fullofpink

Hey! Who put that Yale received 10,400 applications? haha. I let out of little guffaw reading that (I wonder if that IS a correct number, then it must be filtered through the graduate studies department and NOT the art history?). lol.

This is not an American practice and I would not suggest doing this. Like others have said, the most common time to "introduce" yourself to future professors and schools is before the deadline (late summer/early Fall). If you do this "introduction" now and try to sell yourself it will look petty and immature. A professional does not call to say "oh, but I am better." Your application should have been the best it could be, and if you think you should call the school after submitting it because you think you can convince them otherwise, then your application was not the best it could be. Also, if you do decide to go through with this plan - do NOT call. Professors aren't always in their offices 9-5 Monday through Friday and you may end up leaving a message. If you are international, then a professor may be stuck thinking they need to call you back (expensive) OR they may just opt to ignore you altogether. Email if you must, but I would really think long and hard before doing it. From what I can gather there are about 3x the amount of normal applicants this round than in previous and yes - competition will be tough. There may be a DOZEN reasons to reject a qualified applicant. Here are some: 1. The person/professor of interest (POI) does not want or can not take on any more students at this time. 2. The applicant does not have enough research or experience under their belt. Grad school is not the place to LEARN how to be a scholar - you should already have a solid foundation as an undergrad. 3. Funding may be limited and the school may have a policy of funding all acceptances, so they have to lower the number of acceptances. 4. Faculty could be leaving. My school is doing forced retirements so a lot of older and established faculty are leaving. 5. Your research interests may not fit. If you are interested in 20th century art, and the POI is really into 19th/20th century art and they only have space for one student, they will take the student whose interests align with their own NOT the person who is "near" the same time period. Same with this, if you are interested in Impressionism and Identity but the professor you are interested in studies Impressionism and Gender, then you may not get in. Just be patient and wait it out.

This is a suggestion to all the people who are wondering if they should email a school/department/DGS about admissions when some have already sent out offers or rejections. Don't. There could be many reasons why some are hearing in first and others aren't but it basically boils down to: THEY ARE MAKING DECISIONS. The ones who have been notified early may have been in constant contact with their POI, or they could be in the department (as a MA) already know within their department, etc. Every school is different and you shouldn't be presumptuous about your status. Actually, if I was a DGS I would find it quite rude to "check up" on your status if it doesn't relate to making sure all materials in, especially since they have told you they will notify you. Also, the results page CAN lie. This is my favorite example: http://community.livejournal.com/applyingtograd/3992757.html#cutid1 Please be patient guys! It'll be ok! Signed, Desperately Seeking Grad School Applicant who had to stop going online. lol.

Oh that <i>is</i> Unfortunate! However, I can definitely guarantee that it was not you - I heard about this story last year. Good luck though!

Well there are a variety of factors concerning these statements. Also, I was giving just one example of why an applicant could be poor if they do not use online resources to get help (btw, I do not really find this forum all that helpful, but I do think it offers a lot of interesting POVs and arguments). There are dozens of other things: not looking at the statistics of accepted students (if and where available), not reading the directions or requirements on the department page, failing to know how to write a good sop or cv, not doing research on the expectations of graduate students or what being a graduate student really is about (honestly, I would say MANY do not complete their intended degree because they were not aware of the realities before going in). I mean, without doing any basic (and I would even say advance) research on graduate school and application procedures people have a very low chance of getting in. This was a topic adcoms talked about at a conference I went to - where they expressed a sincere frustration for people who applied to their department but had no clue about "fit." They said that they had people applying for a MA in Classical art history but the department didn't even have a classics professor or courses. The worse thing? Some of these were perfect on paper, but had no clue about graduate school. Of course, there are some people who don't need outside resources because they have an adviser who takes a vested interest in them and their abilities. These may be those students you know who already have offers. I know a friend of mine who got accepted with full funding without even looking at any site (I also don't think they even looked up any outside resource either, but they come from a good name school which probably helped). Yes, it is all circumstantial but what Im eant to say, and I should have changed it, is that I think people have less chance of succeeding in the application process and graduate school if they fail to do research. lol.

