Fall 2012 Applicant Chit Chat

[SapperDaddy]

OUCH! Probably wouldn't make the best advisor, I'm guessing...

Actually, those are the ones you want because they'll generally just leave you alone.

[goldielocks]

HAHAHAHAH I love that you said that. It's always mildly disconcerting when a response is rendered in that fashion....

But thanks, yeah...one of my professors at the moment was saying NU is notoriously difficult. They accept only 14 to 15 people. And I see you applied to UIC? That's where I am at the moment. Who did you apply to work with? I've taken several classes on Britain with Prof. James Sack, who actually is the one who was talking to me about NU.

Yes I hate one-line responses. Like, please. You have to remember how nerve-wracking this process is. Be kind.

And also, please don't think I'm a weirdo but I am so worried about jinxing myself if I post any specifics on here about POIs/my research. I will be happy to share when the decisions are out!

[oseirus]

Yes there are people here on a saturday night. I have a valid excuse I'm on the West Coast so my night has yet begun. Oh and I sign in on my tablet so really it doesn't count when I check in b/c I'm mobile half the time.

[goldielocks]

Yes there are people here on a saturday night. I have a valid excuse I'm on the West Coast so my night has yet begun. Oh and I sign in on my tablet so really it doesn't count when I check in b/c I'm mobile half the time.

Haha I tell myself this when I'm signing in on my iPhone.

[Singwaya18]

Yes I hate one-line responses. Like, please. You have to remember how nerve-wracking this process is. Be kind.

And also, please don't think I'm a weirdo but I am so worried about jinxing myself if I post any specifics on here about POIs/my research. I will be happy to share when the decisions are out!

Ha no worries. Understood. Sort of in the same boat. You'll most likely get into UIC, though, regardless of what may be. It has good funding, but in the winter, it really looks like a glorified bomb shelter.

[goldielocks]

Ha no worries. Understood. Sort of in the same boat. You'll most likely get into UIC, though, regardless of what may be. It has good funding, but in the winter, it really looks like a glorified bomb shelter.

Haha I was actually there to visit with my POI in November, and it was already looking pretty bleak. The building is... oppressive, no? That's the only word I could think of to describe it.

[crater21]

2. I will not respond to prospective students at 2:30am. One POI did this to me - she lit into me for contacting her and trying to influence the admissions decision (this was in September)! I wrote back and explained my intentions, interests, etc. She wrote back and apologized profusely for clearing out her inbox so late at night. She was embarrassed by her tone AND by all of her typos!

3. If I am ever DGS at a History Department, I will institute a policy whereby applicants will know exactly when they expect to hear. There will be a timeline available on the website even before people apply. Something like this...

December 15: Applications Due

January 5: Applications Sent to Department

February 1: Decisions available

[Kelkel]

Ughhhh Northwestern. I would love love love to get in there, but honestly I applied because U Mich dashed my hopes and dreams. I saw that as my "reach"/dream school. After the announcement that they wouldn't be taking applications, I looked at Northwestern. Thinking about how soon their decisions will come makes me a bit queasy.

[Singwaya18]

Haha I was actually there to visit with my POI in November, and it was already looking pretty bleak. The building is... oppressive, no? That's the only word I could think of to describe it.

The whole campus is very much so. It was built with the intention of being riot-proof, since apparently, there were a lot of riots and strikes going on in Chicago in the 1960s. The architect, Walter Netsch, wanted to ensure that no one could throw a chair or desk out the window so he composed one wonderful building right next to the one you visited called the Behavioral Sciences Building. It features numerous classrooms without windows.

Fifty years later, the campus is trying to make up for this deficit by composing entire buildings made of glass. You may have spotted one when you visited!

[sandyvanb]

I'm popping in and out of the forum tonight. I'm procrastinating writing a quiz.

[goldielocks]

The whole campus is very much so. It was built with the intention of being riot-proof, since apparently, there were a lot of riots and strikes going on in Chicago in the 1960s. The architect, Walter Netsch, wanted to ensure that no one could throw a chair or desk out the window so he composed one wonderful building right next to the one you visited called the Behavioral Sciences Building. It features numerous classrooms without windows.

Fifty years later, the campus is trying to make up for this deficit by composing entire buildings made of glass. You may have spotted one when you visited!

Wow, that actually makes a lot of sense, thinking back to my visit!

[Singwaya18]

Yes there are people here on a saturday night. I have a valid excuse I'm on the West Coast so my night has yet begun. Oh and I sign in on my tablet so really it doesn't count when I check in b/c I'm mobile half the time.

West Coast? It's still nearly 8 o'clock over there. But yes, it doesn't count if you're on the phone, haha. I can say I'm pretty lame as I'm at home in Chicago doing nothing but reading a book and these forums....

[oseirus]

Which is worse, no response or a one line response?

[oseirus]

West Coast? It's still nearly 8 o'clock over there. But yes, it doesn't count if you're on the phone, haha. I can say I'm pretty lame as I'm at home in Chicago doing nothing but reading a book and these forums....

The sad part is I was invited to a party tonight but here I am with you wonderful people going back and forth

[Singwaya18]

Which is worse, no response or a one line response?

