WHJackson

What are your career goals? Do you want to get a PhD eventually? For an MA, it doesn't matter all that much where you get your MA, as long as you do well (where you get your PhD is a different story). Both the IFA or Columbia MA programs have reputations as cash cows for the PhD students; and from what I've heard from students there, I wouldn't count on getting too much attention from profs at either place. If BU or Tufts is giving you funding, then it's a no-brainer, unless you're independently wealthy; you should never go into debt for grad work in a PhD.  I also think you would get more attention at the Boston schools, but it depends on the prof. Have you spoken to potential advisors? Whose work do you most admire? Who do you click with? The most important thing at the point is finding a good mentor. Talk to people--professors and current students.

Boston University! PhD. I got my MA at Tufts so I'll just be hoppin' across the river. So excited, a dream come true. 

Of course, what really matters is the relevance the chosen language to what you plan to study, but it's also a good to consider the fact that German will open up your linguistic horizons way more than Italian. What I'm trying to say is that due to the relationship between French and Italian, if you needed the latter for research down the road, you could take a reading course and work your way through. German is so completely different. Taking German would open you up to Dutch, Scandinavian languages (to a limited extent) and some others. Overall, I think German would be more practical, but I study Northern Ren so I'm biased. I'm currently giving myself a crash course in Dutch which would be much harder without the German minor I did in undergrad (I also speak French fluently so).
tl;dr think of your art interests, the grad programs you might want to go to (UPenn requires German AND French, I believe), and what other languages you might need to work with

Berkeley finally sent out rejection emails.

Is anyone else feeling really down and anxious about hearing back from schools?  I'm not even supposed to hear until after next week but I can't help thinking that I'm never going to get in anywhere!  How do you guys stay positive and occupied??

You should post those results in the results page - be honest, it's for posterity! Then the next round of applicants can drown in anxiety right around this time when they see it's possible to receive results this early. 

Hey guys! Just posting a "YOU CAN DO IT" note, since I know we're all going crazy right now. This isn't my first round of apps, so I definitely know how difficult it can be. I'm having a really hard time staying off the results board or checking my app sites. I'm seriously hoping I get in somewhere this year.
Just remember this process can be unpredictable (for better or for worse!), and it ain't over till the CURVY LADY SINGS. :-)
Now go eat some chocolate, have a glass of wine, and scream into your pillow!

Has anyone else been watching our nation devolve into a fascist state for the last few hours with the crippling dread that maybe a PhD isn't the best move right now...(amongst other crippling-dreads)?

Not that I intend to drag this conversation into memery, but you all have reminded me of this:
 

 
Also, hi! This is my first post under this account. I was here about three years ago as I was applying for my MA, under the name "ChurchLover" (I'm a big fan of Frederic Church, as I am of William Henry Jackson). Long story short, I can't access that account anymore so I made this one. I'm just as anxious as all of you. I, too, look to be hearing from a school or two sometime this week, and every time I visit this forum it feels like I'm adding fuel to the anxiety-fire. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for myself and everyone else! This is a fickle, nerve-wracking process but at least we're in it together. 
 
For anyone curious, I earned my MA at Tufts last spring and I'm more than willing to answer any questions about my experience via personal message. I don't know if I'll be much help but I'll put it out there anyway haha. 
 
Good luck everyone, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Not that I intend to drag this conversation into memery, but you all have reminded me of this:
 

 
Also, hi! This is my first post under this account. I was here about three years ago as I was applying for my MA, under the name "ChurchLover" (I'm a big fan of Frederic Church, as I am of William Henry Jackson). Long story short, I can't access that account anymore so I made this one. I'm just as anxious as all of you. I, too, look to be hearing from a school or two sometime this week, and every time I visit this forum it feels like I'm adding fuel to the anxiety-fire. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for myself and everyone else! This is a fickle, nerve-wracking process but at least we're in it together. 
 
For anyone curious, I earned my MA at Tufts last spring and I'm more than willing to answer any questions about my experience via personal message. I don't know if I'll be much help but I'll put it out there anyway haha. 
 
Good luck everyone, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Ye Olde "I see acceptances/interviews/rejections posted from a school but haven't heard anything so where TF does that leave me" crisis settlng in. Grad cafe is all fun and games till this moment! Uff. 

Hmm.. let's be blunt, here. If your GRE scores were higher, you probably wouldn't be entering an MA program in art history (or, very likely, entering this field at all). Sad, but borne out by the stats. Definitely not a field for the best and brightest.