Fall 2018 Applicants

[nerdbird]

Has anyone gotten rejections from NYU, UT Austin, Cornell, or Duke yet? Still waiting to hear anything from those places,  and it's making me antsy. Good luck to all!

[AnUglyBoringNerd]

3 hours ago, Banzailizard said:

Reading some of the qualification of people on this forum I suspect my problems are structural. I pessimistically feel like my dual major gave me two half degrees rather than two full degrees.  I lack the serious mathematical training for an econ PhD (my original attempt from which I would move towards econ history). Simultaneously my history degree was very unfocused, not spending any serious time with primary sources, taking classes with no coherent geographic or temporal (other than premodern) focus, and taking a language (German) because I did in high school rather than as a focus towards anything I was interested in (and which now has little to do with my academic interest).

That being said, I am not sure how seriously my academic profile deviates from those admitted to PhD programs, and I am not sure how to find out that sort of information short of asking POI.

I am in a similar situation so you are definitely not alone! If you look at my CV from one year ago you might think I'm a Political Science person bc I majored in international politics, took statistics class, and do not have a degree in History .

4 hours ago, Banzailizard said:

What are the norms around contacting POI for feedback on an application?

For my first cycle, I applied to 4 programs in Political Science and 2 in History (Harvard and UPenn), and got  rejected by all of them. After I got the rejections, I contacted my POI (in History), thanked them for taking time to review my application,  asked about how I could improve my application, and if they would recommend me to make an effort and try to reapply for the next cycle. They replied, and it was implied that they've got the impression that my training is half-half, which, among a few other things, played against me. 

I did lots of things in the past year to make sure that i no longer leave the impression that my training is half-half, and that I am a professional with solid research experience in History, by actually acquiring more experience in History and demonstrating this in my SOPs and writing samples. (I did audit graduate seminars in History, though not for the contents of courses but for networking opportunities with more historians who later helped me build a much stronger application for this cycle) 

This cycle I applied to 7 programs, all in History, so far I have heard from 5, and got in 4, all are (in my humble opinion) decent PhD programs. 

Hope this helps.

[ltr317]

32 minutes ago, nerdbird said:

Has anyone gotten rejections from NYU, UT Austin, Cornell, or Duke yet? Still waiting to hear anything from those places,  and it's making me antsy. Good luck to all!

I didn't apply to NYU but one of my MA cohort did and received a rejection last week.  

[Basura]

3 hours ago, nerdbird said:

Has anyone gotten rejections from NYU, UT Austin, Cornell, or Duke yet? Still waiting to hear anything from those places,  and it's making me antsy. Good luck to all!

I was waitlisted by Duke at the beginning of February. Texas seems to send acceptances around 3/6 historically. I didn't apply to the other two.

[OHSP]

9 hours ago, nerdbird said:

Has anyone gotten rejections from NYU, UT Austin, Cornell, or Duke yet? Still waiting to hear anything from those places,  and it's making me antsy. Good luck to all!

Duke sends out all of its acceptances at the same time and so it's probably not good news given that someone else was waitlisted. I know that NYU has sent out its acceptances but if you haven't been rejected then you might be on the unofficial waitlist (that they don't announce). At least 2 people in my cohort heard from NYU on 15 April.

[archi]

15 hours ago, Banzailizard said:

What are the norms around contacting POI for feedback on an application? 

I also did this and got good (and consistent) responses two years ago. I agree with the above that POIs will give you the best feedback, and framing it as "how to improve" is best. As hard as it is, I might also suggest waiting until later to ask-- winter is an especially busy time for most people, and before April 15 people seem either focused on admitted students or done thinking about admissions. At least for me, I was also in a better place to take advice then...I got some pleasant but straightforward feedback that would have felt maybe more personal if it was right after rejections. 

Some other framing devices I used: What does a successful candidate for [field] usually look like? I'm planning on doing x and y to improve, what else can I do to refine my interests? I get the impression that [qualification] is very common in this field, do I need that? I've been working on x, y, z over the summer, do you think it's worth re-applying to this program? 

