Daisy Spiegelman

Fair enough, fair enough -- your points are well-taken, everybody. I will say this though, I have a couple of friends who are also applying to graduate programs having had professional lives with outstanding practical credentials in their fields of study and outstanding academic records who are bewildered by their negative application experiences. As to my sanctimony, yeah, maybe I am somewhat sanctimonious, but when one is far away from one's twenties s/he expects to be extended certain courtesies that younger people tend not to expect -- or demand. Furthermore, I happen to get along quite well with colleagues, but again, as one gets older one becomes less tolerant of nonsense. So no, I'm not bitter -- but I am disappointed. Just for the record, doctoral work in epidemiology is real-world based. An entire career based upon the music of a village near the Macedonian border is la-la land. And to those of you who are pursuing this path which is extremely difficult and doesn't hold the same security as it did in years past -- my comments were not to diminish your accomplishments or choices. On the contrary, they were to illuminate the need to keep the work of academics relevant -- to you and to your students. People in their twenties tend to want to have an impact on the greater society. People who are my age (which will include your professors) usually have more mundane and self-focused concerns. You are the future of academia -- stay young at heart.

My fellow travelers: A number of years ago I met with the dean of the music department of a local university at his suggestion.Long story short, he was demeaning and condescending, insisting that because my primary instrument is voice I cannot read music having learned everything by rote. (I didn't bother advising him that having also studied piano, I can read three clefs and, if I've had enough coffee, four.) After that meeting I abandoned the idea of graduate work in ethnomusicology. I revisited this path last summer and applied to five schools to begin work in the fall of 2013. I followed the rules, filled out the forms, assembled the documents, paid the fees and did my due diligence. I admit, I had lousy grades as a Political Science major in college, but my grades in 42 credits of music courses are mostly As. I scored a 166 on the verbal section of the GRE. I am a licensed attorney so I have a great deal of experience in interviewing, research, and writing. I will be presenting on one topic at an international conference on the arts and humanities next week and another topic at Oxford this summer. Why wasn't I accepted? Who knows? Who cares? It's an entirely subjective process. Lousy grades? I'm too old at 48? I have a child? I have goats? (Yes, I really do have goats.) Since I've probably been around the block several times more than most, if not all, of you -- trust me -- academia is not for those who live in the real world (from which I need a break -- which is I why I wanted to hang out in la-la land for a few years!) Think BIGGER than this chapter! No matter what, LIVE your lives and LIVE your music -- no one needs a piece of paper from an insulated institution and their whopping $20K a year stipend to call oneself a student of music (and that goes double for you composers). For those of you who will be attending a program -- this is just the BEGINNING of your professional lives. Please don't allow yourselves to be seduced by self-importance and complacency. Remember -- someday you will be on a Ph.D. admissions committee.

I shall use this experience in my stand-up routine.

I called the department last week and was told the decisions were made and at the admissions office. I called the admissions office but no one answered the phone. I sent an e-mail to the department and have received no reply.

Sorry about your disappointing news, blagosphere.

Dear counterpointer, Thank you for your insights -- they never even occurred to me. I just presumed I wasn't competitive because I don't have the formal background, so I didn't even bother applying. It's a shame, too, because Temple is literally right down the street (albeit, a long street).

Still no word from Columbia? Would someone just shoot me already and put me out of my misery?

run-kmc, if you don't get into grad school, come east and do stand-up with me at open mic nights in the Village.

I didn't know Temple even offered any funding for Master's degrees. I actually live in Greater Philly. Temple also "expects" a bachelor's degree in music, even for historical musicology (my interest is ethno). I happen to be an attorney, and my undergraduate degree is in Political Science, but I've taken a number of music courses. Besides, for ethno, transcription notwithstanding, the social context of the music is the primary focus of the discipline. (I'm also presenting one paper next month and another one this summer, both overseas.) I have lousy grades, but As in music and a 166 on the verbal GRE. Maybe it's because I'm in my late 40s. Too bad -- I'm a great student, a lot of fun, and a damn good cook.

Okay, here's the score: Rejected by Princeton, CUNY, NYU, and UPenn. All that's left is Columbia, and obviously dat don't look too good. The problem with the rejections is that with no reason given it's impossible to cure any defect to apply later.

And there's always Sunny Bryant's barbecue -- probably worth moving for!

Hi, Sunny Composer -- In my opinion, much of your decision hinges upon how you intend to use the educational experience, degree, and contacts. But at the heart of all of this, for something as personal as composition, which school provides you with a mentor to whom you and your compositional style are best suited? On the one hand, having established yourself as a pianist in New York is a great accomplishment and not something to quickly toss aside. On the other hand, having to pay SUNY anything is absurd, as is CUNY not offering you any funding. Having said that, I'm inclined to recommend staying in New York and transferring to another school if you're not satisfied. BUT, and this is a big but, there are the issues of where your family resides, whether you're married, whether you have children. If you have no ties, this may wonderful opportunity to live in another part of the country, get to know other musical idioms, and grow as an artist. In sum, while economics is a crucial factor, much depends on the people with whom you'll be working.

I used the Princeton Review and found it very helpful in preparing for the exam, overall. Having said that, I received a 4.5, which means some 24 year-old making $15 an hour read my essays and determined that my skills are mediocre at crafting a persuasive argument. I've been a licensed attorney for over 15 years. The GRE is a test of how well one performs on the GRE -- nothing more.

It's probably safe to say that anyone in his/her 40s (I'm 48) applying to a Ph.D. program is young at heart and doesn't worry too much about age as a reason not to do something. It may cross our mind or factor in somewhat, but it's usually not controlling. (Unless good balance is required or there's heavy lifting.)

Actually, as an older applicant (I'm 48) I do have some concerns about being in the classroom. One of which is learning style, which is markedly different for older students. Indeed, when I attended graduate school at 29, the differences between those over 25 and those under 25 were already apparent. Another issue is how we will be viewed and treated by professors who may be our age or younger and who are accustomed to relating to students in their 20s with less real-world and employment experience. Another concern is stamina. I cannot stay awake for days on end writing or studying like I could when I was in my 20s. Finally, there is the physical aspect which directly relates to the amount of reading required in pursuing an advanced degree. One frequently loses visual acuity with age. I am now near-sighted and far-sighted -- which requires a constant refocusing of my eyes depending upon the distance of the thing at which I'm looking. Age really is a relevant "demographic characteristic."