fullofpink

It's so tough to say. However, there is a good livejournal community that has a few entries on applying a second round, but some are not necessarily art history related. http://applyingtograd.livejournal.com/tag/ If you sign up, there's even more content (posts are MUCH more secure there). Best of luck!

Grigsby touched upon African and French identity and associations on the Gericault chapter in Extremities, but I am not positive if she is still working in that area. It's a fantastic chapter if you haven't read it already.

Has your adviser to look over your application?

http://arthistory.wisc.edu/resources/index.html On their website, University of Wisconsin-Madison has posted a guide on applying to graduate programs with a sample of a statement of purpose. Hope this helps someone out!

I would rely more on a Print/Works on Paper curator than an adviser and wholeheartedly agree with the above comments - find a museum nearby as a supplemental resource.

You might be hard-pressed to find someone who is going to qualify that statement for you. In short, the reason Cornell gets some flack is because of the applicant's perception that the Ivies are untouchable and their prestige overrides their curriculum at the graduate level - this is very untrue. Cornell has a good program, it just doesn't hold the weight of the name as its undergraduate reputation - the same with nearly every other school. Honestly, if you think Cornell is a perfect fit for you - then GO FOR IT. They probably offer the same financial packages and advantages that other schools offer, and if they have a faculty member YOU want to study with, then don't worry about the reputation - only care about the opportunities they can offer YOU. In fact, that reputation (and example) is only tossed around on this forum - I've never heard anyone comment on any school (except maybe Harvard, but it's mostly in jest. Or, if they comment on a school it's because a certain professor is there, it's not really about the program itself unless the professor was HIGHLY influential) in my professional or academic life in a way that would make me turn away." Rankings like these really do not matter if the fit is perfect for you.

Very, very simple answer: Most people who have very little idea about graduate school or the process of pursuing graduate school naively think that the reputation a school has for their undergraduate curriculum is the same for their graduate program. Thus, Harvard and Yale should, theoretically, be the best graduate programs, followed closely by the other Ivies (including Cornell). Cornell is probably the best example of this fallacy since it's an Ivy but its graduate program is not the best on many terms, which is why it is repeated so often.

Eh... I really hate these lists. Now, if they were arranged by field.....

Sorry, pulled the wrong title out: check out French Genre Painting in the Eighteenth Century. It has writing by Crow, Burcharcht and Smentek, along with some other big wigs (Siegfried) whom you might be interested in working with. It's a pretty traditional art historical book, so there won't be any talk about medicine and the skin, but it's good to compare people's writings on the same subject (provides some perspective, me thinks).

Dian Kriz is at Brown, but pretty British (her book on Sugar, Slavery and the Culture of Refinement is some top notch research though). Mary Sheriff is probably the powerhouse of pre-19th c. French, right now.

Well, if you don't try then you won't know. Honestly, what I hear about the funding generally stems from the MA programs (I have heard almost nothing regarding PhD programs), where the American students get almost nothing and have the option for American loans. Questions directed to the program might really help. I think Fend's research is really neat, but I haven't heard much from her nor have I studied it that much. Are you for pre or post revolution? Are you interested in academic study or rococo? These topics will help guide you tremendously!! -- even if the POI doesn't study 18th century, at least they'll know enough to head into that direction. What is your preferred medium?

Most applicants to graduate study will have a CV/Resume crossbreed. On a pure CV, only academic achievements are noted (look at the CVs of the professors you are interested in studying under. You'd rarely see anything like other forms of employment or detailed descriptions of what they've done). Also, academic CVs go on for pages. In a CV, education almost always goes in at the top. A resume is limited to 1-2 pages, and goes into greater detail on job history over education. It also tends to have more explanation of what you've accomplished instead of simply listing your accomplishments. I'm not sure what programs you are applying to, but it's good to note all relevant history (jobs, internships, publications, conferences, labs, etc.) instead of sticking within the parameters.

A LOT of the scholars have died off in the last decade (breaks.my.heart). Are you more interested in pre or post revolution? That will definitely help! haha (or hurt. There are so few scholars). Courtauld: Katie Scott (Rococo, but some global research) MIT: Kristel Smentek (but she doesn't touch your methods at all and most of MIT's faculty are very much architectural historians) UCL: Mechthild Fend (her research is very, very different) From my understanding, I thought Schama was more British > French. But you'd have the Frick in NYC that you can't top as a museum resource (Colin Bailey is there who I think is probably one of the best scholars in the area). Thomas Crow is actually a professor of Modern art at NYU, but that's just in title - this fall he is offering courses on both 18th c and 20th c. art, so it might be best to email him to see if he's interested in an 18th century student (however, be painfully aware that he is over 60 - not that that means he's going to retire in the next few years, but if it takes you 7 years or more....(which is common)). Have you read Lajer-Burcharth's work? Out of everyone, she seems to be most closely linked to your interests, that is, if you like psychoanalysis. If you haven't read her work, I highly suggest you do. Her most famous publication is Necklines but I found her shorter articles to be more indicative of her thought processes. I recommend reading David After David, it's a very easy read and you can easily see the differences between Crow's and L-B's writing on the same topic. Very informative.

