BuddingScholar

I am in a similar situation, kaykay12, except for the fact that I have not been accepted anywhere. I still think, however, that regardless of this year's results, I will be applying to a few MAs next year also.  I am pretty confident about the people that I want to work with, and where I would be willing to relocated to for a PhD (location IS very important to me).  So an MA at this point might be just what I need to get where I want to be - I will put up with a small town for two years, not for 5+.
 
Though I am fine with being rejected across the board, and I honestly mean that, I would love to get all the results out of the way already. I am more and more confident that I won't be accepted anywhere, but still... I HATE that lingering sensation of "what if."

As a master's student, I taught several genetics labs on my own (i.e. the supervising professor wasn't normally around). I told my students to just call me by my first name, because anything else would be weird. Most complied, but one student kept calling me "Professor [Firstname]." When I explainer to her that I wasn't actually a professor, she just called me "Mr. [Firstname]." I said that "Mr." was still too formal, so she moved on to "Sir." I get that she was trying to be polite, and had probably been raised to address people in this manner... but it was weird for me. Especially since I was raised in a part of the country where the most common way to address a stranger is, "Hey, you!"
 
Eventually, we compromised... I let her call me "Captain [Firstname]." We both thought it was funny. A couple other students even joined in. I love it when a group of students has a nice sense of humor (now if only their work ethic had been just as good...).

Things that have helped me:

1. Stoicism, at least for the first month or two.
2. Not laughing at/acknowledging poor behavior during class, unless it is disruptive. If it seems like a real problem, I talk to the student after class.
3. Ask for help. Do not be afraid to involve your supervisor (the instructor) in any problems. Tackle them head-on, ASAP. You will be glad you did. And your supervisor will want you to do this.
4. Lay out your expectations, clearly, at the very beginning of the course. Do not make exceptions unless you absolutely must. This includes holding regular office hours, and sticking to them, unless you absolutely must accommodate some sort of scheduling issue with a student who you are sure cannot come at the scheduled time.
5. Bust the cheaters. Immediately. (After spelling out expectations regarding academic honesty, of course). You will be glad you set an example about what is acceptable. My first semester, I was amazed how many students cheat. I can honestly say that I have never cheated, so it sort of took me by surprise.
6. Remember that it is your responsibility to provide a welcoming, accepting, encouraging learning environment for all of your students. Recognize that this is not possible if another student is disrupting this atmosphere. When you are afraid of being the bad guy, remember that by ignoring a distraction/disruption, you are not being fair to your students who really try and want to be there.
7. Appreciate the students who make an effort. They will get you through when you are overwhelmed by the students who don't.
8. There will be bad days. Take a deep breath. Have a stiff drink. Talk to the other TAs. It is a learning process.


Good luck!

I want to second this advice! I emailed one professor who never responded, and I got into the program and will be going there next year. I have also heard from students that he is an excellent, hands on advisor. So I definitely agree that people shouldn't be turned off if professors don't answer their emails, it doesn't mean they aren't interested and it doesn't mean they will be an MIA advisor. Apply anyway, and figure out whether they seem like a good fit as an advisor later!

University of Delaware!!! ITS DONE ITS DONE ITS DONE

That is a lot of milk. Holy crap.

A very important criteria -- my current campus has six coffee places on campus (three are starbucks) and then 4 more off campus. Having some kind of coffee place nearby was a must!

Congrats! I thought for sure you'd choose Williams.

Yeah I was so sure it would be Williams too! But UMass is such a good program, and they probably have a Starbucks there

Congratulations!! It must feel so good to finally be done. 

I'm not looking to cause any trouble here, but I just want to put out a general PSA on behalf of everyone that has been waitlisted - PLEASE don't wait until the last minute. Please. It's human decency, really. Of course you have every right to take every hour until April 15 to decide, and I understand that these are not decisions to be taken lightly, but for the love of god, if you know what you want to do, just pull the trigger and cut the other schools loose. At least register your rejections at the places you know you won't be attending. Do it for your fellow comrades-in-arms who are all hoping to land that spot at the school of their dreams. 

Dear future Art History GradCafe lurkers,
 
I lurked this forum pretty hard over the past year, so now that the application process is coming to a close, I feel that I should post something in the hope that it might be of help to you.
 
I guess it should be obvious that there is not much blanket advice for this process, given that, at the end of the day, pretty much everyone is dealing with circumstances (field of interest, academic background, financial situation) specific to themselves. In my case, I applied to programs a number of years removed from a humanities undergraduate degree from a well-respected non-Ivy. Although I had not taken any Art History classes in school, I had a strong undergrad thesis, and a number of years of practical experience working/hanging around my field (a geographical area). I decided from the start to consider only PhD programs at places without terminal MAs. In the first place, I decided that I was not going to go into debt for an MA. I also heard from a friend (in a PhD program without a terminal MA) that classes with mixed PhD/MA students were to be avoided because the MA students bogged down the discussion. And yes, this friend came to that conclusion after sitting in on a class at Chicago *ducks*
 
I’ll say this for sure: if I had the time and money, I could have saved myself some trouble (and maybe improved my chances of getting in to some places) if I could have visited programs and met with professors before I applied. In the end, I did things backwards--I visited after I'd been accepted. On the one hand, this meant that the schools were able to pay for some of my travel expenses, but it also meant that the dynamic of the visits was somewhat awkward from the beginning: simply put, the stakes were a lot higher than they would have been if I had visited 7 months earlier.
 
