Chaplin

Seems like it's been a really slow week for news - anyone hear anything?

"Soon" is the woooorst. Yes I did apply to Brown, haven't heard anything yet! But fingers crossed for both of us!

I actually interviewed with AAMW too! (maybe we'll be classmates one day!) Did they give you any idea when they would make decisions? I should have asked but it slipped my mind.

I'm a Mediterranean archaeologist too!

I had my first interview today! I was surprised how casual it felt - though I'm sure this varies from school to school. They just asked me some general questions about my interests and experiences and why I was interested in their program. Unfortunately they didn't give me much of a time line for when I might hear about results so I'm not sure if it will be days or months before I hear back. It seems from the results page that things usually pick up in the last week of January - fingers crossed for good news for us all!

It's a nerve-wracking time, but if you look at previous years on the results page of gradcafe, there's a big increase in interviews/results around the last week of January, so there's still time!

Man this is stressful! Hope everyone is holding up okay.

Thanks all for your insights!

Hi friends! Hope everyone is making good progress on their applications this year. I have a curiosity I'm wondering if anyone can answer. In several of the apps I'm filling out they ask you to list other grad programs you're applying to. It seems that this is an optional question on all applications that ask for it, but I'm wondering what this question is about. I cannot really see why its relevant unless they are using it to see gauge how likely you are to get into other programs(?). I'm considering leaving it blank just because I don't see how it can benefit my application. Any thoughts or advice? Is there a good reason not to leave this blank?

blerp. I also interviewed with them a few weeks ago, but haven't heard anything. Their website does say that they're admitting a smaller cohort this year.

Brandeis is taking MA apps until Feb. 15th, and they offer competitive funding

Congratulations and good luck on the interview! It is shitty that JHU didn't announce that they weren't taking applicants in your subfield before you applied! That's such a waste of time and effort. I was planning to apply to Stanford, but they announced they weren't taking applicants in archaeology. Sucks but at least they announced it.

It's certainly a rough year and I have been telling myself that if I don't get in this year, it's just not my fault (maybe it's not 100% true, but makes me feel better). I think many qualified candidates might be rejected this year just because departments are not taking their usual cohorts. Good to remember the shittiness of this application season is not on us and is beyond our control.

Also would recommend asking how the department/university has handled Covid-19 and how it has affected grad students. It's a good signal for quality of life for grad students.

I also had one of the interviews listed above (I won't say where if that's okay, just to keep it anonymous). The experience wasn't too unpleasant, the interviewers were very friendly and showed genuine interest in me and my research experience. It kind of felt like a more informal chit-chat than anything else. I left feeling like it went well, but I have yet to hear back about decisions.