[andnothing]

14 hours ago, Banzailizard said:

Reading some of the qualification of people on this forum I suspect my problems are structural. I pessimistically feel like my dual major gave me two half degrees rather than two full degrees.  I lack the serious mathematical training for an econ PhD (my original attempt from which I would move towards econ history). Simultaneously my history degree was very unfocused, not spending any serious time with primary sources, taking classes with no coherent geographic or temporal (other than premodern) focus, and taking a language (German) because I did in high school rather than as a focus towards anything I was interested in (and which now has little to do with my academic interest).

That being said, I am not sure how seriously my academic profile deviates from those admitted to PhD programs, and I am not sure how to find out that sort of information short of asking POI.

I am, also, in a similar place with my application. I think it is the main reason I haven't been accepted anywhere. I switched my major to history late so I only had one full year and a summer of history classes. I did well in those classes but I did poorly in my previous major's classes so my GPA is on the lower end. I did not start learning German until my last semester when I knew I wanted to study German history. Therefore, my writing sample uses primary sources in English rather than German. I think that really hurt my application. 

I tried to cover all these issues in my personal statement and show my commitment to history. I pointed out that my grades increased when I switched majors. I have been working on my German after I graduated by taking classes at a nearby university. However, I don't think it was nearly enough to compete with other applicants. My main goal this year is to try to strengthen my application. I'm going to contact the DGS or POIs at the universities and see if they can offer some information that will help me. Currently, I am struggling to find ways that would allow me to compete with stronger applicants since I graduated 4 years ago and lack the resources and opportunities that I had. 

Best of luck to you! 

I also want to thank everyone for the advice and support that you guys provide on this forum. It helps out a lot. 

[WhaleshipEssex]

Standard rejection from UMass Amherst this morning. I wasn't really shocked by it as I knew going in I wasn't a great fit with the department, but it's never a good feeling starting off with rejection. 

[psstein]

1 hour ago, andnothing said:

I am, also, in a similar place with my application. I think it is the main reason I haven't been accepted anywhere. I switched my major to history late so I only had one full year and a summer of history classes. I did well in those classes but I did poorly in my previous major's classes so my GPA is on the lower end. I did not start learning German until my last semester when I knew I wanted to study German history. Therefore, my writing sample uses primary sources in English rather than German. I think that really hurt my application. 

I tried to cover all these issues in my personal statement and show my commitment to history. I pointed out that my grades increased when I switched majors. I have been working on my German after I graduated by taking classes at a nearby university. However, I don't think it was nearly enough to compete with other applicants. My main goal this year is to try to strengthen my application. I'm going to contact the DGS or POIs at the universities and see if they can offer some information that will help me. Currently, I am struggling to find ways that would allow me to compete with stronger applicants since I graduated 4 years ago and lack the resources and opportunities that I had. 

Best of luck to you! 

I also want to thank everyone for the advice and support that you guys provide on this forum. It helps out a lot. 

I'd strongly consider a terminal MA. If you can find a funded one (they do exist, though few and far between), then you'll be in a great position.

[Tigla]

2 hours ago, andnothing said:

I am, also, in a similar place with my application. I think it is the main reason I haven't been accepted anywhere. I switched my major to history late so I only had one full year and a summer of history classes. I did well in those classes but I did poorly in my previous major's classes so my GPA is on the lower end. I did not start learning German until my last semester when I knew I wanted to study German history. Therefore, my writing sample uses primary sources in English rather than German. I think that really hurt my application. 

 

I had a similar fate in the 2016 cycle. My German and French were very rough and barely existent. I spoke with my advisor and he urged me to go abroad to Germany to do my MA. After 2 years, I would say it was a very good decision and suggestion. I have been working, reading, writing and living in German which forced me to learn German extremely fast, but also learn important things rather than the systematic style taught by American language courses. If you do not have too many connections, I would highly suggest looking into European MA programs, specifically Germany.

Edited February 19, 2018 by Tigla

[andnothing]

2 hours ago, psstein said:

I'd strongly consider a terminal MA. If you can find a funded one (they do exist, though few and far between), then you'll be in a great position.

I completely agree. My plan is to limit myself to terminal MA programs next application cycle. I applied to a couple PhD programs this cycle and I feel like I could've spent the effort and money on other schools. I didn't do my research as well as I should've when it came to what was need to be a strong applicant for those programs. In my situation, I need to focus on getting into a MA program first.  

