Emma2003

It is never too late to do what you want to do. Some people continue to graduate school right away, but many do not. Personally, I didn't start my undergrad until I was 27, and married, and working fulltime. (Iwas an artist, I didn't need to go to school, come on!) 3 years later, I was pregnant, and that slowed things down significantly. Another kid happened and I found myself with a BFA at 36, and absolutely NO job prospects. After a failed MFA application round during my final year in undergrad, I decided that maybe I wanted to re-evaluate where I was going, and now here I am, ready to start my MA in Art History in the fall. Feeling too old is just a feeling. Don't let it get in your way. If I'm not too old at 37, and I'm not, you are definitely not too old at 27.

Thank you so much! Yes it is! Sorry it took me so long to reply..I found myself missing a few days from the forum now that I'm not obsessively checking the results search...

Ahhhh......Accepted!!!! The wait is OVER!

I am still waiting on the only program i applied to. I had been freaking out because it was way past their regular acceptance date, but a few days before the application deadline (mid-march) I recieved an email that one of my letters of recommendation had not arrived. On the one hand, I was slightly frustrated, since everything else had been fedexed to them before last Christmas, and on the other hand, I breathed a sigh of relief, because it meant that there was a reason I had not heard back yet. I got a letter sent to them immediately, and received an email letting me know the application was complete. I am trying not to read too much into this, but my feeling is, if they weren't considering me at all, wouldn't they just let it lapse and reject me for incomplete application? I must be at least interesting enough that they want to hear what a third person says about me. Especially since they've already sent out both acceptances and rejections...The one bright spot is that the person that contacted me, said the ad com meets in a few days, so pretty soon I'll know...

I've been scouring the results and it seems like responses are lagging behind previous years...Am I crazy or is the wait a little longer this time around? Maybe it just feels that way....

You mention Ikea. My suggestion is to go there and pick out your stuff and then order the heavy items online and have them shipped to your new address. They have a shipping estimate calculator and will call you 24 hours in advance and give you a 4 hour window to receive your furniture. It is probably comparable to what you would pay to have someone move the stuff after you buy it. If they have an Ikea near your new place you can also purchase and have furniture delivered when you get there. What a great problem to have though! Grad school and all new stuff! Generally, with large purchases like furniture most places will require you to be present to receive the delivery and will bring the furniture to your apartment. I would tip the people who bring it up, though.

UIC is in pretty much the same state as UIUC...Illinois is suffering from not only the bad economy but the bad management of Blago....When he left he left the state in shambles..everything that depends on state funding is suffering. The state of illinois owes UIC 236 million dollars.The town I live in is closing 2 of its three library branches. and my husband, who works for public transportation says that they are in danger of losing federal funds for public transport because they match what the state provides. Come to Chicago!!!!! Brandeis caused quite a stir selling off their art collection, so maybe they're doing well, at this point?

Sorry, trying to edit my post and can't seem to figure it out...Anyway, feeling like no reply is good at this point, but in a week or two, it will begin to be not so great news..Here's hoping I hear today!

I think the fact that I haven't yet been rejected has to be positive. although, I am hoping to hear soon...

Thanks for the replies. I initially made some contacts with POI's when I was looking at doctoral programs, which is what got me directed towards getting the MA first. I have been attending the school I've applied to for my MA as a non-degree seeking grad student. I asked one of my professors for a LOR. I think visibility wise, I'm in good shape. I just wasn't sure if I should take NOT being interviewed as a bad sign. You guys have put my mind to rest in that regard. Thanks!

So, just a general question...do the majority of Art History programs interview candidates prior to their acceptance? Coming from studio art, this is so different than the process I'm used to for applying for schools..

I sympathize with your situation. I applied to one school this round, which had a application deadline of January 1st, in order to be considered for funding. I fedex-ed it to the Department address on the 22nd of December. i was near panicked when I found out that the department office was "closed" from before I sent it, to the 4th of January. Granted, it was the holiday season, but you'd think that they would make the priority deadline occur during a time when there was someone there to receive the materials. At any rate, it WAS received before the deadline, according to the website... I'm certain that it will be fine. If you take a look at Boston college School of theology and ministry "admissions process" page, they say that if you have additional materials and are concerned you won't meet the Feb 15th deadline, to please let them know. This sounds more hopeful, than schools like UChicago who state applications materials must be 'received" by the deadline. (emphasized the received) ( I applied there last year...)

