ultraviolet

good points. my logic is that my top choice is actually a less prestigious program than others i am applying to, and it's because there is one beyond amazing professor there that i really really want to work with. i think most people who apply there view it as more of a 'safety school' (if such a thing exists for phd programs), so i thought maybe it would be a good way to show that i'm really serious about it and if accepted would attend... plus it's just being honest! but i see what you guys are saying, and will probably just stick with listing all the reasons why it's a great fit and leave it at that.

I am wondering if it is acceptable to note in your SoP that a school is your top choice, if it is true? Any thoughts?

I agree about the bib not counting toward page limits. I do wish there was more of a general consensus about the writing sample. None of my programs offer any guidelines at all. Hopefully this just means they don't care about formatting details, but to an applicant the uncertainty can be nerve-wracking. I like your suggestion about changing the heading to reflect where I'm sending it. Thanks!

for the writing sample, should you leave original heading intact? (ie date written, professor and class submitted for, etc?) also, for a research paper do you include your bibliography?

for the writing sample, should you leave original heading intact? (ie date written, professor and class submitted for, etc?) also, for a research paper do you include your bibliography?

This is a tricky question. If I were you I would do everything I could to minimize the cost of getting an MA - apply to state schools, and for any and all funding available. If you are unable to get any funding, perhaps you could take out loans for half the cost, and invest the rest of your 50 grand. I would try to talk to a financial investor if I were you, to see what kind of interest that money could earn while you are in school. Depending on interest rates it's possible it would be cheaper to take out loans and let your money accrue interest while you're in school, and then pay things off when you're out of school. In sum, try to talk to someone who knows a lot about money. In the end you have to do what you think is best for you. I think if it were me, I would try to save at least a part of the inheritance for a rainy day. Best of luck to you.

I think it differs a lot from program to program, the school I was referring to generally admits about 7 to 8 art history grad students a year, so reducing that to 2 is a pretty big change. Other programs I'm applying to admit somewhere between 7 and 20 students every year, and hopefully won't be making such drastic cuts. Fingers crossed! Side note - anyone heard anecdotal evidence as to if applications are going to be way up this year? Or down? In this economy, who knows.

Applying to Art History MA/PhD programs this fall, to study contemporary art and feminist/gender/sexuality theory. I'm having a hard time deciding which paper to submit as my writing sample. I have two choices - one is a 20 page research paper with notes and illustrations that roughly falls in my area of concentration. However, it was written to meet specific requirements for a class and as such is a little heavy on research and light on creative analysis. It is well written but the second half is much stronger than the first, which is basically a summary of existing scholarship on the topic. The other paper is about 14 pages, with some notes and fewer illustrations that is related to my concentration but less so than the first choice. It is well researched with better creative analysis and overall I think better written and maybe more impressive. It is more like a journal article than a research paper. Do I choose the first paper, and hope they read all the way through to the more interesting second half? Or go with the second, shorter paper, even though it's more off-topic? Any thoughts would be appreciated! *One more note, the first paper relies heavily on a book written by a professor at one of the schools I am applying to. It is frequently referenced and praised in my paper. Not sure if this would be to my advantage or not as the professor may disagree with my conclusions.

The responses I received were generally warm and helpful. One professor at a large state university warned me though that due to budget cuts their entire department accepted only TWO grad students last year, and the admission rate this year is likely to be in this neighborhood. Anyone else hearing things like this? Now I'm terrified, even though I consider myself to be a strong applicant.

Very reassuring, thanks fuzzylogician for sharing. I've calmed down a bit now and will probably follow everyone's advice and save myself the time and stress of retaking so I can focus on the rest of my app instead. Reading other people's thoughts has helped give me some perspective on this. I appreciate it!

Thanks for your thoughts! There's something about the GRE that just strikes fear in my heart! It feels so high stakes, even though I know (or hope at least) that the rest of my application is what matters the most. It's just frustrating to know I could have done better, but I'm sure everyone feels that way. I appreciate the input.

Hi all, I'm new to the site and have been panicking ever since my scores came up on the screen yesterday. I scored 670V (95%) / 720Q (77%). I'm applying to PhD programs in Art History, including two ivy league schools. I'm panicked because I routinely scored 700 to 750V on practice tests, and was so dismayed that I didn't score in my normal range on the test. I'm worried that scoring below a 700V could hurt my chances at the ivies. I am confident if I retake the test I can score in that range. Is it worth it to retake? My scores are probably fine for the other programs I am applying to, but I feel having a higher score can't hurt there either, and may be important in funding decisions. If I retake and score above 700, this will be only a 2 to 3 percentage point jump. Is it worth the stress, time, and money to take it again??? Help!