Fall 2013 Applicants?

[History Time]

Twas me. Received an informal email from my POI. 

A hearty congratulations is in order, then! I gave myself less than a 10% chance I would get in there, but I'm still hoping.

[lafayette]

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, the interview did what it needed to do: got me in

[dknows]

Hey! Well done.. Madison looks like a great place to study. They certainly have some awesome profs.

 

 

A hearty congratulations is in order, then! I gave myself less than a 10% chance I would get in there, but I'm still hoping.

 

Thanks! Im pretty excited. First I've heard back. Curious about how they arrange campus visits and funding structures. Esp. given the fiscal climate of the state. 

[PhDreams]

I forgot to say, Congrats, viggosloof! It's great to know you have a place.

 

 

I'm kind of freaking out. I just got an e-mail from Harvard from the minority recruitment office asking for information about my native american tribal affiliation. Aside from the basic clerical stuff, does anyone have any idea what I should gather from this about the status of my application?

 

This is probably for HUNAP. They have a really great group that reaches out to Native students to welcome them, aid in the transition, and seek funding. They do this for all Native students. Theyre a great bunch and I'm sure they can answer all your questions about being at Harvard. Good luck! Hope you get an admission letter in the mail soon!

[PhDreams]

PhDreams: All this talk of UC system funding makes your acceptance to UCI's CLS program all the more remarkable.

 

DGS called me to tell me more about the program and congratulate me. She mentioned 4 years guaranteed funding with a GA/TA for the 5th year. I was really shocked for a UC. really, really shocked.

[CageFree]

I was actually looking into the UC schools, and one of my professors has a friend out there.  Supposedly, funding is ridiculously tight this year -- he actually discouraged me from applying (which isn't a problem, since I wasn't looking that way) because of the funding issues they're having even with their current students.  So definitely don't take this rejection too badly -- it's not you, it's the piggy bank. 

 

Not all the UCs are in the same situation, FYI. Some programs are in bad shape, others are in very good shape. A lot of departments (including mine) have cut the size of the cohorts, but that's in large part due to the job market.

Edited February 1, 2013 by CageFree

[History Time]

Thanks! Im pretty excited. First I've heard back. Curious about how they arrange campus visits and funding structures. Esp. given the fiscal climate of the state. 

 

If you've never been to Madison, have fun! I have been there a few times and know many people who are doing undergraduate work there. It really is a beautiful city. 

[viggosloof28]

Someone got into Madison......

Sounds like the rest of the notifications will be sent out next week?  Hopefully, some of us still have a chance there.  Don't give up!

 

Twas me. Received an informal email from my POI. 

Congratulations!  Such a terrific program!

[AKACaz]

Welp, since I'm on the East Coast/all my schools are on the East Coast and it's past 5pm, I guess it's been another know-nothing week... I'm not sure I should even bother crossing my fingers on next week, for fear of more anxiety!

 

Congrats, dknows 

Edited February 1, 2013 by akacentimetre

[stillalivetui]

Someone please put my mind at ease. Does a rejection from one school necessarily mean I will be rejected by all others I applied to?  It is definitely a bummer that my first decision had to be a rejection as it has lowered my confidence to levels I didn't know were possible. 

[czesc]

Rationally, I know, and you must know it does not mean that. But I can't help thinking it as well

[Sparky]

Someone please put my mind at ease. Does a rejection from one school necessarily mean I will be rejected by all others I applied to?  It is definitely a bummer that my first decision had to be a rejection as it has lowered my confidence to levels I didn't know were possible. 

 

 

Rationally, I know, and you must know it does not mean that. But I can't help thinking it as well

 

My only funded acceptance was my second to last notification. It just so happened to be my top choice. (And the unfunded acceptance, my last choice, was right before it).

 

It ain't over til it's over. But this does make February suck all that much more.

[BerenErchamion]

Accepted at UC-Riverside (my #2 choice) two weeks ago with a complete funding package...rejected at Berkeley yesterday but expected that (really not a good fit, but then few places are)...still waiting to hear from the other six places I applied to.

[golfinggurl815]

I was also rejected from Irvine but was accepted to LSU this morning!  I think it just depends on the school and the fit for what you want to study!

[TMP]

Congrats ot all of you with acceptances, you should be proud that your hard work on  your applications has paid off.  For those without something, this is very early.  Just breathe.

