acceptances across the board this season?

Just in case we weren't doomy and gloomy enough already...

Edited by ADMITedlyLucky
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New England Nat, thanks for the inside view!

I'll add my question for you too: do POIs or the DGS at Princeton contact admitted students informally before the official notification goes out? Or, do people pretty much only find out when the official Graduate School notification arrives?

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I got my first official rejection... Michigan State Univeristy. It wasn't a great fit, I only applied because there is one person there I would love to work with. I wasn't heavily invested, but it still stings. I hope that this isn't a trend over the next few weeks...

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Sandy, I'm sorry to hear that! Please do keep your chin up. You are a really strong applicant, with your teaching experience and everything. I'm sure a better offer is just around the corner for you.

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So, am I the only Modern Europeanist on the boards who applied to Yale? I know that a Modern Germany and an Early Modern Europe historian have received interviews —but I have a sort of strange question. I noticed just now that not just all three of my POIs, but many of the Europeanists are on leave right now. Can anyone tell me if this impacts admissions decisions, or at least the timeline? I am just trying to sort this out in my head. Any info is most appreciated.

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So, am I the only Modern Europeanist on the boards who applied to Yale? I know that a Modern Germany and an Early Modern Europe historian have received interviews —but I have a sort of strange question. I noticed just now that not just all three of my POIs, but many of the Europeanists are on leave right now. Can anyone tell me if this impacts admissions decisions, or at least the timeline? I am just trying to sort this out in my head. Any info is most appreciated.

I'd actually love to know how this works in general when faculty are on leave during the admissions process...

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I've been told that unless they're extremely powerful (politically), they literally have no say in the decisions. They have access and can read applicatiosn but don't get to lobby for an applicant. I don;t know anyone who's been able to get in when the chosen POI is on leave during the process.

So yes, I'm sorry to say this but I wouldn't count very much on any application if the POI is on leave this semester. That's one of the purposes of contacting faculty prior to applying- to see who's on leave for the spring semester.

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I'm new to this thread (I've been a silent observer for a while), but what do you mean about NYU's process?

They traditionally accept a bunch of people early, than have a perspective student weekend inviting the already accepted and the people still waiting on decisions. I can't remember if they sent out a bunch of declines after the weekend but they held their waitlist people in limbo for a very long time taking people off of it in drips. Having watched someone in my masters program go through it that perspective student weekend is the killer.

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Quick question to y'all: anyone know if we need to fill out a FAFSA? All the programs I applied to guarantee fellowships, but it occurred to me I may want to do a FAFSA in any case...

I think it's probably a good idea, just in case. I know that I wouldn't take out any loans (and I'm sure a lot of people will have strong opinions about this), but if you would run into a tough spot, and need to supplement your stipend with a student loan, it'd be nice to have the option, right? I'm not sure if it's required at any of my programs, but I filled it out just in case.

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New England Nat, thanks for the inside view!

I'll add my question for you too: do POIs or the DGS at Princeton contact admitted students informally before the official notification goes out? Or, do people pretty much only find out when the official Graduate School notification arrives?

Acceptances come from the graduate program administrator or assistant, I don't know which of the two of them will be doing it. The professors generally will not email you until the official notice is out but I had emails from professors in my box before I'd even stopped jumping up and down and running around crazy showing my roommates the print out from the first email.

The graduate school paperwork came two weeks later, with the perspective student weekend sometime mid march.

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So yes, I'm sorry to say this but I wouldn't count very much on any application if the POI is on leave this semester. That's one of the purposes of contacting faculty prior to applying- to see who's on leave for the spring semester.

Some schools the professor on leave does have a say in the process--if they want to--but many professors on leave don't care to. I know of some places where professors who will be on leave during the cohorts first year don't get to be part of the process. It can very by institutions, but I'm afraid to say that having your PoI on leave isn't a plus in your camp.

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I think it's probably a good idea, just in case. I know that I wouldn't take out any loans (and I'm sure a lot of people will have strong opinions about this), but if you would run into a tough spot, and need to supplement your stipend with a student loan, it'd be nice to have the option, right? I'm not sure if it's required at any of my programs, but I filled it out just in case.

Thanks! I just did one. Amazing how quick that was.

Edited by owls
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