Bearcat1

I had all of the status pages in my bookmarks and I deleted them all. I think the more difficult I make the checking process on my end, the less I'll be tempted to do it every seven minutes. Maybe. This will probably last for a week (and only because I'm traveling for a week).

I really wished I'd read this before I told people. I am barely holding it together as it is with all the anxiety of waiting, and having to explain this to people or listen to, "of course you'll get in everywhere you applied!" is going to push me over the edge soon. And I've unfortunately found out a couple people who I thought were great friends are not at all supportive of this, which may or may not be due to their own ability to cope with the thought of me moving across the country, but it still hurts and doesn't help the fragile emotional state I'm in.

Where did you see that? The application itself and the Admissions section of the department website don't say that.

I work on something so obscure that this didn't occur to me, but of course, this is ideal! (My images were scanned from foreign texts or obtained through curators, so not readily available.)

This would be so much easier if they could all get together and decide to do things the same way! I'm glad you were able to get a hold of them this close to the deadline...very fortuitous I would say!

I called three programs, and they all told me that images and bibliography were included. I messed with my footnotes so they are ridiculously small with hardly any space between, then I dumped all the images I could while still allowing it to be clear that I could "read" art. And I dumped almost half of my bibliography but titled it "ABRIDGED BIBLIOGRAPHY" so it was clear that I didn't think that was all the scholarship on the subject. You could try changing footnotes to end notes to avoid any weird spacing things where it bumps you to the next page. And maybe put all the info in the footnotes/endnotes so that you can dump the bibliography altogether? I also shrunk my images so that I could fit 4-6 on a page. I hope that's helpful. Good luck!

I hadn't considered this approach...you might have something here.

Wow. I'm so surprised at UCLA. I think yes, select PhD because it is clear, at least in the first part, that they don't accept you for just the MA.

I just looked at their site. It's the most uninformative, bizarrely arranged graduate program website I've ever seen. And especially so because I know it's a great program. Maybe lack of info is how they weed people out?

They don't have an MA program, so you have to apply to the PhD program. Basically the site is telling you that students who hold an MA may be given priority. They certainly accept students without MAs, because I know two of them. If you are accepted to the PhD program, you will be awarded a Masters degree along the way. The site is worded strangely, but they don't have a terminal MA program, so apply to their PhD program, and maybe to other terminal MA programs as back up?

I've been unsubscribing to every email list I'm on, even if it's something I like. I can't be having a heart attack every time I get an email about a sale at Ann Taylor LOFT.

Mine thinks I should focus on French Impressionism (which could not be further from what I actually do) so I can "live in 'one of those' great apartments in Paris." God only knows what this little fantasy is based on.

Me too, although I didn't realize it was gone until I finished my apps and had nothing to work on. (Pretty sure all my friends and family have known for some time, though.)

Generally, PhD programs are more selective than MA programs, so recommending you as a PhD student would definitely convey that you'd be a great MA student. If it was the other way around, I'd say you were screwed, but this might actually help you. And it also very likely says that it's an MA program on the emailed request (a couple of my recommenders forwarded me the requests and they all said PhD very specifically) so no one will think you screwed up. It will be clear that he didn't read carefully, but also that he thinks very highly of you. In terms of mistakes on apps, I think this is a good one.

I'm not comfortable with it at all, and I have to look at it every time I log in to the app to check if my recommendations are complete. But it was only UCSB; none of the other 8 programs I applied to had anything similar about funds or debt.

You need to show your ability to think critically and also that you are able to identify areas where research can be done. You want to show knowledge of theories that can be applied to this research that you propose.

Michigan has the worst app EVER, and then on the other side, one of the best status sites. Which is backwards, if you ask me.

I'm with you. The early start created a longer waiting period during which I have nothing productive to focus on and I might die of anxiety. And I thought it was such a good idea to be ahead of the game... YES. Cupcakes fix everything, no? Sorry to crash your English party...my art history colleagues aren't posting much so here I am. Art historians steal all of your theory, so why not barge in on your forums, too?

Because you need that stress on top of the anxiety over hearing back from schools. I'm sorry.

I sent transcripts and GRE scores almost a month before I submitted some of my applications and I am still waiting (almost a month after submitting apps) for everything to be updated by some schools. I have emailed a couple programs and gotten confirmation that they are there, but haven't yet been entered (manually) into the system. So not seeing it on your end definitely does not mean they haven't arrived, but I would check with the DGS or grad division (depending on where you sent them) to be sure.

Have all your writers submitted your LORs? The application will read "Incomplete" until EVERYTHING is done, not just the stuff on your end. And that includes them entering any transcripts or official GRE scores (even if you've sent them and they've been sitting there for weeks, they have to be matched to your submitted app). I'm not applying to Stanford, so I don't know what is required, but I already had the same freak out on another program's DGS, and as my writers submit their letters, everything is showing up as "Complete."

This is exactly how I feel. I'm good when it's in my hands, and once there's no longer anything I can do about it, I lose it completely. Same with tests.

I applied to UCSB and put zero. And they also ask what your student loan debt is, which felt extremely intrusive to me. I put the truth (a LOT) and since it was the only app that asked that of nine, I just answered truthfully and moved on. I have no idea how one's debt is relevant, and every time I think about it it irritates me all over again. If I remember correctly, however, not answering wasn't an option.

I have a bunch of traveling planned for December, which means I'll be working long hours in between to catch up...but come January I'm sure I'll be spending most of my free time in the fetal position, having a perma-anxiety attack until I get accepted to at least one program.

The interests you have listed are perfect in terms of specificity. For an MA-only program, you are not expected to have a project thought up and outlined that is of dissertation caliber. What you list above shows that you have put thought into what it is you like about art history, so it doesn't seem like you're applying for "fun." You might need to come up with some examples just to make your statement long enough, in which case you might say something like, "After reading blah blah blah about representations of the body...I became interested in how similar theories would apply to French/Spanish/Italian art of the 18th and 19th century." You don't need to bring up any specific theory, unless you know of something you are interested in. If you are unfamiliar with art historical theory (which is okay and will be expected since you aren't coming from an art history background) and you know of some other theory in another discipline you could even mention that you'd like to explore how that theory might relate to art, or something along those lines. (Art historical theory is stolen from other disciplines anyway. Very little of it was actually developed by art historians.) But don't be afraid to admit that you are unfamiliar but interested in learning that stuff. They will know you won't know it, but showing interest in learning is always a good thing.