Fall 2018 Applicants

[Guest1101]

  On 2/13/2018 at 2:12 PM, psstein said:

You may be out of the running for a fellowship, but you may still get in. IU has some really awful funding problems.

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Thank you for the information! Hope I will get in. IU seems to be my last hope...or maybe I will try next year.

Wish you all the best!

Edited February 13, 2018 by Guest1101

[HistoricScout]

  On 2/13/2018 at 2:12 PM, psstein said:

You may be out of the running for a fellowship, but you may still get in. IU has some really awful funding problems.

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Ugh. That’s annoying. I picked IU because it’s in state and close to home. K State does seem like the perfect program for me though, but I’m unsure if I should commit to them without hearing from IU. 

[pepe.s]

Congrats again to those with acceptance(s)! 

Not quite sure if this question would be too redundant here in this forum or not, but i'd like to know whether it is correct to assume that the applicants for Harvard's PhD in History that have not been contacted by POIs regarding the decisions by now are rejected? I mean like is it just a matter of time that the email with a link to check out a rejection letter will pop up in the mailbox? 

Also, I saw on the result page that the decisions for Princeton's HoS have been posted lately. Any idea about regular History one? It's been radio silence compared to other places. I mean I know Princeton's decisions came out (*struck*) around Valentine's Day last year... It's just a ridiculous feeling that I just don't want another sad story for my life on that particular day    

 

[pudewen]

  On 2/13/2018 at 12:51 AM, CBC said:

Thank you Pudewen for your comment. I'm fully aware that the degree is strictly a history degree. However, this op-ed at Harvardindependent sort of confirmed my concerns. https://www.harvardindependent.com/2016/04/harvard-struggles-islamic-middle-eastern-scholarship/

Here's a quote: "Yet, he alleges that the department, made up largely of American and European historians, does not see the Middle Eastern historians as scholars of “history proper”. Scholars of the Middle East, he says, often play second fiddle to Western historians when it comes to grants, funding and department resources."

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If you've been admitted to the program, you should have no trouble getting put in touch with grad students in HMES. I recommend that you talk to them about your concerns rather than relying on an article by an undergrad based on anonymous quotes of grad students griping. I'm in a program that is sort of like HMES (HEAL - an East Asian history degree based in the department of East Asian Languages and Civiliztions), and I can imagine that an enterprising journalist could have gathered up enough griping from those of us in HEAL to write a similar article about East Asian history at Harvard, even though I genuinely think Harvard is a great place to do East Asian history. Anyhow, some of the things in that article were fixed. For instance, I didn't used to get emails about History department events either; now I do. I think the issue was that the department switched grad program coordinators and some things got lost in the shuffle. Some of them are probably just not true - one person struggling with getting some grants they applied for is not evidence of systematic bias against Middle East historians in the department. And some of them are true everywhere. As Tigla said, all history departments in the US are dominated by historians of the US and Europe, and the rest of us have to fight to matter. Incidentally, this fact is actually one reason why I've found HEAL to be a good program; we're able to have far more historians of East Asia at Harvard (both as faculty and as grad students) than at most schools because we're part of an EALC department that hires and admits historians, rather than just being a small and relatively marginalized bit of a giant history department. I don't know if people in HMES feel the same way, but again, I recommend you actually talk to some, rather than rely on random anonymous people on the internet.

[Mystery'sHistory]

@HistoricScout @Guest1101 

  On 2/13/2018 at 2:12 PM, psstein said:

You may be out of the running for a fellowship, but you may still get in. IU has some really awful funding problems.

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IU's first round of decisions have gone out. They only have a private waitlist, so if you are on that waitlist it is possible that you will be accepted as late as April 15th without any prior notification. Regarding psstein's comment, I am not sure where you heard about IU's funding problems, but as of late they only admit students that they can fully fund for five years. It also depends on what field you are in... IU's history department has been considerably defunded over the years, but the School of Global and International Studies has an insane amount of federal funds at their disposal, much of which goes to history grad students who apply for grants, fellowships, etc.

Edited February 13, 2018 by Mystery'sHistory

[HistoricScout]

  On 2/13/2018 at 4:32 PM, Mystery'sHistory said:

@HistoricScout @Guest1101 

IU's first round of decisions have gone out. They only have a private waitlist, so if you are on that waitlist it is possible that you will be accepted as late as April 15th without any prior notification. Regarding psstein's comment, I am not sure where you heard about IU's funding problems, but as of late they only admit students that they can fully fund for five years. It also depends on what field you are in... IU's history department has been considerably defunded over the years, but the School of Global and International Studies has an insane amount of federal funds at their disposal, much of which goes to history grad students who apply for grants, fellowships, etc.

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Thanks for this. I appreciate the update. 

[TheHessianHistorian]

Just got a really nice email from a POI at Texas Tech University's Master's program, saying that final decisions haven't been made on acceptances but POI is writing a letter of support to urge that I be nominated for a university fellowship in addition to a TA-ship. First time I've heard funding news this promising from any of the schools. Very exciting!

