Fall 2014 Applicants

[mujereslibres]

I respectfully disagree. On three separate cases, I was able to schedule appointments for telephone conversations (each one lasted about 20-30 minutes). On several other cases, POIs notified me that they were retiring and therefore unable to take on graduate students, which helped me refine my SOP (i.e.: which POI names to suggest as viable mentors). I've also been told by professors that, even if all I get in response is "I look forward to reading your application," at least I get my name in the back of their heads, and, when they're reading applications, that pays off more often than one might expect.

 

Long story short, I'm glad I contacted POIs in October/November. It took minimal effort and, at times, paid off substantially.

I've had a similar experience. Some of my POI's were even willing to discuss my project further and talked about approaches they would take. They also shared information about what their students have gone on to do after the PhD, and professional development on behalf of the department. Phone conversations also allowed me to learn a little more about their personalities, which is helpful too.

[Brisingamen]

Commiserations to all the Princeton applicants.  

 

I'm another one that thinks contacting POIs was useful. I've made contact with a couple of people who have asked me to keep in touch, which is really nice. One gave off a whiff of something I didn't like... and showed me a particular program would be a poor fit, culture-wise. Others gave useful suggestions that allowed me to refine my SOP. 

[maelia8]

To thedig13:

 

Quite. I freely admit that I've gone back to the application status login several times just to check that the acceptance letter is still there, that they didn't accidentally type my name and mean somebody else … whew. I've got a few questions for the admissions office and the department, but I haven't emailed them yet for fear of looking dumb by asking obvious questions about fellowship offers, calendar details, and possible mentors.

Edited February 12, 2014 by maelia8

[thedig13]

To thedig13:

 

Quite. I freely admit that I've gone back to the application status login several times just to check that the acceptance letter is still there, that they didn't accidentally type my name and mean somebody else … whew. I've got a few questions for the admissions office and the department, but I haven't emailed them yet for fear of looking dumb by asking obvious questions about fellowship offers, calendar details, and possible mentors.

 

Check your PMs. I'd love to continue this chat, but would hate to hijack the thread.

[czesc]

I'm now 0 and 4 with PhD programs and 4 and 0 with law schools. Starting to think this choice is being made for me.

 

And then there were two...

 

Don't give up yet if history is what you really want. Both statistically and in terms of motivating admissions committees (law schools know you will pay them, while many PhD programs have to justify paying you; law school admissions are more based on grades and standardized tests than subjective PhD admissions) it's easier to get into law school, so this result doesn't mean your life path has been chosen by divine revelation or anything like that.

Edited February 12, 2014 by czesc

[red4tribe]

I guess everything will be delayed by yet another snowstorm hitting the northeast. 

[thedig13]

Don't give up yet if history is what you really want. Both statistically and in terms of motivating admissions committees (law schools know you will pay them, while many PhD programs have to justify paying you; law school admissions are more based on grades and standardized tests than subjective PhD admissions) it's easier to get into law school, so this result doesn't mean your life path has been chosen by divine revelation or anything like that.

I second this. There are veterans on this thread who went through two or three admissions cycles before being admitted to the right program.

[czesc]

I guess everything will be delayed by yet another snowstorm hitting the northeast. 

 

Not quite everything: no amount of snow could ever delay things at Cornell!

Edited February 12, 2014 by czesc

[New England Nat]

czesc,

 

I have it on good authority that once during the 1990s the Sheriff of the county threatened the president of Cornell because the university would not close despite the fact that the county had closed the roads.

[czesc]

^ That sounds about right. There was a storm that shut down Ithaca's city government a week ago. Cornell's response? Push back 9am classes to 9:30.

[ldcldc]

Has anyone heard anything about the status of the FLAS program for the academic year 2014-2015? 

[Humanenvironment]

Has anyone heard anything about the status of the FLAS program for the academic year 2014-2015? 

 

 

I haven't heard anything yet. Good luck to all!

[wiewanderlust]

Re: Princeton rejections, I can claim the one exception (so far). Completely floored, I did not see that one coming through. Just goes to show how crazy unpredictable this process is! maelia8, I foresee that I will be doing something similar checking and rechecking the result for a while!

 

Also not to beat a dead horse, but I found writing POI's really helpful. I don't know how much of a difference it actually made, but I did receive some really good tips as to what to emphasize in my applications, or programs to look further in to -- some professors, especially at the most competitive programs, suggested other schools and advisors I should be contacting. That being said, I now think that the school I actually communicated the most with is a likely rejection, and the two acceptances have been pretty unexpected. Go figure!

[New England Nat]

As someone posted a Princeton waitlist on the result board I'm going to repeat something I've said before.

 

The likelihood that Princeton will dip into their wait list is something on the order of a Brazillian medaling in cross country skiing.  Not impossible as Brazillian cross country skiers exist... but also very very unlikely.  Professors have openly told current grad students that they view the waitlist as a means of encouraging the applicant, saying that your project is good, but that is it.  For your own sanity treat it as a rejection.

[junotwest]

Friendly reminder to all applicants: check you spam folders!! Apparently I had been accepted at UIUC since Jan 15, but I didn't find out today until receiving an invite to visit campus with some ambiguous wording.  