1 hour ago, Tigla said:

I had a similar fate in the 2016 cycle. My German and French were very rough and barely existent. I spoke with my advisor and he urged me to go abroad to Germany to do my MA. After 2 years, I would say it was a very good decision and suggestion. I have been working, reading, writing and living in German which forced me to learn German extremely fast, but also learn important things rather than the systematic style taught by American language courses. If you do not have too many connections, I would highly suggest looking into European MA programs, specifically Germany.

I think doing my MA in Germany is a great idea. Unfortunately, I don't know how realistic it is with my circumstances but it's something I still consider an option. I have some concerns and questions about studying abroad that I need to look into before I seriously consider it. 

[ANdy1996]

Got into Penn, so excited!!!

[ltr317]

1 hour ago, ANdy1996 said:

Got into Penn, so excited!!!

Penn is one tough nut to crack but you did it.  Congrats!

[glycoprotein1]

Received an interview invite for a spot in the Cambridge HPS and Medicine mphil! I was beginning to lose hope.  Y’all have any tips!?? 

[Assotto]

20 hours ago, nerdbird said:

Has anyone gotten rejections from NYU, UT Austin, Cornell, or Duke yet? Still waiting to hear anything from those places,  and it's making me antsy. Good luck to all!

Cornell decisions were made a few weeks ago. From what I hear, offer letters should be sent out by the end of this week.

[Tigla]

12 hours ago, andnothing said:

I think doing my MA in Germany is a great idea. Unfortunately, I don't know how realistic it is with my circumstances but it's something I still consider an option. I have some concerns and questions about studying abroad that I need to look into before I seriously consider it. 

 

If you want to talk about it, send me a PM. 

[BagelBabee]

Hi everyone, this might be a bit random...but I'm wondering if I'm not getting any information from Stanford by now, does that mean a 100% rejection? I' ve seen that people already getting both admissions and rejections...but still got no news till now....

[lordtiandao]

1 hour ago, BagelBabee said:

Hi everyone, this might be a bit random...but I'm wondering if I'm not getting any information from Stanford by now, does that mean a 100% rejection? I' ve seen that people already getting both admissions and rejections...but still got no news till now....

It could possibly be a rejection, or it might mean you've been placed on an internal waitlist. 

[ltr317]

I posted this on the 2018 Admissions, decisions...thread but decided to post here as well since there's more traffic, especially if anyone is waiting to hear from these programs.  Good luck to everyone on their remaining decisions.    

 

"I finally received two more decisions: in at Stony Brook and out at Temple.  SB emailed and Temple sent a postal letter. The ironic thing is I received Temple's rejection first and five minutes later I read SB's acceptance email.  It's good to know I have at least one acceptance for now, with three more decisions pending."

[cocakolakowski]

First acceptance this cycle came today via email from the DGS at Stony Brook. What a relief after two rejections. Please let me know if you got in and are considering going, I would love to discuss the program with you. 

[Qtf311]

Has anyone heard from Rutgers or Brandeis yet?

[cocakolakowski]

42 minutes ago, ltr317 said:

I posted this on the 2018 Admissions, decisions...thread but decided to post here as well since there's more traffic, especially if anyone is waiting to hear from these programs.  Good luck to everyone on their remaining decisions.    

 

"I finally received two more decisions: in at Stony Brook and out at Temple.  SB emailed and Temple sent a postal letter. The ironic thing is I received Temple's rejection first and five minutes later I read SB's acceptance email.  It's good to know I have at least one acceptance for now, with three more decisions pending."

Congrats! Looks like we are Stony Brook twins. Are you planning on attending the visit day?

[ltr317]

1 hour ago, cocakolakowski said:

Congrats! Looks like we are Stony Brook twins. Are you planning on attending the visit day?

Congrats to you too!  I'm leaning toward attending but probably won't decide for another week.  How about you? 

[Brookelyn]

2 hours ago, cocakolakowski said:

First acceptance this cycle came today via email from the DGS at Stony Brook. What a relief after two rejections. Please let me know if you got in and are considering going, I would love to discuss the program with you. 

I am in at Stony Brook and will be attending the visit day!

 

[ltr317]

7 minutes ago, Brookelyn said:

I am in at Stony Brook and will be attending the visit day!

 

Congrats to you.  Now we are SB triplets!  Lol.  Quadruplets anyone? 

Edited February 21, 2018 by ltr317