As it was, I did furious research online to find professors who seemed like they might have an interest in my project, which could have fallen under either an "area studies" or a "medium-specific" rubric. I emailed a lot of people, and heard back from a fair number of them. Of course is definitely worth doing this, and doing so as early as possible; sometimes, professors will sometimes point you to other colleagues who may be of help. Still, I think it would also be a mistake to read too much into these responses (or lack thereof). In other words, it would be a mistake to decide against applying to a program just because a professor there either ignored your email, or wrote back something curt.
 
Apart from this professor/field specific research, though, which basically just involved looking through every department’s faculty page, I got important information about the process from people ahead of me. When I started applying I canvassed a lot of people to see if they had any insights about Art History programs. There were a couple of people who could give me a lot of useful information about the process. There is some really good information buried in the GradCafe archives, but it can take a lot of effort to drudge up, and most of the time it's only incidental to what you actually need to know. Getting the ear of someone who is currently in an Art History program is invaluable; they will save you, I swear.
 
I guess really want to say is this: the whole process is a crapshoot, and you should treat it as such. There is no “right” way to do it. Apply to a bunch of programs, see what happens, and try not to stress out too much--that's probably the best advice I can give. Good luck! 

I'm fairly positive but I will probably wait until the last minute, just in case.  Imma start a thread on here for where everyone ends up--I'm really curious

It's official, guys... Williams extended me an offer today!
 

It's official, guys... Williams extended me an offer today!
 

It's official, guys... Williams extended me an offer today!
 

It's official, guys... Williams extended me an offer today!
 

Yeah I wish I could be less vague.  Lets just say, it isn't a terrible program by any means, but it certainly isn't a Williams or a Columbia.  However, it is very well known for how good of a funding situation it provides, so my hope is also that if I attend and then apply to PhDs then those graduate committees will see it and more or less be like "ok good she made a sound financial decision."  And the professor I would work with is someone I really really like and I would be able to work on exactly what it is that I'm interested in.  And according to their website, they do have a really good track record of placing their MA students in top PhD programs  But I guess I'm always wary when schools say that, because I just assume that more or less any school can claim that.  I know people who went to very poorly regarded schools and went on to top programs because they are genuinely smart and hard working people.  
 
Sorry, I know I am over-analyzing all of this and I am very grateful to have these options, but I had my heart set on my top choice and I'm very worried that I will screw my future over by not going with a top school.  
 
Stupid MA funding situations...

Thank you, ChurchLover!!!! All the best at Tufts!

Just as an update, I'm about 99% sure I'll be heading to Tufts. Sounds like we'll all end up at some pretty prestigious programs, though. Good luck with Williams, BuddingScholar!

It's no problem! I was rejected. I would have liked to have been accepted but it's probably for the best, because I would have turned them down. I kind of assumed when I didn't hear right off the bat for acceptances. Alas, I am not the one clearing up a spot for you off of the waitlist, sorry. Totally wish I could be! It's slightly disappointing because I thought I would try, but I got warned by an assistant prof my uni wasn't very elite and that could have played into it (plus I can come across not as formalist/traditionalist as the program does so that was difficult to align with). I suspect I didn't meet their profile/fit as well as other people did, hence the rejection. It was a nice email though, but I didn't bother responding. 

Isn't UMass Amherst part of a consortium? Does that extend to graduates and would you take advantage of that in any way?
 
All things being equal, I'd write out in no particular order:
 
affordability of the city vs the stipend amount (can I live comfortably/afford conference travel?) local resources (museums, galleries, libraries, etc.) university resources (research centers, libraries, galleries, museums, etc) number of desirable faculty in each department what's "nearby" but a day trip from each city?  location pros and cons  fit re: your area of focus  program specific "bonuses" you liked for each school misc "other" things you like about each school or location (not necessarily directly related to your studies, but hey -- you have to have some kind of hobbies outside of school, right?) Then maybe go from there? 

Yea Tufts seems great but it's so expensive to live there even though they offered funding (but no stipend). I've heard nothing but great things about its reputation as well (from people on this forum and professors).

I feel at this point I'm leaning towards Penn even though the tuition is more because after doing research and talking to faculty at both it's (in my opinion - not trying to offend) a better school/program and it will give me the best opportunity when I apply for the phd. Philadelphia also seems way more reasonable as far as cost of living.

Just my two cents.

Also, sorry but I'm not comfortable sharing the details about finances on the internet but congrats to everyone else who got in and I hope the funding works out for you.

I bought a sweater from my top choice school and have kept it hidden in my closet; nobody knows (but you guys) that I have it. The day I hear back from the school, I will either wear it if accepted or burn it if not. I keep having dreams about going around--sporting my new outfit, of course--to let everybody know about the A-MA-ZING news. I wish!

My big take away from two stints at my small local museum is that I never want to work in a place where I have to build my own set pieces and do my own painting again, but I also learned how to install site-specific pieces, do lighting, write labels, and make a pretty cheese tray for opening night. It's valuable experience even if you think it's weird and not helpful at the time (artists, btw, should never be allowed to bring dirt and plants from their backyards into the gallery for their pieces because that's how you get ANTS).