manetdejeuner

yes. maybe there is a waitlist?

This conversation on Grad Cafe talks a lot about the MA in Art History at UMass Amherst: It seems as though UMass has a lot going for it. I've been accepted there myself and I am thinking of attending (still waiting to hear back from some others, but the UMass program is a definite possibility).

I'm in the same boat.

I also have not heard a thing from any of my schools. But I think artmuse may be right: no news is good news!

Yeah, I just e-mailed the department directly asking if it's appropriate to visit campus at this time. I sure don't want to waste my time.

I made an appointment with a POI, so I'm not sure what to do at this point, seeing that I was not told not to come because decisions had already been made.

Interesting to note. I'm actually visiting next week, so I assume they are still in the process of making decisions.

Has anyone who applied to Columbia NOT receive any e-mail invite? I didn't and I wonder if that means it's a no-go. Just wondering what other responses have been...

Well, I really don't have time, but I am willing to sacrifice my less-than-exciting part-time jobs for traveling and visiting schools. I applied to a small number (6) so it's manageable. Thanks for the good luck vibes, and good luck yourself!

I had contacted my professor of interest before submitting an application about scheduling a meeting and was told to schedule through the department secretary. Once I submitted my application, I contacted the secretary and she set me up an appointment with the professor. I've done this with every school that I have applied to---simply scheduled the visit/interview without waiting to be contacted. Some schools I've visited/interviewed at before submitting my application, some after. I am still a prospective student with no admits, but I am assuming that if UChicago had already decided who they were going to admit, they wouldn't have told me to come visit next week!

Good question. I scheduled an interview/visit at UChicago for late January. They told me that if I were to come in February, I should come the earlier part of the month, so I would say that they make decisions around this time?

Hi Snooztina, I don't think it would make it or break it either way. It sounds like that if you were to respond (or not) you probably wouldn't hear anything back. :-( If you do choose to respond, I would just make it short and sweet. Good luck! I would also suggest for future contacts with potential faculty to contact the department secretary first who often times will set up a meeting for you. This has worked quite nicely for me in the past. It depends on how each school's department functions.

Always e-mail the department if you are concerned. My SOP is about 1100 words or so and the admissions and the admissions committee told me that was perfect. Just as long as it's in the 1-3page single spaced range I think you're fine. BUT, I would always contact the departments directly to make sure.

Yes, very good advice. I am also applying to UDelaware and I am visiting this week! Do you like it there?

Hi Guys, I am hoping that someone could give me some advice---I've taken the GRE twice and my scores are in the 500 range (both quant. and verbal). My scores the first time around were better and I managed a cumulative score of 1120. I am concerned as to whether I should take the test a 3rd time---I am especially worried about getting funding. I am not sure why I am so average on these tests---I took a kaplan class and I have been studying since August. It's just very difficult for me. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Your welcome. It's seems like a lot of schools don't even have a required length---I'm trying to condense my 100 page B.A. thesis into about 15-20 pages or so. I might end up with two versions---one 15 and the other closer to 30. Good luck!

E-mail each of your schools---that's what I did because I wasn't sure whether to include images or a bibliography. Some of them want images, some of them don't, but most seem to want a works cited page(s). Just check with each individual school.

I have been using the Princeton Review book, the Kaplan course book, and a Kaplan build your vocab book. I think I have enough GRE books to build a library by now! Yeah, my goal is to reach above 600---I have on a practice test, but most of the time I'm in the mid-to-high 500s. Testing is very hard for me, but at least I'm trying! Good luck to you all!

Hi Photophile, I just took the GRE last week---my scores were pretty much within the mean for people with majors in the humanities---V: 550, Q: 570. I think it's pretty funny that my math score is higher than my verbal since I haven't done math since high school! I plan to take the test again in early November and hope to improve my verbal score---at least reach 600. I am looking at the Williams MA program, and PhD programs at Rutgers, Columbia, CUNY, and the University of Delaware. I'm also considering Yale and UMichigan but still on the fence. My area of concentration is in late 19th-century French painting, but I am hoping to study more about photography during the time period, since I am interested in the mechanics of vision and how artists interpret what they see on canvas. My work is also very much based in social and political history. Are you focusing on Photography? As far as studying for the GRE, I am mainly focusing on vocab right now to improve my score since I feel this is my greatest weakness. I would suggest doing lots of practice questions! I took a Kaplan class, but I don't think it really helped me much, except made me more familiar with the test structure. Good luck!

Hello, I'm new to the grad cafe. I'm applying to both MA and Phd. programs in Art History for Fall 2011. I have a strong GPA (3.76), strong recommendations, great research and writing abilities, and tons of professional experience (internship at Yale Art Gallery and currently a director of a photography gallery in Vermont). However, I am a very bad standardized test taker---I haven't officially taken the GRE yet, but my practice scores are pretty average to not great---in the 500-630 range for verbal. I've taken a test prep class, but given that my vocabulary is not the strongest, I'm not sure in the next 3 weeks before I take my test I am going to score miraculously high. Does anybody have any advice about taking the GRE for art history programs? Thanks!