Fall 2018 Applicants

[TMP]

@TheHessianHistorian and @andnothing, keep in mind as you apply... have these potential advisers' students gotten jobs in academia, that is if you wish to go into academia? Have the students received funds to go to Germany or other places to research? Applying to places with solid track will be worth the investment of your time and money, even if it may mean applying again next year.

@andnothing, don't forget that DAAD has a summer language grant that you can apply for to brush up your German  

[khigh]

4 hours ago, TheHessianHistorian said:

Neat! Hope you are able to get into your top choice! I applied to study under Jacob Baum at Texas Tech (which charges $0 to apply) and Roy Vice at Wright State (only $40 to apply). If cost of application is an issue, you might look into those schools. The deadline to apply to Texas Tech isn't until January 15th and Wright State isn't until March 1st (w/ funding) or April 15th (w/o funding).

Also, I haven't applied to Southeast Missouri State University yet (they are kind of my ultimate safety school that I will apply to if I start getting a bunch of rejections in February), but they have Prof. Vicky McAlister and their application fee is only $30. You might keep SMSU in mind, since their deadline isn't until March 1st.

I ran into the sabbatical issue a couple of times--Luebke at Oregon, and Sreenivasan at Brandeis--but they both said it could be worked around so I'm crossing my fingers also. 

I think my top choice is probably Vanderbilt, but I would be happy getting into any of the programs I applied to.

If you want more information on Vanderbilt of Nashville, let me know.  Boyfriend got his history PhD there in 2010. He's a German historian, but worked in early 20th century looking at turn of the century culture and the evolution of the perception of the body in art, dance, and psychoanalysis. 

Edited January 1, 2018 by khigh

[fortsibut]

Oh man, just need to vent a little bit since I just got my application in an hour ago.  The way things worked out, I only ended up applying to one school (Cornell) because I didn't have everything together by the time that most of my target schools (Michigan/Michigan State/Northwestern/UW-Madison) had deadlines.  Cornell was my top pick anyway of all of them, so I thought "what the hell, might as well just put it all on the line here."  Worst case, I'll have everything polished and awesome for the next application cycle, but I'm stressing about this and worried about my odds.  But hey, nothing I can do, right?  Cornell is a really good fit for me and I should be competitive but of course I'm worried that I messed up a couple footnotes or typoed in my personal statement or somehow inadvertently insulted some of their faculty with a word choice or whatever, so I'ma be neurotic 'til I hear back!

That's my "treat this thread as your own personal blog post" moment for the week.  =)  Good luck to all of you as we await our fates!

[Assotto]

21 hours ago, fortsibut said:

Oh man, just need to vent a little bit since I just got my application in an hour ago.  The way things worked out, I only ended up applying to one school (Cornell) because I didn't have everything together by the time that most of my target schools (Michigan/Michigan State/Northwestern/UW-Madison) had deadlines.  Cornell was my top pick anyway of all of them, so I thought "what the hell, might as well just put it all on the line here."  Worst case, I'll have everything polished and awesome for the next application cycle, but I'm stressing about this and worried about my odds.  But hey, nothing I can do, right?  Cornell is a really good fit for me and I should be competitive but of course I'm worried that I messed up a couple footnotes or typoed in my personal statement or somehow inadvertently insulted some of their faculty with a word choice or whatever, so I'ma be neurotic 'til I hear back!

That's my "treat this thread as your own personal blog post" moment for the week.  =)  Good luck to all of you as we await our fates!

Congrats on getting your application in. If you don't mind sharing, what is your research area/who are you interested in working with?

I'm in the Cornell program and could probably answer any burning questions if you had any. 

Edited January 3, 2018 by Assotto

[fortsibut]

18 hours ago, Assotto said:

Congrats on getting your application in. If you don't mind sharing, what is your research area/who are you interested in working with?

I'm in the Cornell program and could probably answer any burning questions if you had any. 

Messaged you with some questions and info, thanks for volunteering to answer questions!

