Fall 2017 applicants

[nhhistorynut]

8 minutes ago, mdivgirl said:

I asked my professor who wrote my recommendation letter if she thought the application deadline meant midnight, and she said she hoped so since that's when she was planning on submitting the letter.  Sure enough, with less than an hour to the deadline I got the e-mail saying that she had turned it in -- and that was Central time so past midnight where she was in Boston.  So apparently the life of a professor is just as crazy as that of a student.  This is what we are signing up to!  Or, at least, trying to.

They certainly are busy. I had my app done and submitted December 8th (due 1/15). My first two LOR writers submitted them about a week later, but the last one (my thesis advisor and the department chair) waited until the LAST minute. I asked him to write it way back in October but he submitted it about 4 hours before the deadline lol.

[mdivgirl]

4 minutes ago, nhhistorynut said:

They certainly are busy. I had my app done and submitted December 8th (due 1/15). My first two LOR writers submitted them about a week later, but the last one (my thesis advisor and the department chair) waited until the LAST minute. I asked him to write it way back in October but he submitted it about 4 hours before the deadline lol.

To be fair, she let me know when she agreed that she had a huge deadline of her own on December 1 and was only agreeing to do it because it was the 15th, and I know that is a pretty insane time of year anyway, so I was just grateful she agreed to do it because I have been out of school a while and there are only so many people who aren't retired and have a shot of remembering me.  But last year, I had big problems with incomplete applications because of unsubmitted letters of recommendation.  That former professor is now the president of a large seminary and I didn't want to disturb him, but it ended being a good thing I tracked him down because it turned out he thought they had been submitted months ago and there were problems with the submissions.  It was after the deadline, but they let him just e-mail them anyway.  I think by the time they hit department chair/school president, they must know the ropes and know what they can get away with.  We're the newbies in panic mode.

[angesradieux]

Has anyone heard from Vanderbilt yet? Or have any idea when they usually make their decisions?

[xypathos]

1 hour ago, angesradieux said:

Has anyone heard from Vanderbilt yet? Or have any idea when they usually make their decisions?

Should have news coming out of Vandy around the 10th. They're pretty consistent about releasing on the 2nd Friday of the month.

Edited February 6, 2017 by xypathos

[angesradieux]

19 minutes ago, xypathos said:

Should have news coming out of Vandy around the 10th. They're pretty consistent about releasing on the 2nd Friday of the month.

Thanks! So hopefully the wait won't be too much longer. That's the last school I'm waiting on, so once I have their decision, I will be free from the waiting game purgatory!

[ctg7w6]

1 hour ago, angesradieux said:

Has anyone heard from Vanderbilt yet? Or have any idea when they usually make their decisions?

Contacted POI last week. Rejected. This year's cohort will only be 7. Low year for them, they said.

[angesradieux]

13 minutes ago, ctg7w6 said:

Contacted POI last week. Rejected. This year's cohort will only be 7. Low year for them, they said.

Then I guess I won't get my hopes up for good news. Thanks for the info! Hopefully you get some better news from other schools.

[ctg7w6]

1 hour ago, angesradieux said:

Then I guess I won't get my hopes up for good news. Thanks for the info! Hopefully you get some better news from other schools.

Thank you! Happy to say that I received a very nice offer from Illinois Urbana Champagne along with a few others! Rather surprised though! Had a very good fit at Vanderbilt!

[archi]

11 hours ago, luz.colorada said:

Congrats! Can I ask what your subfield is? 

Modern Europe with a focus on gender and childhood. Rutgers  has some really neat work going on in those areas, I'd be pretty excited if I end up with an offer

[angesradieux]

12 minutes ago, ctg7w6 said:

Thank you! Happy to say that I received a very nice offer from Illinois Urbana Champagne along with a few others! Rather surprised though! Had a very good fit at Vanderbilt!

Nice. I've received an offer from Illinois as well. Are you planning on visiting? I think Vanderbilt might be a slightly better fit than Illinois, but it's all a crap shoot, especially if they really want such a small cohort. I'm a little tempted to reach out to my POI just so I don't have to wait anymore, but if the projected date for sending out decisions is the 10th it may not be worth it.

[ctg7w6]

54 minutes ago, angesradieux said:

Nice. I've received an offer from Illinois as well. Are you planning on visiting? I think Vanderbilt might be a slightly better fit than Illinois, but it's all a crap shoot, especially if they really want such a small cohort. I'm a little tempted to reach out to my POI just so I don't have to wait anymore, but if the projected date for sending out decisions is the 10th it may not be worth it.

I'd like to visit if I can. They offered to pay part of it, but I'm a little short on cash (presenting at a national conference three weeks later) and I am also saving up leave at work so that I can move to my phd program in August. So, I will if I can, but it'd be pretty rough. 

