Herbie

As a previous lurker and someone who went through the Fall 2011 app season, I would add that students should be more direct here. Relieve as much exhaustion by directly e-mailing your POI with a succinct intro and simple question as to whether they are accepting potential advisees. Give time for the response, and so should you not receive one, forward the same e-mail with an edited title: "I am not sure you've seen this?" This. I support your general statements as well.

What courses are you looking to take? I've dwindled it to AH786 and AH822, though I'm very interested in AH867 (Material Culture).

Redparis6, you sound fairly ambivalent in this paragraph. It goes without saying that obtaining a PhD requires long term commitments, so I would suggest you sit down to create a more definitive idea of what you prefer in your short term to long term goals. I had have a serious case of impostor syndrome, because I similarly believed my grads were subpar. Then, somehow Gandalf resurrected like the great Jean Grey Phoenix after fighting Balrog of Moria and blessed me with several acceptances! I do believe I applied to good programs, though this is subjectively dependent on my research topic. *I* definitely can't answer the first question. I'd also rather not speculate and let your mind roam on the endless possibilities that'll plague you while waiting on admission decisions. Based on my own experience, however, I'm convinced that there exists no beautiful formula for a strong application. Attention for a strong application should certainly be invested in the letters of recommendation, writing sample, statement of purpose, and background in the field as opposed to numerics. I'm also convinced that the actual number for the GRE doesn't matter as much as the percentile. It's pretty illogical to take a year off from school simply because of transcripts, so no you should not. Many schools require final transcripts prior to course registration, etc. Though, thinking on it now -- if you expect significantly better grades your senior year, or course credit from an internship, etc. it would be a wise decision to take a year off. During this free time, perhaps you can do things you'd believe would strengthen your application even more. I would also suggest that the letters of rec come solely from art history faculty, or perhaps one could come from an interdisciplinary study in direct relation to your research interests and the field. It's a decision that takes some time, so don't fret. Do realize that if you opt for a Master's, that funding is typically scarce compared to PhDs.

Yes!! Well, how about this: if I successfully identify you as "amr" from codename TGC, we are then tentatively required to have a hot chocolate powwow.

I carry my books in my hand. It's been years since I've had to bring textbooks to class aside from obligatory language courses. I have a Kavu rope bag. It was on sale for 30 bucks. It has a lifetime warranty. It has a buckle. It's pretty hipster in fashion, but is meant for endurance since it's primarily used by hikers. I began using smaller notebooks with different sections, and they fit perfectly. There's two compartments. Its inner lining keeps cold things cold, and hot things hot. My last year of undergrad, I did a trial run of not taking my laptop with me to class. It worked pretty damned well (that and my Apple battery needed to be replaced . . . and Apple is Apple and expensive). I'm pretty minimal. If you require taking things "just in case," then a rope bag is definitely not for you. I don't know what to expect as far as my research regimen is concerned, but I'm not fretting since I have Dropbox, a flashdrive, etc. Plus, I don't want my entire life to trod away in the hands of a wily 'robbawuh.' I've seen some dope messenger bags. I'd imagine if you plan on biking though, a sturdy backpack is the better option! Edit* I guess a generic pic would be pretty jazzy. http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/500/207821994.jpg <- I originally had a houndstooth print version, but was being very cruel to my buckle (as was my dog) and it broke. So now I have a solid gray one, hassle-receipt free.

"Being organized." I've heard this repeatedly. It must surely be a wise suggestion. I never invested properly in a planner (chyeah, $5 dollars for some addresses and a calendar??), but I purchased one from Le Targét recently. I'm excited to use it, and scared. I've already mapped out my first couple weeks, and holy crap batman. Also. I've heard through the grapevine: "Don't ask any questions you have the capability of finding through instant information. If you can't find it, then as." I paraphrased, but I hope that is decent advice.