I actually think the majority of candidates are unqualified for graduate study. I typically rank a student's chances of acceptance based on their level of knowledge with the application process. For instance, those who don't know that thegradcafe/livejournal communities exist seem to me much less prepared than those who actually post on the boards. Etc. Also, I don't know if placing blame on the advisers is so wise. Many advisers may feel that their duties are limited only to undergraduate study and not the beyond - rather, it is a student's responsibility to learn how to apply to grad school (because, frankly, if someone needs their hand held throughout this entire process do you really want them in graduate school?) and take the initiative to learn. I really feel that professor's should be helpful informants but that they don't need to sit there and babysit an applicant.

Sorry! I'll remain anonymous! (I suspect my department glances over this page occasionally). My school is a small name school with under 100 applicants. Also, my school is not on your list and no one here has discussed applying there (neither are there any acceptances mention on the results page). I think someone put it well, there are about 200 applicants applying to 40 positions throughout the US - that makes sense to me and it's basically been the thing I've been referencing since it seems like a manageable number to comprehend.

lol. then how many DID they get? Btw, my department got twice more than average.

You totally are! Congrats!

I know someone who was phone interviewed. Not sure of the decision though.

Congrats to everyone who has been accepted!! (I'm sorry it took me so long to reply! Been caught in a snowstorm here.) Hope everyone keeps updating

Are you thinking of Clayson? She's currently a fellow at the Clark Institute and will, no doubt, be back next term.

Who got the interview with Duke?! Congrats! [Especially with all expenses paid]

Hi Everyone! I have three questions. You can be as detailed (or not) as you like! 1) What type of degree are you applying for this cycle? 2) Do you have any intention of going for a Ph.D one day? 3) Once you finish with your initial degree (question 1), what career path do you want to pursue?

Hi everyone! I suggested this last year and many of the members did this. In order to not have to repeatedly find out what field everyone is applying to, would you mind putting your area of concentration as your signature? Trust me, it will save everyone a lot of time and confusion once acceptances come in!!

Studio classes are not necessary for an AH degree. Most MA programs require at least 18-21 credits in undergraduate AH courses before allowing someone to take graduate AH courses (also, please note, that if the school you are accepted to does so on the condition that you take more AH undergraduate classes then you will be paying for these classes at graduate price (usually 3x times than undergrad, 6x more as an out of state student).

Don't include the fact that you are reapplying period. Always remain positive and don't speak your weaknesses.

Since I can not see the papers I would suggest that you go with the one that exemplifies your best research abilities. I do not understand how you mean creative analysis (my thought is that you are looking at something and "interpreting" it in your opinion and arguing your feelings OVER forming an argument based on others opinions and showing why your argument is better). However, the name of the game, especially with a PhD program, is research. I would put your best researched paper in the pot. The adcom at my school reads these and they look at the bibliography (what sources you use) and how you have used them in your argument. While they appreciate new ideas, it is not so much how "smart" you are or what you know but how well you use the tools at your disposal. If you submit the first paper you can always include a little note stating the objective of the paper. Also, if you think it is best, you can also rework the first paper - though there may not be enough time. For my writing sample I rewrote an entire 12 page paper to extend it and make it less of a paper I wrote for a class and more for a general academic audience.

Instead of telling them what you like about school, tell them why you are a good fit. Why are their professors good for you? What to do you bring to the classroom/program and how good are you at it? I have not yet begun to think about my SOP for grad school, though I've written several for internships, but I mostly just ramble on and edit like crazy. I write everything I want to talk about and see if there is a cohesive pattern. If there is, then I fine tune it, remove the things that aren't necessary, and show it to others.

hahaha. of course!

Actually this is the type of answer I was hoping for. I really have no idea who applies or what their backgrounds are, it is nice to see what is going on. I've been on the fence about the condition because eventually I will have to tell someone, but I think I am going to wait until I'm actually accepted anywhere. lol. Btw, why is art history an Msc?