[luz.colorada]

12 hours ago, clarchibald said:

Modern Europe with a focus on gender and childhood. Rutgers  has some really neat work going on in those areas, I'd be pretty excited if I end up with an offer

Very interesting. I was curious as I received a similar email and am attempting to manage expectations. I don't want to get my hopes up too high! 

[psstein]

Heard back from Yale's HoS department, rejected. Not really a surprise, I stretched my interests to make myself look like a fit.

Interviewing with Hopkins HoS on 2/13.

 

 

[Mochi26]

Hello, all! I was recommended for admission to UCSB's PhD history program (woot!). This program is a great fit, so I am quite excited. To any other acceptees - have you received a formal letter of admission yet? Do you plan to attend the recruitment day? Has anybody heard about funding?

Edited February 6, 2017 by Mochi26

[archi]

39 minutes ago, Mochi26 said:

Hello, all! I was recommended for admission to UCSB's PhD history program (woot!). This program is a great fit, so I am quite excited. To any other acceptees - have you received a formal letter of admission yet? Do you plan to attend the recruitment day? Has anybody heard about funding?

I got a similar email from UCSB last night (right when the superbowl went into overtime, in fact- so all sorts of excitement at once) I haven't got a formal letter, but the email from the director of grad studies had a sentence or two about funding. Not sure if I'll attend the recruitment day- the email implies they'll cover the hotel but not the flight? If that's the case it might be a bit out of my budget 

Edited February 6, 2017 by clarchibald

[Mochi26]

24 minutes ago, clarchibald said:

I got a similar email from UCSB last night (right when the superbowl went into overtime, in fact- so all sorts of excitement at once) I haven't got a formal letter, but the email from the director of grad studies had a sentence or two about funding. Not sure if I'll attend the recruitment day- the email implies they'll cover the hotel but not the flight? If that's the case it might be a bit out of my budget 

 

Congratulations! I received the email last Sunday. I don't think I could have handled the Superbowl and the email excitement simultaneously. I'm hoping the formal letter will come soon. Yes, flights can definitely get expensive (I booked mine on a day prices shot up $100 and didn't realize they dipped back down until after the refund period...ouch), but hopefully you can still make it! 

[wjd]

Got the first rejection of the season from Brown -- that just means my decision is one school easier, am I right?? /s

I'm surprised by this one because Brown is such a great research fit, but U.S. history is a crowded, crowded field. My advisors weren't lying when they said that admissions would be a crapshoot. Congrats to everyone who got a spot!

Edited February 6, 2017 by wjd

[cyclingonthemoon]

Anyone finds Brown's rejection letter a bit harsh in wording? Fortunately I have two offers under my belt at this moment. Otherwise this blunt you-are-not-good-enough message may really break my heart. So for those yet to receive an offer but got Brown's rejection, please hold your head up! Don't take it literally. The faculty may find someone fitter in research interest and that's all. 

Edited February 6, 2017 by cyclingonthemoon

[minion.banana]

Ahhhh I didn't get anything from Brown... could that mean that I'm on a wait list?

6 minutes ago, cyclingonthemoon said:

Anyone finds Brown's rejection letter a bit harsh in wording? Fortunately I have two offers under my belt at this moment. Otherwise this blunt you-are-not-good-enough message may really break my heart.

I haven't read Brown's, but last year I thought Harvard's for their heal program seemed snooty.

[wjd]

6 minutes ago, cyclingonthemoon said:

Anyone finds Brown's rejection letter a bit harsh in wording? Fortunately I have two offers under my belt at this moment. Otherwise this blunt you-are-not-good-enough message may really break my heart.

Sigh. Can't disagree here. My friend always says: "Brevity is clarity, and clarity is power."

The problem is that Brown had already exercised their power to unceremoniously reject me.

[cyclingonthemoon]

3 minutes ago, minion.banana said:

Ahhhh I didn't get anything from Brown... could that mean that I'm on a wait list?

I haven't read Brown's, but last year I thought Harvard's for their heal program seemed snooty.

I didn't get email notification either. Just went to check the portal and the decision letter was already there. 

[JKL]

Any word from Washington University in St. Louis or the CUNY Graduate Center?

[OHSP]

15 minutes ago, JKL said:

Any word from Washington University in St. Louis or the CUNY Graduate Center?

I'm not waiting on either but there have been a few CUNY admits posted on the results page. 

[Sami Ella]

Anyone else focusing on colonial Latin America or applying to Penn State?

[cyclingonthemoon]

2 hours ago, minion.banana said:

Ahhhh I didn't get anything from Brown... could that mean that I'm on a wait list?

I haven't read Brown's, but last year I thought Harvard's for their heal program seemed snooty.

By the way, did you apply to Harvard this year? can i ask about area focus? I'm doing Chinese history.