BelleEpoque

I called UPenn's art history office and was told that not all offers of admission have been sent out yet, but they should finalize everything by the beginning of next week.

As someone who is in an MA program now and applying for Ph.D’s Fall 2019, seeing stats like this is extremely helpful. It’s nice to see where people are at, rather than hoping that the person with a 3.9 from their Columbia MA isn’t the one writing “omg I’m so stressed this sucks I’m not gonna get in.”
I’m not sure why there’s a problem? Like, why can’t people share stats *and* commiserate. 
Also, @Sad! the top 10 thing is subjective. Like, obviously some schools are better for some subjects than others. No need to take it so personally, if you have a different perspective on what programs are good for a certain specialty, then please share! It could really help someone find a good program in the future.

I'm gonna agree on basically all counts.
Not all people studying Art History are blessed with an overarching knowledge of what gets you in and what doesn't.  Especially if someone is coming from a smaller program with minimal resources.
I honestly have NO idea if my GRE and GPA are high enough to get into good programs, even though I feel they should be. From everything else I see in this forum, it paints the picture that the only ones who get into good programs are the Columbia/NYU 4.0's with a 169V/6.0AWA GRE, 10 publications, and a current position at the Whitney.  For those of us who are coming in from diverse backgrounds that prepare us in a less traditional way, absolutely - the stats are INCREDIBLY helpful.  It has nothing to do with feeling important and everything to do with understanding how the pieces of your own background fit into the pool of current applicants.
As with all things on the internet - if you don't like it, don't read it/don't post on it. Simple as that.

So does that mean that you were not accepted? Are they calling the people they have rejected first?

Medievalmaniac, I really don't think that the SoP is the right place to explain your coursework, unless it has direct relevance to the narrative you're writing about your development. I just attached a sheet with all my applications called "Undergraduate Coursework in Literature" or "Relevant Coursework," and then divide it up into "English" and "French." Under each category, I had the course number, the actual full title, the prof, and my grade in it. That way they can cross-reference with my transcript if they want, but they have the important info that they'll really be mining my transcript for isolated for them already. And I didn't have to take up precious space in my SoP explaining them.

As for what I did in my SoP that I think worked, I have some perspective on that, having been roundly rejected two years ago and pretty decent success this round (though UVa and U Washington, what is UP?! Still waiting on them). I really think the difference between my two SoPs is the big thing that made the difference, as my numbers and other qualifications (and even most of my writing sample, though I edited it) are the same. So here's what I think made the difference, in three alliterative categories:

1. Focus. Like it or not, they want to be able to categorize you. You can have secondary interests, but they have to be clearly secondary and bear some relation to your main focus. Last time I tried to tell too many stories of my development, and there were too many directions I could go in. This was partially a reflection of where I was at the time, and honestly I think they were right to reject me straight out of undergrad - I needed some time to reflect, to think about what I actually wanted to do in the field. Now that I have, my SoP reflects that clearer sense of direction and purpose.

2. Fit. Everyone tells you this, but it's true. I spent a lot more time really researching profs on the websites, then looking up and scanning through a few key articles, and skimming through the courses they taught. It really gives you a better idea of whether their interests and methodologies ACTUALLY fit yours, or whether it just looks like that on paper. I then tailored my fit paragraph to show how multiple faculty members could support my research interests (this may be English-specific, as in other non-humanitites disciplines you are applying to work with one advisor). Also, if the department has a pet methodology, it's helpful to know that - they'll look for students who fit that bill. Interdisciplinary programs that faculty are involved in and subfield/methodologically-specific colloquia, etc. are also things to look for.

3. Future. This could vary, depending on how much of an academic past you have, but for me what helped was focusing discussing even my past towards showing how it formed a trajectory for the future. I've said in other places around here that the best advice I got for my SoP was that you should think about demonstrating that you are capable of conceiving of a larger project; whether or not you end up doing that project is irrelevant, as you probably won't and the adcomm is well aware of that - the point is that you are CAPABLE of conceiving of a future direction for yourself. I focused on telling a story (i.e. "I'm interested in the relationship to place in Modernist literature") and cutting all details of my past that didn't mesh with that. So by the end I was able to say look! What I discussed doing in paragraphs x (gloss of relevant coursework/advisors, focus), y (challenges and triumphs of writing my thesis and learning theory), and z (teaching, living different places) all feed into the project I'm proposing in this last paragraph (though the project was sufficiently broad so as not to pigeonhole me). I said that I wanted to go in certain different directions, but it was clear that it would be a continuation of my development, not starting anew. They want to see that you are capable of functioning independently as an academic (should be demonstrated by your past and by the fact that you can independently come up with good future directions), but that they have something to offer in terms of guiding you.

Hope that helps!