 

A few notes:

 

1) Remember, all you need is just ONE funded acceptance.  Do NOT take an unfunded offer- you're good but not that good enough to be considered for funding.  Don't let that down and just re-apply in ANY case if the PhD is what you want. So, no, no, one rejection doesn't mean you'll be rejected everywhere.  I received 1 unfunded offer, 2 waitlists, and 10 rejections over the course of two cycles before I finally got 2 funded offers (in one day!) and they were the first schools I heard from for my third cycle (and then I got rejected everywhere else and withdrew one app).  Maybe I just have a skin of steel to be able to say this.  But you do need to develop that if you're going to survive academia.

 

2)  Interviews- approach them as conversations.  Professors are just interested in your ideas.  Just tell them exactly what you think and how you see things in history.  They will respect you all more for being honest.  They are better judges than you are of your own ability and potential to become a scholar.  If they don't like your ideas, don't take those personally, you won't want to work with them anyway.  I have had that happen and frankly, I'm happy about that.  PhD is hard enough as it is if you can't be comfortable sharing ideas with your (potential) adviser and committee members.

 

3) Even if you just get ONE funded offer, treat it as a choice between going for your PhD and committing yourself to 5-8 years of intense research, writing, reading, talking, and writing (did I say that again?) and constant balancing of your time and financial budgets, and having a "normal" life where weekends and vacations exist.  Ask tons, tons, tons of questions about expectations from  your adviser, the DGS, other professors, graduate students, and graduate coordinator.  Even though I had gotten into my top choice and would go in a heartbeat, I realized that it was good to have this other funded offer (initially much more attractive package) in hand to force me to scrutinize these two programs.  I learned more about each program than if I had not done that.  Every since coming here, I haven't had too many awful surprises though my first and second year peers are still encountering them.  As a result, I think my time here has been quite smoother with less drama than if I hadn't asked questions.

[Safferz]

Someone please put my mind at ease. Does a rejection from one school necessarily mean I will be rejected by all others I applied to?  It is definitely a bummer that my first decision had to be a rejection as it has lowered my confidence to levels I didn't know were possible. 

 

Take a breath and think about this rationally. Whether an application is successful or not has very little to do with you as an applicant or the quality of your application, but a number of other factors tied to the particular needs of a department and/or subfield for that particular application cycle. Perhaps last year the department accepted someone that studies early modern Britain, and decided this year they don't need another. Perhaps they realized that their program has a lot of students working on West Africa, but no one studying East Africa and it's time they should accept one. Perhaps the professor who focuses on modern Chinese history is on leave in September, so that subfield won't be taking in new students. Perhaps the medievalists weren't able to accept a student they really wanted last year because of department politics, but this year they get to accept two instead.

 

My point is you have no idea what a department or subfield is looking for during your application cycle, and all you can do is submit the strongest application you can and hope that what you have to offer is what that department/subfield wants this year. More importantly, every program's needs are different so it's wrong to assume one rejection (especially when you don't know the departmental context in which your application was reviewed, or the conversations that took place as the adcomm deliberated over applications) means across the board rejections for your other applications. If it does happen, you strengthen your application where possible and try again -- sometimes (and we have people on this forum who have had this experience) simply re-applying in a different cycle can lead to completely different results.

 

The first application decision I received was a rejection from the lowest ranked school I applied to (in the middle of the night on a weekend! I consoled myself with a white hot chocolate from Tim Hortons ), and by the end of the week, I had four acceptances. It's all part of the process, a successful application cycle can still include a number of rejections.

[CageFree]

Someone please put my mind at ease. Does a rejection from one school necessarily mean I will be rejected by all others I applied to?  It is definitely a bummer that my first decision had to be a rejection as it has lowered my confidence to levels I didn't know were possible. 

 

Just to echo what has been said, please don't worry about this just yet. Admissions are kind of tricky because it's not just about how good of an applicant you are, but also how well you fit with your POI's current research interests, and even whether they plan to offer the classes you would need in the next couple of years due to planned sabbaticals. Also, for example, if the previous cohort had a large number of people in subfield X, they may chose to admit no one in subfield X this year, and viceversa. In the end, what matters is that you get a funded offer in a place that is a good fit for you.

[remenis]

I was actually looking into the UC schools, and one of my professors has a friend out there.  Supposedly, funding is ridiculously tight this year -- he actually discouraged me from applying (which isn't a problem, since I wasn't looking that way) because of the funding issues they're having even with their current students.  So definitely don't take this rejection too badly -- it's not you, it's the piggy bank. 

 

 

Not all the UCs are in the same situation, FYI. Some programs are in bad shape, others are in very good shape. A lot of departments (including mine) have cut the size of the cohorts, but that's in large part due to the job market.