[ltr317]

  On 2/13/2018 at 7:16 PM, TheHessianHistorian said:

Just got a really nice email from a POI at Texas Tech University's Master's program, saying that final decisions haven't been made on acceptances but POI is writing a letter of support to urge that I be nominated for a university fellowship in addition to a TA-ship. First time I've heard funding news this promising from any of the schools. Very exciting!

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Nice, good luck!

[psstein]

  On 2/13/2018 at 4:32 PM, Mystery'sHistory said:

@HistoricScout @Guest1101 

IU's first round of decisions have gone out. They only have a private waitlist, so if you are on that waitlist it is possible that you will be accepted as late as April 15th without any prior notification. Regarding psstein's comment, I am not sure where you heard about IU's funding problems, but as of late they only admit students that they can fully fund for five years. It also depends on what field you are in... IU's history department has been considerably defunded over the years, but the School of Global and International Studies has an insane amount of federal funds at their disposal, much of which goes to history grad students who apply for grants, fellowships, etc.

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My experience was with HPS, which is not as well-funded/relies upon a cash cow MA.

Edited February 14, 2018 by psstein

[tommyrj]

Congrats Princeton admits! May I ask what your fields of research are?

[HistoricScout]

I’m still trying to think if I should just accept K-State’s offer or still wait IU’s decision. My application still says submitted which is really frustrating for me. Kansas State seems like a bit of a bigger fit for me though. 

[Ragu]

Looks like Princeton may be gearing up for another Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre...granted there were a few Valentine’s Day acceptances last year too lol

Edited February 14, 2018 by Ragu

[Banzailizard]

Got my first official rejection today from Michigan, which is OK I guess.  Of the four PhD programs I applied to it was probably the worst fit. Still stings a bit though. 

[dr. t]

  On 2/14/2018 at 12:08 AM, HistoricScout said:

I’m still trying to think if I should just accept K-State’s offer or still wait IU’s decision. My application still says submitted which is really frustrating for me. Kansas State seems like a bit of a bigger fit for me though. 

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No reason to pull the trigger early.

[Mystery'sHistory]

  On 2/14/2018 at 12:02 AM, psstein said:

My experience was with HPS, which is not as well-funded/relies upon a cash cow MA.

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Ah, different department altogether.

[anon4578]

Princeton admit here! My field is the 19th century American West. The email from my POI said the official letter should reach me this week, but I'm unsure if all letters will go out simultaneously or really what their plan is. Best of luck to everyone!

[nerdbird]

  On 2/14/2018 at 12:05 AM, tommyrj said:

Congrats Princeton admits! May I ask what your fields of research are?

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Another Princeton admit here, I focus on South Asian history. POI called to say official notice would go out soon (didn't give a time frame). Good luck through the process!

[pepe.s]

Congrats to all Princeton admits! 
well I guess Princeton's St Valentine Massacre will be just around the corner! 

[Mystery'sHistory]

  On 2/14/2018 at 12:08 AM, HistoricScout said:

I’m still trying to think if I should just accept K-State’s offer or still wait IU’s decision. My application still says submitted which is really frustrating for me. Kansas State seems like a bit of a bigger fit for me though. 

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I am not 100% positive on their exact system, but If you are not outright denied in the next week I think it is safe to assume that you have been waitlisted. A good amount of people that I know in the Department of History at IU have received admittances in March and April.

[TMP]

  On 2/13/2018 at 8:16 AM, HistoricScout said:

I really wish IU would release their decisions soon. I would like to be able to tell admissions at K State whether I am truly deferring for next year or not. Ugh. 

Waiting for the decision from one school is torture. 

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I feel your pain.  I was waitlisted at IU for 2 years straight!  I never got off.  But really, unless you have a very, very good reason to go to Kent State over Indiana, I'd wait.  It's hard but I'd wait.  Kent State doesn't have the same reputation as Indiana.

[Tigla]

Received a conditional offer from University of Birmingham (UK) today. Now it is time to start the hunt for funding! A general note about the UK, decisions are starting to go out, but most will appear in March.

[pepe.s]

Harvard has just sent out emails with link to check the website for decisions (which I was rejected, as expected!). It seems St Valentine's Massacre has begun! 

Edited February 14, 2018 by pepe.s

[lordtiandao]

And I was one of the casualties, haha. At least I can say it was a good thing the rejection came today instead of on Chinese New Years. I always felt like Harvard was a long shot, but it was worth a try anyways.

[pepe.s]

  On 2/14/2018 at 2:06 PM, lordtiandao said:

And I was one of the casualties, haha. At least I can say it was a good thing the rejection came today instead of on Chinese New Years. I always felt like Harvard was a long shot, but it was worth a try anyways.

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Yeah that's exactly what I think. It was definitely worth a try.

I don't really know why but I've got a feeling that there probably will be an aftershock following this 9am mass killing! 

[lordtiandao]

  On 2/14/2018 at 2:10 PM, pepe.s said:

Yeah that's exactly what I think. It was definitely worth a try.

I don't really know why but I've got a feeling that there probably will be an aftershock following this 9am mass killing! 

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It's 10PM here, so almost time for bed. I wonder if there will be anything unpleasant after I wake up.