Thank you!

lol thanks! I'm sure you will do well too! The reading comprehension is the worst - I fail to see how poorly structured paragraphs are related to grad school work. I mean, when I read those things, I feel like I'm reading Freshmen writing on topics they don't really know about and it's my job to seek their meaning. Ugh. I hate it! But, it will get better. What I liked about the new test was the fact that I could return to a question. Since most of the RCs happened in the middle, if I found that the passage was REALLY long or that the questions didn't make much sense, I just marked them and came back to them after I completed the more sane portions of the test. I think that helped me out A LOT. Good luck!!

I have two CV formats: one in paragraph form that puts my CV perfectly at 3 pages and the other in bullet form that expands the CV to 4 pages. I've been told many times that bullet form is easier to read (and I agree), but I'm worried about the 4-page length since I only hold a BA. I get the feeling that a 4-page CV for someone with a BA can easily be interpreted as padding. However, the content in the CV is completely relevant and necessary: 3 related-working positions, 5 internships, 2-year TAship, multiple exhibitions, 4 publications, 5 symposium presentations, multiple scholarships, and grant and researching funding. So, 3 pages or 4?

Gmail does not do this, as far as I know. However, if you sent the emails several weeks ago, you may need to just call their offices and leave a message on their voicemails.

My deadlines are due in early January. This is my schedule so far: September: Last week: took the GRE. Satisfactory range for GRE, may need to retest in late Nov. if new scores are on the low scale of the ranges. This weekend: tighten up CV, read my last POI's articles, contact POIs This week: Meet with my undergraduate adviser and go over general application materials (talk about GRE scores, GPA and transcripts, look at Writing Sample, and CV). Make changes suggested. Completed: CV, GRE, Writing sample* October:Narrow down list of schools and visit the ones I'm most interested in. Finish first drafts of Personal Statements; start second drafts of Personal statements November:Order transcripts from college for December pick-up If GRE scores are good, send them to other schools. If unsatisfactory, restudy for exam at the end of the month. Final SOP written Give copy of all materials to LOR writers. Request LORs done by mid-Dec. December: [*]Pick up transcripts and LORs [*]Quadruple-check my writing sample and SOP for errors [*]Submit everything by December 15 January: [*]Start freaking out.

I don't think your contemporary work will deter 19th century people (many 19th centuriers love mod/con and study it as a second discipline), but your interests do seem to align more with visual culture over art history, which might raise eyebrows a bit. Where are you considering? MA, PhD?

I'm confused why you note PBR, tattoos, and best friend's day as pluses, but neg the hipsters since two of those are primary categories in identifying the hipsters and BFD was created by them... Also, not sure why being the cap of confederacy is so bad - I mean, it's not like anyone in the city still sports a confederate flag. Almost everyone I know (who lives in the city) is incredibly liberal.

The art history DGS at my alma mater first looks at the title and then bibliography of a writing sample before reading anything else. This individual does so because before they review a writing sample, they make sure that the references used are relevant, that there are a mix of articles and books, and that the references used are recent (published in the past 20 years). I would seriously consider doing the paper that reflects your research potential over your theoretical potential. What many people do not realize in a writing sample is that although the writing and the thought matter, the schools are definitely looking at your ability TO research and how you interpret the materials given to you. Given your original statement, I would most positively tighten up the gender/craft paper and stress in your SOP that you want to focus on theory. I think this would communicate your intentions (and abilities) best.

No. Don't waste space. Times New roman (or something equally conservative), 12 (at the lowest 10, but really, don't go lower than 11), 1 inch margins side and between .5-1.5 margins top/bottom. Yes, but only list what your duties - you can go into detail in your SOP, if necessary. Just make sure everything you list is relevant to what you are applying to In your education section, you may want to list your thesis title there. Example: BS in Science, BLANK UNIVERSITY, 2000Overall GPA: 3.5Major GPA: 4.0Thesis: "I accomplished this in the nick of time!" Then in your publications section, you just have to put your title. You may not need to address that this is your thesis. 5: Typically, Name and contact information should go to the top. I've never heard of anyone including nationality on a CV/resume (though I'm unsure about international requirements), though it may be assumed if you contact info lists India as your address. Gender may not be required either. I generally list languages and hobbiess (though I do not suggest using that term (too generic)), in a field titled Skills or Other. There should be a society in your discipline that gives you a standard CV/resume format. You should look for that and emulate it!

Make sure that you read any directions given on a school's website. While most of the schools I'm applying to just give a word/page limit, one school actually stipulated that in the first sentence of the SOP that you MUST mention the school's name and what department you are applying to. That changes everything regarding my entrance of the SOP. Whatever you put in for your first paragraph, it needs to be strong, relevant and not too wordy/verbose. I think this website explains very succinctly how to make things sharp: http://www.uni.edu/~gotera/gradapp/stmtpurpose.htm

I'd accept you immediately if "Awesomesauce" was in an application. Perhaps consider it a new middle name? lol

The back of my new Kaplan book had the 500 top words arranged by synonyms. This helped out TREMENDOUSLY. If I had a blank to fill in and I knew what the generic word should be ("interesting," "inquisitive," "boring" "bad"), even if I didn't know the definitions of all the suggested answers, at least I knew if they would fit in this category by meaning. Loved it. The hardest part of the verbal section was the reading comprehension portion. Some of the examples they give are very convoluted and poorly written/organized, so it's not so much reading comprehension as much as reading while solving a rubix cube in a limited amount of time.