CageFree is absolutely right here - for example, the UCLA history department just received a grant of 10 million dollars and are planning to fully fund all admits for the first year ever. The admit pool is lower at most UCs, but in keeping with the rest of the country honestly.

[lafayette]

Take a breath and think about this rationally. Whether an application is successful or not has very little to do with you as an applicant or the quality of your application, but a number of other factors tied to the particular needs of a department and/or subfield for that particular application cycle. Perhaps last year the department accepted someone that studies early modern Britain, and decided this year they don't need another. Perhaps they realized that their program has a lot of students working on West Africa, but no one studying East Africa and it's time they should accept one. Perhaps the professor who focuses on modern Chinese history is on leave in September, so that subfield won't be taking in new students. Perhaps the medievalists weren't able to accept a student they really wanted last year because of department politics, but this year they get to accept two instead.

 

My point is you have no idea what a department or subfield is looking for during your application cycle, and all you can do is submit the strongest application you can and hope that what you have to offer is what that department/subfield wants this year. More importantly, every program's needs are different so it's wrong to assume one rejection (especially when you don't know the departmental context in which your application was reviewed, or the conversations that took place as the adcomm deliberated over applications) means across the board rejections for your other applications. If it does happen, you strengthen your application where possible and try again -- sometimes (and we have people on this forum who have had this experience) simply re-applying in a different cycle can lead to completely different results.

 

The first application decision I received was a rejection from the lowest ranked school I applied to (in the middle of the night on a weekend! I consoled myself with a white hot chocolate from Tim Hortons ), and by the end of the week, I had four acceptances. It's all part of the process, a successful application cycle can still include a number of rejections.

I really appreciate this, safferz. I was expecting my Berkeley rejection (meh fit, crappy first application with messy attempt to get down to the 10 page limit) and being lucky enough to already have a great offer, it was okay when it happened. But the next day I woke up extremely pessimistic and nervous for the next week, feeling similar feelings to others here. A rejection letter is always so impersonal, so I just thought, wow, how will my application make it through at any of these programs which receive many applications. And I just thought that receiving nonstop rejections would just be the end of the world. But it's not, and it's not even guaranteed. Sometimes you get through, sometimes you don't, and it's based on a ton of factors, as you say. So I appreciate you sharing your own-post app. cycle wisdom. Just got to tell myself to CHILL. OUT. And am probably going to try to get back to my running training next week (although it's so cold here) to just get over these unnecessary undermining feelings.

AND though I don't care about football at ALL, given my first two application results, I just have to say GO RAVENS.

Edited February 2, 2013 by lafayette

[viggosloof28]

Someone please put my mind at ease. Does a rejection from one school necessarily mean I will be rejected by all others I applied to?  It is definitely a bummer that my first decision had to be a rejection as it has lowered my confidence to levels I didn't know were possible. 

 

Rationally, I know, and you must know it does not mean that. But I can't help thinking it as well

Hang in there, you guys!  I know what you mean, though...when I hadn't heard from Berkeley, I assumed (quite rightly, as it turned out) that I had been rejected there.  And, of course, my mind made the leap that I would then be rejected from all the other schools I applied to.  There is still hope - never fear! I know it's hard to be rational right in the middle of decision season, but take a deep breath and try to remain patient and hopeful.

[History Time]

Now I understand why one of my professors laughed at me when I said was trying to quit smoking this month. Nerves nerves nerves.

[Andean Pat]

I got three plans: A, B and C. I got a rejection from one that doesn't even appear in my plans.

[annieca]

I got three plans: A, B and C. I got a rejection from one that doesn't even appear in my plans.

I am curious - why did you apply to a school that doesn't fit into even your second backup plan?

 

On my end of the world - 

I had the lovely experience of getting to buy a new computer today. There went $650 I wasn't expecting to spend until this summer. :/ But Sirius (my computer) and I are getting to know each other and Windows 8. 

 

I'm not expecting to hear anything this week. Of course, I'll still check my South Carolina app every day like clockwork. 

 

Also, some friendly advice... do not tickle a drunk rugby player if you want to end the night unharmed.

[viggosloof28]

I'm not expecting to hear anything this week. Of course, I'll still check my South Carolina app every day like clockwork. 

 

Also, some friendly advice... do not tickle a drunk rugby player if you want to end the night unharmed.

Ha ha!  I know what you mean.  I keep checking my Wisconsin app even though the notices (apparently) aren't going to be sent out til next week.

 

And thank you for the valuable advice!  I hope you weren't injured too badly (assuming you're speaking from experience)!

[runaway]

Also, some friendly advice... do not tickle a drunk rugby player if you want to end the night unharmed.

 

Is that what happened to your computer!?