Departmental e-mails providing information with outside funding sources National Gallery of Art College Arts Association Several fellowships, endowments at various institutions: http://members.efn.org/~acd/resources.html#PreDoc Sex/race-based funding can be found for humanities majors on specific websites That's what I could think of instantly. My list is fairly nondescript, but I hope it provides a solid framework. That said: I don't want one more person to compete against. [: i remember feeling über fatigued from searching for external funding sources for my first year. They were either all-but-not, required deferring the program for a year, or had a deadline incongruent with whether or not I was even accepted into a program at that time. Here's to hoping for Spring 2012 and the coming semesters! Good luck!

I don't want to look back after several years and put my foot in my mouth, but Patricia Hills doesn't intend to retire soon. While deciding between schools, I expressed this concern with her. Similarly, if you discover you're interested in her research, or other Americanists like Kim Sichel, I would suggest personally messaging them to further investigate whether or not they'll be around for advising during your career there.

Sigh. Sorry if this isn't a substantial post, but I'm just watching my interest add up for the next indeterminable amount of years.

I live ~4.5 miles away from the building I need to be at every morning. By car, it's roughly a twenty minute ride. By walking to the T Orange Line, to a bus connection, to walking again, it's about 45 minutes barring any unforeseen travel issues. I can avoid the Green Line in this case. Walking is an hour and a half, and if I decide to only bike, it's a 30 minute commute. I've decided to do the second choice, and will blossom into a biker perhaps in the Spring semester. I'm still terribly unfamiliar with roads not along the T. I feel I made the best choice (financially and sanity-wise) by not living in Allston/Brighton, because it's much cheaper to rent a room in JP, force myself to meet new roommates, and the community is extremely diverse. I need diversity. That, and I would have to pay out the ass to bring a dog and cat with me, but not so in JP. So yes, because I consider my pets family, I was extremely against moving without them. Realtor: "Iz it absolootly imperahtiv daht you bring ya dag?" Coming from Atlanta, I'm not miffed about the commute time. Actually, I'm very excited about learning how to "no-hands" the T while reading a book. Will I be successful? Who knows! I am also working on campus, so I won't be inclined to return immediately home once my classes are over.

Despite all the tourists, I fell in love with Harvard Square after I discovered the "garden level" comic book store.

Writing SOPs is hard. I'm far from a SOP aficionado, despite beginning a program this fall. I can say that if this is the introduction to your SOP, that you're introducing way too much in a cursory manner. This actually seems fairly convoluted, and would be better if it was simplified into separate paragraphs. If you do intend to play up your interdisciplinary background, I would suggest catering it towards the advisors who would perhaps share a similar background. Otherwise, if you're applying to an art history program, it is a wise decision to show your reasoning as to why the program is a good fit for you (which, then would be great to play up the program's interdisciplinary track and how it melds with your interests). If you're applying to several programs, choose the one with the shortest writing requirement. That way, you're forced to limit your word choice, and use that as a template for other SOP prompts that allow more characters. Do avoid as much romantic language as possible - I can't imagine how happy professors are to see that people "love art because they always saw it in museums as a child." I don't need to tell you graduate programs require intensive research, so sounding serious about your work is a plus. Lastly, if you're interested in pursuing a higher degree passed the MA track, it would not hurt to mention invested interested in the Ph.D (what have you). Sidenote: I think it's quite easy to lose your individual voice if you allow too many hands to edit your statement of purpose. Perhaps a professor may provide suggestions for you? Edit* I see you mentioned it as a thesis. I'm not too sure if you simply mean that you're just thinking about covering that stuff in your SOP? If that's so, cool. If not, I'd avoid having a thesis unless required so by the prompt.

Coming from a school where the tuition is 1/12 of the cost of Boston University, I already have expectations of fairly financially privileged people. I do hear the school offers generous funding, so I also expect people of all types to be around. I stepped around campus really quick and didn't see any immediate obnoxious people, but I did overhear "bro." It's definitely better to research a department prior to applying, because application fees will start kicking you in the butt if you decide to play the "increase my chances" game. Bumping the thread though. I'll be in Boston by the last week of August. I found two rooms in JP (I can bring my dog, cat and new couch, yay) and would love to have a buddy to browse this.. Barnes and Nobles Campus Bookstore place.

