artschoolhopeful

YEAH! Maybe this is my extreme stupidity about financial matters speaking, but I assumed that schools would accept MORE graduate students as very cheap labor for these yummy money cow undergrads that we all once were. I mean, I'm obviously wrong, but confused nonetheless.

You are very fortunate that the city that you live in happens to have low rent--that makes a HUGE difference as to how much money you save. Most places I applied to, the rent for a studio will be nearly double that amount or more. Second of all, I completely agree that people should not avoid paying off their debts. I stated that in this particular case where it appears the the OP is referring to student debt which has little interest AND appears to be fiscally responsible, judging from the fact that he/she already paid off half of it, perhaps it would be better for the OP to sit on this nest until he or she is guaranteed a bit more of an income. There are different kinds of debt, and there is no reason not to pay off educational loans bit by bit while you do not have substantial savings or income in the minute risk of an emergency that would require you to go into credit card debt. I do not like taking risks, which is probably why I can never be a good business person.

The first one to admit me will automatically advance as my top choice . gazelle--I have a couple of friends interested in International Relations and I have a little bit of knowledge about both institutions/cities. PM me if you want to know more.

Humanities--the stipend ranges from about $15,000-$22,000. I believe most sciences are about $29,000-$32,000 so that makes a huge difference. It also depends where you're located because the rent between a city and elsewhere can range.

I second the local flavor idea---especially since you're coming so from abroad. If there's a local portable food or chocolate, that's always nice, but a simple thank you card that you leave with your host right before you depart is probably the simplest and least controversial gesture of appreciation.

Art history decisions are notoriously slow. I wasn't going to start commenting on the board, but I'm so anxious all the time that I figured that exchanging thoughts with others in the same boat may ultimately calm my nerves. I am almost certain I will not get in anywhere with funding this year and it breaks my heart. I put much blame on the budget crisis. I have told myself this however--if I miraculously get in I will 1) Buy a reasonably priced piece of artwork for my future apartment and 2) Find an apartment to sublet/stay in Paris for one month so I can read and eat baguettes with fancy cuts of cured meat. I might opt for just one or the other but I constantly fantasize about both. OH and the worst part--I'm currently abroad and listed my phone number as either being my US cell phone number or my house phone so if anyone calls me or mails a letter to my house I WON'T EVEN BE THERE AND MY PARENTS WILL FIND OUT FIRST!

I'm definitely not an expert in this, but I think it really depends on what kind of kind of loan you took out. I believe that certain loans for education purposes have very low interest rates that do not accumulate while you are still in school. You also have to think about what kind of person you are. From your short post, it appears that you are a very financially conscious and responsible. If these two things are in play, then I say either defer the loans completely, or keep paying it off bit by bit. Keep a good amount of money in a savings account that you only touch for emergency purposes. I say this because as a graduate student, you will barely be able to meet ends. If an emergency is to arise (medical bills, car damages/accidents) you want to have some money in hand to cover those things and these education loans have much lower interest rates than any other kind of debt you may acquire. While the philosophy of living debt-free is honorable, there are different kind of debts to be had. That being said, if you happen to be more of a spender than a saver, then I would say pay off your debts now because the money would be spent frivolously anyway. I do agree that it is better to have a little debt and cash on hand rather than debt-free and broke.

Onside kick really turned the game!! GO SAINTS!! (much relief-- my roommate is from new orleans and almost ripped me apart during the game)

I don't think digits was trying to say that the actual Brand name matters in terms of prestige--I agree that it is a matter of access. Anecdotally, I know plenty of people with shiny top 10 school degrees that fall flat during the graduate school process and students from less ranked schools that go to Ivies. They all work hard, but some have to work harder. If we equate "Brand name" with more funding, resources, opportunities,etc and if we take two equally determined, hard working students, the one from the "Brand name" school may just have more opportunities and an easier time finding funding for his/her research. I went to one of those special snowflake schools and sought to use all the resources I could. A student of equal potential in a non-special snowflake school may not have the same access to the money I had for research and conferences. Another issue that has nothing to do with prestige OR access that I don't believe I've seen on this board yet is how coming from a "Brand name" school affects your mentality. If everyone around you acts like you're a special snowflake and can only succeed, it encourages you to take greater risks and be more confident in your work/research. In my brief semester of psychology, I read something about a case study where elementary school students who were treated as "failures" tended to produce poor work, but if teachers changed their attitudes and acted as if the student was perfectly bright and capable, the student would respond to this with significant improvement.

