Fall 2018 Applicants

[Manuscriptess]

I got a call and the caller ID said "Palo Alto". I was like, "OMGOMG STANFORD!"...

It was Apple... asking if my recent customer service experience was positive.... 

[ltr317]

1 hour ago, Manuscriptess said:

I got a call and the caller ID said "Palo Alto". I was like, "OMGOMG STANFORD!"...

It was Apple... asking if my recent customer service experience was positive.... 

Sorry to hear that.  Take a few deep breaths and think positive thoughts like I will hear about my first acceptance soon.  

[dr. t]

9 hours ago, Manuscriptess said:

I got a call and the caller ID said "Palo Alto". I was like, "OMGOMG STANFORD!"...

It was Apple... asking if my recent customer service experience was positive.... 

I had this happen my year with a solicitor with a Chicago area code...

[fortsibut]

11 hours ago, Manuscriptess said:

I got a call and the caller ID said "Palo Alto". I was like, "OMGOMG STANFORD!"...

It was Apple... asking if my recent customer service experience was positive.... 

That is some fantastic accidental trolling on their part!

[TMP]

14 hours ago, ashiepoo72 said:

 I was lucky to have MA advisers who guided me on how to negotiate for more funding, and my most important piece of advice is to prepare for that.

Allow me to take a step a bit further.... negotiations are best done when you have more than one offer in hand and your favorite program's package isn't as good as the best funding package you've got.  Otherwise it's hard to justify why you need more money to come... and, oh, don't declare "thank you for your acceptance!  this is my TOP choice!" until you've heard from other schools.  Not saying so upfront will help your case a bit when you have another offer and can negotiate. You need plenty of carrots to eat, not just one.  (I spoke a little too soon declaring my current program a top choice but my adviser had said that the funding was still being negotiated with the Graduate School so I used the opportunity to mention a very prestigious fellowship that I was being offered by another program. After all, she wouldn't want me to come knowing that I might have given up a better package  )

[Yellow Mellow]

On 1/17/2018 at 5:31 PM, psstein said:

Minnesota's HoS, while one of the better programs, is not a great place to do medieval (Wisconsin and probably Harvard are the best). You're probably going to be way better off in the history department proper.

Also, I don't know how much longer Jole Shackelford is going to teach. He's in his mid-60s and hasn't published significantly in over a decade.

Feel free to PM me if you're interested in talking about history of science/medicine/tech programs. I'm in the newly merged HoS at Wisconsin.

Stop trying to make Wisconsin happen, it's not going to happen.

[Yellow Mellow]

On 1/17/2018 at 5:31 PM, psstein said:

Minnesota's HoS, while one of the better programs, is not a great place to do medieval (Wisconsin and probably Harvard are the best). You're probably going to be way better off in the history department proper.

Also, I don't know how much longer Jole Shackelford is going to teach. He's in his mid-60s and hasn't published significantly in over a decade.

Feel free to PM me if you're interested in talking about history of science/medicine/tech programs. I'm in the newly merged HoS at Wisconsin.

Now seriously, it is fine to have a good opinion of your program, but if you want to give advice to others, you have to be reasonable. To say that the two best programs for medieval science are Wisconsin and "perhaps" Harvard, somehow implying that Harvard is slightly worse than Wisconsin, is simply ridiculous. 

[gnossienne n.3]

I can't speak to Wisconsin except to say that it didn't make my cut for medieval HoS programs. Harvard's program is very strong, and the institution has resources that simply cannot be sneezed at, but Katharine Park retired in 2015. Your mileage will vary, but Harvard's HoS faculty doesn't really offer much coverage for the medieval period at the moment.

 

[Yellow Mellow]

14 minutes ago, gnossienne n.3 said:

I can't speak to Wisconsin except to say that it didn't make my cut for medieval HoS programs. Harvard's program is very strong, and the institution has resources that simply cannot be sneezed at, but Katharine Park retired in 2015. Your mileage will vary, but Harvard's HoS faculty doesn't really offer much coverage for the medieval period at the moment.

 

I was unaware that Katharine Park had retired, since I am not on HoS and she does not figure as emeritus on the Harvard website. However, I still question that Wisconsin, the program that the previous poster happens to attend, is the best out there.

[kotatsumuri]

Hi everyone! I've been lurking for a while now but I might as well introduce myself! I'm interested in premodern Japanese history & religon and I've applied to History (PhD) at USC, though the rest of the programs I'm looking at are East Asian studies. Haven't heard anything yet from anywhere and I'm not really expecting to be accepted as I don't have an MA yet but figured it was worth a try anyway.

