OnceAndFutureGrad

Just wondering if anyone has heard back from the PMA yet. I interviewed in February and it looks like their last interviews were on March 20. I take it as a good sign that I haven't heard from them yet (presumably I'm waiting on department placement) but as my interviewer warned me that my particular interests may not have a place this year, I'm quite anxious for a reply. Anyone else have news?

Two of the professors leading orientation when I began my MA program were intensely athletic: a wiry martial artist and a lean boxer. They both mentioned that the mental break and physical relief from exercise was utterly integral to their success. I still clearly remember one of them saying how every time he skipped a morning workout to have more time to study or write, he actually got less done because his mind was less sharp. I took their advice and had an intense regimen, more weight lifting in the first year and more cardio in the second year, and I look forward to having access to a university gym/fitness center again. Do it!! Don't give up exercise if you do it already, and get used to it if you don't have a routine. An hour or half-hour a day or a few hours a week will more than pay for themselves in terms of making your time worthwhile.

I pray that's a typo, because I'm training for a 10K and it seems like forever. My running didn't really improve until I began running with a group. Just having a pack to keep up with cut my time drastically. Talking and taking in the sights was a really good distraction from my usual attempts to match the beat of what's playing on my iPod and I found myself effortlessly doing <9-minute miles when I normally struggle for 10-minute miles. See if you have any runner's clubs or organizations locally.

I'm pleased to announce that I found a great little house in Fishtown. I'm renting one bedroom and the other, which is actually two rooms, is also for rent. The house faces the back of an elementary school and it's right in the heart of the 19125, which I fell in love with years ago whilst visiting my friends on Firth St. I've been searching for months and this was my third trip into the city for real estate. It's a huge load off of my mind - Padmapper has been my homepage for weeks. I wish everyone else success in their search for safe, affordable housing in north Philly - and if you're looking for a room in Fishtown, let me know!

2009: 17% (5 outright rejections, counting the consolation MA as a success). 2010: 0%. 2011: 50% (1 rejection, 1 PhD acceptance with fellowship). Not including the MA, all three years put together equals 6.67%. And more GRE and app fees than I'll ever let myself calculate

Yes, yes there is. Are you going to feel like shit for at least a couple of months, and want to burn down your house/apartment/car/the local Starbucks because it was where you opened your rejection letter/e-mail? Definitely. Will kindly platitudes like "there's always next year" and "never give up!" make you grit your teeth on the good days and want to choke Cheerful Charlie on the bad days? You betcha. But you're still alive. You're already thinking about the next year and you're already writing a second writing sample with input from a trusted professor. You have plans for the next year. And you're consulting Grad Cafe and doubtless other sources of information/advice to figure out a new and better strategy for the next time 'round. At the risk of teeth-gritting, I'll quote Mary Pickford: "You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down.” That was what kept me going after the shut-out last year. Maybe you'll find another line that refreshes you, or maybe an image or anecdote will work (hang in there cat?), or perhaps your own sense of purpose will serve. Find something, though. Recover, regroup, repair, prepare. Self-pity won't help, but it will feel good for at least another few weeks, so ride it as long as it doesn't interfere with your life. It's okay to feel terrible. Shit happens, and this shit is personal. You put your self - your aspirations, your future, your abilities - on the line, and it was denied. That rescinded informal acceptance sounds particularly brutal. This is the time to take stock of who you are and what you are doing. Some people may say that you should only do things with which you are successful - the more immediately, the better. Some people may say that the rejection is a sign to stop and branch out into another direction. Fuck that. None of this "when the door closes, a window opens" nonsense. Try knocking again, or turning the goddamn handle. You do need to think of the long view, however. Are you doing this because you want to be a curator, professor, conservator, consultant, author, critic, etc? Or are you doing this because you are pretty good at writing essays and you enjoy art history and you're staying in school for as long as possible waiting for an opportunity to open up? I know that sounds like accusing someone of avoiding the "real world", the most inflammatory thing that can be lobbed at a grad student, but it is something to ask yourself over and over again until the question doesn't seem personally insulting. When you have an answer, a long-range goal that doesn't depend on other people throwing money at you for showing up, that definitely requires the academic runaround, then you'll have the core desire to persevere despite short-term setbacks. Getting into graduate school is passing the first of a dozen culls that await the academic. I presume you've applied for a PhD. There's the cull for funding, the cull for presenting, the cull for publishing, the cull for post docs, the cull for jobs, the cull for tenure-track positions, the cull for tenure. At every level there are more applicants than positions and for the most part it's a new body of people at every stage. Imagine trying to climb the corporate ladder but every time you want to get anything done you have to introduce yourself to an entirely different company. It sucks. Charisma and intelligence are vital for success, but you need just as much grit, stamina, and ability to absorb defeat and move on. Think about how you feel getting defeated by an application season now. Can you deal with that disappointment in five years when you lose a post doc? In ten years when you still aren't on a tenure track? If the answer is yes, well, you know what to do - and if you don't, there are plenty of people on here who can give you re-application advice. If the answer is no or maybe, well, you've got a couple months before the next year's applications are due. Are there other things in your life that you can focus on and thereby have a place to rest yourself when faced with defeat? Are your friendships and family relationships well-maintained? Do you have extracurricular hobbies or alternative skills that you can cultivate? Is there any way to volunteer or intern with people who do what you think you want to do? Despair is natural in the face of defeat, but it's up to you whether you want this defeat to be temporary or permanent. I want to give you anecdotal evidence, but every person is different and no one can or ought to follow in someone else's foot steps. Is there hope? Yes, if you want there to be.