While I respect your opinion, I think this kind of reasoning is slightly flawed. I believe that the Brand name school DOES matter to the extent that someone coming from one of these schools may have an easier time justifying their original ideas or research than someone who is not. I am not saying this is right or that it is for certain the case, I am just trying to make sense of how most art history professors happen to graduate from the same few schools. Saying that brand name matters does not mean that every person who completes a top graduate program will automatically be guaranteed a tenure track job. The best analogy I can give is this--a nice, upper middle class high school student has very supportive parents who can pay for SAT classes and tutoring and another equally nice, poor student who has to work two part time jobs and does not have the money for SAT classes. Both have the potential and the opportunity to get into the same college, but one might have to work harder than the other. It's not that the "Brand name" guarantees success, but doesn't it make it a little easier? *ugh sorry about all the edits. I just came from a dusty four day trip to a country in which I had no internet so forgive me.

I need to ask if the importance of the "Brand name" differs between the sciences and the humanities. I am not sure if it's causal or correlational, but I have noticed that a large portion of tenured art history professors tend to have done graduate studies from about four top programs--Yale, Columbia, Harvard and NYU IFA.* While I agree that we all make our own opportunities, I can certainly see the benefit of having "proven" yourself from the very beginning. Since what is considered important in the humanities can become highly subjective, the validation that someone else from "important" places thought your insights interesting or significant previously may prove beneficial. When I began to think of applying last year, one of my professors looked at the schools on my list and sternly warned me that the name of my future graduate school does carry a fair amount of rank when it comes to finding jobs post-graduation. That being said, many of the art historians that have dominated art historical research in the 20th century have either passed or are on the brink of retirement, and thus it is becoming harder to adhere to the strict Yale, Columbia, Harvard and NYU IFA list. *Yes, there are other top art history programs, but these seem to be the four that come up the most in my own research. Notice that I am not applying to any of these and may regrettably not get into any of the ones I did apply to due to budget cuts that are crippling some of my intended institutions.

Does anyone know if this Berkeley not funding art history grad students thing will extend to other UC schools, namely UCLA?

Hello all you beautiful aspiring art historians, Not to be a debbie downer, but I was wondering what people's back up plans were? Anyone applying to other things?

I don't know how valid this is, but I'm actually hoping that the in-state/out-of-state thing might be beneficial to me for the UC system despite drastic budget cuts. I know Cornell is suffering a lot from budget cuts and is thinking about combining certain departments. And my UCLA application DID ask if I was a California resident and even what county I held my residency in and what city I was born in. I went to college on the east coast but thankfully maintained my California residency and driver's license the entire time. I am going to assume that this will play a factor in admission, especially for this year.

Hey everyone, I've been lurking forever and have feverishly been reading past posts, so now that my apps are in and February (the month of REAL waiting has begun) I figured I'd join into the conversation. I know I'm not actually applying to "art school" but this name seemed so much more poetic than "arthistoryphdhopeful." First off--congrats to the UChicago admit! Also, I was wondering if anyone is in the same position as me where their specialty/interest is just not represented by art history faculty in the United States and had to cobble together groups of potential advisors at each school as oppose to one "omg this person fits me PERFECTLY" as I have. Even in this instance, my actual area of interest is not represented--I will have to rely on faculty members in the history and anthropology department to supplement my work. Since fit is so, so important for graduate school, I'm worried that this is what will keep me out. While I've been in contact with all potential advisors and they have assured me that they are looking to support students whose interest may be geographically outside of faculty expertise, the more I read these boards, the more concerned I become. Also, has any other art historians considered applying for anthropology programs? I figure if I get rejected across the board, there's a couple of juicy anthropologists I'd be interested in working with during my second round of apps, but as my background is art history, I wonder how I would manipulate my application.