tendaysleft

Ethan Matt Kavaler at U Toronto?

I went to Williams--PM me.

Williams has a conservation fellowship at the Stone Hill Conservation Center that's reserved for one of its graduate students, you should take a look on its website.

I second Duke, I think their department is underrated

This is something I'm concerned about too, if I might chime in, but I'm mostly worried because the program I'm most strongly considering is in a very rural location, and the school has only one graduate program. So I would essentially be in the middle of nowhere (teeny town without any real bars or other, ah, venues for younger folks) surrounded by 4,000 undergraduates... not really my idea of a good time, and not really conducive to an active social life. Advice, anyone?

I actually took the first two German levels at the Goethe-- A1.1 and A1.2? Or something like that? The program combines reading, writing and speaking, but I found it to be much more oriented towards speaking and making conversation. The teachers are usually great, and I found that the class progressed very quickly, which was nice. If I have any advice, it would be this: the more classes you have per week, the better. A six-week course you attend three or four times a week is much better than a... twelve week class you attend once or twice a week. Also, a class that meets for 1.5 hours on tuesdays and thursdays (twice a week) is much better than a class that meets once weekly for three hours. I think what I'm trying to say is, the more days per week you are immersed in the language, the better. The first class I took with them met four times a week, 6-9:30. This was a pretty serious timesuck, but the intensive schedule made it much easier to remember everything for the next class. The second class I took met only on saturdays and it was very difficult to stay immersed in the language during the huge weekly gap when I wasn't speaking any German.

That definitely helps, thanks! My biggest reluctance with Williams is honestly the location and the fact that there is only one graduate program at the school. Being isolated in the middle of nowhere (I've lived in a big city my whole life) surrounded by undergraduates doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. But if the program itself really is that much better, I guess that might be a poor reason to not attend.

Wow! I would never have expected that. (Thanks to TV and the movies, I guess... heh.) Is that still the UES, or a different neighbourhood altogether? I will definitely check out padmapper!

This has been a very interesting discussion for me to read! I only applied to (and now need to choose between) MA programs, and my main struggle is between Williams and NYU. I'm so attracted to the all-star faculty at NYU (especially since I'm a mod/contemporary person) and the prestige of the department, but if I might get very little time with these all-star faculty and the department's prestige doesn't drip down into the MA degree--well, that gives me a lot to think about. I'm pursuing my MA with the hopes of leaving open the doors to a PhD. Would I be right in saying that a MA from Williams would be better in this respect than an MA from the IFA? (Williams' program director said their PhD rate was around 50%, which is significant.)

Does anyone have any advice on housing for a student at NYU's Institute of Fine Arts? It's on East 78th St right across from the park. I imagine that the Upper East Side is way, way out of my budget--are there any options there that wouldn't have me living too far away?

Thanks! Good luck on all your apps--February was painfully long, come oooooon March!

One of them (the one without the tuition stipend) was me. I'm still reeling... I didn't at ALL expect to be admitted, especially not so early. Definitely shed some happy tears!

After waiting for over a month now for all of my schools, it's on my mind way more. And NONE of my schools have results yet! I know in reality I'll have to wait until early or mid-March at the earliest but I still check all my applications for any updates

I'm also modern/contemporary and I also applied only to MA programs (UConn, NYU, McGill, SAIC, Williams) and haven't heard from any of them. I know it hasn't been that long of a wait yet but I'm getting pretty antsy!

I determined how much of my own personal life I should mention in my SOP based on the SOP prompt for each school and the feel of each program--some schools just seemed like they wanted something more formal, and others seemed more lax. Regarding the question of research interests, I had a really similar problem when writing my own SOP. I wasn't sure how specific or how general to be. The best way I found around that was to frame my interests as questions. PM me if you want some examples! I asked a referee about this and she pointed out that MA programs don't expect you to be locked into a particular research interest. They want you to describe specific interests that you might have in order to show them that you have the potential to be a creative and inquisitive scholar. Don't be too concerned about limiting yourself in the program with what you said in your SOP, but do try to outline potential specific research interests in order to demonstrate that you can pose interesting questions.

It's funny but I hadn't even thought of rewarding myself for an acceptance--I actually treated myself to a day at the spa after I finished all my applications, just for getting through that horrid process. The acceptance itself seems reward enough! That said, I'll probably call in sick to work and bake myself cupcakes

I'll read it over for you. PM it along with the prompt!

I'll be glad to give my two cents, too, in a PM, if you still would like any feedback. If you do, would you send the prompt, as well?

What should distinguish you from other applicants is your personal statement and your writing sample. A 3.6-7 GPA is very good, and shouldn't disqualify you from getting into nearly anywhere, if your SOP and writing sample are strong enough. If you are really excited about the program, and you see a bunch of different faculty members with whom your interests mesh, and you're confident in your SOP and writing sample, then you should definitely apply.

Ahaha yes I think that's good news... I realized after I sent it in that in I just had the word 'Susan' floating uselessly at the end of a paragraph. I think I was about to cite someone but stopped. Hopefully the skimming will rule out that they see it!

Wow, that's probably the least helpful and most nerve-wracking email you could receive! Maybe it means that even though they've received your online app, it's not also a confirmation that they have your GRE score, transcripts, etc? I finished my last three (!) apps on Sunday. It just occurred to me that it will have been a month from tomorrow that I sent in my first application. Ah! I hadn't actually thought concretely about a bunch of professors sitting around scrutinizing my crappy essays; the idea of the "adcom" was so abstract to me before!

Heh yeah I get the sense that they send these emails to preempt neurotic applicants from frantically calling to make sure their online apps went through And congrats on the shortlist!

Haha yes, looking at your location, I'd say you're probably right about the school I ended up condensing a research proposal I had sent to my POI (a different document from the SOP) to around 250 words while trying to use "non-technical" language, whatever that means. Perhaps that's more of an instruction for students in the sciences.

I'm applying to MA programs in the humanities. One program, in addition to requiring a research statement that is mailed in, asks you to "Please provide a non-technical summary of your proposed research" in the online application. I'm not really sure what to include here. Does anyone have any thoughts on how this is supposed to be different from the research statement that I mailed in? And what might non-technical mean in a humanities context? The text box to answer this question is pretty small. Thanks for your help, everybody!

But my worst nightmare would probably be this: POI: "Psh! Look at this SOP. She knows nothing of my work! Totally misinterpreting everything. She might as well have copied and pasted my research interests from the website."