Furcifera
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Posts posted by Furcifera
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On 12/24/2015 at 10:44 AM, TakeruK said:
How creepy!! I can think of two possibilities though:
1. Did you apply to Duke for undergrad? They might have connected any old information from any earlier application and auto-populate. I know that many schools have software to avoid multiple entries for the same people and they really want to consolidate/merge entries when possible.
2. Did you use a browser that has auto-complete on? Maybe for some reason, your browser filled in that form for you automatically and you didn't notice?
Hi, TakeruK; thanks for the reply. At your prompting and with a couple months to think it over I realized that while I didn't apply to Duke for undergrad, I did in fact attend a get-girls-interested-in-science summer camp (obviously it didn't take. Humanities, what, what!) organized through Duke when I was in middle school. I'm actually a bit impressed they hold onto data that long.
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6 hours ago, dbcollies said:
If you're interested, I might be able to help, at least with the constant refresh of the results page. I set up a little site which will send you an email, or, if you give a phone number on a carrier I support, a text message, within a minute whenever a new result is posted to the results page that matches the program(s) and/or schools(s) you're interested in.
It's just a "quick and dirty" site, so don't expect anything pretty, but it gets the job done. Then you can just focus on all the OTHER sites you need to keep refreshing.
You are the cat's pajamas. Registered.
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Okay, so I completed my applications a couple weeks ago. I got an email from Duke this morning to start some sort of status check account, which I did. Then I notice in their "applicant information" section, they have both my "preferred" email address (the one I gave them while applying) and a "home" email address, which was my very first (as in, created at 13 yrs old) email address! How on earth was this populated? I would never have supplied it. Nor am I rocking my first (circa 2001) laptop, more's the pity. Do I now have to check all my applications for embarrassing early teen intrusions?!
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I've done this once; worked out fine. In fact, I ended up getting invited to a lot more dinners with her old research buddies than I likely would have otherwise.
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Now that the 15th is behind us and the dust has settled, I hope this thread will see some more traffic. That being said, now that I've made my (very difficult) decision, I figured I'd contribute.
Accepted: *Kansas (MA- funded), FSU (MA- funded), CU-Boulder (MA- unfunded)
Rejected: WUStL (MA), Illinois (MA/PhD), UNC (MA/PhD), Maryland (MA) [assumed. No official word from College Park.]
* = attending
GRE: 168 V, 156 Q, 5.0 W
GPA: 3.79 overall, 3.9+ Classics
Degrees: BA in Ancient Studies, Literature, and Creative Writing from Eckerd College (SLAC), MFA in Creative Writing from CU-Boulder.
AOI: Latin & Greek historiography, reception studies
Languages: Latin from high school up to graduate level, Greek only 1 summer intensive + 3 semesters following. Some German and Hebrew.
Professional Stuff: 2 conference papers and some non-Classics publications.
Advice: I either contacted or was already known to two out of three of the institutions at which I was accepted. (And none at which I was rejected.) Contacting directors or researchers of interest is usually considered unimportant at the MA-level, but I think it's a boon to both students and programs-- helps you solidify early on in the process whether the school's as good a fit as it seems on paper.
Like Petros, I'm coming out of a different department. I had no Greek as an undergraduate. Instead of going the postbacc route, I tried to forge my own while in my MFA and lucked into really supportive departments at CU-Boulder. My only real regret for the process is not having written a new writing sample and instead going with a portion of my undergraduate thesis which, in my case, was a few years out of date in terms of my skills and interests.
And if you are in the midst of a shifting path of education, as it were, don't be afraid to 1) use letters from multiple disciplines [i had two classicists and a literature] or 2) mention the benefits of your non-traditional experience [in my case, loads and loads of literary theory]. As one of my very wise letter writers reminded me, those programs which do not assign much value to those experiences will likely also not be a good fit for those skills. Better to lay it all out there in the letter than find out only when you've enrolled in the school that, say, many of the professors dislike the use of modern literary criticism when dealing with classical texts.
In summary: (1) Might as well make contact early. (2) Get the language wherever you can. (3) Represent yourself as yourself and the results will be more worthwhile.
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Congratulations! Sorry you couldn't join us at the open house! I'm still sitting in Tallahassee, feel free to message me if you want to discuss initial impressions.
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This has suddenly become a little more pressing for me. Does anyone have experience in Lawrence, KS or Tallahassee, FL?
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Got one this morning while I was in the bath. Good thing I had the presence of mind to grab a towel before I ran to tell my roommate.
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On the off-chance any of you MA-seekers applied to Maryland, I bit the bullet and emailed JH; they've made their offers, accepted students visiting campus, etc. Sounds like more offers will be extended if those four students decide on other programs.
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When you spam/try to sell stimulants to a department chair over twitter while twitter-hacked. Whoops.
- Brisingamen, Kleene, Haroun and 1 other
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That's me! Prof. Corbeill emailed me this morning. I'm pretty ridiculously excited. Doubly so because it's my first piece of good news this season.
- Conscia Fati and ἠφανισμένος
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I emailed my POI, who says there will be campus visit invites for interviews, and unofficially told me that I've got one.
So there is more to come from UT Austin I think.
Fantastic! I'm honestly very happy to be wrong. Go get 'em.
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Petros-- Seems a lot of programs are early. (I didn't apply to UGA, though. Sorry for no news.)
Marcus_Tullius-- According to previous UT-A data on the results search, it does look like they usually accept everyone at once, however this is quite early for them. Don't completely discount yourself before you have direct word from the school one way or another, but in this case no news is probably not good news.
