U Penn

[lifetimestudent]

So I just got off the phone with the secretary from U Penn's history dept., and she said that the letters should have already gone out by now since the visiting day is scheduled for next week. Has anyone heard from them, either positive or negative? I only see one or 2 items on the results board so I figured it was still early.

Thanks!

[Bearclaw]

I applied to Penn and haven't heard anything one way or the other.

[RockEater]

Nothing yet on my end.

[lifetimestudent]

OK. So either all 3 of us are being rejected, or my info was wrong. Any other experiences?

I got into UCLA and their visiting day is on 3/18. So this seems a bit early if there is any correlation.

[Nytusse]

Nothing yet...and I really, really hope your information is wrong!

That seems awfully early for a visitation day.

[Sovetskaya]

Nothing yet...and I really, really hope your information is wrong!

That seems awfully early for a visitation day.

Ohhhh, crappy. I think that someone should work up the courage to call again and ask about their specific applications. For what it's worth, I met with potential advisers in the Fall and the cohort will be SMALL. Also, the East Coast should be a bit behind because of the snow....

Case in point: someone call. I can't handle a rejection today.

[JustChill]

I emailed my POC at UPenn the other day and got my unofficial rejection -- accepting only 1 applicant in my subfield this year. He didn't mention anything about notifications, so I'm not sure if they've already sent our acceptances or what.

[lifetimestudent]

I emailed my POC at UPenn the other day and got my unofficial rejection -- accepting only 1 applicant in my subfield this year. He didn't mention anything about notifications, so I'm not sure if they've already sent our acceptances or what.

Which field are you in, if you don't mind sharing?

[RaymondDale]

OK. So either all 3 of us are being rejected, or my info was wrong. Any other experiences?

I got into UCLA and their visiting day is on 3/18. So this seems a bit early if there is any correlation.

Off-topic, but congrats on UCLA. what is your field?

[Mercer]

You can add me to the list of people who has heard nothing from UPenn.

[Sovetskaya]

I emailed my POC at UPenn the other day and got my unofficial rejection -- accepting only 1 applicant in my subfield this year. He didn't mention anything about notifications, so I'm not sure if they've already sent our acceptances or what.

This does not seem to make sense -- even if they only have one spot, wouldn't they accept more than one? three maybe? What if the Chosen One prefers a different Ivy?

[JustChill]

This does not seem to make sense -- even if they only have one spot, wouldn't they accept more than one? three maybe? What if the Chosen One prefers a different Ivy?

I'm in Russian history. The professor said that they are "most likely" accepting just one, but it's probably someone who has made some sort of a commitment. I had one department tell me that they would not accept me unless I told them that they were in my top 2 choices. So maybe it's the same deal here with Penn.

Edited February 19, 2010 by rockchalk

[StrangeLight]

This does not seem to make sense -- even if they only have one spot, wouldn't they accept more than one? three maybe? What if the Chosen One prefers a different Ivy?

if the person rejects then they'll take no one for that subfield. upenn had an over-yield last year. fake numbers for an example, but they offered 20 spots, hoped only 10 would enroll, but 16 or 17 enrolled instead. this year, they're looking to take even fewer, so they're only offering as many spots as they can afford, say 7. if only 4 of those 7 accept, then they'll have a class of 4. the hit their endowment took last year combined with a larger than expected incoming class brought their numbers way down. i'm sure they don't mind if "the chosen one" goes somewhere else.

last year was really rough for admissions because schools lost a lot of money, and the first thing to go is always graduate funding. this year, many endowments have recovered a bit but you're also seeing an increase in applications. now, those extra 100 applicants are probably just doing it to avoid the working world and may not have the CV or seriousness to get into a program anyway, but "3 out of 100" or "1 out of 50" still sounds daunting.

Edited February 19, 2010 by StrangeLight

[earlyamericanist]

So has anyone contacted them to find out what's what? I haven't heard anything either.

[lifetimestudent]

So has anyone contacted them to find out what's what? I haven't heard anything either.

If someone can just call and ask the same question I did - when applicants should hear back - we can see if they give the same answer that they gave me yesterday. I just don't want to call twice...

Thanks!

[redwine]

I'm in Russian history. The professor said that they are "most likely" accepting just one, but it's probably someone who has made some sort of a commitment. I had one department tell me that they would not accept me unless I told them that they were in my top 2 choices. So maybe it's the same deal here with Penn.

Speaking as a current PhD student in Russian history, and to enlighten all the people in fields with bigger yields (ie any American field), most schools only ever accept one Russianist, if any at all. That's why it is super hard to get in with our specialty (although arguably, there are few people trying for spots, so that mitigates it somewhat). At my school, which has a strong program in Russian history, it is rare that more than one person is ever offered a place each year. It is tough for the professors frankly because yes, the way the admissions go, a number of schools are often fighting over that same one person they've admitted for Russian. Its unfortunate for Penn (I am guessing Holquist was your POC, Rockchalk?) because they have two wonderful professors there and the last couple of years, I think, their one admit has ended up going somewhere else. Its a dog eat dog world out there in Russian history!

[JustChill]

No, my POC was Nathans, though I've been in contact with Holquist, too. Seems like a pretty tough year for us in Russian history.

[TMP]

No, my POC was Nathans, though I've been in contact with Holquist, too. Seems like a pretty tough year for us in Russian history.

As a friend of mine who's a doctoral student in Slavic Dept said to me recently, "I want another Cold War just so there'd be more positions out there for me!"

Even, I think, my UG advisor (also a Russianist) is a bit bitter that there isn't a strong demand for Russian history professors as she'd love to be able to move to a University from her LAC.

[dflanagan]

do you think it's that way for French history too? It seems like most places I applied, they have one or fewer grad students working on early modern or modern France. The one place I'm accepted, I'm the only French historian in the last four cohorts. crazy. I know there's not much demand for us Frenchies, but geez. I feel lucky to be in anywhere.

[TMP]

do you think it's that way for French history too? It seems like most places I applied, they have one or fewer grad students working on early modern or modern France. The one place I'm accepted, I'm the only French historian in the last four cohorts. crazy. I know there's not much demand for us Frenchies, but geez. I feel lucky to be in anywhere.

You think we all should run off to South America and boost our Spanish language and knowledge of (insert country)'s history given the growing importance of Latin America in this country?

[StrangeLight]

hey back off. the latin american turf is crowded enough.

african history probably has the best jobs to PhDs ratio. just switch to french colonialism in africa and you're good to go. french colonialism anywhere, actually.