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I was thinking that, too! This week and next week, I feel, will be begin weeks for hearing back.

Without a specific school or program it is hard to say, but many graduate programs do not admit students in the spring, only in the fall. When you are looking at programs' websites, usually in the FAQ section or the page explaining the application procedures, it will detail that. My guess, if you are seeing December deadlines and nothing else, is that they do not admit for spring term.

Agree and agreed! I keep getting to 5:00/6:00 and thinking, well now what am I going to do until tomorrow morning.... every week/day makes the anxiety go up!

Good luck Nesbit! I hope it was a great idea My fingers are crossed for you and everyone else, too. And, we made it to Monday. So it begins again, and the first week of February, as well! Good luck!

Atlantis! Sorry, I somehow missed this! He is very art historical, as is Jasmina Tumbas, which is why I was attracted to the program. I am not nor was I an undergrad at UChicago -- is that where you are now?

I cannot comment on too much here as your program is very different than mine. But I also overcame a health issue and so I will address your second point. I incorporated my health issue in my SOP because I, too, felt it demonstrated something of my character. But you do want to do it carefully. For me, I incorporated it in my conclusion. The advice I got was to theorize it a little bit; talk about your health issue, what you learned from it, and how it has made you more suitable for grad school. I put mine at the end because there is a lot to cover int he SOP and I wanted to be economical with my space -- for me, it could only add but I didn't want it to be the focus. For you, it sounds highly relevant both in explaining your GPA and showing the differences between that GPA and how you are able to manage now. The only thing about the GPA I would comment is that often graduate schools have a minimum requirement. This is not necessarily set by the department or the program but by the school. So wherever you decide to apply, I would look into that and maybe email the graduate school to inquire. Best of luck! EDIT: If you want to see one of my SOPs, I would be happy to share it with you. Just send me a PM.

Very interesting topic and NU is a very good program for your area -- good luck on your interview. Those are the people I had applied to study with as well. Two of them, anyways: Huey Copeland and Hannah Feldman and another faculty member outside the department. Keep us posted on how it goes and I think based on your interests and the faculty there, you have a very good chance! I am familiar with Jane Blockner's work, her work has been relevant to my own research at times! I wrote my undergraduate thesis on Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and she is well published there. For Buffalo, I applied there for Jonathan Katz, who is a really good fit for my area of interest. Best of luck

I think it varies about the website. I have heard people saying theirs have changed, but none of mine have. And one says completed and a POI emailed me saying they were reading my application materials and another one said incomplete for two weeks after I submitted the application and then just changed to complete. Depends on the software they use. And a day before is a day before and the day of is good, too. I think a significant amount of people submit around then. You should be fine.

Hi! I don't know much about anthropology programs, but there is a sub-section for Anthropology over in the social sciences: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/45-anthropology/

Good luck to you, too! My Cornell app just converted the application status from incomplete to complete, meaning they finally going to start looking at them -- it's not like I was looking at those online applications everyday already, ha!

So a little bit different for myself and my partner, we are not planning on him moving wherever I am going -- it wouldn't make since given a lot of the locales and he has an ideal job/career path where he is. So he has been very involved in encouraging me to apply to programs and throughout the process (he was my rock, especially when I felt insecure). And he will be involved in the school selection as far as helping me decide what is best for my career. We are also having to negotiate in advance how we want to handle the distance, which is where his voice matters a significant amount and will take a lot of work. He hasn't visited any programs with me yet, but we are considering that option in the spring.

@epinephrine I live in Chicago and one of my first full time jobs paid $31,000 -- and I was able to live just fine (not gloriously). I know that Northwestern's funding packages are within that realm, I believe (at lease for the programs I am looking at). Chicago it depends on where you live and your willingness to live with roommates, which will make some neighborhoods much more accessible!

Doesn't mean they didn't; it just wasn't documented here, necessarily. It isn't a foolproof system, I suppose! Good luck!

