Fall 2015 Applicants

[dr. t]

So, what happens to classes on snow days? I mean, there are contact hour requirements to get credits but with all these snow days those hours are reduced. That means content gets skipped over, rushed, etc. That can't be good.

 

It's been three weeks and one of my classes has only met once. That professor flies up from DC every Tuesday morning. Dunno how we're going to get back on track.

[gsc]

I have to admit I'm jealous of all you folks with snow days -- my school never cancels, and it actually snows a lot here. Two weeks ago we had a huge snowstorm and got at least a foot of snow and we still went to class. I don't think we've had a snow day in the four years I've been here!

Edited February 15, 2015 by girlscoutcookies

[dr. t]

I have to admit I'm jealous of all you folks with snow days -- my school never cancels, and it actually snows a lot here. Two weeks ago we had a huge snowstorm and got at least a foot of snow and we still went to class. I don't think we've had a snow day in the four years I've been here!

 

Out of the 7 times Harvard has ever closed for snow, 3 of them were this year.

[ashiepoo72]

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that my elementary school once had a "rain day" (and no, the school wasn't flooded). I always laugh when people here complain about the so-called "weather."

[mvlchicago]

Chicago was great with cold/snow days. By which I mean, admin would send emails like "it's -30 with windchill and a foot of snow, please don't die on your way to class today. Yes you have class today."

[gsc]

Chicago was great with cold/snow days. By which I mean, admin would send emails like "it's -30 with windchill and a foot of snow, please don't die on your way to class today. Yes you have class today."

 

That's Iowa in a nutshell. Everything in the entire eastern half of the state can be closed (including other colleges) and we'll get some email that tells us to bundle up, we're still going. 

[Josh J.]

A half inch of snow in Nashville causes all the schools to close (actually, pretty much the whole city shuts down), and a run on food and water at the grocery stores. It's pretty ridiculous. We are supposed to have 5-10 inches tonight.

Edited February 15, 2015 by Josh J.

[kyjin]

 If I get in, it'll be the first time I ever live somewhere without free healthcare. How exactly does that work with regards to the insurance included in a typical funding package? Like, if you break your arm or you need antibiotics for tonsillitis or something, do you have to pay anything? 

The insurance package will vary from school to school, but generally you'll have some copay when going to specialists and for prescriptions. For my program, I can use the on-campus health center for primary care and it's completely covered by my insurance, but I still have to pay a percentage of my prescriptions. Dental and eyecare are usually separate, and again will vary from program to program on what you get. Student insurance isn't usually the best, but it should cover you for basic things and emergencies. 

 

That said, I miss Canadian healthcare! D: I lived in Alberta for two years and provincial healthcare was the best. 

[jump4444]

I was on the search results page and noticed what I felt was an unusually high percentage of acceptances for History master's applications. So far this year people have reported an over 85% acceptance rate. Now I have always heard that it is easier to get into master's programs than Phd's, but I feel like there has to be some other explanation for this. I am currently applying to both types. any thoughts?

[ellebe]

The insurance package will vary from school to school, but generally you'll have some copay when going to specialists and for prescriptions. For my program, I can use the on-campus health center for primary care and it's completely covered by my insurance, but I still have to pay a percentage of my prescriptions. Dental and eyecare are usually separate, and again will vary from program to program on what you get. Student insurance isn't usually the best, but it should cover you for basic things and emergencies. 

 

That said, I miss Canadian healthcare! D: I lived in Alberta for two years and provincial healthcare was the best. 

 

Thanks kyjin! That's really good to know. Do campus health centres vary a lot by university? I know U Toronto's has a really awful reputation, but our international student health coverage was somewhat similar (campus docs and emergency clinic coverage), so it was the only place some kids could go. One friend was (mis)diagnosed with a disease that hasn't been around since the 18th century. I think it actually turned out to be a cough...

[Aubstopper]

MA degrees are cash cows for universities since they are for the most part, unfunded. History PhDs are typically fully-funded with free healthcare and a living stipend. Naturally, MA programs, being a huge money maker, would accept waaaay more students than PhD programs (which is an investment in you on the part of the school).