[khigh]

Coffee went well this morning.  Very professional and very informative.  I enjoyed sitting down with my undergrad advisor's committee.  They still remembered him though he got his PhD in 1999. They said that he had really good things to say about me. We talked about the weather and even how my undergrad advisor met his wife.  He had invited his cohort and some medievalists to his apartment for tea and readings of Chaucer. She was in the medieval cohort. My research interests don't line up perfectly with anyone in the department, but they did say that it's not abnormal for students to have multiple secondary advisors, so that was promising, I think.

We talked about my life in Mpls so far (surviving the winter- I LOVE WINTER!) and family.  We talked a little about my job right now and when my boyfriend is coming home from his research trip. This is where things get a little weird for me.  One of them asked how we met and I said at college. We did technically meet AT college, but not IN college if that makes sense.  I hope introducing him at functions doesn't pose a problem in the future if I am admitted.  I don't know how to answer how we met.  Keep it vague? He was a one year contract professor in my department and I took some of his classes. We started dating about a month after his contract was up and I informed admin before I even talked to my friends/family about him.  My work from his classes was independently reviewed and the grades were fair (okay, I worked harder in his classes to try to impress him). Will this ever have to come up or is it something I can avoid? They didn't question it further this time, but there are likely events that he would attend and marriage/babies are in the near future, so this issue isn't going away.  

I am absolutely more nervous after this meeting because I want it even more. I can't see myself anywhere else or doing anything else.

[Manuscriptess]

11 hours ago, khigh said:

Coffee went well this morning.  Very professional and very informative.  I enjoyed sitting down with my undergrad advisor's committee.  They still remembered him though he got his PhD in 1999. They said that he had really good things to say about me. We talked about the weather and even how my undergrad advisor met his wife.  He had invited his cohort and some medievalists to his apartment for tea and readings of Chaucer. She was in the medieval cohort. My research interests don't line up perfectly with anyone in the department, but they did say that it's not abnormal for students to have multiple secondary advisors, so that was promising, I think.

We talked about my life in Mpls so far (surviving the winter- I LOVE WINTER!) and family.  We talked a little about my job right now and when my boyfriend is coming home from his research trip. This is where things get a little weird for me.  One of them asked how we met and I said at college. We did technically meet AT college, but not IN college if that makes sense.  I hope introducing him at functions doesn't pose a problem in the future if I am admitted.  I don't know how to answer how we met.  Keep it vague? He was a one year contract professor in my department and I took some of his classes. We started dating about a month after his contract was up and I informed admin before I even talked to my friends/family about him.  My work from his classes was independently reviewed and the grades were fair (okay, I worked harder in his classes to try to impress him). Will this ever have to come up or is it something I can avoid? They didn't question it further this time, but there are likely events that he would attend and marriage/babies are in the near future, so this issue isn't going away.  

I am absolutely more nervous after this meeting because I want it even more. I can't see myself anywhere else or doing anything else.

I don't think you need to be nervous about telling people that. That's actually way more common in academia than you realize. My dad was my mom's TA in college and they've been together since the 70's! Definitely NBD.

[pudewen]

6 hours ago, Manuscriptess said:

I don't think you need to be nervous about telling people that. That's actually way more common in academia than you realize. My dad was my mom's TA in college and they've been together since the 70's! Definitely NBD.

I think you'd have to modify this to say that it was very common. I think that university policies and social expectations are evolving such that this is considered much less acceptable than it once was - indeed, many universities have policies against professors dating students (particularly undergrads) even when they aren't currently teaching them. I don't think khigh's relationship would ever have violated such a policy, since her boyfriend was no longer employed by the university when they started dating (and, in any case, the rules are directed more at professors than students), but attitudes toward these sort of relationships are definitely changing, and changing against them, especially compared to 40 years ago.

[khigh]

48 minutes ago, pudewen said:

I think you'd have to modify this to say that it was very common. I think that university policies and social expectations are evolving such that this is considered much less acceptable than it once was - indeed, many universities have policies against professors dating students (particularly undergrads) even when they aren't currently teaching them. I don't think khigh's relationship would ever have violated such a policy, since her boyfriend was no longer employed by the university when they started dating (and, in any case, the rules are directed more at professors than students), but attitudes toward these sort of relationships are definitely changing, and changing against them, especially compared to 40 years ago.

