catsrgods

Right? Their application was insane and stressed me out, and I never get stressed. That means it was bad!

I'm only this cool because 1) I'm old and 2) I read a lot of Stoic philosophy.

Mine says the same thing and I heard nothing from them prior to this. I will say that a very close friend of mine is a graduate student in this program and she gave me some insider info over lunch last week. She said normally they do a dinner and invite potential students to meet w graduate students. They didn't do that this year. She said she never heard anything about recruitment at all, which is unusual. I never saw a single interview on the results page for this year either. Last year there was NO incoming class, they made 4 offers and each person turned them down. Some lame things are going on in the department and things are messy. It's possible that the mailed letter is a rejection, that's what I'm thinking for myself (my status is the same as yours). After hearing her talk about her unhappiness there as well as her classmates, I wouldn't accept an offer from them myself. Life is too short to be miserable. If it is anyone's to choice then I wish them the best, I certainly don't want to sound like I'm pissing on anyone's rainbow, but it sounds like there are some legit issues there and a very prominent faculty member was denied tenure and students have left. She also said that USC is trying to craft themselves into an "Ivy League school of the west" and another friend that applied last year and was denied said they won't accept you if they can't fund you and they can't fund you unless your GRE scores are very high. I feel like a total gossiper right now, sorry. PM me if you want more dirt.

Mine says the same thing and I heard nothing from them prior to this. I will say that a very close friend of mine is a graduate student in this program and she gave me some insider info over lunch last week. She said normally they do a dinner and invite potential students to meet w graduate students. They didn't do that this year. She said she never heard anything about recruitment at all, which is unusual. Last year there was NO incoming class, they made 4 offers and each person turned them down. Some lame things are going on in the department and things are messy. It's possible that the mailed letter is a rejection, that's what I'm thinking for myself (my status is the same as yours). After hearing her talk about her unhappiness there as well as her classmates, I wouldn't accept an offer from them myself. Life is too short to be miserable. If it is anyone's to choice then I wish them the best, I certainly don't want to sound like I'm pissing on anyone's rainbow, but it sounds like there are some legit issues there and a very prominent faculty member was denied tenure and students have left. She also said that USC is trying to craft themselves into an "Ivy League school of the west" and another friend that applied last year and was denied said they won't accept you if they can't fund you and they can't fund you unless your GRE scores are very high. I feel like a total gossiper right now, sorry. PM me if you want more diet.

Fricking exactly.

Mine just changed today, so that's weird! I haven't had any interviews yet and I am not holding my breath. I will be flattered if I end up on the wait list and I won't shed a single tear if I am rejected! That being said, let's hope for some good news soon. I am ready to make some plans for this fall!

This may be my post that came off as confusing, my apologies. I was merely noting that my status had changed, but I meant to convey that the new information wasn't really anything exciting. I did not assume that my information had been passed to any one for a final look over, just that the process had started to move forward. Since we can't edit those submitted "results" I can't go back and clarify myself, sorry about that! I have not been contacted at all and neither has a friend of mine that applied for the same program. I thought I had seen someone posting about an interview, but now I think I might have been mistaken. Sorry for scaring people with my bad information. Can't trust anyone on the internet! -______- Good luck!!

Like I mentioned, I do know one person (in real life) that was admitted to the Archaeology program from the wait list. I also know people that have been admitted to UCLA and UCI from wait lists in their respective programs, though that might not be the best info to go on. Clearly it happens, but it seems like there won't be many spots for us this year. I've got a Plan B so I won't be too distraught if this doesn't work out, but my Plan A would be a much more fun plan to go with. It sounds like it's less about the wait listed folks competing with each other and more about whether the person that was admitted in your area of interest turning their admissions letter down. Anyone have any field work plans for the summer?

The email I received was written by the Chair but sent from the someone else's email account. I did not respond to it since I was unsure of whether my response would even be read. It seems like there are a lot of people on the wait list, which is certainly not a good sign for all of us. I keep hoping that some of the admits on the results page for anthro programs include some of the folks that were admitted to UCLA. Are any of you folks in Southern California?

