jmb04

Yeah maybe the fit wasn't there? A friend of mine was on an adcom and she told me they've turned away applicants who were perfect on paper simply because their interests weren't a good fit with any of the existing faculty. Did you contact any of the faculty prior to applying? If so, maybe you can ask him/her as to why you didn't get in. In any case, keep your head up. You haven't heard back from all of them. Good luck!

Any word on getting a replacement? (Good luck considering the UC i$$ue) Or is Darcy Grigsby supposed to fill the void (except her primary focus is really more late 18th-early 19thC.)? Or maybe Whitney Davis will do more mod/contemp? This really, REALLY bums me out. I can't imagine Berkeley (or any school for that matter!) without solid modernists.

I had heard that Tim Clark was retiring. I didn't know about Anne Wagner. Is she retiring completely or just moving somewhere else? This is one of the reasons why I didn't apply to Berkeley... that, and I totally enjoyed my undergrad years there but want to go elsewhere for a different experience.

I love Seinfeld! One of my favorites is when Elaine brings Uncle Leo to the doctor and says, "I'm his nurse, *gulp* Paloma." harharhar

ditto on the ball state proctology rejects. whoever is doing it, thanks for the $h*ts and gigges! HAHAHAH!

Saw that today and got a good chuckle!

Their pride has just been hurt. It's a coping/defense mechanism. That's all. And I think some of those comments are laced with sarcasm... or are just for laughs.

The only time I brought up being a lesbian was in a diversity statement. Aside from that, it didn't really make sense to put it in my SOP. As for LGBT life, I got lucky. For my on-campus visit, I was fortuitously paired with a lesbian who told me lots of useful information. Grad students are really much more suited to answer these types of questions. If a grad student isn't available to you, you can also just google "LGBT life (enter city name)" and find things that way.

Agree with kingmak. When the profs talked to me in person they sounded like they already reviewed my app beforehand. I can only guess that they pulled it out of the pile because I emailed again. And fortuitously, the official adcom met 30 minutes after my interviews with them. If they get annoyed by one email, then they probably wouldn't be attentive advisers to begin with. Or it could prompt them to single you out and see that you have initiative and are genuinely interested in their program.

Maybe I'm the exception, but I contacted two profs after I submitted my app. The process has no official interview process, but I managed to get in-person "informal" interviews. Two days later, I got an unofficial acceptance via e-mail from both profs. Before emailing, I asked the grad coordinator if it was presumptuous at all and she said no. Maybe it depends on the faculty and the program.

Thanks! It did go really well. Official paperwork hasn't been sent but I received word that I got accepted. I'm really happy about it. The profs there were very welcoming.

I don't know about this year but this is very likely. The UC system (and the state) is broke. This really bums me out.

Emma: I knew the adcom at UT met on Wednesday because I was there for informal interviews and they told me. Some departmental admin staff are also helpful with this kind of info. The coordinator at UT told me that results will be sent out by Friday.

My backup plan is to sell the idea of Art History Monopoly to Hasbro. Who wants in on it with me? haha Ok seriously, this is my first time applying. If I get across the board rejection, I will: 1) Re-take the GRE to improve my Quant score. (I spent all my time studying for the verbal and did really well, at the expense of my quant score, which makes me look like I can't add without a calculator) Sure it's not as important but I don't want to give anyone an excuse not to accept me. 2) Find an art-related job because what I'm doing now is almost completely irrelevant to the art community (and the rest of humanity I'd even snidely argue) 3) Apply to more places next year, and be even more neurotic and diligent about it

To anyone interested: UT Austin started ad com meetings on Wed, 02/03/10. *crossing fingers*

Hi Emma - I think getting an internship/research experience would bolster your CV and give you better chances should you be unlucky in this cycle. Also, if curating is the way you want to go, an internship would provide the proper opportunity to get an excellent LOR from a curator. Northwestern will allow you to submit two writing samples if your first one is on the short side. It wouldn't hurt to write a second one if you have time. Make sure to contact your faculty of choice if you haven't already. I hear ya on the waiting is driving you crazy part. I think that's all of us! Our discipline especially seems to be quiet on the results front. The acceptances/rejections are flooding in for everyone else, but for us it looks like the majority of the results will come in about two weeks or so. Best of luck to you!

Speaking of games, I played Cranium not too long ago and the category was unscrambling a person's name. Hint: pop artist. When the opposing team read out the hint, I blurted out "Andy Warhol!" without even seeing the card. Them: "Hey that's not fair, you've obviously played this game before!" Me: "Uh no, I'm just an art historian." haha! I wish someone would make art history Monopoly. (This is how big of a nerd I am)

Not a crazy story, but along the same guidelines of being lighthearted: Please tell me I am not the only one who has ever played impromptu art history charades, or a similiar arthist-themed game. Popular works depicted: JL David's Oath of the Horatii and Manet's Olympia I did this as an undergrad and now I miss having art history cronies.

Yes I'm thinking of Clayson. Since she will be back next term hopefully they'll send her my app for review (assuming I make it past the first round of cuts). To the UChicago admit, congrats!

To watersnake - thought I'd be diplomatic and move the conversation over here, lest those HISTORIANS get snippy again haha! We've co-opted their name already, and I didn't want to rub it in and invade their forum too Anyway, my faculty of choice at NW is on leave and I'm not sure if she's taking in any students. I'll just have to wait I guess. The anticipation is killing me right now, and with nothing academic to do in the meanwhile, I'm already thinking of ways to improve my SOP for next year. :\

Watersnake, thanks for giving me my chuckle for the day. Now go back to the art history forum where the crickets are chirping and the people who actually have results have been tight-lipped about it.

I don't think it will be a major factor, but it could be a deciding factor. For example, if they are choosing between you and one other person, and both of you have the same qualifications and very similar interests, maybe the diversity statement could tip the scale one way or another. That's just my guess. My SOP was very academic, whereas I chose to display more of my personality in the diversity statement. It's optional, so I don't think it's that important. However, it wouldn't hurt to turn one in, right? Especially if it will show off your maturity and strength of character.

Congrats to the shortlisted person for Northwestern (per the results page)! What is your focus?

I'm in the humanities. Nothing formal, but I'm visiting a program next week. I secured appointments with two profs and a grad student, mainly through networking.

Dear School, In the immortal words of Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls: And you, and you, and you... YOU'RE GONNA LOVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Seriously. Please send my acceptance notification STAT, so I can move on with my life. Thanks. Sincerely, jmb04