I know it's not common anymore.  That's the only thing.  I poured over my undergrad's faculty and student handbooks and the only rules they have are against sexual harassment and intimidation, but not fraternization, so we were in the clear. The policy was implemented in 1972 and never modified. It's the perception that I don't want. I guess if they questioned it, I could show the independent review of my work showing their was no favoritism, but I don't know if it would ever come to that.  We might not get too much questioning because we are actually very close in age. I'm a non-traditional student, so it's not like some 19 year old undergrad dating her older prof. 

[Manuscriptess]

It sounds like this may have been a big deal at the beginning of your relationship, but I don't think anyone would hold it against you professionally now.

These types of relationships definitely happened a lot more 50+ years ago, but I do know people who have had TA/undergrad or professor/grad student relationships that have worked out. Obviously there is always the concern for some sort of sexual harassment or favoritism, which, let's face it, does happen A TON; however, it sounds like you're in a good place with your s/o, so don't worry about what other people think about your relationship. 

If anything, this should probably be the least of your concerns during application/decision! Good luck!

[pudewen]

2 hours ago, khigh said:

I know it's not common anymore.  That's the only thing.  I poured over my undergrad's faculty and student handbooks and the only rules they have are against sexual harassment and intimidation, but not fraternization, so we were in the clear. The policy was implemented in 1972 and never modified. It's the perception that I don't want. I guess if they questioned it, I could show the independent review of my work showing their was no favoritism, but I don't know if it would ever come to that.  We might not get too much questioning because we are actually very close in age. I'm a non-traditional student, so it's not like some 19 year old undergrad dating her older prof. 

If you're (around) the same age, then it's unlikely that anyone will have to know if you don't want them to. It's not like it will be obvious from meeting the two of you together that you weren't just in school together.

[dr. t]

Yeah, I'm not sure how or why this comes up if you don't want it to. 

[khigh]

45 minutes ago, telkanuru said:

Yeah, I'm not sure how or why this comes up if you don't want it to. 

Then I won't worry about it.  It's just another one of those "what-ifs" that likely will never come up, but will be in the back of my head until i find out if I get accepted or not and then for awhile after. There are always those events in life where you get the inevitable "how did you meet?"

[dr. t]

3 hours ago, khigh said:

Then I won't worry about it.  It's just another one of those "what-ifs" that likely will never come up, but will be in the back of my head until i find out if I get accepted or not and then for awhile after. There are always those events in life where you get the inevitable "how did you meet?"

"At [insert university here]." You don't need to blurt out your life story for a small-talk question.

[khigh]

9 hours ago, telkanuru said:

"At [insert university here]." You don't need to blurt out your life story for a small-talk question.

You’re right. I need to stop worrying about all the what-ifs. 

[andnothing]

On 1/1/2018 at 4:02 PM, TMP said:

@TheHessianHistorian and @andnothing, keep in mind as you apply... have these potential advisers' students gotten jobs in academia, that is if you wish to go into academia? Have the students received funds to go to Germany or other places to research? Applying to places with solid track will be worth the investment of your time and money, even if it may mean applying again next year.

@andnothing, don't forget that DAAD has a summer language grant that you can apply for to brush up your German  

Thanks for the advice and suggestion! I have been trying to keep that on mind during this process. It's something I will probably put more focus on if I have to apply next year. 

I have not heard of the DAAD summer language grant. I will look more into to see if it's something I can apply for since I have been looking into ways to work on my German before I enter graduate school. 

[canadianrockies]

Does anyone want to claim the UIUC admit? Congrats!

[andnothing]

I just saw someone was notified that they were accepted to UIUC. Congratulations! 

How likely is it to receive a decision this early? I figured I wouldn't hear back until February at the earliest. I guess it all depends on the program and the applicant. 

[Tigla]

22 minutes ago, andnothing said:

I just saw someone was notified that they were accepted to UIUC. Congratulations! 

How likely is it to receive a decision this early? I figured I wouldn't hear back until February at the earliest. I guess it all depends on the program and the applicant. 

Most ADCOMs are starting to meet at the moment. In the next two weeks or so, interview invites will be distributed and held throughout the last half of January and the first half of February. Typically, decisions don't start appearing until the last week of February and most of March. Although, some universities try to start the process before the holiday break which can speed up their timelines.