I'd say it can go either way. Though it's probably worse to hear no response back since that means they really, really couldn't be bothered. :/

And I finally pm'ed you back! sorry for the wait, haha.

[Loimographia]

3. If I am ever DGS at a History Department, I will institute a policy whereby applicants will know exactly when they expect to hear. There will be a timeline available on the website even before people apply. Something like this...

December 15: Applications Due

January 5: Applications Sent to Department

February 1: Decisions available

While I would love this as a prospective student, I don't think it's all the feasible, and I think it's best to be as sympathetic to the adcomms as we wish they would be to us.

Reasons why an absolute deadline might not work include: if it's an adcom that allows the professors to read the applications, there will ALWAYS be that one prof. who can never get anything done on time. Also, the reason for the varying notification times is often that the adcom will first offer a spot to their top-choice applicant, then if that person declines, offer it to the next on the list, and so on and so forth. By releasing all decisions at once, this would force the school to either deliberately limit themselves to only the number they can be *absolutely* certain to fund (and thus inevitably getting some declines, and more people get rejected from the program who might have gotten in later) OR the school would add on those extra people while assuming a certain number will decline, and then suddenly everyone accepts and they've enrolled a bunch of students they can't actually afford to fund and they overcompensate by underenrolling the next year (as we've seen).

I've seen the whole "let's make all the announcements on the same day!" idea tossed around before, and while I think it's a lovely idea, I still think that if it were that easy, adcomms would have already done it. It's not like they're deliberately trying to make our lives wretched, it just feels that way on this side of the fence (although I DO kind of wonder about UToronto. I almost feel like you have to try pretty hard to make an app that sadistically designed.)

[Safferz]

It's almost Sunday... which means it's almost Monday...

[wikichic]

Hi all,

I've been following this forum rather obsessively for the past month or so, so I thought I would post.

I applied in a previous cycle, and was universally rejected from every PhD program I applied to. I got into a wonderful funded master's program, though, and I think my scholarship has strengthened as a result of two extra years of graduate-level study. I also think I have a stronger application, which will hopefully help.

I have had the opportunity to meet and interact on a professional level with every POI I applied to work with. Whether this will help me or not, I'm not sure. But when I e-mailed them last September/October they said that they remembered me and encouraged me to apply. Perhaps the best benefit of contacting professors, especially meeting him/her in person, is that they will remember your name/face when they read your application. You aren't just a name on a page- they know that you're a real human being. I don't think that not meeting or contacting your advisors beforehand will hurt you- but I think it does certainly help if you decide to get in touch with them.

Due to circumstances largely beyond my control, there are portions of my application that aren't as strong as I would've liked them to be. I've sort of come to terms with the fact that if I'm not accepted this time around, I will come back with an even better application next year with a completed master's thesis in tow. It's not that I'm giving up- it's all about trying to be realistic. So if I get in to any of the programs that I apply to, I think it will largely be due to the fact that I've met the professors, have great letters of rec, and have completed two more years of study at the grad-level.

I think it's really wonderful that so many of you have had such positive news already! I can't wait to see how this turns out you all. For better or worse, we're all in this academia thing for the long haul. Good luck to everyone.

Is it Monday yet?

[Simple Twist of Fate]

Hi and welcome, wikichic. Good luck this cycle.

It seems like quite a lot of lurkers have been revealing themselves in the past few days. I guess this time of year is doubly frustrating if you can't vent to people going through the same thing. Of course, every time someone new pops up, I can only hope they're not in my subfield

[crazedandinfused]

Of course, every time someone new pops up, I can only hope they're not in my subfield

Well, judging by your avatar I think I am in your subfield (although i want to focus a little bit more on the early antebellum era). We also share William and Mary..... Can I ask who you want to work with there? You can PM me if you prefer.

I have a very complicated relationship with Alexander Hamilton........

Edited January 29, 2012 by crazedandinfused

[Simple Twist of Fate]

PM sent.

[wikichic]

Hi and welcome, wikichic. Good luck this cycle.

It seems like quite a lot of lurkers have been revealing themselves in the past few days. I guess this time of year is doubly frustrating if you can't vent to people going through the same thing. Of course, every time someone new pops up, I can only hope they're not in my subfield

Worry not- I don't believe we are in the same subfield. And besides- we aren't applying to any of the same institutions. I'm glad that I don't have to directly compete against most of the people on this forum- you all seem to be so well-qualified and I'm sure your applications are nothing short of fantastic. In short- I'm rooting for you all.

From what I can tell so far, I haven't seen any applicants in my subfield on this board yet (could this be good?). Perhaps they are just less neurotic than I am and don't feel the need to obsess... sigh.

Edited January 29, 2012 by wikichic

[Singwaya18]

I am neurotic. Why else would I be checking this forum and the status of my apps at 1 in the morning on a Sunday?

What is your subfield? I feel there are a lot of people doing European and American.

[Safferz]

What's your subfield, wikichic?

[wikichic]

My subfield is European, but I'm not a modernist. Sorry to be so vague, but I'm paranoid on top of being neurotic- you never know who could be looking on these sites. It's part of the reason why I was so hesitant to post in the first place.

I GREATLY appreciate that you both are on here at 2am. It makes me realize that there are others out there going through what I'm going through and that's a real comfort.

Edited January 29, 2012 by wikichic