It depends entirely on your campus and situation. When I did my masters I was able to live in a 1-bedroom apartment 30 minutes off the rural campus with a 10-hour part time job on top of my graduate stipend. I wasn't the only one - I'm not sure how they did it without an additional job, but perhaps I was not as wise with my money. Now, going to a PhD in a city, I will need apartment- or housemates to stay within my stricter fellowship budget, but I will never have roommates. If you are moving to the very center of a metropolis you may need a roommate, but apart from that extreme circumstance you should be able to find a bedroom for yourself among grad students. Unless your campus is in high demand for property or your stipend is truly paltry, you should also be able to find a studio or 1-bedroom apartment for $100-200 more than you would pay to rent a room. I would say that the money is worth it depending on your personal preference; it sounds as if $200/month to have your own place would pay off in avoiding co-habitation stress.

When I went to my MA program, I moved out of my parents' house and intended to stay for the PhD so I rented a one-bedroom apartment 25 minutes from campus. It was pure coincidence that someone from the same program lived in the building and I once ran into a colleague at the supermarket, but otherwise I didn't run across any university people and I greatly preferred it that way. It was nice to drive into and out of campus; it helped to turn my brain on to academic stuff at the beginning of the day, and turn it off towards the end. It was nice that my now-fiancé could drive in and always find parking, and that I wouldn't hear or see partying undergrads. In your situation, I would recommend having more buying power with your rental money and staying far off campus, particularly with your non-student partner. It will do your mind good to come home at the end of a long day, have trails to hike on the weekend, and so on.

I did my UG in History and Medieval Studies with a Cert in Irish Studies, got an MA in Medieval Studies, and will begin a PhD in Art History in the fall. Ah, but not medieval art - medievalism in art. I got so involved in medieval art that the great void between public perception and historical fact became more of a pressing issue than iconography or any other art historical concern.

I'll be at Temple, with Elizabeth Bolman as my adviser. Already picked my courses, whee!

Who got the PhD admit today? Congrats!

Hi EllieOfAquitaine. It sounds like we have some things in common. Forgive me for making this anecdotal, but I promise to explain. I got my BA in history and medieval studies with a cert in Irish studies (year abroad), and then my MA in medieval studies with an art history major. While I've done a lot of difficult work I've actually only taken 5 undergrad and 4 grad courses in art history, 3 of which were not medieval. Nonetheless, I'm beginning a PhD on a four-year university fellowship this fall. I did not pay for my masters - the medieval studies department was an offshoot of English, so we all had plenty of work teaching first-year comp, whatever our major. But it made every difference in distinguishing me from other applicants, I believe, and certainly got my feet very wet in graduate-level work. Learning the lingo, presenting at conferences, seeing up-to-the-minute trends in scholarship, and enjoying graduate-level interaction with professors all greatly improved my ability to convey myself in person and on paper to my potential schools. I was able to acknowledge my risks (poor foundation knowledge) and balance them with my benefits (graduate-level work experience, broader background than most, interdisciplinary knowledge, etc.). I think it is very wise that you want to use your masters to establish your base in art history, and having the opportunity to do so - even at a cost - is far better than going two steps backwards and taking undergraduate courses to sort of throw on another major post-graduation (if such a thing is even possible). It's about the trajectory of your studies rather than the solidity of your coursework, and if my experience is anything to show, having an atypical path may be a benefit - at worst, it's not uncommon. A student who has cast their net wide and come down onto a discipline after several years of work in other fields is going to be more sure of it, in my opinion, than most students who graduated high school with a major in mind.

Hi there. The acceptance in February was me. It was a bit wonderful and alarming. I won a university fellowship on top of it so I've accepted. I've actually already gotten my feet wet with course selection and housing inquiries. Dr. Bolman is my adviser. I've been lurking on the PhD thread and I feel terrible that so few other people are hearing from Temple. Maybe communication was poor because they were off this last week? I hope everyone gets good results soon.

Fishtown is located about a mile east of Temple in eastern Philadelphia. It's a pleasant though somewhat cramped working class neighborhood that's experienced something of a revival in the past few years. There are a number of incredible bars and shops there. My friends in Port Richmond nearby always come into Fishtown for fun. It looks like a good room can be found there for $400-500 a month.