Jane Austen is highly readable.

If i don't include either checking gradcafe results search for any news or checking my application status through the school website, I think that leaves.... 1. Beatles Rockband 2. Watching Torchwood 3. Organizing my purse. 4. Learning piano. 5. Trying not to nap. (Unemployed and out of undergrad for nine months, believe me, this is an accomplishment!) 6. Pretending I'm reading "City of Thieves" when I'm really re-reading the Half Blood Prince 7. Accidentally watching Spongebob Squarepants for several hours before I realize my kids are at school, and I can watch anything I want. 8. Painting wood to look like a different kind of wood...(so the threshold matches the wood floor.) 9. Playing Words with Friends on my phone.

You know, I wasn't trying to teach you anything. Nor did I personally attack you. I am sorry that you feel the need to be combative. I am not in anyway implying that there aren't cut off numbers for programs, and that depending on the type of programs, that the standards are more rigorous than others. I made this post originally before I read the long history of intense fighting in this thread, and went back and edited it to explain that. However, the just of what you seemed to be saying was that no one should apply to grad school without reaching a particular score on the GRE, and I still disagreed with that, so I didn't delete what I wrote. Top schools do accept candidates with varying scores, and what a good score is depends upon more things than the raw score itself. You did not provide any substantive back up data at that point, and you really did seem to be discounting the fact that there are great differences in percentile rankings between the two sections. Things aren't black and white. A score of 1200 that has a 500Q and a 700v might have an excellent shot of getting into the English PHD program at Berkley (your example). And a person with an 800Q and a 700+ verbal might not make it into MIT because of a lack of relevant research experience or less noteworthy LOR. (I removed the part about Brown, because I found individual subject area pages of their site that stated the GRE is required. I was basing this on several sites i found that said Brown did not require GRE scores for acceptance. for example: http://www.greexplorer.com/Average-GRE-Scores/Brown-University.html. And: http://testprep.about.com/od/thegretest/f/GRE_FAQ_Score.htm. Its important to be accurate and admit when I've made a mistake! :-) ) People are making the decisions, and a lot can happen inside that process. I am sympathetic to your frustration after reading the thread, and I don't necessarily disagree that sometimes, especially in this competitive climate that the GRE is a controllable way that you can improve your chances. I do think it is excessive to discourage people who are excellent candidates to apply because they are poor test takers. In researching Berkley, in general, based on your response to my reply, I found this response to what the average GRE scores they accepted were: "Many students admitted into our program score in the 750-800 range in the Quantitative section and above 500-550 in the Verbal section. Again, this is an average and the admissions committee looks at a student's WHOLE application not just their GRE scores." Emphasizing the last part. I found similar language used on most of the university sites I visited. Graduate school is difficult to get into, but not impossible, and there are many people who do succeed, with varied backgrounds, scores and experiences. And sometimes, the decisions are arbitrary, or based on funding and fit. I was speaking with a friend who got into a program during a year when they let 20 people into her department and the next year, they let one person in. I took issue with you presenting an argument through which you indicated that the GRE was a dispassionate tool, yet your examples of the 760q and 700 v didn't support that. It implied that there were different standards between fields in terms of general score. It implied that there were differences in the playing fields, even in your mind. The GRE is not a dispassionate tool. It makes decisions about your abilities and is extremely unforgiving, and not necessarily the best indicator of those abilities. It decides what questions you see, and places a value level on what you are able to answer correctly. People are not getting the same test and being judged based on performance to an identical measuring stick. On the verbal, you can memorize 1500 words and if there is one there you either haven't seen, or don't remember, it may not matter. The GRE is a blunt knife. And I think that most admissions committees understand this. I am sorry if I rubbed salt in your wounds, I didn't mean to offend. I hope that you got high scores, and I hope they serve you well. I was average on writing and average on quantitative and "good" on verbal. Here's hoping each of is right with respect to the programs we applied.

Thanks, i think so. I've been looking at the GRE forum, and I can tell things are really competitive. I'm sure it does make a difference between masters and doctorate. I'm still studying for it, just in case. And I may retake it next fall if I'm unlucky this round. Thanks for the response!

