Fall 2015 Applicants

[danwaterfield]

Congratulations Dan!  That sounds like an amazing package. 

Thank you! Might still get AHRC funding on top of the vice-chancellor's award, apparently. Would make the choice between Cambridge and York a bit easier!

[Chiqui74]

Confirmation I'll receive a full vice chancellor's scholarship from Cambridge for the History faculty.

Congrats!

[Cpt Jo]

I'm so thrilled! I didn't get put forward for funding at Durham, which has a full supervisory fit - which is VERY odd. But AHRC funding is ridiculously competitive. I might still get it from Cambridge, too, apparently. And I've been put forward for funding at York... 

Massive congrats!!

I found your twitter and saw your subject. It's very strange that Durham didn't support you as they have the former archives of the University of Douai, and unis are generally happy with students who can shed light on their belongings.    I have also chosen Durham for their archives, I hope it will be a plus in my case.

[ellebe]

Ohio State has rejections available by website.

 

That sucks, fingers crossed the next school getting in touch has better news. In the meantime, it's nearly beer o'clock.

 

Confirmation I'll receive a full vice chancellor's scholarship from Cambridge for the History faculty.

 

Congrats, amazing!

[danwaterfield]

Massive congrats!!

I found your twitter and saw your subject. It's very strange that Durham didn't support you as they have the former archives of the University of Douai, and unis are generally happy with students who can shed light on their belongings.    I have also chosen Durham for their archives, I hope it will be a plus in my case.

 

Exactly, the archives and catholic studies centre + supervisory and dept specialism in Burney was the whole point of why I applied there. Compared with, say, Cambridge - which has one of the best history depts in the world, where I'm a literary - though still historical - outlier, it's just... odd.

[Josh J.]

I emailed the DGS at Vanderbilt and just got a reply back.  If you don't have an acceptance, you are rejected.  I don't know why in the hell they are waiting so long to send out rejections.  

[Magellan1521]

I emailed the DGS at Vanderbilt and just got a reply back.  If you don't have an acceptance, you are rejected.  I don't know why in the hell they are waiting so long to send out rejections.  

 

That is extremely unprofessional and inconsiderate of them (and other schools)... 

[L13]

Just got accepted to Fordham's MA in medieval history. That's flattering, but I can't (and don't want to) go without funding. Oh well.

[Cpt Jo]

That is extremely unprofessional and inconsiderate of them (and other schools)... 

It's the same for jobs. What does it cost to send an automatic reply?

[JTE]

I really hate that these schools leave me hanging.

[Chiqui74]

Waiting is the worst. 

[ashiepoo72]

Now that it's March, I don't think it's a problem to shoot the DGS or grad secretary an email asking about your status. I was actually told to do it for IU because it's keeping me from being able to make plans and decline certain offers...but I'm too terrified...so apparently I'm a hypocrite haha

[ToomuchLes]

@ashiepoo72, 

I emailed the DGS at IU two weeks ago, which is how I found out my current status. I will probably email UT Austin & UCSB this week.

[Heimat Historian]

Leventel, I didn't see the Rice wait list.  That's great.  Congrats. 

[Professor Plum]

Yeah it's ridiculous. Nobody should be forced to pay $90+ for an intentionally/artificially delayed decision.

 

Let's try to go easy on the DGSes of the world, who have an awful lot going on at the moment. The admissions season does not mean that their current PhD students magically stop having needs (paperwork, defense scheduling, comps) that need attending to on top of applicants' paperwork. I can assure you that no one is deliberately prolonging your discomfort.

 

As far as what your application fee entitles you to: given how much effort the vast majority of applicants put into their materials, I know that most expect (and reasonably so) that the admissions committee members will read and consider them carefully. In my program, there are five of us, plus the DGS, on the committee. I try to spend at least 45 minutes, and usually closer to an hour, with each file. That means you're getting five or six hours of professors' time for about a hundred bucks. That's $15-20 an hour for professors' undivided attention. If you consider that most professors bill at an hourly rate several times that, it's a bargain.

