JosePalacios

@klavierstucke Sure, I don't mind sharing! Prepare for a wall of text, haha. I guess the first thing that I got sorted out was taking the GRE. Summer is an excellent time to do it (especially if you're still in undergrad and continuing school in the fall, which I was!), so if you haven't taken it already, I'd recommend signing up! I was a bit worried that my scores were on the low side, but chose not to retake it. As far as the application goes - first, I'd make a spreadsheet of programs that you're considering applying to. Note what each requires, as it differs among programs. For example, one program might cap your writing sample at 25 pages, while another one might allow up to 30, etc. Other things to pay attention to are funding, transcripts, specific SOP requirements, personal statement/diversity statement requirements, letters of rec, etc. If you add all of this to a spreadsheet that you can edit as you find out new info, you’ll thank yourself down the road! Most importantly, it will help you keep your due dates sorted out. I can’t over-stress the importance of choosing programs where there’s at least one, and ideally several, faculty member(s) with whom your research interests align. This isn’t to say that you have to copy their interests exactly, but the committee should be able to read your statement of purpose and have a clear idea of which faculty member could be your mentor. I looked at the department websites and identified which faculty members I could potentially work with, and then I searched for their work on google/JSTOR and skimmed it to get a sense of their interests. (Keep track of this on your spreadsheet, too!) It’s also helpful to look through the little grad student profiles on the department’s website, if available, and see where their interests lie. Try not to pigeon-hole yourself, but keep in mind that the committee is looking for someone who will complement their program. But don’t be afraid to set yourself apart by looking at something in a new light in your application! I feel that my statement of purpose was one of the best parts of my application, and that isn’t because I had a clear vision of my interests were or what a statement of purpose was even supposed to sound like – it was because I rewrote it a million times! I had a few people read and critique it, which was painful but oh so necessary – I’d highly recommend getting another pair of eyes or two to read over yours. You may want to use a general ‘draft’ version and then refine it for each particular school. My overall advice would be to try not to stress about what you can’t control, and be proactive about the things you can. The way I tried to view it was, “Well, my GRE scores might not be high, I didn’t come from an Ivy League undergrad school, I have very little (okay, zero) research experience… but what do I have that others might not?” Be it your background, GPA, unique research interests, impressive writing samples, whatever – play to your strengths. Apply to a reach school or two, because why not? I got into my reach school that I thought I was totally underqualified for, and got rejected from others that I thought were safety schools. The truth is, no one knows what the committee is looking for in each particular application cycle, and many programs only accept a few people out of a pool of qualified applicants. Just try your best and try your best not to check the results page every (hour of every) day once your materials are submitted - it will only stress you out! Best of luck!

I think that list looks pretty good, although I don't know much about placement statistics. As far as GRE scores go - I got accepted into 2 of the schools on your list with Verbal & AW scores around the 82nd percentile, Quant somewhere around the 55th percentile. So, my scores weren't super impressive! I think that having a high GPA, great writing samples, and above all, demonstrating that you're a good fit for the program with your SOP are important as well.

I applied to PhD programs (in the humanities) last fall, and I used my school email, because I figured that it might look more professional. I think either is fine, though!

Man, this wait has been brutal. Waiting to hear about funding from one school, and waitlisted at my top choice. I wish I could go back and tell myself in December not to worry about checking portals and emails obsessively for four months, because it's April and I still don't know anything! Would have saved myself a lot of anxiety and time lol

Anyone else waiting on NYU GSAS results (for musicology)? I emailed them asking for an update on my application status and got a generic response lol I just need to know.

Congrats on your acceptance! I hadn’t seen any notifications via phone for Brandeis in the past results on the results search so I was curious about that. I have a waitlist and several implied rejections at this point (no acceptances), so I’m praying that I’m at least waitlisted at Brandeis - only time will tell I guess. Congrats again!

Saw on the results that someone heard from Brandeis musicology -- would you mind sharing some details about your experience? It says notified via phone - has your application status changed on the website or did you receive any email yet?

Saw in the results search that a musicology applicant got waitlisted at NYU. If that person is active in this forum, would you mind sharing if you were interviewed beforehand? (Also, congrats!)

Yeah, that's what it looks like, so maybe we should be hearing back in the next few weeks. I don't see any past interviews on the results search, but there are not too many recent results up from recent years... hopefully, we get some good news either way.

Anyone apply to Brandeis or know if they interview for PhD applicants?

Wow, congrats! Hope it went well. Maybe they do different rounds for ethno/historical interviews... I'll just anticipate a no and hope for a yes!

On a separate note - has anyone heard anything about interviews from NYU?

I feel your pain - applied to 5, with one rejection and one waitlist (and no pending interviews) at this point. I think we should keep our heads up and not worry too much about flat out rejection quite yet (at least that’s what I’m trying to tell myself!). It’s hard because I’m definitely starting to worry, but we still have half of the unis we applied to left and it only takes one acceptance :-) Good luck on your interview!

Yes, that’s where I checked mine. The status update showed up near the top of the page and, like @mm3192, it said that it had been posted since the beginning of Feb. Maybe it’s slow to update for everyone? Or maybe no news might be good news? Good luck!

Anyone who applied (for musicology at least) at UC Berkeley: I just checked the portal and the admission decision is there! I never got an email notification about it, so maybe decisions are up for everyone now as well. It was a no for me, but best of luck to everyone else!