Fall 2016 Applicants

[tipmar]

  On 2/19/2016 at 8:10 PM, MrMomo said:

Seems like complete rejections across the board except for Northwestern (waiting to hear back from UNC and Chicago). 

Am I too elitist for deliberating whether or not I should take the NW offer? I am an international applicant, and not too many people have heard of Northwestern or are not aware of its reputation. I am realistic about doing a PhD but would still love to have employment after coming out with one...

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What kind of career are you aiming for?

Within academic circles, Northwestern is a well-respected brand. Did you ask professors in your department about Northwestern? I'm also an international student and I find it unlikely that many professional historians around the world are unaware of Northwestern. People read, they go to conferences, they follow the leaders in their fields. 

Obviously, things may be different outside of academia. 

[Neist]

Looks like someone got into Cornell history.  Congrats to whomever that was!

I nearly had a moment of panic until I realized it was for history and not STS. Ergh.

[insidethesun]

  On 2/19/2016 at 9:05 PM, MrMomo said:

  On 2/19/2016 at 9:02 PM, MrMomo said:

 

 

 

Thank you all for your comments! I am definitely leaning towards taking it, but have been advised by some people to be careful when selecting schools as the last thing I want is to go somewhere when my heart isn't fully it in. Grass is always greener and all that...

 

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Thank you! I apologise if I seem ungrateful it's just that I am not from the States and not that many people are aware of NU's prestige and reputation, and since I am open to working anywhere in the world that has played on my mind for a bit.

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Why did you take the time to apply and spend the money on the application? Surely at some point you really wanted to attend NU. You can always consider the advice of those around you, and, of course, random internet strangers, but decide based on where you want to be in the future. As you say, you're open to working anywhere in the world, so NU is a good place to begin your adventures.

 

 

[Josh J.]

Just got my rejection for the MA at the University of Washington. Considering I have a masters in another, related field, from a better school, but they require an MA in History to apply for the PhD (or make you apply to their MA), I'm fairly well annoyed.

[HAPPYDuck]

  On 2/19/2016 at 11:20 PM, Josh J. said:

Just got my rejection for the MA at the University of Washington. Considering I have a masters in another, related field, from a better school, but they require an MA in History to apply for the PhD (or make you apply to their MA), I'm fairly well annoyed.

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Did you get an official email from DGS or was it from POI? My status hasn't changed and I have not heard a peep from them.

Edited February 19, 2016 by HAPPYDuck
More questions to ask

[nom]

Have any East Asia History people heard back from UPenn? 

[the_flying_k]

  On 2/19/2016 at 3:40 PM, soccergal87 said:

According to another post, acceptances went out last week. 

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Thanks!  Indeed, as of this afternoon, my rejection from Harvard is official.  I'm honestly not surprised.

[Josh J.]

  On 2/19/2016 at 11:41 PM, HAPPYDuck said:

Did you get an official email from DGS or was it from POI? My status hasn't changed and I have not heard a peep from them.

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It was the standard form letter from the DGS via email. 

[BlackBear50]

  On 2/18/2016 at 11:55 PM, nevermind said:

Then what the hell did I pay $1000 on application materials/fees for?! ;-)

 

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Heh. I hear ya. Experience??  Or UCSD??

[nevermind]

  On 2/20/2016 at 2:20 AM, BlackBear50 said:

Heh. I hear ya. Experience??  Or UCSD??

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Me? I already have two Master's degrees and tons of other various experience...so it's going to be UCSD unless the funding is prohibitive or if Oregon makes a better offer. I'll find out next week! 

[BlackBear50]

  On 2/20/2016 at 2:22 AM, nevermind said:

Me? I already have two Master's degrees and tons of other various experience...so it's going to be UCSD unless the funding is prohibitive or if Oregon makes a better offer. I'll find out next week! 

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Best of luck, either way!

[stillalivetui]

Have any other Michigan admits received instructions to book their travel for Campus Visit yet?

[knp]

@Josh J. Seriously, they didn't count your degree as a closely related field? I didn't apply because I got the impression that they tended to pull shenanigans, but I remembered this from their website.

"Applicants with a BA only, or an MA in a field other than History, must apply for admission into our MA program.  Applicants who will have completed an MA in History are eligible to apply for our PhD program.  If you will have a completed MA in a closely related field, you may note on your application that you would like to be considered for admission into the PhD program."

If I recall your description of your master's correctly, that's shenanigans indeed. Boo Washington! What a senseless reject!

[Josh J.]

  On 2/20/2016 at 4:00 AM, knp said:

@Josh J. Seriously, they didn't count your degree as a closely related field? I didn't apply because I got the impression that they tended to pull shenanigans, but I remembered this from their website.

"Applicants with a BA only, or an MA in a field other than History, must apply for admission into our MA program.  Applicants who will have completed an MA in History are eligible to apply for our PhD program.  If you will have a completed MA in a closely related field, you may note on your application that you would like to be considered for admission into the PhD program."

If I recall your description of your master's correctly, that's shenanigans indeed. Boo Washington! What a senseless reject!

