amleta

I'm also going this year. Are you presenting?

Thanks! That's good news, although I'll be unbearably twitchy for the next week or so.

I'm still waiting to hear from BU, as well. Looking at last year's results, it looks like they sent out a first round of rejections, with more to follow, and then perhaps the acceptances. Here's hoping it doesn't take until April to see acceptances this year

Yep, still waiting on all three of mine. Based on previous experience and the results page, I'm expecting rejections from Yale and Columbia, though I still have a fraction of hope for BU.

I've actually had horrible luck with hopstop in Boston. My friends swear by it in NYC, but it's not terribly accurate for Boston - e.g., turning my 25 minute, 1 train commute into a 45 minute, bus + train + bus commute. Google Maps public transit, however, rarely fails me. Personally, I'd take a dry Boston winter over a damp UK winter any day. When I was living in the UK, I froze every time I stepped out the door between November and March. New England winters are a breeze in comparison, so long as you've got good snow boots ^__^ The walk to campus from the D line is a nice walk, as well - residential area, not a lot of traffic, interesting architecture.

Ditto! I'm sick of waiting for Columbia to just finally announce my rejection. I checked the website again today just in case the announcement had snuck up - and I found a rejection. Took a couple minutes to realize it was my application from two years ago. I'd logged into the wrong account *headdesk* I did have a long moment of wondering why the letter was dated 2009, though...

I live in Brookline, about a 10 minute walk south of Coolidge Corner, and my partner is at BC (I work at BU). We love the area, and it's pretty accessible to everything. That said, it's a pain to get to BC, although that's true from just about anywhere. My partner usually ends up walking all the way to BC (about a 40 minute walk at a quick pace) rather than wait for the C-line to take him to Cleveland Circle, wait for the BC shuttle, and take it around the reservoir (about 45 minutes on a good day). When I go to BC, I prefer to take the D line and walk the 15 minutes to campus from there, but I have an inordinate love for the D line, so take that as you will. You may have a better commute from just south of Comm Ave, since you can take the B line straight to campus. On the other hand, the B line is pretty worthless for going anywhere else. From my limited experience, south of Comm is reasonably nice and not entirely undergrad-saturated, as long as you're a few blocks south and not on one of the major cross streets. Someone who's actually lived there may have a better idea, though. Regarding Jamaica Plain - it's a pain to commute to BC unless you're going to commute by bike, in which case I understand it's perfectly doable.

Oh yes, there's a couple of us lurking about. I applied to Columbia to work with Stephen Murray/Holger Klein (since word on the street is that Murray's thinking about retirement), Yale with Jacqueline Jung and Boston University with Deborah Kahn; I haven't heard anything yet, but I'm only really considering BU an option at this point. I did my undergrad concentration in medieval studies and art history, and my MA is in medieval studies (finished a couple years ago). My focus is primarily sculpture in "the long 12th century" and thereabouts. Good luck!

Congrats to the Yale acceptances. I was especially intrigued by the applicant who didn't have any successful contact with the department - apparently, it's not always a bad thing not to hear back!

Yep, that's mine. About freaking time. Really, Harvard? Did you think you were keeping me in suspense? No, I knew the answer long ago - you were just annoying me by waiting so long. :wink:

I did a single year MA in the UK. My reasons for doing so were shallow: only one year vs two in the US (and thus cheaper); another chance to live abroad; I didn't have to take the GREs; and a higher chance of being accepted (was accepted to 7 of the 8 programmes I applied for). Despite my reasoning, it ended up being a brilliant decision. Academically, I learned what it was really like to be challenged, because I was very much out of my comfort zone. The professors had entirely different expectations, so I relearned how to write, how to read, and how to critically address the issues I was learning about. My writing drastically improved, and I became a much better student and scholar. Half the programme was taught, and half was dissertation, so I got a crash course in independent work and research. Further, my PhD research (I hope) will continue my MA research - so I wouldn't have that at all had I not done my MA. Beyond academics, the programme completely changed my outlook and perspective. I thought I was hot shit going into the programme (from undergrad at a prestigious SLAC, consistent praise of my writing, and a ton of research experience); imagine my surprise when my first grad paper was harshly critiqued! Most relevantly to this forum, however, I really got my thoughts in order about what I wanted to do and why, and how the academic system works. Had I applied for a PhD programme straight out of undergrad, I would have flopped spectacularly. I had no idea what 'research interests' were, never mind my own; I didn't know the risks involved in pursuing an academic career (what? not everyone becomes a tenured prof?); I didn't understand how my debt would affect my post-degree life; and I was so overly impressed with my own brilliance and my wonderful 'talents' that I would have been laughed right out of any application committee. Because I won't now, of course. Ha. *sarcasm* Anyway, my identity as a student and scholar before my MA and after are completely different things. These are really only a few of the things which it helped me to accomplish. I wouldn't trade it for the world, and I don't think my academic career could risk that loss, either. Because while I'm no amazing scholar now, I'm miles better than I was before. (Ack. I feel like sending apology emails to my undergrad profs.)

Same here. Would have loved to stay on and do my PhD, but alas, I am broke. My application results don't demonstrate this, but my application was much stronger for having my MA already - even an MA in a different discipline (Medieval Studies) - never mind the connections I gained.

Not sure this will count as "details," but I do have a bit of info. My significant other was declined funding, and, being the forthright individual that he is, emailed to ask about the marking scheme. Here's what they sent him: His thoughts are as follows: "The last bit of information is the most important, I think -- it seems to suggest that the marks out of 30 are really just arbitrary numbers they assign, in fact simply ranking the applications they have against one another. Not exactly what you'd call a transparent process -- especially the criterium "the program of study and its potential contribution to the advancement of knowledge" which is about as subjective as subjective comes -- but I guess it gives you a hint as to what they're looking for, for applying again next year." (as it turns out, he doesn't need the funding at all - UofT is generous and they, at least, recognise the value of his research ^_~)

It does definitely feel like that. On the other hand, I've had some contact with a professor there, so I have some reason to hope, but the later it gets, the worse it feels. Said professor implied that they'd made their decisions regarding first choice students, but were still negotiating their second choices, so to speak. My personal theory is that Columbia is simply micromanaging the entire situation

I second this opinion. Also impatiently waiting on Harvard, UMich, UDel, and Johns Hopkins. Why yes, I have been twitchy the last 3 weeks, why do you ask? ^_~

There seem to be a lot of schools/programmes taking their sweet time with notifications. I'm still waiting on 5 of my 8- even though I have unofficial info from several of those. Worst is Columbia (Art History), which apparently notified several people over a month ago, but hasn't sent me a thing- even though I've been communicating with a prof, who indicated decisions were made long ago. My best guess it that there's a lot of unofficial give and take going on behind the scenes, and that the programmes are waiting until they can predict what's going to happen (who's going to accept, who's going to go elsewhere) before they say much officially. Basically: we're all the in dark, and it sucks. I don't like the dark.

I'm into medieval art and interdisciplinary interpretations of art history- my MA is in Medieval Studies, so I'm actually more likely to call myself a medievalist than an art historian ^__~ Current research is the representation of scholastic ideas/debates in art, and I did my MA dissertation on representations of the Liberal Arts on the cathedrals at Laon and Sens (early Gothic France). I hope to pursue more ideas like this in a PhD programme... still waiting for an acceptance, though. *gulp* Favorite museum..... hm. I'm awfully partial to London's V&A, mostly because of the incredible plaster casts there. Then again, the Met was my first real museum, and always has a special place in my heart- never mind the Cloisters! And favorite artist? In my own work, I really ignore my aesthetic sensibilities (since they're so out of sync with medieval sensibilities). Outside medieval art, however, I absolutely adore Caravaggio and his use of light.

I don't believe Harvard has sent the majority of its decisions yet- I haven't heard anything, either. No idea why Yale hasn't notified you yet, though- perhaps several rounds of notifications? I feel your pain!