Catalyst77

I've been in close touch with a pair of potential supervisors who have signed every single email with their first name only. I've also talked on the phone with their grad students, and they refer to the supervisor by first name only. So do you think it's ok for me to open emails to them with "Dear [firstname]"? It's getting awkward to keep calling them Prof. Lastname in emails to them, but I'm not a student there yet, so should I stick to the stiff formalities?

The musicology PhD admit was meeee! I really wasn't expecting to make it in, so getting an offer was a huge thrill! I guess I'll be booking a ticket to Montreal in the near future to make a visit! I'm about to check my mailbox for a Harvard rejection, though. At least the McGill offer will totally soften the blow there. =)

Ouch! Hit refresh on my email and a rejection from Berkeley was sitting there. I'm actually not that disappointed, because it wasn't in my top three choices, but it feels like a big waste of money, mostly, and effort. Guess I'll go put it up in the results forum.

Ugh, I guess that's true, musiccomp. Although people would be idiots to turn down those offers. Thanks, though! You're right, it ain't over till it's over.

I feel sick. All of my top three choices have come up in the results forum and I haven't gotten a call from a single school yet. I feel absolutely sick.

Those are the only ones I've heard of that interview, too. I wish I knew when Yale made their first round of cuts/invites, too. Also, I'm applying to Berkeley, too! Too bad they don't interview, or we could all meet in person there!

@snes, I found some accommodations info that may help you: Eastman has a list of convenient hotels posted on their site, and some of them have discounts! Here's the link: http://www.esm.rochester.edu/studentlife/hotels/ You're right that music interviews are just as serious; I was actually thinking they would be more formally-attired than science interviews! I just don't want to show up totally overdressed. Also, we have to walk around quite a bit for the tours. Maybe I'll just email an office admin about this...

Do you use biblatex-chicago? Have you manged to successfully footnote a book with an editor? If so, I REALLY need your help! I've had an ongoing problem with this package for almost a year now. I'm about to throw in the towel and write my thesis in Word...but, of course, I'd rather not do that! What happens is this: when I footnote a source that has an editor, I get a weird, bold-faced placeholder instead of "ed." or something similar. I include the chicago package as \usepackage{biblatex-chicago} and my .bib entry looks like @BOOK{pag84, title = "The Glenn Gould Reader", author = "Glenn Gould", editor = "Tim Page", publisher = "Knopf", address = "New York", year = "1984" } But my footnote comes out looking like this 1. Glenn Gould, The Glenn Gould Reader, cbyeditor Tim Page (New York: Knopf, 1984), 35. I've searched all over the internet for help, but found nothing but a thread in Norwegian. In desperation, I even tried google translating that, but was utterly confused, and it seems like they don't have an answer either. Can anyone help me with this? Alternatively, can anyone suggest another good package that will let me do proper Chicago Manual footnotes...without the "cbyeditor"?

U of T, McGill, and Western. I've heard McGill notifies really late, so I'm hoping there isn't going to be a stressful conflict with deadlines to accept/decline when I haven't heard back from others. That is assuming I get any offers to accept/decline...!

All done!!! It seems from the results posts on here from other years that my schools (music) will be getting back to me in February. I already have one interview scheduled for the end of January. Until then, I'm trying not to think about this for as long as possible, because I know that the waiting will slowly and steadily become harder! Good luck to everyone else meeting Jan. 1 and 15th deadlines!

Outer limits

Has anybody attended the interview/audition weekend at Eastman? Can any current students or past applicants tell me what to expect at it? A couple of things in particular I'm wondering about are: -What should I wear? The vast majority of the interview advice threads on this forum relate to science programs, and I'm sure their dress codes are different than for a music school. -Where do interviewees stay? There was no mention of accommodations being provided, so are we on our own? Are there places to stay in the area that strike a good balance of affordability, non-sketchiness, and proximity? If you've been through this and can tell me what to expect of the half-hour interviews themselves, that would be awesome, too. Many thanks, everyone!

Further to the brief questions about Eastman, could anyone tell me what grad students at ESM do for accommodations? I read that there's only one on-campus residence, and that it's almost exclusively for undergrads. Do grad students usually find housing in the area? Commute? Get single apartments or share?

Is anyone applying to Eastman? It seems prescreening is done, and interviews are being scheduled. Has anyone gone for an interview there before?

Promised land

Hey everyone! I'm applying for PhD programs in musicology right now, too, so I thought I'd join the party on this thread. I've already gotten two in for Dec. 1 deadlines, one for a Dec. 12 deadline, and I'm mailing my Dec. 15 (McGill) supplemental documents off tomorrow via XpressPost. Hope everyone is managing to stay calm, and sleep un-fitfully!

Just checked mine, test date was 08/30. My estimates were both 750-800, and it seems that my quant fell into that range, but my verbal did not! I'm in an arts program, so I'm a little let down by that. 750-800 verbal on the old scale meant that you were for sure in the 99th percentile. My actual verbal score came back a 167, 98th percentile, which equals a 720 on the old scale. O_o In case it's relevant to anyone trying to figure things out about the 750-800 quant estimate, my official score came out at 163 (88th percentile). I'm pretty okay with all of that, although after seeing the 750-800's pop up on my screen at the actual exam, this is a little anticlimactic. HOWEVER, the big, depressing shock is that I got 4.5 (72%) on the writing! What the heck?! I know they were great essays, and my discipline revolves around good writing skills, so I was determined to impress in that regard. Back when I was preparing for the GRE, I read more than a couple of posts on here about people being shocked by low writing scores. Someone in this thread previously mentioned that you can get a re-grade. How does that work? Does it usually result in the grade being upped, or does it sometimes result in an even lower grade? Is it worth it? I'm not sure what to do, and I'm not looking forward to telling my advisor about that 4.5. I told him about my 750-800 estimates, and he was really excited, so this is a bit of a downer. I can't wait for this entire application process to be over.

Hey! Just joined gradcafe today, and found this thread! I'm in musicology, too. =) Undergrad in piano performance. I'm halfway done my master's and am starting to worry about PhD applications, GREs, and such things. Phew! Glad to find a few comrades-in-arms on here, since I think I was the only musicologist on PhDComics' phorum!

null hypothesis

Can anyone tell me anything about the Eastman School of Music in terms of location and living options? They're somewhere separate from the main campus, right? Do people usually live right by it if they're in a music grad program? Is it in a sketchy area?

If you're going to UOttawa, the rent in Sandy Hill (the area most students live in) is pricier than some Canadian cities, but not the worst. I'm living about as close to the edge of campus as you can get, and I'm paying $850 plus utilities for a newly-renovated one-bedroom. You can live for much cheaper if you're willing to bus in to campus ($650 for one bedroom unit, but not super nice places, even less if you go farther out). Also, try looking at the housing board on the UOttawa website. That's where I found my place! Lots of great options there in all different locations. If you're going to Carleton, I'm afraid I can't help you that much. =) Good luck, and I hope you totally enjoy Ottawa!!

Aaaargh!! I just called my grad office, and they said they haven't received the results yet. I was all nervous/excited, thinking they'd be there since a bunch of you folks have heard already! Back to pacing by the mailbox...