Joel418

I would also like to know about Berkeley's musicology program or humanities in general. I saw a thread about "Berkeley take out the trash day" in CS, but haven't seen anything like that outside of the science departments. Of course, I am hoping to find a reason not to lose hope, as I haven't heard anything from them yet.

I am just going CRAZY! I have heard from only one of the nine schools to which I applied (invitation to interview with Pittsburgh), which for those of you keeping score at home, means no acceptances I realize that it's a bit early to be freaking out (most schools say that official notification will come around the beginning of March), but I've also noticed that most acceptances go out around the first two weeks of February. Can anyone offer reasons not to get discouraged? I must admit, I can just see all of these non-rejections very quickly turning into rejections in a couple of weeks...

Just got invited to interview at U Pitt sometime this month. Unfortunately, they do not pay your expenses for pre-admissions interviews; I guess I'll just have to find a way.

Any further word on the Ethnomusicology acceptance from Berkeley? Did it sound like they had contacted their Historical Musicology folks as well?

I asked a member of U of Illinois's (U-C) music faculty if student funding has been cut for the 09-10 school year, and she said she hadn't heard of any cuts in that department.

Well, we have our first listing. Someone was accepted to UNC-Chapel Hill's Master's program. Any details?

We finally had a musicology posting (UNC-Chapel Hill) for Master's work, which sets off two panicked thoughts in my head. One is that I didn't get in (which would be disappointing; I really liked the professors and students with whom I have communicated), the other is the panicked hope that they are notifying Master's and PhD candidates separately (I know that they don't fund Master's students and only some of the PhD students). I guess I can only hope.

While I certainly do miss the intellectual stimulation of the grad-school environment and even though I would prefer to spend my days in that milieu, I actually really enjoy my 3-year-long "day job" (I've been teaching while my wife does her masters, just like she did while I did mine). I teach music in a public middle and high school, and it's a wonderful community, a great group of students, and some really wonderful music-making going on! Also, during this exasperating waiting season, it really does help the time pass...

The earliest that I expect I might hear from anybody is the last week of January, several during the second or third week of February, and another group in the middle of March. To which schools did you apply? I might be able to let you know when to be watching for them. Also, you can check the "results search"forum (the music* search pulls up the most complete list) for a listing of when several programs notified in 08. Best of luck! Joel

Since several of these options could easily be combined, I'm setting the poll to allow folks to vote for two. Enjoy!

Is it true that, when it comes to assistantships, each department will usually have a certain number of awards to hand out at their discretion? Or is it like fellowships, for which departments nominate candidates for university-wide competition?

I've never applied in this field before, so I don't really know what I'm up against, but I'll just take a guess: 9 apps 3 acceptances with funding (if the breaks go the right way) 3 waitlists 3 rejections (one politely, the Ivys will probably toss me at the beginning of the process) I guess we'll see.......

I've applied for the fellowship to do PhD studies in musicology. Here are my basic stats: UGPA: 3.5 GGPA: 4.0 670V 720Q 4.0AW I have a publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal, which is based on a presentation given on a regional conference; a major publisher in Germany has also expressed interest in a book project of mine. I have two years experience as a program annotator (a position that doesn't mean much except that I get paid to write). I also have two years TAing experience, and three years experience as a public school teacher. Probably not too fierce competition; oh well ?

Don't feel bad. In my SOP, I wrote that I am keenly aware "the Harvard's" and "the Princeton's" professional placement rates :roll: At the grad-studies-application level, I would bet they're trying to find strong potential; they're not looking for reasons to toss out applications the way that potential employers might. Best of luck!

Well I'm teaching in a public school right now, and our winter semester begins tomorrow. So for the first time in my teaching career, I'm really glad to have so much work to occupy my mind!

