Fall 2018 Applicants

[TMP]

2 hours ago, khigh said:

Called my PoI and they are still reviewing applications other than the ones that were told to apply for or were nominated for university wide scholarships. I will hopefully know this week.

 

2 hours ago, Account6567 said:

Not judging you at all if you have a personal relationship with him/her, but more generally, should we be emailing POIs about decision timing? I've thought about doing it out of a combination of curiosity and displaying further interest in working together, but I feel like with someone I've only emailed briefly once it's more so just annoying/pushy to them.

And MANY others (lurkers, too):

These professors know you want to get in. They have so many other things that they have to do besides reviewing applications such as teaching, committee work, advising students, reading dissertations and exams, their personal lives, and the list goes on. Oh, and research if they even have 10 minutes. Not everyone's schedule mesh so it takes time for communications to go back and forth.... via e-mail and phone calls, not texts or social media. You have the results board on Grad Cafe to give you an approximate timeframe of various levels of decisions (they are usually consistent from one year to another).

Please refrain from contacting anyone unless you were specifically asked by your POIs to check in. What you do not (or want to) know is that your POI has likely been in touch with other eager applicants like yourself. S/he cannot show "favoritism" because the Admissions Committee is the one making the absolute final decision.  It is exceptionally rare for a POI to identify a "favorite" applicant early and and expect that person to be admitted outright because there are just too many good applicants and the student needs to be able to fit with the imagined cohort being built by the committee with other faculty members' nominations.

This is a good but HARD lesson to learn because you will not be able to do such things for fellowships, grants, and journals (unless there's been a serious delay; journals don't expect you to check in until 6 months after the first contact) and, eventually, academic jobs.  All you will get is a very annoyed admin, no matter how nice the reply (If you've worked as one, you'll know what I mean).

I generally recommend holding off contacting the POI/department until the beginning of the March when the last of most PhD programs have notified for acceptances/rejections.

This is my tough love. /mic drop

[ltr317]

2 hours ago, Manuscriptess said:

I called Penn's earlier and she told me that the committee just started meeting today and that no formal interviews have been sent out, so no one is going to hear until the end of Feb. 

Good luck to all of the places you applied. 

[ltr317]

@psstein thanks for the answer.  It's not my field but I was curious because some HoS programs have their own department. 

[Yellow Mellow]

1 hour ago, psstein said:

Realistically speaking, most HoS grads aren't hired to teach HoS alone.

On the other hand, there aren't all that many independent HoS departments left. Most of the top ones are within larger history departments (Princeton, Stanford, Chicago, Wisconsin, Columbia, and so on). Even Hopkins HoS, which has been fiercely independent, has a pretty close relationship with the larger history department.

If you're accepted to independent HoS departments, it's not a bad idea to ask about their relationship with the history department.

All of that being said, you'd stand a better chance of being hired with a HoS PhD from Harvard than you would with a history PhD from Univ. of Florida.

You did it again!! Wisconsin is not a top pogram  

[khigh]

29 minutes ago, TMP said:

 

And MANY others (lurkers, too):

These professors know you want to get in. They have so many other things that they have to do besides reviewing applications such as teaching, committee work, advising students, reading dissertations and exams, their personal lives, and the list goes on. Oh, and research if they even have 10 minutes. Not everyone's schedule mesh so it takes time for communications to go back and forth.... via e-mail and phone calls, not texts or social media. You have the results board on Grad Cafe to give you an approximate timeframe of various levels of decisions (they are usually consistent from one year to another).

Please refrain from contacting anyone unless you were specifically asked by your POIs to check in. What you do not (or want to) know is that your POI has likely been in touch with other eager applicants like yourself. S/he cannot show "favoritism" because the Admissions Committee is the one making the absolute final decision.  It is exceptionally rare for a POI to identify a "favorite" applicant early and and expect that person to be admitted outright because there are just too many good applicants and the student needs to be able to fit with the imagined cohort being built by the committee with other faculty members' nominations.