I think the previous two posters have great advice and what I was going to share. Just want to add a bit based on my own experience. For strong LORs, definitely engage with more faculty but try to do so than merely in the classroom. A good LOR can still be bad if it is written in generic language. You want to select people, if possible, that can truly comment and recommend you in a very complete way. For example, two core writers for me: one was my undergraduate advisor with whom I met with every semester to discuss courses, took courses with her, included in my thesis writing process, and attended local conferences/exhibitions she recommended and she often saw me doing so. The other was a one time professor turned mentor and reader for my paper, and a relationship I have continued even after my graduation. These two already had a lot of information they could use and, I can confidently say, were invested in my continued success. So when selecting LORs, think about who can do that for you. Also tailor your LORs to the program (if and when you have options to choose). For example, if I had faculty that had strong connects to the POI I was interested in, I selected that person. And for another program, I needed to truly demonstrate my commitment to queer theory and selected the advisor I sought out from outside of my department. I also wouldn't say tailor your interests, but what was recommended to me and what I found helpful, was be confident in your SOP writing. Realistically, everyone knows that your final project is likely to change from undergrad through your PhD process. But proposing a project that you are passionate about and reflects your knowledge of the literature in the field of your interest. Also, say why that school is best for achieving your goal -- this takes research! For me, I mentioned specific archives, galleries, and proximities in addition to faculty that would be important to reaching my research goals. Truly and thoroughly answer why a program would be ideal in the pursuit of your goals beyond it being a top program -- because there should be much more behind that. And know your POI's work and be able to reference it and respond to it. I did a lot of, "I appreciate this idea x and believe you can expand it to y, which is how I propose getting to my underlying idea of z in my research ambitions etc." And also, and I know this is a lot to pack in, for art history and I am just assuming history is similar, be able to talk about your methodology. One thing for the writing sample that my advisor recommended (paraphrasing here): if you have an acknowledgement section, be sure that you acknowledge within it your recommenders as this will further strengthen their ability to comment on you. For me, I was able to do this as all those that I chose to write on my behalf were very integral to my writing sample with the exception of one recommender for one program and for personal ethical issues, I did not include him. But if you can, I would say make sure they are there. POIs -- going to repeat that this is much more important than an elite program by itself. While going to an elite program will help you, especially in the humanities, if you choose a program over the POIs there, that might work against you in the long run. Find POIs that will be invested in your research, are well known for your area of scholarship, and have a commitment to helping their students in the long run. Getting a degree in the humanities, from anywhere, is not a guarantee of a job in the long run. It is highly competitive, so try to study with people that will help you get where you want because they are well connected in the area you want to study. I personally had mixed results with emailing in advance, but I do think it helps. I also went to visit a program before I submitted the application and I was accepted into that program without an interview. So pre-application contact is important, but don't be discouraged if you don't hear back the first time or promptly -- faculty are busy people. And as for GREs and GPAs -- like everyone said, not end all, be alls. But I like to think of them as benchmarks. Your GPA is strong and I would strive to achieve a GRE score that fits the programs, which you can ask in advance to see what you should be aiming for. For me, looking for art history programs, verbal was far more important than quant and I focused my attention there a la the suggestions of ashiepoo. Good luck! EDIT: Networking tip that worked pretty well for me -- look at any major paper you have worked on (thesis for example) and go straight to your bibliography. Where are the people you cited working? Whose arguments were you really engaged with? This is a great place to start -- and email those people! I made a great relationship with a professor at NU who has become a fantastic partner because I emailed him, said his ideas in x paper really structured my own in y paper. He ended up reading my paper, giving suggestions, and has kept in contact and wrote an informal email on my behalf to the department I was applying to (unsolicited). I have found that (at least art historians) are very responsive when you say you read their work and that you were engaged with it. Great way to network.

I think it totally depends on the program and how they send out interview requests. Did you try searching past results to see how the interviews went last year? I.e. did the posts come in over a number of days/weeks or were they all at once? That has helped ease some of my own anxieties... Good luck!

I think it depends on your relationship with the professor. I asked all of mine via email but the ones that I asked were also expecting it to come (i.e. they all knew I was applying). Also, mine preferred email because then they could have all the due dates, relevant information, and necessary documents all in one place. Just my experience. As far as who to select, I can tell you how I made my decisions for Art History/Visual Studies. For that, I think that PhDs are relevant especially if you are applying to PhD programs, as they are going to be commenting on your readiness and capacity to operate in that specific environment. Also when selecting, you want to select people that are going to be able to not only write positive letters for you but will be able to specifically come up with examples about why you are a great fit. A positive, but generic letter is not going to be as winning as a positive and highly specific letter. So choose faculty/people who you have worked with closely and have developed a strong relationship. Not sure if there is proper etiquette, but I think the relationship you have with them makes all the difference. Also, think about the specific programs you are applying to and who would be best geared towards that. For the bulk of my LORs, I asked two specific people: my undergraduate advisor and a professor turned mentor who also was a reader for my undergraduate thesis. My third LOR, if the apps called for that, was my "swing" person and I tried to tailor that to the program. Who would be able to best comment on you based specifically on the program you are applying to? Hope that helps and granted I am only a year ahead of you in the process, but I wanted to share what I did!

Well, remember, rejections are for many, many more factors that being qualified. There are funding factors, research interests, department balance, etc. They are selecting candidates at that point, not necessarily bagging people as "bad" or "unqualified." I think being short-listed for an interview twice shows a consistent interest in you as a candidate, which while hard to swallow now is definitely something. I am hoping for interviews at least from a few more programs! Maybe you could contact a POI to see how you could improve and that you are very interested in their program? Are you still looking at other programs?

This is my first application cycle, so I don't. Not yet, anyways. But a mentor of mine did tell me about a friend of hers who applied to the same program five years in a row. So, four rejections and then one final acceptance! Sorry, though

Hi Schwartz and thanks There are some differences that are more than semantics. To oversimplify it, Art History is specifically interested in the art-object while Visual Studies is interested in the image and the consumer/recipient/receiving culture and the relationship between. Now that being said, there are a lot of Art Historians in Visual Studies programs and often Visual Studies people in Art History programs. For my research interests, I am often aligned with Visual Studies but I have a very Art Historical approach. And I was specifically interested in the NU's applicants' areas to see if they were contemporary people. I received a positive email from a POI there that lends me to hope that I will get an interview, but you never know! But I am interested in learning everyone's area, too. Yours sounds very interesting! Have you ever looked at Lisa Saltzman's work at Bryn Mawr College? I know she is interested in trauma and post-hollocaust art. I am not super familiar with the area, but it sounds interesting and I definitely see some theoretical parallels to my own area of interest (queer art during the AIDS crisis and in the contemporary moment -- also interested in generational framework). Keep me posted! If either of you both end up at UChicago, let me know -- Chicago is where I live and I would be happy to give advice on where to live, things to do, etc. Good luck!!

Congratulations to the two Northwestern applicants who have so far been invited to interview! I also applied to that program. If you see this, what are your respective areas and who did you apply to study with? Also wanted to say that I got my first acceptance. SUNY Buffalo's Visual Studies PhD program. I know it is not Art History, but it is a related field. Very excited about it!