Best of luck to you all and I hope for some good news to start coming for Historians soon

[narple]

On 1/11/2018 at 9:25 AM, Manuscriptess said:

Has anyone started getting interviews or some form of communication from the dept? I know there is an option to put interview on the results page but I figured I'd ask. It seems like in past years, people were starting to get interviews around this week.

Also, does everyone who will ultimately be admitted usually get an interview? Do they still interview you if you've already talked to your POI? I know that these policies likely vary between departments, but what are the policies on interviews generally? Thanks! 

also curious...

 

EDIT: Just back tracked and read responses. sorry for the repetition.

Edited January 19, 2018 by narple

[DGrayson]

16 minutes ago, narple said:

also curious...

There was a couple notifications from Penn about interviews for the Ancient field, but from previous years they tend to send their requests earlier than others (or at least i’m hoping that is the case).

[gnossienne n.3]

1 hour ago, Yellow Mellow said:

I was unaware that Katharine Park had retired, since I am not on HoS and she does not figure as emeritus on the Harvard website. However, I still question that Wisconsin, the program that the previous poster happens to attend, is the best out there.

Just checked--she was still listed on the website as of a few moments ago. My point was that although Harvard is still Harvard, it's not currently strong for the specific sub-specialty of medieval HoS. It may well be that Wisconsin has more to offer in that particular area, and is therefore a very good match for @psstein and potentially other medieval HoS folks. It's not all that common an area of study, so it really depends on the individual's research priorities. As I said, it didn't make my cut--but determining fit is a complicated, nuanced, and highly personal matter. "Best" is variable.

[psstein]

28 minutes ago, gnossienne n.3 said:

Just checked--she was still listed on the website as of a few moments ago. My point was that although Harvard is still Harvard, it's not currently strong for the specific sub-specialty of medieval HoS. It may well be that Wisconsin has more to offer in that particular area, and is therefore a very good match for @psstein and potentially other medieval HoS folks. It's not all that common an area of study, so it really depends on the individual's research priorities. As I said, it didn't make my cut--but determining fit is a complicated, nuanced, and highly personal matter. "Best" is variable.

I'm doing history of astronomy, for which Wisconsin does have good faculty. I would not advise doing something like history of medieval medicine at Wisconsin; there's simply nobody who can help you. Your best bet is probably Hopkins HoM with Gianna Pomata. As you correctly point out, medieval HoS isn't a popular field, so the options are very slim and dependent on faculty fit.

3 hours ago, Yellow Mellow said:

Now seriously, it is fine to have a good opinion of your program, but if you want to give advice to others, you have to be reasonable. To say that the two best programs for medieval science are Wisconsin and "perhaps" Harvard, somehow implying that Harvard is slightly worse than Wisconsin, is simply ridiculous. 

I've been very reasonable. I said "perhaps Harvard" because Hannah Marcus doesn't know if she's able to take graduate students and Katie Park has retired. Most of the other HoS/HPS programs around don't have medievalists, period. Maybe Indiana with Domenico Meli/Bill Newman, but the pickings are pretty slim. It's simply not a popular area right now. Those interested in medieval science may be better suited to a history department, rather than a HoS.

I don't mean to be rude to you, but do you have something to contribute besides "Wisconsin bad?"

Edited January 19, 2018 by psstein

[asmhardin]

6 hours ago, TMP said:

negotiations are best done when you have more than one offer in hand and your favorite program's package isn't as good as the best funding package you've got

To be honest, I am feeling a bit of a fool at the moment, because I didn't even know negotiations were a *thing* until I read this post. I guess it's better to learn this now (before acceptances hopefully start coming in), than later. But I'm feeling a bit squeamish about figuring out how to navigate negotiations, if it comes to that. Does anyone know if there are old threads on this forum that discuss negotiations? 

[anon1234567]

22 hours ago, ashiepoo72 said:

I was lucky to have MA advisers who guided me on how to negotiate for more funding, and my most important piece of advice is to prepare for that.

Incoming grad students can negotiate their funding packages? First time I am hearing of this. We were told everyone gets the same funding, and that was the case at all the institutions I applied to. 

Edited January 19, 2018 by anon1234567

[DGrayson]

5 minutes ago, anon1234567 said:

Incoming grad students can negotiate their funding packages? First time I am hearing of this. We were told everyone gets the same funding, and that was the case at all the institutions I applied to. 

For some institutions, like Harvard for example, this is the case. For others, however, they are willing to give more funding to attract candidates they really want. One potential problem that I ran into when negotiating funding for my first masters, however, was the problem of peer institutions. If you have a better offer from a lesser known school, an institution of higher ranking is unlikely to match it. Though it should be mentioned that this was with a different discipline. 