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I agree with Frucifera on the wording of "interview via email."
Hnurgh, heard back from a POI who nicely told me, "I read your application. Looks great. Except you're gonna get screwed by Greek, you know that, right? Adcom's not going to like the fact that you only have two years." Oh well. Whoosh go my hopes!
(But really...I do western medieval. I know I only had two years of Greek, but I was still holding out hope based on the fact that I've been taking graduate level courses in Latin since I was a junior in college. Time for a post-bacc, I guess?)
I think post-bacc would be a stretch in that situation, especially if you're applying for Late Latin. Hopefully not all the adcoms will agree with this POI, but if they do-- did you apply to any masters programs where you might buff up your Greek? And if you didn't, is there a university nearby where you can audit Greek courses? As has been said, though-- a project that intrigues might trump other considerations, and it seems you've already drummed up some interest. Definitely let us know how it goes!
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Pretty sure that means they were invited via email to do the interview, and not that email is the mode of the interview. Could definitely be wrong, though.
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As a wandering Jew, I feel I can answer this.
Mobile, AL: Almost none, but the Jews there stick together like glue, so you'll always have somewhere to eat a Shabbat meal. It's got one of the oldest reform congregations in the US; pre-Civil War style.
Pittsburgh, PA: Sizeable, for outside one of the major metropolises. You can find anything on the spectrum (including Chabad, of course, gellert), especially in the Jewish epicenter of the city, Squirrel Hill. Also has a community newspaper, The Jewish Chronicle.
Dallas, TX: Mostly reformed, though you can also find Modern Orthodox, Tradish, Conservative. Especially in North Dallas and the more affluent suburbs (ie, Plano). Generally I would say "just don't" to being Jewish in Dallas, though. Not easy.
St. Petersburg/Tampa, FL: Yes, yes, yes. Yes. Yes, yes. Yes. (Yes has now stopped seeming like a word for me, but Tampa has your full spectrum of Jews in a supportive environment.)
Boulder, CO: No. Well, yes, if your idea of a peaceful shabbat is rock climbing with thirty other spry Jews. Well, that's not entirely fair. There are Orthodox here, but the Reform & Renewal definitely are the louder participants. In Denver you've got more of a spread. The synagogues put more emphasis on charity than a religious experience (a very Boulder mindset) and is not for those who want a more traditional experience.
Syracuse, NY: Upstate is still NY; this is a Jew-friendly city. Leans more Orthodox and Conservative than Reform. Its JCC (like most) is very child/family oriented.
TL;DR-- Tampa, Pittsburgh, Syracuse=yes. Boulder, Mobile, Dallas=no.
This is just my experience; YMMV.
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Haha, sorry for accidentally calling you out on not posting results, Starbuck... I thought you just had insider information or something; didn't realize you were an admit. Huge congratulations on UC-B!
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I'm really digging what's been posted already. Here are my suggestions:
I find it impossible to be angry/upset while listening to Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
When I'm stressed and trying to complete a project or paper or something, I listen to this Drift Effect song on repeat. Mostly for the chorus of: "It's okay; you're okaaaaaaay."
If you can't stop crying, this one's for you. (Especially relevant in June, if [Lord forbid] we aren't accepted this round.) A little Sam Cooke.
Edited to add Martin & Lewis.
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And none are on gradcafe? Dang. Or if you're lurking, Berkeley admits, submit your results for posterity. Think of the children.
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I'd maybe take a bullet to share Κυπρία. You can thank me in advance.
But really, I'd give my eye-teeth for Cypria, Pliny's book on the Flavians, and some more salacious Suetonius. (Lives of Famous Prostitutes, maybe?)
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1) Congratulations! 2) Ahhhh, the season is upon us!
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Well, I won't be much help with deciding between those-- they're both on my list. Anthony Corbeill is both as nice and helpful as everyone suggested; Cathy Marler, who is organizing the WUStL apps, is way organized and on top of things. I bet if you send the transcripts now, they'll get there in time.
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Hey, Janeiro. Welcome to the board, and good luck to you as well. How have your applications been going?
As to whether or not this signals a suspension of the program or just a temporary financial issue, I'm not sure. Though, there's been some hear-say about young faculty and tenure denials which tilt my suspicions a bit. But that's neither here nor there.
Now I'm stuck trying to decide whether I should bother my letter writers to submit to a new school or stay with the unsatisfactorily odd 9 school list. Hmmm.
Petros, if I lived anywhere near you, we could go out for sympathy gins. Are you going to stick with your current 5? And I'm glad now that I grumbled about it on GradCafe, if just to save you some time and moolah.
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I'm verklempt. Vandy seems to have suspended their MA admissions for this year. Their funding, emphasis on travel, and location (hell yeah, Nashville) had made them a top pick for me. Also, nixing it at the end of the season seems a bit uncouth, considering that most applicants (myself included) will have paid for GRE scores, transcripts, and what not to go out. At least I found out before I paid the application fee.
Sorry for the rant. I'm sure the Vanderbilt Classics professors, students, and program assistants are the worst off in this scenario, if the program closes, but I'm still disappointed.
Hope everyone's applications are finished or going swimmingly; I have just one more to submit.
Current "rankings"?
in Classics
Posted · Edited by Furcifera
And Notre Dame's MA in Classics has been in existence for... what... five years? No slight to their faculty, merely some question marks as to their track record/history. But I don't know by what rubric it would be "easily one of the most respected programs in the country." Maybe if you were studying late (as in Church, really) Latin?