[gsc]

2 hours ago, andnothing said:

I just saw someone was notified that they were accepted to UIUC. Congratulations! 

How likely is it to receive a decision this early? I figured I wouldn't hear back until February at the earliest. I guess it all depends on the program and the applicant. 

In my experience, very early admits like these are the result of university-wide fellowship deadlines.

Often the 5 years in your 5 year funding package will come from some source internal to the department, such as TA lines or internal department fellowships. However, sometimes there are university-wide funding streams that all graduate departments are eligible for (usually like an excellence fellowship for incoming students, etc) where the money is not from the department directly but from the graduate school. If a history department wants any of its admits to get one of these fellowships, then it has to submit those names to the graduate school by whatever the school's deadline is, and these can be quite early. 

Edited January 5, 2018 by gsc

[glycoprotein1]

Hi all, I just wanted to check in and say good luck to everyone anxiously awaiting results and congrats to those recently accepted! As far as an update goes, my time over much of the fall semester was spent on other responsibilities like preparing for a conference presentation, submitting my thesis, and graduating...(woo!) but I finally found time to submit my application to the Cambridge HPS & Medicine MPhil a few days ago. Earlier on in the thread I had a few other programs in mind but I decided to cut them for various reasons including fit and likelihood of me actually attending if admitted. 

I wasn't able to contact potential advisors but I'm not terribly concerned as there are multiple profs that I can see myself working with and the program's layout seems to promote a sort of department-wide education through seminars, lectures, etc.  This is ideal as the university I graduated from does not have a formal history of medicine program and I really want to strengthen my base before continuing to PhD programs and/or medical school.  Currently, I am looking to continue my work on the intersection of southern (U.S.) poverty, nutrition, and public health, with a focus on diseases associated with poverty.  Geographically, this is the area that I'm most comfortable working in but I'm very willing to shift as I need to. 

That's about all that I have for now.  I am looking to be more active on this forum over the next few months with more time on my hands.  No promises though as my knowledge of the field is both limited and specific!  Thanks!  

[urbanhistorynerd]

Good luck everyone! May you all find a good program with funding!

Although I'm applying next fall, I just wanted to add my tidbit in here. I'm studying nineteenth and twentieth century United States history, specifically the intersection of politics, urban planning, violence, race, and capitalism, in urban settings.

On my list so far (I have revised it many times...) is NYU, CUNY, Uchicago MAPSS and PhD., University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, and University of Wisconsin at Madison. I plan to apply to a minimum of 8, but hopefully 10+ programs. I'm taking advantage of a program I'm in that pays for application fees.

University of Chicago is my top choice. It's faculty directly corresponds with my desired studies. Kathleen Belew study's violence in modern American history, Jonathan Levy is one of my favorite scholars in the history of American capitalism, and Destin Jenkins (newly hired) also does a good job researching race in urban history. I've been reading their books and articles, and slowly working up the confidence to email them (I'll probably do this come fall this year). I've also spoken to five different students there, and have met up with one and discussed the program, advice for getting in, etc. I'm also applying to the MAPSS program as well.

Now my question is, to those who know much more than I do: what else can I do? Uchicago is very competitive, and although being my top choice, is certainly not the only one. But, I am confident to say that my research will flourish there, and living in Chicago is also a huge plus for me (I have family there). 

 

[psstein]

5 hours ago, kenalyass said:

On my list so far (I have revised it many times...) is NYU, CUNY, Uchicago MAPSS and PhD., University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, and University of Wisconsin at Madison. I plan to apply to a minimum of 8, but hopefully 10+ programs. I'm taking advantage of a program I'm in that pays for application fees.

I think I've asked you before, but who are you interested in working with at UW?

[khigh]

Only two weeks until the approximate date of the UMN acceptances. Fittingly, as I was driving home, The Final Countdown by Europe came on the radio.  Then, as soon as I got home, I had to watch the Arrested Development clips of Gob's magic show (sorry, illusion) with the same song. Anything to stay semi-sane, I guess. 

[dr. t]

7 hours ago, kenalyass said:

Now my question is, to those who know much more than I do: what else can I do?

Wait. I would suggest drinking heavily while you wait, but I understand this coping mechanism is frowned upon in certain circles.