This is a good but HARD lesson to learn because you will not be able to do such things for fellowships, grants, and journals (unless there's been a serious delay; journals don't expect you to check in until 6 months after the first contact) and, eventually, academic jobs.  All you will get is a very annoyed admin, no matter how nice the reply (If you've worked as one, you'll know what I mean).

I generally recommend holding off contacting the POI/department until the beginning of the March when the last of most PhD programs have notified for acceptances/rejections.

This is my tough love. /mic drop

If I screwed up, then I screwed up, but at this point, I have zero hope. It's a feeling that should pass, but it's one that hits hard and fast. 

[Tigla]

2 hours ago, gnossienne n.3 said:

It depends on the program! Some British institutions will let you substitute one longer work for two shorter writing samples, and some just really want more than one writing sample. I've found that the writing sample requirements aren't always clear, for instance the requirements listed on the course webpage differ from those in the actual application.

I already submitted an 8,000-word writing sample to them with my application. Now, they are asking for a second 8,000-word writing sample that is different than my first. That is why I am confused a bit.

[Neist]

33 minutes ago, Yellow Mellow said:

You did it again!! Wisconsin is not a top pogram  

... Huh?

@psstein pretty much stated my thoughts @ltr317. There are very few independent history of science programs anymore. And the ones that can kind of be considered history of science are more interdisciplinary fields, such as STS. Regarding jobs, if you want a job in a history department, it's my understanding that a history degree is usually preferred, be it history of science or good ole fashioned history. However, freestanding HoS departments tend to be more interdisciplinary in my experience, and I imagine that most freestanding department are likely less picky about degree type and more picky about demonstrated research focus.

Edit: Ugh, this forum software...

Edited January 22, 2018 by Neist

[astroid88]

48 minutes ago, Yellow Mellow said:

You did it again!! Wisconsin is not a top pogram  

I think you made your thoughts very clear on this board. You’re just getting on people’s nerves at this point.

Edited January 22, 2018 by astroid88

[Imenol]

1 hour ago, Yellow Mellow said:

You did it again!! Wisconsin is not a top pogram  

Who are you? It does not seem you have anything productive to add to the conversation... Why so much hate on Wisconsin? It seems quite childish to me. 

[VAZ]

Just wondering: if I get an email of unofficial acceptance from POI or DGS, what is the chance of receiving the official offer in the following weeks? Will they change minds? In other words, should I now celebrate? Thanks!

[Imenol]

26 minutes ago, VAZ said:

Just wondering: if I get an email of unofficial acceptance from POI or DGS, what is the chance of receiving the official offer in the following weeks? Will they change minds? In other words, should I now celebrate? Thanks!

I doubt any serious program would send you an unofficial acceptance and then rescind it for no reason, so congrats! Where did you get in?

[fortsibut]

1 hour ago, Yellow Mellow said:

You did it again!! Wisconsin is not a top pogram  

You must not do much research on top history schools outside of your subfield, whatever that is.  UW-Madison is absolutely a top school for programs like African history.  To claim otherwise just makes you look stupid.

[TheHessianHistorian]

6 minutes ago, fortsibut said:

You must not do much research on top history schools outside of your subfield, whatever that is.  UW-Madison is absolutely a top school for programs like African history.  To claim otherwise just makes you look stupid.

It appears from a second read of his/her post that s/he was more likely trying to say "Wisconsin is not a top pogrom." In that case, I'd have to agree. 

Edited January 22, 2018 by TheHessianHistorian

[fortsibut]

3 minutes ago, TheHessianHistorian said:

It appears from a second read of his post that s/he was more likely trying to say "Wisconsin is not a top pogrom." In that case, I'd have to agree. 

Oh man, my response just showed off MY ignorance! 

[TheHessianHistorian]

Just got a phone call from my POI at University of Alabama for their Master's in History program. I've been accepted! Funding info to come next week. Was also invited to a meet-and-greet on campus in late February. This is the first I've heard back from any of the programs I applied to, so I'm quite excited. At least I know I'm going somewhere. Now to hear back from the other 14 programs. 