 

(Not that we receive any money for reviewing files, of course, something most of us do happily. While the admissions fee seems hefty, it does buy you quite a bit of expertise.)

[SunshineLolipops]

really looking forward to getting the final word from my last applications, but I know that neither Penn State nor Chapel Hill send out rejections until very late in the game. Does anyone know if there's a method to the madness?

By 'final word' I really mean the last three nails in the coffin.

Edited March 4, 2015 by JJWS

[SunshineLolipops]

@ashiepoo72 it occurs to me that you are going to make a lot of waitlisted people happy when you finally make a decision. Good job this cycle.

[ashiepoo72]

Let's try to go easy on the DGSes of the world, who have an awful lot going on at the moment. The admissions season does not mean that their current PhD students magically stop having needs (paperwork, defense scheduling, comps) that need attending to on top of applicants' paperwork. I can assure you that no one is deliberately prolonging your discomfort.

 

As far as what your application fee entitles you to: given how much effort the vast majority of applicants put into their materials, I know that most expect (and reasonably so) that the admissions committee members will read and consider them carefully. In my program, there are five of us, plus the DGS, on the committee. I try to spend at least 45 minutes, and usually closer to an hour, with each file. That means you're getting five or six hours of professors' time for about a hundred bucks. That's $15-20 an hour for professors' undivided attention. If you consider that most professors bill at an hourly rate several times that, it's a bargain.

 

(Not that we receive any money for reviewing files, of course, something most of us do happily. While the admissions fee seems hefty, it does buy you quite a bit of expertise.)

I just wanted to thank you for being such a helpful contributor in this community. This place can often (and understandably) be an echo chamber of grad hopeful anxieties. Having some insight into the process from outside that chamber is really good in providing us with perspective and (ideally) some clarity.

While some programs come across as cold (I initially felt this way about Madison because they didn't even send an email to check the website when they rejected me, but then I received a hard-copy letter...with the number of applicants they receive, they really don't have to provide that courtesy), I'm sure most adcomm members don't relish destroying dreams.

[ashiepoo72]

JJWS--thanks! And I'm very very aware that there are people waiting on these programs and/or funding from them. I'm doing my best to make decisions quickly. It's just hard because I want to make the RIGHT decision, and some programs jumped up the list because of funding and other bennies. I swear I'm not holding onto trophies!

[Chiqui74]

Harvard still hasn't sent an email to check website even though the results have been up for days.

[ToomuchLes]

Leventel, I didn't see the Rice wait list.  That's great.  Congrats. 

 

Haha. Thanks!

I posted on the results page, but I didnt say anything on this thread. Both IU's and Rice's DGS informed me that they'll email me decisions in the next few weeks. I should have a good idea if I'm going to grad school by the end of next week.

Im reeeeally leaning towards that MA from IU. The move is going to be expensive, but they mentioned a few funding opportunities. I think getting a MA would be good for me.

[Sigaba]

Yeah it's ridiculous. Nobody should be forced to pay $90+ for an intentionally/artificially delayed decision.

 

 

Let's try to go easy on the DGSes of the world, who have an awful lot going on at the moment. The admissions season does not mean that their current PhD students magically stop having needs (paperwork, defense scheduling, comps) that need attending to on top of applicants' paperwork. I can assure you that no one is deliberately prolonging your discomfort.

 

As far as what your application fee entitles you to: given how much effort the vast majority of applicants put into their materials, I know that most expect (and reasonably so) that the admissions committee members will read and consider them carefully. In my program, there are five of us, plus the DGS, on the committee. I try to spend at least 45 minutes, and usually closer to an hour, with each file. That means you're getting five or six hours of professors' time for about a hundred bucks. That's $15-20 an hour for professors' undivided attention. If you consider that most professors bill at an hourly rate several times that, it's a bargain.

 

(Not that we receive any money for reviewing files, of course, something most of us do happily. While the admissions fee seems hefty, it does buy you quite a bit of expertise.)