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@knp No, they would not accept the MTS as a closely related field, even though my degree was in American Religious History.  35 out of my 52 hours for the degree were in history, and my thesis was in history....but they wouldn't accept it for fulfilling the MA requirement....very frustrating.  

[knp]

@Josh J. That's absurd! I mean, I'm very sorry they decided against accepting you.... But I'm now convinced that they don't deserve you!

[Quickmick]

  On 2/20/2016 at 10:33 AM, Josh J. said:

@knp No, they would not accept the MTS as a closely related field, even though my degree was in American Religious History.  35 out of my 52 hours for the degree were in history, and my thesis was in history....but they wouldn't accept it for fulfilling the MA requirement....very frustrating.  

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Sheesh! I was looking at their program and a POI said,"Most likely, you would need to complete the MA before proceeding to the PhD program," which, given that my MS is in Environmental Science, doesn't seem completely accurate (it probably needs to read "you will need..." In any case, I didn't look to see if/or in what capacity they fund MA students but do wonder if this policy has to do with that. In any case I will be in Seattle and am not going to visit. Sorry about your experience, I'm sure it was, as you indicated, frustrating.

[Quickmick]

  On 2/18/2016 at 11:55 PM, nevermind said:

Then what the hell did I pay $1000 on application materials/fees for?! ;-)

 

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Hours of fun at the GradCafe?

[Jennbunny76]

  On 2/20/2016 at 2:19 PM, Quickmick said:

Sheesh! I was looking at their program and a POI said,"Most likely, you would need to complete the MA before proceeding to the PhD program," which, given that my MS is in Environmental Science, doesn't seem completely accurate (it probably needs to read "you will need..." In any case, I didn't look to see if/or in what capacity they fund MA students but do wonder if this policy has to do with that. In any case I will be in Seattle and am not going to visit. Sorry about your experience, I'm sure it was, as you indicated, frustrating.

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I'm a current undergrad at UW and have been offered admission to the MA program. Since they do not offer a terminal MA, the program is considered a PhD track, with promotion to the PhD being more of a formality. Also, they fund the MA for five years through departmental fellowships, teaching and research assistant positions. It's a beautiful campus, and the department is fairly functional. That said, I will likely be going elsewhere....

[prculus]

Hi all. I made it into Princeton for the PhD in History. Anyone out there attending the Host Visit in March?

[DGrayson]

  On 2/20/2016 at 7:34 PM, prculus said:

Hi all. I made it into Princeton for the PhD in History. Anyone out there attending the Host Visit in March?

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Does gazing longingly through the window count?  

[PhDudette]

  On 2/20/2016 at 7:34 PM, prculus said:

Hi all. I made it into Princeton for the PhD in History. Anyone out there attending the Host Visit in March?

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Myself! Have you thought at all about whether to live in grad housing or away from campus? It seems like there's not much life outside of campus. Probably this is more of a PM kind of question, though!

[Quickmick]

  On 2/20/2016 at 2:59 PM, Jennbunny76 said:

I'm a current undergrad at UW and have been offered admission to the MA program. Since they do not offer a terminal MA, the program is considered a PhD track, with promotion to the PhD being more of a formality. Also, they fund the MA for five years through departmental fellowships, teaching and research assistant positions. It's a beautiful campus, and the department is fairly functional. That said, I will likely be going elsewhere....

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Thanks for the info!

 

[hqqrory]

I got an email from UCLA saying that I was awarded the Terasaki center fellowship and they offered 30k a year plus 2 year of TAship. I think i am definitely going there- the other choice is Madison but the idea of living in LA sounds way more attractive to me. Anyone who is also going to UCLA should contact me 

I was contacted by both Harvard and Yale- both programs could not offer me admission this year and put into the MA pool. Does that mean I wil probably get admitted for the master program?

[hqqrory]

  On 2/18/2016 at 10:34 PM, HAPPYDuck said:

Is it normal to not get contacted by POI but get accepted? I'm just curious whether hearing from a POI is the customary case or if it varies by professor. Some people, including myself, have a fear that not hearing from a POI signals a rejection .

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I think it really depends on the field you are in as well. If you are in bigger fields like US history, I think it is possible that they dont contact you before the official acceptance because they admit more people 

[TMP]

In regards thoe discussion of non-history MAs... yeah.  I feel the pain.  I was accepted to Wisconsin with an interdisciplinary MA related to my field of study and my POI did discuss it with me.  He knew that I would have to go through the coursework for the MA in the department, which i was somewhat fine with as I didn't really take a LOT of graduate courses in history.  But I asked him if the MA thesis could be waived since I did write my MA thesis within the discipline of history.  (the idea of writing another thesis made me shudder.)  He said that he could look into that as waiving it would definitely cut down the stress and allow me to focus more on prelims.

I ended up not taking their offer (despite it being fully-funded); I couldn't be sure that the MA thesis could be waived.  My MA was accepted in my current program and I didn't have to do the MA exam.  Just one less thing to worry about  Every program has its quirks.