Thank you very much complexprocedure and losemygrip. I took the weekend to think about it, although my thoughts quickly went from "What do I do?" to "How do I politely reply 'thanks but no thanks'?" I wrote the e-mail last night and the POI responded quickly with kind words and congratulations. Whew! It's hard to believe that my wait is over by mid-February, but I'm very thankful. Best of luck for a speedy and favorable outcome for all!

Hi all, I have been admitted for a PhD in Art History from Tyler School of Art at Temple University. Hooray! I look forward to meeting other Temple grads. I currently live about an hour and a half from Philadelphia, and I have friends there, so I am somewhat familiar but not very knowledgeable about the city. I plan on renting a room in Fishtown, so let me know if you are interested in sharing an apartment, know someone looking for a renter, etc.

Hi all, I could use some advice. Y'all know me in here and you can easily figure it out but to make me feel better I'll say Schools A and 1 (so as to not imply preference). I applied to MA/PhD programs at both School A and School 1, and every intent was for the schools to be equal. They are both Top-20 schools in art history; if anything, School 1 "ranks" lower. School A accepted me to the PhD program itself on February 3rd - the earliest I've ever seen - and nominated me for a fellowship, which I believe makes it clear that they think I am an outstanding candidate. School A is also one that fully funds its students so even if I don't get a fellowship I'd have a TA or RA. My POI from School 1 just e-mailed me stating that "before your application could be favorably considered" I should contact at least two and ideally FOUR other professors in the department (!). What should I do? I don't have the time or, frankly, the energy to call up or visit two let alone four professors and beg for acceptance. Even if I can convince them, I can't help but feel that I'd be "POI's student" in the department, were I to attend. There's also a slim chance, I think, of School 1 accepting me to the PhD program like School A did, and having less coursework is very attractive to me. Should I struggle to keep my options open or just nip this in the bud? Obviously, bridge-burning and snark would be academic suicide, not to mention mean and stupid. I'm seriously considering writing a polite reply along the lines of, "Thank you for your concern but I have already been offered a PhD acceptance." Thank you very much for your help.

It sounds like, for North American scholars, instead of seeing academic fluency - that is, the ability to process and compose graduate-level ideas - in other languages as a benefit, we should really be seeing NOT having it as a disability.

Hicks and cassanova, it took Temple almost four weeks to post that they had received my transcript, and when they did, they posted it with the date on which they had received it. I gave them a call about two weeks ago to check and they were kind, reassuring, and apologetic. I would not feel badly about giving them a call, if I were you. It's a lot of relief, for sure. I sometimes find myself muttering to myself "Oh gods, I hope I get in...oh wait, I did! Yessss." It hasn't sunk in properly, to be honest. It's a bit like, In my mind's eye I see the typical dark clouds but there's also sunlight now, yet the skies aren't quite clear yet. My fiance asked me a similar question a few days ago and I wryly replied, "Don't worry, love, I always find something to be anxious about!" I've been rather busy with some extracurricular functions and I won't be able to celebrate until Wednesday. Then I'll be going to Philadelphia, meeting up with my undergrad friend in Tyler and other Philly friends, and having a celebratory pint or two. So hopefully it will become real to me. A few dollars spent on university apparel will make me look the part, at least! The one thing that's a little stressful is that I wrote on my application that I have conversational German. As I commented elsewhere on this forum, it's actually more thrown-together-"I-think-remember-how-prepositions-work"-back-alley-rusty German, certainly not something I could use to express my academic ideas. I owe it to everyone to get it up to par. Actually, now that I think about it, there are a number of things I worry about regarding my ability to perform as a PhD student. I guess anxieties about acceptance have shifted to anxieties about succeeding. No rest for the anxious...

You're not going to like this answer.... Temple had been driving me crazy for displaying "Incomplete Items Outstanding" for weeks, despite calling them (once) and confirming that everything was OK. On the morning that I received my acceptance letter in the mail, my routine check revealed that my status had changed to "Ready for Review" and the maverick item (undergrad transcript) was shown as received. I got my letter that afternoon, dated three days earlier. In the evening, just to sate my curiosity, I checked my application and its status had changed to "University Acceptance"! It's like they knew.... I'm sure that does nothing to assuage your OCD!

Thank you, crossedfingers. The reading isn't the problem, though, so much as it is the hearing and speaking. I can get my way through most articles, but ask me in that language to describe my opinion it and I'll quickly remember that I have something in the oven!

Thank you very much for the advice on this thread, particularly losemygrip. I have reading French and rusty, thrown-together semi-conversational and reading German - I mucked around with medieval languages during my MA. You've convinced me to spend the last of my Yule money on German conversational software, and to bite the bullet and take (or audit) an introductory French course during my first semester(s). Meanwhile I'll revisit my textbooks, watch some French- and German-language films, maybe borrow some novels from the library, and track down my multilingual friends to bother them with my terrible pronunciation. Good, good advice, particularly before I set foot into my new program.