 

ALCON--

 

Notice the highlighted word. There is an increasingly deep generational rift centering around it. By his presence on this BB and his contributions to the conversations, it is clear that Professor Plum does not agree with many of his peers that today's students are governed by a misplaced sense of entitlement. 

 

However, there are others who subscribe to that stereotype which they use as an excuse to focus on research to the determent of teaching and mentoring. I urge you to do what you can to not feed into the stereotype.

 

Manage your expectations. Assume that people are acting in good faith until you have overwhelming, verifiable evidence to the contrary.

 

Temper your emotions and the way you articulate them in public (including this BB). Keeping calm and responding professionally to adverse circumstances, unlucky breaks, and bad news will earn you respect from people who can help you down the line. Conversely, speaking your mind and/or going out in a blaze of glory can put you on a perilous path towards alienation and self isolation and deepen further the "entitlement" stereotype.

 

Here's a true story. As a junior (IIRC), I earned a summer research internship. There was a snafu in the disbursement of the first stipend check.  I went a bit bonkers.  I pitched a fit with the people running the internship. I stalked away, went into a classroom and proceeded to throw a chair through a wall.  #winning 

 

In my fury, I completely and utterly disregarded offers from an administrator to use her good offices to make things right, including talking/writing my landlord. For the rest of the summer, I kept my distance from this person because...for no good reason at all.

 

A couple of years later, now a graduate student at a different school, I bumped into this administrator. She was doing some recruiting for that same program. We exchanged pleasantries. I offered a belated apology for my reprehensible conduct. She forgave me with a grin and said "You've grown up." I took the backhanded compliment on the chin.  We each went on our way. 

 

Here's the thing. While I did not pay too high a cost for failing to manage my expectations (other than feeling like a jackass the rest of the day), I likely screwed myself out of an opportunity to pay forward the benefits I received from being in that program. Counter factually speaking, if I had kept my temper and stayed in touch with this administrator, I might have had the opportunity to support her recruiting effort and, thereby, gotten more undergraduates from under represented cohorts to consider graduate school.

[JTE]

 

Professor Plum, on 04 Mar 2015 - 5:05 PM, said:

I just wanted to thank you for being such a helpful contributor in this community. This place can often (and understandably) be an echo chamber of grad hopeful anxieties. Having some insight into the process from outside that chamber is really good in providing us with perspective and (ideally) some clarity.

While some programs come across as cold (I initially felt this way about Madison because they didn't even send an email to check the website when they rejected me, but then I received a hard-copy letter...with the number of applicants they receive, they really don't have to provide that courtesy), I'm sure most adcomm members don't relish destroying dreams.

 

I couldn't agree more. Thank you Professor Plum, for your insight. While this site absolutely use this site as a place to vent, sympathize with each other when many of those in our everyday lives may not understand how we feel at the moment, it is an echo chamber for our anxieties and by no means should be taken to offense. I believe most of us on this site appreciate the monumental task adcoms undertake, nor do we trivialize the sacrifice to a professor's time the commitment commands. That said, many of us have our lives on hold and are anxious to find out if or when we may have to uproot our lives, and our families', to establish a new routine in new place. It's only natural for us to want to share in our collective frustration and anxiety. Our emotions are running high. While I know I have lent myself to hyperbolic vents of said frustration, I do always respect and appreciate the adcoms and university staff for their consideration and work on my behalf (in addition to their regular duties). 

[HistoryMystery]

Let's try to go easy on the DGSes of the world, who have an awful lot going on at the moment. The admissions season does not mean that their current PhD students magically stop having needs (paperwork, defense scheduling, comps) that need attending to on top of applicants' paperwork. I can assure you that no one is deliberately prolonging your discomfort.

 

As far as what your application fee entitles you to: given how much effort the vast majority of applicants put into their materials, I know that most expect (and reasonably so) that the admissions committee members will read and consider them carefully. In my program, there are five of us, plus the DGS, on the committee. I try to spend at least 45 minutes, and usually closer to an hour, with each file. That means you're getting five or six hours of professors' time for about a hundred bucks. That's $15-20 an hour for professors' undivided attention. If you consider that most professors bill at an hourly rate several times that, it's a bargain.