I did post on the results page, so you've included me in your count! I am sure there are more people on the wait list that don't use Grad Cafe, but I'm hoping it's just us. I am also seriously hoping that many of the top tier students are accepted at other schools and they decline their UCLA offers, leaving room for the wait listed folks in limbo. UCLA is the only archaeology program I applied to, the others were art history programs, and it is my top choice out of all the places I sent applications to. My undergrad background is in art history, but my concentration has always been ancient Roman art/history. Archaeology makes sense at this point because it is more hands-on and context plays such a huge role in studying ancient people and the stuff they made. In searching for schools to apply to, I found that a lot of art history departments are heavy-handed in supporting students with interests in the Early Modern period and later, the future classical art historians seem pushed to the side. An archaeology program would help remedy that problem! The art history programs I applied to were probably out of my league, but they had great opportunities for classical art historians so I took my chances. UCLA is my top choice for many reasons, but one big reason is that I am local to L.A (even though L.A itself is not my favorite city, that would be San Francisco!) and have laid down solid roots and connections here. I am a docent at a local museum and I am on a committee that is working with the Getty Conservation Institute to have some public art work conserved for an upcoming symposium. I'd really like to stay in this area and keep working on the projects I've already started while continuing my education. If it doesn't work out, I have a Plan B (C, D, and E....). Cats are awesome, seriously. I worked in an animal shelter before going back to school and still do volunteer work with cats every week. Hugely rewarding part of my life. I love dogs, too, don't get me wrong. I have fostered puppies and adult dogs, but cats work with my lifestyle a little more. I like independent animals that don't need to be walked!

My plan B is more realistic than my plan A. I told myself that this is the only year I'd apply to programs because I am not getting any younger and I really could be happy with plan B. I am trying to not be too discouraged already, I have only had one rejection and one wait list so far, but it is difficult to be high in spirit with so many unknowns. My plan right now, if I do not get in anywhere, is to complete an internship this summer and then travel for a couple months in the fall. I might even retake the GRE (or punch the GRE right in the face). Plan B isn't always the bad idea out of the two. I am pretty sure my plan B might be better than plan A, but sometimes we want the thing that isn't even the best idea. We are human and dumb like that.

I was "creeped" on LinkedIn by a professor at a school I am now wait listed at. They looked at me about 2 weeks before I was sent an email about being wait listed. So, in my opinion, I think being looked at is a GOOD thing!

Hello All, I am also an "alternate" for this year's round of admits. This is my first year applying to graduate schools and I am pleasantly surprised that I stand a chance at all! I do have a friend that was admitted to this program off of the wait list and I know quite a few other folks at UCs that also got into their programs via the wait list. There is hope! I am waiting to hear from other schools, but I think I was a little too bold in my applications. In other words: I applied at places I had, honestly, no business applying at. But that's ok, Fortune favors the bold, doesn't she? LA is not my idle locale, but I am flattered that I will be considered in the event that someone turns their offer down. Let's hope they are all accepted to U Penn and decline their UCLA offers!

I agree with MsDarjeeling. I have applied to multiple PhD programs this round that told me to not even bother uploading those transcripts, they only want to see the grades and proof of degree from the four-year school you graduated from. Don't stress about your humble start at the community college. I went to a great undergraduate school after transferring and was even accepted to UC Berkeley (as an undergrad, did not accept, went somewhere else), do you think a grad school would have cared about the jr. college before Berkeley?

I might be a little late posting here, but whatever. I have an above average score in the verbal portion of the new GRE but a pretty terrible quant score. I've taken my chances and applied to whatever program I felt like with this in mind: you won't know if they will deny you unless you try. I admit my technique was a little bold, but Fortune favors the bold, doesn't she? As much as I'd like to think that verbal scores are the most important, I know this isn't always the case. USC claims that unless you have high GRE scores they won't be able to fund you and if they can't fund you they won't accept you. I also know that a few schools have minimums posted for funding that INCLUDE the quant score. Since I am applying for PhD programs the funding issue is big. I cannot take out loans for a PhD since the risk is too high that I won't make an income to pay those loans back easily. If I am not successful this round, I plan to retake the GRE with serious attention to math and reading comprehension, since those are the areas I think I didn't study enough. I cannot redo my undergrad or master's GPAs, so the GRE is the only thing with some wiggle room. I told myself that I will reapply only once more after this and if I am not successful I will move on with other endeavors. Luckily I haven't put all my eggs in one basket and have enough museum experience (in registration) to move down that career path. You can add Cal State Long Beach as another MA Art History program that doesn't require the GRE.

"MaxiJaz: The farther you get out of undergrad and the more you have to show, the less your GPA matters. GPA is a proxy for merit because most undergrads don't have enough meaningful accomplishments in their fields to assess merit (and the programs also want some assurance that you'll be able to pass the coursework/quals hurdles)." I hope the places I have applied to this round have your refreshing take on undergrad GPAs. I didn't do horrible for a single parent, ended up with a 3.2 overall at a decent university. But compared to some of the folks I know that ended up with 3.6 and above, I've become a little worried. I am currently in a Master's program where my GPA is 3.79 overall and 3.89 in my major, but PhD programs are competitive and as I send in these applications I keep hoping that my undergrad GPA won't mean as much as the other stuff I have done. Here's to hoping!