BachRocksMySocks

Winters in New Jersey are not bad. I am from Delaware just three hours from Princeton, and the climate there is generally moderate, particularly due to proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. Even though Princeton is not by the shore, most hot weather and cold weather is mitigated by proximity to the ocean. The last two years have been difficult in the Mid-Atlantic and North East, particularly due to a few particular weather events that much of America experienced. However, weather that D.C-Philly-NJ-NYC area experienced was really nothing compared to what some areas in the United States experience like certain areas of upstate New York or the Mid West and West. There, snowfalls of several feet are common several times a year. After living in Chicago for 8 years, where it can be -15 or -20 degrees below zero for weeks at a time, where one or two yearly snow falls several feet, and lots of smaller storms and ice in between can traps cars for weeks in shells of ice, I think Princeton's winters will be somewhat picturesque.

A former colleague of mine at the University of Chicago is now completing her MPhil at Cambridge (I am off to Princeton for a Ph.D.). Do you want me to put you in touch with her for some tips? Contact me on my e-mail (stephen.raskauskas@gmail.com) and I will forward along her contact information.

You absolutely CAN receive a Doctoral degree in music called a DM, which is different than a PhD. I am sure there are some universities that offer degrees or certificates higher than an MFA for fine art. For example, after receiving a master's in music performance, (MM), you can receive an Artist's Diploma or other degrees. Investigate further. I am sure you can get more education beyond an MFA.

I am the same way - I often need business around me in order to keep up my own work. I also need drinks and snacks! Sadly, it seems like in the quiet town of Princeton there aren't a lot of coffee shops at all, let alone lots of places open super late.

I am entering the PhD program in Music at Princeton. Very excited! The real estate market looks shitty for graduate students, so I decided to go with the graduate housing (Lawrence/Butler) for myself and my partner (who is not a student).

Melchior - I don't "go to a good school." I am a professional musicologist who works as a full time, salaried researcher (with benefits) at a good school. There's a difference.

Yes, you are correct - it's good "before doing a PhD." That is why I said they "don't usually do much for you UNLESS you're trying to get into a Ph.D. program." So it seems that we actually agree. If you're looking to enter the job market outside of the academy, a 1 year MA or MPhil in the humanities will help some, but mainly will serve to make you a more attractive PhD candidate. A more technical program, such as Music Education, Music Performance, Music Therapy, etc, other other more technical degree in the humanities is more professionally attractive AND can also help you get into a PhD program - if that is your goal. Also, I didn't say it's "unattractive," I just said, it doesn't look "great." Not "great" if you are comparing your CV to someone who has a REALLY great CV, and who has committed to a longer MA program which afforded them further academic and professional development. I think the person who posted the question about the "fast track" was given an option between finishing the MA in one year or two. I would suggest doing it in two, if possible, to allow for more personal growth. There's only so much growing one can do in a year. But, on the real... a lot of top institutions (Ivies, Ivy +, McGill, the British institutions) see a 1 year degree as just what I said, "finishing school." I've even heard music professors at Yale, MIT, Southampton, and other institutions use that phrase or similar ones. Especially since most 1 year masters programs are not funded, they understand that the students who enroll in them do so because they can either a) afford to do so, or don't mind another $40,000 in student loans. Sadly, the institution where I work (one of the world's top 10) has a popular 1 year master program and I know people who have gone through it and been disappointed. Several of them have hoped that upon completion, the would be offered a PhD fellowship at the *same* institution, only to be denied admissions.

Ethno is though. Most programs can only afford to accept one ethnomusicologist a year.

Most one-year masters programs in the humanities are cash cows for Universities; they fund the Ph.D. student fellowships and provide cookies and soda for the Southeast Asian Transgender Film Club's bimonthly movie screenings, etc. They don't look great on paper and don't usually do much for you unless you're trying to get into a Ph.D. program and you need another year of "finishing school" in order to try to make yourself more attractive. Don't get a one year masters degree unless it's a technical program like a MA in teaching. At least by the end of that program you'll have some sort of certification that allows you to receive training for a specific type of profession, rather than just doing another year of college...

Think about it. 75% of 70 people is 52 people - do you really think that anyone has time to interview 52 people!?!? If they are interviewing you, they are seriously interested. You should treat the interview with the utmost seriousness. However, I also know that a friend of mine was interviewed TWICE for the "composer spot" at IU in two consecutive years and each year was denied admission. He has a BA and MA in performance and has a fair amount of professional experience playing.