Sidenote: my sense of humor is very dry. In my Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt II course: "What's a pyramid?" <- cringe In my non-Western survey: "This book was written by white people. What do they know?" (Read: Professor is white). Cue professor response: "What do you know?" Mmm. Man. I'm pretty sure there are some others. My professor of Northern Ren gave us an extra credit half point on the exam if we put that van Eyck was "the shit."

Deciding between reputation and research correlations. I feel bad for turning down UNC, but what I realized during the application season is that I don't even have my feet wet, don't understand much about office bureaucracy, national program discourse, etc. Undergrad made it easy to just go to class. Now I have to understand the institution, research directives while juggling the expectations of professors and myself. What I need is a great advisor, who realizes I'm a piece of work. Part of the difficulty was impassively suggesting my n00bishness in e-mails with faculty and grads.

I agree with Hudson. in the same respect, credit unions are the better alternative in case you don't want huge banking companies. I first banked with WAMU, absorbed by Chase and their checking policies changed (definitely disagreeable with part time workers) and I later switched to a credit union. I've been happy since - no minimum balance, very small overdraft fee, cheap ATM fee in case I use another company's. Be aware that "rewards" are done by the company charging other businesses a higher transaction fee - IE debit as credit, and that you'll probably be better off reaping higher turnover rewards points from credit card companies. The AMEX Zync is a great rewards card if you have good credit. If at all possible, invest in a savings account. If you have a job, take around a minimum of five out of your check into your savings account you'll never look at. It adds up. Be aware of the regional accessibility of whomever you decide to bank with, their customer friendliness and perhaps small loan approval rates and interest for backup options or emergencies.

The CAA offers templates for professional CVs, though I'm not sure if membership is required to view. I can't give much advice, but it's always good to model your CV after your targeted interest if their CV is available for view. For example, I just picked one template from a POI's CV and ran with it my entire application season! Haha.

I have a Huffy Cranbrook. It's a one-speed. I haven't biked in a while because my neighborhood is far from cycling-friendly. I plan on taking it with me to Boston and hope there aren't too many hills since it's one-gear. That or I just need to pump more power into my legs in the meantime.

Great! Thinking of certain areas? I'm searching Allston, Brookline and Brighton.

No offense, but this mildly reminds me of the recent Donald Trump win of coaxing Obama into showing his birth certificate.

I'm glad I'll see some folks I have some familiarity with! Though, first rule of thegradcafe.com is that there is no gradcafe.com, and I hope people can't easily guess me by my demeanor. It seems two people are currently living in Boston: AMR and Queenofscots! How do you guys like it? I'm hyped I finally get to leave GA after nearly a decade.

He obviously doesn't need to justify himself to increasing groups of people who seem to have unwavering opinions about his intents and background. I honestly wonder how many of these people would feel if they were on the other end of the situation - news sites, board threads, radio discussions all about someone's involvement in higher learning which shouldn't affect you directly as a person or student. That said, I don't know much about his "mockery," because I haven't looked it up and am not a Creative Writing/English major . . I read snippets of Palo Alto and didn't like it. This doesn't logically follow that his mind and coursework has the same quality. Correct me if I have the wrong impression, but it seems very easy for many people (if they have certain influence) to write books these days . . Sarah Palin, Jay - Z, etc. which doesn't warrant anything positive besides the fact that they're marketable? If I could do it and afford it, I would. Paying in cash probably gives respective departments more leverage than loan payments from the gov't (I don't know how this works, I'm just presuming). I wouldn't be able to do neither the course load nor the traveling though. Edit* bad grammar for the win

Great information. I have a peacoat, though I don't believe 90% polyester and 10% wool is going to cut it.

AMR, have you decided on BU?

You could totally only wear dresses. If not dresses, then skirts. Both'll allow your body to breath and mitigate some of the humidity. That way, you can wear flats without socks, instead of wearing socks and tennis shoes. My friend who attends UF for Art History says the body of students typically wear regular clothes, including shorts, etc. Funny thing though! I'm coming from Georgia to Boston, so maybe you could help me out? ^_~