Edited January 19, 2018 by DGrayson

[anon1234567]

3 minutes ago, DGrayson said:

For some institutions, like Harvard for example, this is the case. For others, however, they are willing to give more funding to attract candidates they really want. One potential problem that I ran into when negotiating funding for my first masters, however, was the problem of peer institutions. If you have a better offer from a lesser known school, an institution of higher ranking is unlikely to match it. Though it should be mentioned that this was with a different discipline. 

Ah, right! I heard it happens in the sciences because students get funded by individual labs. But also in the humanities? Cool. 

At visiting day, the only thing I got to choose was my lunch. 

[psstein]

53 minutes ago, anon1234567 said:

At visiting day, the only thing I got to choose was my lunch. 

Lucky bastard. I didn't get a choice!

1 hour ago, anon1234567 said:

Incoming grad students can negotiate their funding packages? First time I am hearing of this. We were told everyone gets the same funding, and that was the case at all the institutions I applied to. 

Depends on the program. Some programs won't budge, but others will try to give more in order to be competitive with other programs. Someone in my cohort received a $5,000 lump sum to attend Wisconsin as opposed to USC.

[narple]

55 minutes ago, psstein said:

Depends on the program. Some programs won't budge, but others will try to give more in order to be competitive with other programs. Someone in my cohort received a $5,000 lump sum to attend Wisconsin as opposed to USC.

I would also say the form of funding may also be negotiated not just the quantity i.e. another term of scholarship funding as opposed to a TA-ship etc. This is more likely the type of negotiation you will see at least what I have heard/experienced. The overall dollar amount remains the same for all students but sources of money and the students responsibilities may change.

[pim81590]

@ashiepoo72 I got my M.A. in Art History at Davis and also currently still live in Davis! I applied to several UC's--had an interview earlier this week from UCSC that went well (I think) and am waiting to hear from others, especially from UCSB. I know things change year to year, but do you know if they are the type to interview then do a recruitment visit--or just notify about acceptance/rejection a bit later in the cycle without a lot of interviews/visits/etc? Thanks for all your help and nice to see a fellow Davisite on here  

[TMP]

Re: negotiations.  Don't worry, I didn't even learn until I got on this forum too! I was also eventually told by my advisers after I got my acceptance letters.

Yes, some programs, especially the top ones, won't negotiate because they likely believe that their prestige will matter to students more than money (despite number of times I've heard of students choosing money over prestige for other well-ranked programs).

Remember, the dollar amount differ from one area to another because of Cost of Living.  NYU's stipend of $25K (If I remember) would do very well for someone living in the Midwest (outside of Chicago) whereas a NYU grad student would be barely scraping by.  Use the Cost of Living calculator to see how much more you really need to be convinced to go.   Sometimes schools can raise stipends but only as a lump sum on top of the regular stipend for the first year or so.

There are other strategies-- you may want to request summer research funding, you may want another year tacked on (especially if you've been offer a 4 year package, not 5).  These two aspects are critical to completing the PhD on time with a strong dissertation.  You can live within your means on that given stipend (we all find ways) but the opportunities to conduct research for your dissertation and focus on writing instead of more teaching or finding a job to supplement your summer expenses are priceless.  No matter how much you want to argue for more teaching experience as a TA or instructor of record beyond a year or two, the dissertation is the thing that will get you a job, if not at least an interview.

[Manuscriptess]

4 hours ago, DGrayson said:

There was a couple notifications from Penn about interviews for the Ancient field, but from previous years they tend to send their requests earlier than others (or at least i’m hoping that is the case).

The Ancient History program at Penn is actually in their Classics dept. administratively, (although, the faculty is cross-listed between History and Classics). It doesn't seem that the History dept. has sent anything out yet. 

[ANdy1996]

I got a phone call yesterday from the Penn department requesting a skype interview and Im an Americanist. 

[sovietviolinist]

Hello all. I’m a lurker as well. I have a bit of an unusual situation. I applied last year, and was admitted to three mid-level programs, as well as masters at Chicago. I already hold a doctoral, however, in music performance, from a top 10 school. 

I ended up not beginning a program this year, as it overlapped with the end of my DMA and defense, and other research I am in the midst of now. The adviser was a great fit, but the department and location less so.

 

I research the arts from mass atrocity in the former USSR including Holodomor, the Holocaust on Soviet Territories, and the Stalinist Gulag system. I applied again to PhD this year: to Brown and Penn in History, and Chicago in Musicology. I also applied to 8 post docs with my DMA. 

 

Good luck to to everyone applying. Does anyone know when post docs notify? March or April I’m guessing....

Also, if anyone is currently at Brown, I’d love to chat if I’m admitted. I have more colleagues at Penn and Chicago, so the departments and cities are more familiar to me.