I realize this is an old post, but are you aware that a 700 on the verbal section is a 97th percentile. You can get an 800 on the quantitative and still not reach that percentile. I think that's an unreasonable expectation. The equivalent to a 760Q score in percentile range, would be a 600-610v. (Funny, I came to this thread to get an idea of what reasonable GRE scores might be, and made these comments before I read very far in the thread, didn't quite realize what a fight there was here. Not trying to fuel the fire, but it just seems to me that if we're basing things on how likely your score is to be better than another person's score, we should use the same percentile as a tool for measurement. The numbers felt more like what you thought were good scores, than scores based on the standardized measurement tool that you are purporting them to be. If you are truly looking at the scores as a way to weed out the chaff, I suggest being fair in your measurements. You should look up the average admitted student GRE scores, they tend to be around or below 600 for verbal.) http://testprep.about.com/od/thegretest/f/GRE_FAQ_Score.htm

Okay, I'm a little confused here. Isn't a 600 a decent score for verbal? I've checked into this, and from what I can see, most schools have an average near that or below for admitted students on the verbal section. Granted, I understand the urge to do better, but seeing as it isn't a red flag score for most programs, if your other materials are strong, I would think you'd be in pretty good shape with that score, after all, 86 percent of the people who took the test did worse than you, right? This is a topic I'm interested to hear opinion about. Most of what I read says that unless you really feel that your score doesn't reflect your ability that it is best not to retake because a drastic increase in score is unlikely, and you might do worse. I have thought about retaking, (I got a 610) but I haven't because I managed a 610 in quantitative, which i am positive I couldn't manage the second time, and I felt the rest of my application was pretty strong. And I was fairly sure I wasn't going to break 700. The best I did in practice was 670.

Congrats on the interview! hope it went well. That makes sense.

Thanks jmb04! I have been in contact with one of my faculty choices and spent a good deal of time on an informal phone chat. he was very nice, and very positive. I actually changed my plans based on some of the things we spoke about, and decided to pursue a ma first to become better prepared. One of the reasons I am pursuing the museum studies certification is that it includes an internship, so I'm hoping that'll help, just not in time for this application cycle. I've noticed before people being aware of adcomms, maybe this is a silly question, but how do you guys get that info?

One application, no word yet. Based on last years dates It seems like I've got about a week left. Which means I'll either get the best birthday present ever or the worst. After 4 rejections last round, I'm not going to worry, one can't hurt as much as four, right?

Hey all. I'm new to the art history forum here. I was a studio art undergraduate, got my BFA last year. I have about 24 credits in art history and 7 (3 in undergraduate, now 4 in graduate) in museum studies. I'm currently enrolled as a non-degree seeking student working towards my museum studies certification at UIC. I am interested in contemporary African American art history, with an emphasis on curation. I had a 3.66 gpa out of 4.0, with a 4.0 in the subject area, and a 610 v/q and a 4.0 writing. My writing sample is an 11 page paper on race films, so it's related but not completely on subject, but I think it is a thoroughly researched, well written paper. I have strong recommendations, including one faculty member of UIC, the only place I'm applying . I know this seems crazy, but ultimately, I really am interested in going on to get a PhD through either U of C, or Northwestern and working with either Darby English or Huey Copeland, respectively. But I feel like I would be better off getting my languages done and applying with a stronger writing sample for these programs, and maybe getting some research experience or an internship. My interest is in the places of intersection between the museum and contemporary African American art, what that looks like and how it changes the narrative voice of the institution, which I feel is in line with the urban emphasis of UIC. But as time ticks on, I'm just wondering what my chances are. Not hearing is driving me crazy. Any thoughts for what I can do to strengthen my application if my lonely little egg falls out of the basket?

I am under the impression that there are A LOT of applicants this year. I know from what i've seen at school, undergrad enrollment is down too, because no one can get loans. So schools are tightening their belts, and those with bachelors who can't find work are flocking to school. It's a bad balance of supply and demmand. the schools can be as picky as they want to be. I think that is just the way it is. I know Brandeis is looking at selling off many of its artworks and artifacts in order to balance their budget because their primary benefactors lost hundreds of millions to Madolf. Hello bad economy....

Residencies are a great idea, but i'm kind of stuck where I'm at. i have been looking at internships though, particularly curatorial ones. I think part of my plan is to take the GRE this summer and secure some sort of internship or even just volunteer at one of our many art museums if I can't find anything else. I think I am going to expand my applications to include some museum studies and art history programs as well. Experience, experience experience.....Looking back there are some things I wish i could have done differently. But, I guess it isn't over till it's over...so I'm still going to keep on checking the status check....until it reads something other than pending.