[VAZ]

44 minutes ago, Imenol said:

I doubt any serious program would send you an unofficial acceptance and then rescind it for no reason, so congrats! Where did you get in?

Thanks! It's Minnesota. I guess I am the fourth person on this forum according to RESULTS....and I don't think I am getting any university-level fellowship (i.e. the state school early admission).

So, @khigh don't fret; you may hear good news very soon. ?

Edited January 22, 2018 by VAZ

[khigh]

5 minutes ago, VAZ said:

Thanks! It's Minnesota. I guess I am the fourth person on this forum according to RESULTS....and I don't think I am getting any university-level fellowship (i.e. the state school early admission).

So, @khigh don't fret; you may hear good news very soon. ?

I'm hoping it's just because KR and JBS are slow with their emails. And, maybe, just maybe, that the blizzard warning and closing of campus (and MSP airport!) caused them to stop writing emails today.  I'm telling myself every story I can.

[derHistoriker]

3 minutes ago, khigh said:

I'm hoping it's just because KR and JBS are slow with their emails. And, maybe, just maybe, that the blizzard warning and closing of campus (and MSP airport!) caused them to stop writing emails today.  I'm telling myself every story I can.

I'm right there with you, but also finding it difficult to think positively. I've even already started making plans to apply again after I get my masters.

[khigh]

2 minutes ago, SFischer said:

I'm right there with you, but also finding it difficult to think positively. I've even already started making plans to apply again after I get my masters.

We've had 12 inches of snow today and another 5-8 expected tonight and I'm still refusing to leave the Twin Cities, so if I don't get accepted and I apply again, it would still only be for Minnesota. 

[derHistoriker]

2 minutes ago, khigh said:

We've had 12 inches of snow today and another 5-8 expected tonight and I'm still refusing to leave the Twin Cities, so if I don't get accepted and I apply again, it would still only be for Minnesota. 

I grew up in Minnesota and attend a MN university right now so it only makes sense for me to try again for the U. I've been accepted to a masters program already so I'm not in complete despair. 

[anon1234567]

1 hour ago, VAZ said:

Just wondering: if I get an email of unofficial acceptance from POI or DGS, what is the chance of receiving the official offer in the following weeks? Will they change minds? In other words, should I now celebrate? Thanks!

Congrats! Celebrate! They won't rescind. 

[khigh]

8 minutes ago, SFischer said:

I grew up in Minnesota and attend a MN university right now so it only makes sense for me to try again for the U. I've been accepted to a masters program already so I'm not in complete despair. 

I honestly think that if I don’t get in this year, I will do law school. My LSATs were very high (waived fee so might as well take them) and those apps aren’t due until July. My crazy plan b would be to be a sports management lawyer. Women are very underrepresented in sports contracting and I love baseball. It’s always been one of those crazy obsessions that I have felt silly about pursuing. 

[anon1234567]

On ‎2018‎-‎01‎-‎21 at 9:58 AM, Manuscriptess said:

I got my MA from Columbia and am pretty close with several of the Medievalists in the department (I didn't apply for PhD there because they have a policy against taking people with MAs from the department which is pretty annoying). I can't speak for the other specialities, but the Medievalists have just started the looking at applications, so I wouldn't expect to hear back until at least mid February. Hope that helps!

Columbia has a policy against taking students with MAs from Columbia? We didn't have many in my cohort year, but there were one or two, both from the EALC program come to think of it.

Edited January 23, 2018 by anon1234567

[anon1234567]

19 hours ago, psstein said:

On the other hand, Penn (to my knowledge) doesn't have anyone who works on early modern science.

UPenn does have an early modernist, Harun Kucuk. 

[anon1234567]

2 hours ago, Yellow Mellow said:

You did it again!! Wisconsin is not a top pogram  

Wisconsin has a very good history program. In fact, a senior Harvard faculty member thinks quite highly of it. 

Edited January 23, 2018 by anon1234567