I was one of the few lucky people who had tuition remission thanks to the Humanities department and FLAS. All those Persian language courses came in handy after all.

Edited February 15, 2015 by Aubstopper

[IvanBezdomnii]

There's a post from last Thursday that indicates that it will be this week at the very least. Does anyone know if they notify admits and rejections simultaneously or do it in waves?

 

Where is this info coming from? As much as I want it to be true, in the past (based on the results search) they've notified the Monday of the following week, and this year seems to be behind schedule as it is.

[IvanBezdomnii]

MA degrees are cash cows for universities since they are for the most part, unfunded. History PhDs are typically fully-funded with free healthcare and a living stipend. Naturally, MA programs, being a huge money maker, would accept waaaay more students than PhD programs (which is an investment in you on the part of the school).

I was one of the few lucky people who had tuition remission thanks to the Humanities department and FLAS. All those Persian language courses came in handy after all.

Yes this is true. I was likewise lucky to heavily benefit from FLAS during my MA. They paid for two AYs and two rounds of summer classes (not to mention stipend). And thanks to that I know a little Romanian.

[ToomuchLes]

I also had an admission dream, only in mine I got rejected from the University of Western Ontario (where I did not apply) and they sent a detailed analysis of my app (and Twitter account, for some reason) determining I had only a 6% likelihood of success as a PhD student. I'm really glad that's not what real rejections look like. Can you imagine?

 

 

Those would be the rudest rejection letters ever! 

 

Also, I never had a snowy/rainy day off for school or work. I guess thats one of the disadvantages of living in Cali ... or maybe its an advantage? 

[mvlchicago]

Where is this info coming from? As much as I want it to be true, in the past (based on the results search) they've notified the Monday of the following week, and this year seems to be behind schedule as it is.

I was told by my faculty contact at UPenn that the grad com (not adcom) needed to okay the final decisions before she could tell me anything, and that I'd be notified by the DGS in due time. That was sent on Thursday, so I assumed that the grad com would sit either on Friday, or sometime early this week, and once they finalize the decisions, that the DGS will send out info on decisions.

[marte108]

In talking about moving and living in new places if anyone needs advice about moving to Southern California  (i.e out of state and just accepted at a program here) I have been living here for the past 5 years so housing, cost of living, etc are all types of questions I have answers to. Just PM me!

[SunshineLolipops]

Also, update to other people waiting to hear from (U)Penn: apparently the grad committee has yet to sit down and make the final decisions. So hang tight, it might be tomorrow but more likely next week.

Here's the post from last Thursday about UPenn possibly notifying this week.

A little late for my last post. Thanks for the info mvlchicago!

Edited February 15, 2015 by JJWS

[IvanBezdomnii]

I was told by my faculty contact at UPenn that the grad com (not adcom) needed to okay the final decisions before she could tell me anything, and that I'd be notified by the DGS in due time. That was sent on Thursday, so I assumed that the grad com would sit either on Friday, or sometime early this week, and once they finalize the decisions, that the DGS will send out info on decisions.

My thanks to you (and JJWS). That's good to know. The sooner the better.

[L13]

I was told by my faculty contact at UPenn that the grad com (not adcom) needed to okay the final decisions before she could tell me anything, and that I'd be notified by the DGS in due time. That was sent on Thursday, so I assumed that the grad com would sit either on Friday, or sometime early this week, and once they finalize the decisions, that the DGS will send out info on decisions.

That sounds pretty promising for you, mvlchicago! Good luck

[aquabatix]

A half inch of snow in Nashville causes all the schools to close (actually, pretty much the whole city shuts down), and a run on food and water at the grocery stores. It's pretty ridiculous. We are supposed to have 5-10 inches tonight.

Not to mention the bad driving. A couple flakes and people start skidding around like its an ice rink. I miss perpetually warmer climates sometimes.

[ertna]

I am reading this forum since three years with a lot of excitement and joy (especially when someone got an acceptance after a long wait).