Hi everyone, I know that I am one of the many who dishes out tons of advice but I would like to ask everyone their opinion. Rarely do we ever really talk about our experiences in undergrad programs which enable us to get into grad programs. I'm going to explain the things on my resume that I believe are key credentials for me to get into a good grad program, and I'm going to list off some things that I fear my falter my chances. Hopefully by comparing them with other people's experiences I can get a better grasp of the reality of acceptance. The good: I have won a $2000 school grant which enabled me to do original research. With this research I: -self-published a catalog (desposited in a few repositories, including my school library's special collections) -speaking at (2) symposiums (one is a grad student symposium for my department, another will be an undergraduate research symposium/conference). -co-authored an article with my professor (my name being first in credit) I also won a second research grant enabling me to attend the AAM conference last May and write a paper discussing the potential of preparing for a career post-graduation Am applying to speak at my state museum's annual college symposium (it's a competition) I have been interning under the curator of a very prominent collection for nearly a year. One of my major projects involved researching EVERY object (over 100) for an entire gallery and writing labels for them. (This project took the entire summer). My writing sample is an honors thesis on a painting that has been in private collections since its creation and recently acquired by the museum I intern at; therefore, no scholarly research has been done on this painting whatsoever. This paper is 100% research solely done by me. I have a TA position/scholarship for 2009/2010. I was the recipient of the Dean's Scholarship for my department. There are only 10 awarded for the entire school. I am also the student adviser for the Student Advisory Task Force for my department. (Basically, I go to the deans and we chat about what needs to be done) I have taken 2 graduate seminars (600 and 700 level) and did well in both. I am a member of AAM and CAA. I have a 3.7/4.0 overall GPA. 3.8/4.0 in my major (funny enough, all my B's in my classes have been exams with multiple choice answers on exams). 4.0/4.0 for my anthropology minor, and 3.7 for my German minor. My LORs will be from the prominent curator, my department's DGS and my professor who I worked with on the school's 2k grant. I expect fabulous LORs. The bad: I have 3 W's on my transcript. 2 are excusable. The first was the professor who taught the class had stomach tumors. He missed the majority of classes before the mid-term and since this was a class I needed to actually learn things in I decided to retake it with a different professor. Unfortunately, this professor died from his infliction. The second was a class in my major, but I was diagnosed with a neurological condition that made taking this class (it was my third 3 hour class on one day) impossible. I have a neurological condition that has the potential to affect school. I have stipulations about revealing the fact that I have this condition in my SOP or even discussing it before acceptance anywhere since it may mean that schools may not want to take me. While I have controlled this condition with medication, the mere name of this affliction may bring about negative connotations and pessimistic expectations, despite how much work (see above "the good") I have accomplished while having it. I did really really really really really poorly on my GREs. I score a 460V and a 500Q and a 3.5W. There is a reason for this. The reason is the internship and my grant which required me to put so much time and effort into those activities that when I was done at the end of the day I just couldn't bear to study for that stupid exam. Other than not having the time to study, I also did the "normal" GRE. Next time I will take the Special Accommodations GRE which will hopefully not fluster me so much. I will be taking it again, but it will have to be when I have had time to do it.... In fact, combined with school, homework, internships and a part time job, I constantly contribute about 60-70 hours a week since my sophomore year (I am in my fifth year now). Because of this time schedule (plus the fact that I am even busier lately) I have to apply to grad school next fall because I just do not have the time to do it this semester. ------ Information: I will be applying mostly to PhD programs. I am most interested in NYU IFA and Harvard. I have considered Yale, Northwestern, Columbia, and UC Berkeley. I feel like my research interests most align with the professors at NYUIFA and Harvard. I really want to be a curator so I am interested in schools with a curatorial track or certificate and ones that have direct affiliations with major museums, for this reason NYU IFA is my first choice, while I will be applying to Virginia Commonwealth University's Curatorial program, and Courtauld (MA). I would like to know where everyone else stands in comparison to their undergrad careers? Did you have more or the less the same experiences I have (meaning "the good")? Do you think that "the bad" is really going to weigh me down? I think my grades are fine, but I know I am a horrible standardized test taker and I really have had no time to study. I appreciate everyone's advice/opinions/shared experiences/comments in advance. Thanks!

I am one of those undergrads who have published. I co-authored an article with one of my professors who insisted that my name be first in credit. This professor is also hooking me up with a symposium presentation and hopefully a second one next semester. He also helped me obtain a research grant which will enable me to self-publish my own catalog. Sometimes it isn't what you know but who

Also, before you apply to any grad school I suggest you read about the grad school process and expectations, and what to do once you actually get into a program. Jumping off the boat and into the water without knowing what's in there is a risk that may eventually lead you to disappointment. Many of us have been planning and preparing for grad school for a few years. While we don't know everything, many of us know what to expect. I sense a lot of trepidation mixed wit a strong desire. Also, I sense that you really aren't sure whats going on and how to achieve what you want. I suggest reading a book on the expectations of grad school will help. A good book with a lot of helpful tips is "Getting What you CAme For." I can't remember the author. It goes cheap on half.com.

Hope this helps. http://www.vcu.edu/arts/arthistory/dept ... gdel.shtml