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Posted

My application process was a nightmare as well. Only one of my recommenders was a History prof (my thesis 'advisor') due to BC's over-reliance on adjunct faculty in my program, with the other 2 being my dean and a well-regarded Philosophy/Theology prof who turned me onto Existentialism, which is a theme I'd like to explore in an historical context. While I submitted every application on time, most of my supporting material came in weeks late. The UNC and PSU people were particularly unhelpful, leading me to regret applying to the latter and nearly withdrawing my app from the former. The 'lone wolf' feeling and lingering uncertainty regarding the process forced me to adjust my field of schools significantly, so I decided to abscond with several top 10 schools and apply to schools where I felt reasonably competitive for admission and where I would feel comfortable pursuing my individualized work plan.

Has anybody gotten accepted to Brown yet?

If I go 0 for 8 or don't find an acceptable level of funding, I'm enrolling in the Harvard ALM program and trying again next year.

Posted
Just contacted the Duke History Department. All decisions have been made and notifications will be going out shortly.

Stacy, did they tell you your decision?

Posted

Ew, that stinks that Harvard hasn't sent them all out. Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear from them.

totallyfreakingout, congrats on UCLA! That's very good news!

Posted

Cornell:

No they didn't tell me my admissions decision. I actually didn't ask b/c I thought an anonymous call would be better. I'm also a Cornell grad-I graduated from the ILR school in 2001.

Posted
Cornell:

No they didn't tell me my admissions decision. I actually didn't ask b/c I thought an anonymous call would be better. I'm also a Cornell grad-I graduated from the ILR school in 2001.

Great! I'm A+S 2007.

Posted
My undergraduate advisor was very helpful... he suggested professors I should work with, warned about certain people who students had difficulty with in the past, e-mailed people nearer to my specific field to ask for suggestions, read my personal statement who knows how many times, and gave me advice after the acceptances and rejections started coming in.

My advice for you: Wait for all of the acceptances and rejections to come in. If you don't get in anywhere, take a breath and don't think about them for a while. If you decide that you would still like to go, try to find a master's program with a late application date. Maybe one in April? Apply there. OR, get a job (if you don't already have one), contact the schools you applied to and find out why you were rejected, and then reapply next year when you can make better informed application choices.

Remember the graduate schools are a bit random in who they admit and decline. I went into this knowing I would have an uphill battle despite my test scores, GPA, SOP, and writing sample being good because I came from a liberal arts college no one had heard of. My professor said my application would have to be good enough to make people overcome their initial reaction of "where in the crap is that?" when they saw where I had attended college. In spite of that, I have been admitted to Wisconsin and Michigan and the adcomm at Yale took enough interest in my application to move to their MA program after they decided they would be unable to offer me a spot in the PhD program. Illinois just said no. Who could have predicted that I would get into two top ten programs and be rejected from one in the 20 - 30 range? No one.

My point: the rejections are not a reflection of you. They mean that this year, the particular adcomms who looked at your file were more interested in other candidates. Next year, it might be different, especially if you improve your application. DON'T give up on the applications you have remaining. You never know who will be interested in which candidate and why.

You are lucky that you have a good advisor. In my case, sumbitting the recommendations on time is great favor I can expect. Can never ever expect them to give me advices on statements. This is in NYC, where people is cold.

Posted

Husband was just notified that he's on the wait list at Stanford (no indication of how high up). Any guesses on how often that results in a subsequent admission?

Posted
Husband was just notified that he's on the wait list at Stanford (no indication of how high up). Any guesses on how often that results in a subsequent admission?

Hmm... I don't know, but I would suggest that your husband contact the faculty he is interested in working with. I think they're usually aware, and they would probably be happy to give him an idea. Best of luck to him!

Posted

jaw17, congratulations! It totally depends on where he is on the waitlist. If he's in touch with professors at Stanford, he may consider contacting one of them to find out his rank, or even just try the department administrators.

Posted
Just contacted the Duke History Department. All decisions have been made and notifications will be going out shortly.

apparently, everyone who got in to Duke has already been notified and the visit weekend starts Feb 28. :( :cry:

Posted
by hoover on Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:21 pm

Stacy20 wrote:

Just contacted the Duke History Department. All decisions have been made and notifications will be going out shortly.

apparently, everyone who got in to Duke has already been notified and the visit weekend starts Feb 28.

Damn. Not another one of these "Let's contact all acceptees and let the rejected-types sweat it out"

Posted

apparently, everyone who got in to Duke has already been notified and the visit weekend starts Feb 28. :( :cry:

Ouch. Looks like its one down, seven to go. I'll wait for the e-mail before I strike the colors, but the odds were long this year and I can't say I'm surprised.

After the initial blunt force impact, it really doesn't hurt that much. I wasn't expecting to get in anyway.

Posted

So has there only been that one acceptance to UT - Austin then?

That seems so very strange! Does anyone know when notices should be going out or the status page will be updated?

Posted

seriously, the wait is killing me! I'm still waiting to hear back from UT-Austin, UVA and Ohio State (I was rejected by Yale and University of Wisconsin-Madison). I know checking the status page every hour won't make them update it any sooner, but sheesh.

a side question, does anyone think it will count against me that I have a masters in another (sort of related) field?? I have an MA in museum studies and now I'm worried it may work against me. After the two rejections I'm totally second guessing everything!

Posted

Nofia,

NO! I don't think a degree in museum studies works against you. In fact, you can probably use it to your advantage to show your superb understanding of the use of history for memory and commemorative purposes. Also, I hear you about the waiting...it's tough, and very distracting. Just hang in there.

Posted

oh thats so good to hear (honestly, just finding this forum has made me feel much better about the whole process! you all are so insightful)

Posted

Indiana seems to be savoring the suspense. One phone call on the 8th, then a single snail mail letter on the 19th. This is killing me.

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