Chicken Dan

Fortehlulz, There were two parts to my exam - both written. In one section, we were allowed to use a dictionary. This wasn't so bad. Our text was some Chinese analysis of a Yangzhou artist (If I remember correctly). The second part was tougher. We didn't have a dictionary, and were asked to translate an overview of a western art history in the early 20th century. I remember trying to puzzle out the meaning of one art movement - fauvism - for a few minutes. Oh well, I passed. That's the most important thing. No classical Chinese, but I've taken classes here in basic classical Chinese and stuff specific to my study of Qing documents. Chulianne, Yes, some of my more ambitious classmates have taken French for reading over a summer and then continued into the fall. Then they take their exams in the early spring. Some have passed; others have had to take more classes.

I'm pretty sure that this is moot, but just for the record. I applied to the IFA a few years ago and was accepted to the PhD program with full funding. I wasn't interviewed.

In our department, it depends on the language and who is responsible for administering your exam. My advisor administered my Chinese exam; it was pretty rough (even though I've had about six years!) French and German are pretty standard, so they're run by folks in these departments in concert with our professors. I'm sure that this varies from school to school, but most of my colleagues have been able to pass an exam in a new romance language after about a summer and a semester of concerted study.

I'm still trying to reach a decision, hack. The final tally: Yale, NYU (5 years funding), and Chicago. I'm visiting later this month. I've heard good and bad things about Chicago, as I have for NYU and Yale. Hopefully my visits will allow me to get a grasp on PhD studies at these three schools.

Hi Ana, It should be around $30,000.

They told me that my writing sample sucked (no surprise, as I hadn't written any academic papers in English since undergrad) and that my statement was not specific enough. To fix these problems, I spent all of last summer writing a good paper. It was published last December in a pretty good journal. Afterwards, I wrote a statement that expanded on the work that I did in my paper.

There's a post on the forum from Columbia. I pretty much figured that I'd been rejected when the prof. didn't call back. LXS- I was in the same boat last year. I wrote immediately to profs and asked what parts of my application were weak. That was very helpful.

lxs- Haha. Not a peep. It does seem late, doesn't it?

Thanks all, Hack - The prof. in Chinese art at Yale was a student with my present advisor. He used to teach at Yale, too. Insofar as a faculty match, Chicago is much better. Wu Hung and Ping Foong are really excellent, and have told me that their department is pursuing a tack very similar to that of my proposal. At the same time, lxs, you said it - it does feel like a distinct honor to have been accepted to Yale... Any thoughts about NYU? I just found out that I got in (with a Panofsky fellowship.) I'm really curious about what you folks in the US think of these schools, as all of my art history training has been here in Taipei!

Show of hands - Who would take Yale over U. Chicago? My impression is that Chicago is a better place for Chinese art history, but Yale has a better reputation. They are offering more money, too. Thoughts?

That Yale post was mine. I got the call last night...

All right, kids. Who got into Harvard? Spill it!

Congrats, Halifax! That's awesome. Now the pressure's off, right? My GREs: V 720, Q 750, A 5 I'm glad that I got into school, as I took them five years ago and would have had to retake them for next year... :shudder: BTW, that's a sick verbal score, Halifax. Dag. I totally agree that the SOP is one of the most important parts of the application. If you can show that you'll be a great fit for the department and that your interests coincide with the professors you intend to work with, you should be in good shape. A prof. from U of C specifically told me that my SOP and research interests were a very important part of their reasoning in choosing me. Oh (belatedly) - I have no further information about Columbia. Sorry, all.

Just to share - I was the one that posted about the informal interview with a Columbia professor two weeks ago. I haven't heard anything, either. Good luck, all!

Something deep inside my gut tells me that more news will come Thursday or Friday. Good luck to all!

"Stalled?" Nah. I've done two years in the Peace Corps, a year at a Chinese University, two years of work in New York, and three years at a Taiwanese University. I'll start my PhD next year. Do what you love! Heck, I'm jealous that you get to live in Paris...

Hi lxs- I only applied to Harvard, Princeton, and Yale last year and got three rejections in early March. I think that we are in for a wait. I applied to Columbia this year only after I received some encouragement from a prof. there (but still no word whatsoever.) At this point, I would only consider Harvard or Columbia over Chicago - the more I find out about the program at the U of C, the more excited I get. The only thing I'm not excited about is the bleak winter weather... Happy New Year!

Wow, that's a pretty competitive pool for Columbia! It's one of my top choices for sure, but I (also) am not counting on getting in. My guess is that only one or two slots will be allocated to Asian studies...

Just wanted to share that I also got into U Chicago. It's my first response and I'm happy as a clam!

I grew up in Central Jersey. Besides, as folks from Jersey know, Princeton doesn't really count as a part of the Garden State - it's its own little world.

I applied to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, NYU, and U Chicago. Tough schools, all. Still, I'm trying to be optimistic as I think my application is not bad. Who's your professor? What field of Chinese art is he/she in?

Hi mew- I'm applying to six schools, including Harvard and U Chicago, which motivated me to stop lurking and post. I'm an American in the MA program in Chinese Art History at National Taiwan University, & interested in cross cultural artistic exchange during the Kangxi era. Waiting sucks, especially because office hours in the States are the very same hours that I should be using to sleep.

There wouldn't happen to be any Chinese art history applicants lurking around here, would there?

...leads one to do rather silly things. I wrote to a professor at Harvard telling him that I assumed that I was rejected due to the lateness of their response! I told him that my early e-mail stemmed from the fact that I can still select classes for the spring semester and wanted his opinion on what courses might make me a more attractive candidate for next year. I'm such a fool! :? Oh well, I doubt that such lunacy will significantly affect their decision if they haven't made it. I can't wait 'till this is over.

I'm in the same boat. Does no e-mail = no acceptance? Does anyone get in via snail mail? My call to the department said that responses will go out "sometime mid-March." ugh.