I was going to apply to NYU. I visited in 2009 to talk to someone when I was just thinking about grad school. The man with whom I spoke told me I wouldn't be happy there. I think they accept about 4 students a year. Musicologist, Ethno, Theorist, Composer - 1 of each.

I applied to three Ivies and was accepted only to one about a month ago. The other two rejected me. I currently work as a researcher for the music department at a large, highly competitive institution (not an Ivy league, but always ranked in the top 10 of the world's best institutions). I've asked the faculty here about different admissions stuff, and they've confirmed with me weeks ago when I was waiting to hear from my last two schools that if you "haven't heard by now, it doesn't look good." When an institution is interested, they never EVER give generic responses such as "You will hear soon," or, "We have made decisions and are waiting for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to approve our recommendations for admissions and will notify candidates soon." They are just as scared about losing good candidates as applicants are about being rejected. So, if they're interested, they'll be writing you something to the tune of, "We greatly enjoyed reading your application and cannot make official decisions soon. However, you will be contacted shortly by the Graduate School of Arts and Scienes with an official notice in the next several days. Please contact me if you have any additional questions about our program."

For what it's worth, to keep your sanity, Brown and peer institutions have already contacted people whom they wish to accept to waitlist.

Where else did you apply?

Even though departments typically divide the number of applicants they accept into a certain number of discrete categories (ex: out of 12 offers, they expect 8 to accept, with 3 historians, 3 theorist, 1 ethnomusicologist, and 1 composer), they decisions are almost always made at the same time and as a result, candidates are notified at the same time. I think it's wishful thinking to expect that just because a theorist has been accepted that his or her acceptance does not have any bearing on you as a composer, historian, or ethnomusicologist. It may be the case that while trying to find their quotient of historians, a department determines they want a particular candidate earlier on, and she might be notified ahead of a few other candidates. However, this is usually only going to be a matter of 1 or 2 days before the other candidates are notified. Admissions committees tend to move pretty quickly, particularly since they know that peer institutions will be making competing offers. Also, professors everywhere know about this website and use it as a tool to determine when they should announce decisions or speed things up. For example, if Harvard has made decisions in Art History and someone announces it on thegradcafe, you can bet that people at other peer institutions are glued to this website so that the morning someone posts their decision from Harvard, they can send out offers later that afternoon or the next day. I know this as a fact since I am currently an employee at one of the country's top 5 music departments. Oh, the age of technology!

They sent me a PDF rejection today. No longer wriggling on a pin

Eek! I just checked the website, auto-complete in my browser put the wrong address! Whoops! Guess I am smart enough to be accepted to Princeton but not smart enough to fill out my own damn address...

Thanks for this news. I live in Chicago which has notoriously terrible postal service, so perhaps it did get lost.

This is strange - I have not been rejected or accepted to Cornell. Has anyone heard if they are on a wait list or anything like that? I would rather just be rejected than be in limbo.

I think a few places are just slow this year. Storms closed a lot of places right after people are getting in the "work mode" after being away during the holidays. I think people are just slow in processing. It's hard to relax - I certainly am a bit anxious despite one already great offer from Princeton - however, just because you're waiting doesn't mean it's a "no."

Strange, I haven't heard anything from Cornell either way...

I think that learning languages or more repertoire is great for your own personal benefit but won't necessarily be attractive to programs. The best way to prepare yourself for opportunities outside of graduate school is to seek professional work related to music while you are still an undergraduate. Internships, small paid gigs - either playing, writing program notes, working as a teaching artist - and other positions give you experience and also make you more attractive to both the professional and academic market. You would be surprised how many local organizations would love to give you experience if you volunteer your time. Sometimes, you may even get a stipend, or better yet, an actual pay check. In college, I knew that a degree in music wasn't necessarily going to mean anything, even though I went to one of the 10 best Universities in the world (according to U.S. News and World Report). So, I started working with local arts organizations from literally the ground up - making coffee, etc - and eventually was given paid positions doing both artistic and academic work. This approach is what gave me my real education and has allowed me to support myself for years after leaving college. I am only returning to school not as a plan A or plan B, but because I know that in order to accomplish very serious professional goals which are highly focused, I need to spend the next few years of my life in school. So sure - present at conferences, take a German class. But, also think about getting some work experience. Arm chair musicology only gets you so far.

How do you know? Did get an official letter? Dept letter? Website info?

Thanks for finding this. Unfortunately, the committee is all the same. However, I emailed someone at Yale who said they are "late in coming to decisions this year." I did already interview with them last fall, so maybe they haven't contact those who have interviewed? Who knows.

I can't find the Feb 4th post re: Yale and I searched for Yale under this topic with no results about that. Can you copy and paste what you found?