 

(Not that we receive any money for reviewing files, of course, something most of us do happily. While the admissions fee seems hefty, it does buy you quite a bit of expertise.)

 

Thanks for the insight. What I said wasn't an indictment on the professors themselves, who I know put a lot of effort into the process and don't have direct control over the bureaucracy involved. Like Ashiepoo said, this thread is an echo chamber, and as such, sometimes things are said that can seem unfair given the proper context. I have no doubt that the admissions process puts a great deal of strain on those doing the choosing, and thus I appreciate the time and expertise put into the committees. But I think what some people (and myself) were getting at is that this process puts us applicants through an even greater ordeal, as we have to go about our daily lives with all of this indecision, our futures up in the air until final notifications are made. While this process is definitely a huge burden on those reviewing us applicants, you at least have the advantage of, like you said, being a professor, of working with PhD students, of doing groundbreaking research, and getting paid a decent amount to do it.

 

So to close, I didn't mean to come across as though I was totally unappreciative of the decision committees. I realize that they have a lot on their plate, and probably could be doing something more worthwhile with their expertise. That said, if someone's rejection was determined a week ago or longer, I think that there should be some way to inform them as quickly as possible. To get your decision through an applicant-initiated e-mail is depressing, especially this late in the game, and that's all I think me and the others were commenting on. Our responses were hot-headed and perhaps a bit illogical, but when you're dealing with something that will have a tremendous impact on your future, emotions can get the better of you.

 

(Speaking of emotions, I personally was not even a victim of the blindside rejections we are talking about, so I can understand how heated they must feel!)

 

Hopefully while I wrote this essay a few more of you got some good news

[Professor Plum]

I certainly understand the value of venting--this profession certainly has more than its share of its frustration. Remember that this is a public forum, however. Slate ran a piece on the GradCafe a few years ago, and I imagine that a lot of faculty members got curious just as I did and starting dropping by, even if they don't post. Until someone decides to gate the forum (possibly not a bad idea), the standard rules of posting should apply: Don't write anything you wouldn't be comfortable seeing written above your name in a national newspaper. Some posters have probably given enough information that identities could be worked out by someone who felt like it.

 

Two pieces of advice I wish I'd had when I was starting. First, if you think you're beginning a program next year, use the ups and downs of this admissions cycle as a reminder that your interests and the interests of your program are not always in perfect alignment. That's not to say that your program will actively try to screw you (almost never the case) or that you should ever act in any sort of adversarial manner. Most of the time your interests and theirs will be pretty closely aligned. But it is not always the case that what makes life easiest for you is the same as what works best for the program as a whole. (This goes tenfold for journal editors, fellowship opportunities, and hiring committees, who are usually completely indifferent.) It's very easy to wonder Why won't they just give me what I want? The answer is that they don't necessarily care about the same things. If you take things personally you'll make yourself crazy. It's understandable that you're in a hurry to know where you'll be next year so you can make moving and family arrangements. It's unrealistic to think that prospective departments share your concern. It's just not on their radar--and when you're on an admissions committee sometime in the future, it probably won't be on yours, either.

 

Second, use the application cycle to practice a healthy sense of detachment from the things that are beyond your control. Admission to a doctoral program seems monumental now, but it is the least consequential of the steps that make up a successful career. You will spend weeks and months waiting for the results of comprehensive exams, grant applications, journal submissions, job searches, book referees, and tenure committees. Believe it or not, the significance of those decisions (particularly the last three) will dwarf the admissions process because there's so much more at stake. If you are the kind of person who needs to check your e-mail ten times an hour, work now to break that habit. It will pay big dividends along the way; you can be much more productive with the time you don't spend obsessively hitting F5.

 

(Oh, and put yourself on a budget. Learning to live slightly beneath your means, even if you're on a stipend, is one of the great adaptive behaviors for an academic.)