[hdunlop]

Thank you czesc and thedig for the pep talk re. the PhD -- I do need it. This round (my second) isn't over yet, and I remain hopeful if not optimistic. If I bust out I do think I'm most likely going to start with the JD (the goal was always joint) and consider another shot at the PhD as I pursue it. There's no doubt law's easier to get in, not least because you usually have to pay, but full funding offers do exist. They're incredibly competitive but I've at least made it to the "please interview/write an essay/whatever to compete" stage which is further than I've made it with the PhD applications so far!

[czesc]

 

As someone posted a Princeton waitlist on the result board I'm going to repeat something I've said before.

 

The likelihood that Princeton will dip into their wait list is something on the order of a Brazillian medaling in cross country skiing.  Not impossible as Brazillian cross country skiers exist... but also very very unlikely.  Professors have openly told current grad students that they view the waitlist as a means of encouraging the applicant, saying that your project is good, but that is it.  For your own sanity treat it as a rejection.

 

^ And as a Princeton waitlistee last year, I'd just add that they don't hand those results out to a ton of people; there were only five people on that list in 2013. So basically, yeah, feel good about yourself...but don't get your hopes up about going to Princeton.

Edited February 12, 2014 by czesc

[RevolutionBlues]

Thank you czesc and thedig for the pep talk re. the PhD -- I do need it. This round (my second) isn't over yet, and I remain hopeful if not optimistic. If I bust out I do think I'm most likely going to start with the JD (the goal was always joint) and consider another shot at the PhD as I pursue it. There's no doubt law's easier to get in, not least because you usually have to pay, but full funding offers do exist. They're incredibly competitive but I've at least made it to the "please interview/write an essay/whatever to compete" stage which is further than I've made it with the PhD applications so far!

Definitely don't give up. My first two cycles met with solid rejection, and my third had only one fully-funded offer for an MA. Now I have offers from a few top schools. If you're willing to spend the next six plus years of your life living in poverty and spending all hours of the day and night digging through the archives to find some elusive bit of information to put in a conference or article proposal that will probably be rejected anyway, all in hopes of being able to apply for hundreds of jobs one day that won't even email you to let you know they've decided to pass, then you should be willing to try, try again.

[bears679]

Does anyone have an idea of when Stanford releases its results?

[junotwest]

Does anyone have an idea of when Stanford releases its results?

last year it seems they notified on Feb 15, which was a Friday so perhaps this Friday?  

[czesc]

Thank you czesc and thedig for the pep talk re. the PhD -- I do need it. This round (my second) isn't over yet, and I remain hopeful if not optimistic. If I bust out I do think I'm most likely going to start with the JD (the goal was always joint) and consider another shot at the PhD as I pursue it. There's no doubt law's easier to get in, not least because you usually have to pay, but full funding offers do exist. They're incredibly competitive but I've at least made it to the "please interview/write an essay/whatever to compete" stage which is further than I've made it with the PhD applications so far!

 

I would be careful here. My impression is that there are still some annoying profs who insist on not admitting people who are "pure" historians in some departments, and beyond these people law students may sometimes face the impression they're most interested in legal history, which could make you less of a "fit" at some schools than you would have been otherwise. All of which means that if you start the JD, PhD reapplications might be more difficult. 

 

On the other hand, although you'd have very limited time to do so during your 1L year, you could try engaging with your law school university's history department and/or legal historians at your law school in a way that might enhance your application. And at least at some universities (though by no means at all), current JD students will have a leg up in PhD admissions in that university's other departments.

 

So you'll have to weigh these things, and what you wind up doing may depend on the availability of other options (outside the law school that you would otherwise attend) to enhance your PhD app. The good news is that, unlike PhD programs, an accepted JD offer can be deferred for a year or sometimes even two. You might want to consider using this to your advantage. 

Edited February 12, 2014 by czesc

[Roy_Baty]

If you're willing to spend the next six plus years of your life living in poverty and spending all hours of the day and night digging through the archives to find some elusive bit of information to put in a conference or article proposal that will probably be rejected anyway, all in hopes of being able to apply for hundreds of jobs one day that won't even email you to let you know they've decided to pass, then you should be willing to try, try again.

Exactly!!

[maelia8]

I was told that for Chicago it's about the same as Princeton - there are less than 10 people on the wait list, but they have only dipped into it in three of the last five years, and it's unranked, so your only chance is if somebody in the same specialty area drops out (totally out of your control). I'm not going to hold my breath on that one either ...

[czesc]

I was told that for Chicago it's about the same as Princeton - there are less than 10 people on the wait list, but they have only dipped into it in three of the last five years, and it's unranked, so your only chance is if somebody in the same specialty area drops out (totally out of your control). I'm not going to hold my breath on that one either ...

 

It's worth noting that there are actually multiple tracks for people who are neither accepted or rejected by Chicago - there's a straightforward, official waitlist; automatic admission to their Masters program in the humanities (which may or may not include an offer of partial funding, the amount of which has varied substantially among applicants), and what I think may be an unofficial waitlist of some kind...I was rejected very late in the season last year, after everyone had already received all their other Chicago results, which made me think such a list existed, although who knows -- they may have just misplaced my file.

[New England Nat]

Chicago has taken people from their waitlist in recent years, just not often.  Princeton has not.  I don't want to be anyone's Debbie Downer, but I just wanted it to be clear.