 

For the first time, I have a question for people who have more experience:

 

I am last year MA student in a funded program but because of a shift in my interest and maybe because of low self-esteem I applied to a one-year MA again. However, I received an e-mail from the program director, telling that they were currently assessing my application and noted that I am already in an MA program and that my referees wrote that I am suitable for PhD. They ask me if I intend to apply for the MA or for the Ph.D.

 

I don't know how to answer and what this should mean. I guess if they didn't have any intention to let me in one of their programs, they wouldn't bother to ask me for clarification, but I can't be sure and really don't know how to answer. I have seen in this forum that some programs reject Ph.D. applicants but offer MA instead and I wonder if it is the opposite in this case?

 

Any guesses?

Edited February 15, 2015 by ertna

[Aubstopper]

I am reading this forum since three years with a lot of excitement and joy (especially when someone got an acceptance after a long wait).

 

For the first time, I have a question for people who have more experience:

 

I am last year MA student in a funded program but because of a shift in my interest and maybe because of low self-esteem I applied to a one-year MA again. However, I received an e-mail from the program director, telling that they were currently assessing my application and noted that I am already in an MA program and that my referees wrote that I am suitable for PhD. They ask me if I intend to apply for the MA or for the Ph.D.

 

I don't know how to answer and what this should mean. I guess if they didn't have any intention to let me in one of their programs, they wouldn't bother to ask me for clarification, but I can't be sure and really don't know how to answer. I have seen in this forum that some programs reject Ph.D. applicants but offer MA instead and I wonder if it is the opposite in this case?

 

Any guesses?

 

Merhaba and welcome! 

 

This sounds like a good thing. If your mentors think you're ready for a PhD, the school you applied to thinks you're ready for a PhD, and a PhD is your ultimate goal, why not go for it? Multiple MA degrees isn't really necessary, in my opinion, unless you're completely switching interests. It really depends on what you're comfortable with in the end.  

Edited February 15, 2015 by Aubstopper

[kyjin]

Thanks kyjin! That's really good to know. Do campus health centres vary a lot by university? I know U Toronto's has a really awful reputation, but our international student health coverage was somewhat similar (campus docs and emergency clinic coverage), so it was the only place some kids could go. One friend was (mis)diagnosed with a disease that hasn't been around since the 18th century. I think it actually turned out to be a cough...

They do vary. My undergrad had a terrible health centre, so I avoided it and used my home doctors as much as I could. My current institution has a great health centre that they just rebuilt a couple years ago, so it's really state of the art. Usually you can go to primaries outside of the on-campus centre as well, just as long as they're in your insurance coverage network (which is what I do for my eye and dental care; we have a dental school that I can use on campus that's cheaper, but I don't trust it), but you may have higher copays, etc. Insurance can be pretty crazy, but your campus will probably have someone you can contact who's in charge of student healthcare and can advise you with further questions as they come up.

[Aubstopper]

Those would be the rudest rejection letters ever! 

 

Also, I never had a snowy/rainy day off for school or work. I guess thats one of the disadvantages of living in Cali ... or maybe its an advantage? 

 

I didn't really appreciate growing up in Southern California until I moved to Chicago. I never even really had been in snow before and I definitely never owned a jacket heavier than a sweatshirt.As a kid, my parents would 'take me to the snow' for a few hours then we would drive back down the mountain to our 75F weather. 

The first time it ever snowed for me was when I was 21 and living in East Jerusalem. I ran outside and was squee-ing; everyone else thought I was nuts.  I think since then, I've more than made up for missing snow-time. Within my first year at UofC, I went to DC for a security interview (I was offered an internship at US Central Command doing translation stuff) and was snowed in for 4 extra days (couldn't even leave the hotel). I called that one the Snowlocaust. Then the following year was the Chicago Snowpocalypse which shut down all ways in and out of Hyde Park. That wasn't enough for UofC who sent us emails saying classes were NOT cancelled. Never had a class at UofC which was cancelled because of snow or -30 degree weather. My family thinks I'm insane for even being anywhere but somewhere with perfect weather.  

[ashiepoo72]

Snowpocalypse...lol

 

My parents took me to "visit the snow." Like it's a relative, and it was our obligatory yearly get-together.