It's entirely possible. (Of course, I also sent my article to all of the schools, which is an example (19 pages) of tighter, more focused writing on a more limited subject.) The point I am making about samples that are over the recommended length (whether by a little or a lot) is that, if you have approval from the school, just send your best stuff. Sending my thesis was not about them reading all 75 pages; it was about showing them that I have successfully undertaken a large-scale writing project tackling a broader subject. Even if they just read five pages and flip through the rest, my purpose is accomplished. :wink:

The best thing to do is to call the school and ask. Most schools aren't going to toss out a strong candidate's packet just because their writing sample was 1-2 pages longer than requested, though others might look at it and say "well if they can't even follow simple instructions in the application process..." For example, I sent my thesis (75 pages total) as a second sample to the schools that were asking for two papers around 20-25 pages. Of course before I did, I called and asked; all of them said that it would be fine.

One other thing to think about when it comes to "safety" schools: If you are applying to the school because you think the admission standards are more relaxed or that the competition for spots in less fierce, are you sure that it's a school that is going to be able to compete in your job market after graduation? I will certainly admit that there are programs to which I'm applying that have a reputation for more competitive admissions, but I wouldn't consider applying to a program whose reputation would keep me from getting past the "paper phase" of the job application process (the review of initial documentation such as resume, educational history, etc). Personally, I'm a bigger fan of the numbers game, just applying to a good number of good programs, hoping that one will think I'm a good fit. I've applied to two Ivys, a school that models itself after the Ivys (Brandeis), the U of Chicago, and about five strong programs at state schools.

Thanks lotf I must admit, I'm somewhat intimidated by the Harvard crowd that I've met to this point. Princeton actually seems like a good group, but I've always perceived a notion that I'm not "Harvard material". Of course, I felt that way about the school where I did my Master's, and obviously that worked out!

Yet another story: First a little background. I applied for Master's work in Music Performance (conducting) in 2003. At that time, my background was entirely in music performance (I had written small papers for history and theory classes, though I had not made any effort to study writing). I took the test cold and scored a 6.0 on the AW section. During my Master's, I took an interest in musicology (music history and criticism, which is a writing-intensive field). I took advantage of as many opportunities for writing, including a thesis-level document I voluntarily wrote under the direction of the head of the musicology department. (The project, incidentally, is in the process of being published as a book by a major German publishing company.) Since graduating in 2006, I have been teaching music in a public school while my wife has been doing her master's. During that time, I have written a paper that was presented at a regional conference; the paper was later published by a peer-reviewed academic journal. Now it's time for me to apply for PhD work in musicology, and the first time out, I scored a 3.5 on my AW (95th percentile in verbal)! I requested a re-score and my appeal was rejected. I retook the test and scored a 4.0 (97th percentile in verbal that time). By the by, I have studied the official GRE prep book and worked with the software as well (I could not afford the Princeton Review or Kaplan classes since I am applying to 9 different schools, which has cost over $1000 so far). I didn't address the writing score in my statements of purpose, hoping that my mention of multiple professional publications will assuage their concerns over my test scores. I was incredibly angry when I first received the scores, but since sending off all of my applications I have felt very little concern for the situation. It's probably ruined my chances with the two Ivys I applied to, but if a school really doesn't care to look beyond arbitrary numbers, they probably wouldn't be the best school to deal with anyhow (what is this, stage 6: rationalization? I'll let you know when I reach the final stage

I guess it's time to start the 2009 "aspiring musicologists uniting in anxiety!" festivities I'm applying for PhD studies in musicology to the following schools: UC Berkeley; U of Chicago; Harvard; Princeton; UNC-Chapel Hill; Ohio State; UIUC; Brandeis; UPitt I believe the earliest responses I might see will be in mid-February. I'm really hoping that UC Berkeley will work out; after that, it would be a lot of weighing of the pros and cons, if I am so fortunate as to get into any of the other schools. And of course, it's "no funding, no way" for me. I have three letters of recommendation that I believe are strong, a PS that I feel good about, and a few publications (one major article; several reviews; and a position as a program annotator for a professional orchestra here in Tucson). I've got a website at which committees can view samples of my writing and lecture presentations as well as my teaching portfolio (I've been teaching music in a public school for the past three years while my wife has been doing her Master's in music at the University of Arizona). I did pretty well on my GRE (except for the writing section, which was truly frustrating since I have already been published; hopefully the one will cancel out the other). Of course, I've never applied for Musicology studies before (my Master's was in Choral Conducting), so I have no idea what I'm up against. I guess I'll just have to wait...........and...........see.........