kccur
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Posts posted by kccur
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On 12/18/2015 at 3:17 PM, InTheory said:
Good luck everyone! There are at least two schools that send out their interviews before the holidays. Last year, I received one in mid-December, and the other one should be coming your way next week (depending on your list of schools, of course). Also, don't forget that many schools make their decisions without interviews, so don't lose hope if you end the year on a negative note.
Additionally, some schools change whether they do interviews from year to year. Some schools do interviews for a few of the people on their short list while accepting others without interviewing them. Had that experience when I was applying -- a friend and I were applying to the same place, I got an interview and he didn't so he thought he was out of the running, then it turned out that he was accepted and I was waitlisted. You just never know. While that's almost definitely not the norm, don't count yourself out based on interview notices.
And I know you've all heard it already, but it's worth repeating -- applications are a crapshoot, top schools have to reject people they like and think are great every year, schools are factoring in things like research interests and cohort fit, you might get rejected by a school one year and accepted by them the next jut because different admissions committees have different preferences, and whether schools accept or reject your application isn't a reflection of your value as a person or even your value as a scholar. It's stressful, but you're doing great, and you'll get through it.
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I'm pretty sure that most of the time, schools aren't going to eliminate your application just because one of your rec letters isn't in at the deadline. I think the first time I was applying I had a problem with a rec letter and it didn't really become an issue until two or three weeks after the deadline. So if any of you are still waiting for one, you're probably okay as long as it's in soon.
Good luck, try not to stress too much (as if it's possible to help it)
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Definitely sit in a class if possible (although sometimes you can end up one that may not be particularly representative of the program). Probably the most important thing imo is to talk to the grad students who are already there. Ask them about the culture of the program, how professors of interest are to work with, how they like being there, etc.
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Definitely worrying too much
It's pretty common for people to take a year off to apply, to have been doing performance or composition before applying to academic tracks, and to have LORs from undergrad professors. The "non-traditional" applicant profile (i.e., anything other than applying right out of some sort of related-field undergrad or masters program) is maybe even more common than "traditional" profiles for ethno programs. That you already have both anthropology/ethnography research experience and performance experience will also be great. As for research interests, I think it's usually good to express a general idea of the subject areas you're interested in (probably particularly for ethno and field/archive research-heavy veins of musicology) but don't feel like you need to pretend that you know exactly what you want to do.I'm no ethnomusicologist, but it basically sounds like you have the sort of background that programs are looking for.
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Your scores are probably fine. Every music professor that I've ever heard talk about GRE scores has said that their admissions committees pretty much don't even look at GRE scores. I'm sure there are places where they are a factor, and I've that there are places where the graduate school or university as a whole has minimum score requirements (although I've never actually of specific institutions that do this), but generally speaking I think the GRE score is probably a non-factor. I imagine that committees also know that GRE verbal scores don't accurately reflect anyone's actual understanding of language, much less understanding and ability for international students.
You might want to get in touch with the director of graduate studies or a professor of interest at places you're considering applying and ask them about how they weigh GRE scores. I think a lot of times, places will be pretty straight-forward with you about what they value.
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How do you maneuver through these last minute wait lists? I have 3 acceptances and 3 wait lists, and really want to wait it out. Did you receive a phone call at 3:30pm on April 15 and then had to change your decision? Did you end up emailing/calling your declined/accepted schools, since you didn't have enough time to mail your reply?
I didn't apply to very many places (in hindsight, it was stupid of me to not apply to more schools but I eventually got in to my top pick anyways, so it didn't matter in the end), so by mid-March I knew it was down to either staying at the school I was already at or getting in to a different school off the wait list. The faculty were really supportive and understanding that if I got into the place where I was waitlisted that I was going to go, which made things a little easier. I got an email around 3:30 on the 15th from the wait-list school and emailed back the response immediately, it wasn't a big deal for them for the decision to be sent by email rather than post.
Best of luck on waiting it out (it worked for me!), and from what I understand it's really rare for it to actually go down to the last hours of the last day for decisions to be made. I would try to trim down your list by around the end of March and just be transparent with the school contacts about what's going on -- they know how the game works, and they'll be understanding if you're waiting on wait-list decisions to make your final choice, but they'll also definitely appreciate it if you can keep them in the loop.
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It's best to tell these schools that you have accepted another offer as they have people on wait-lists they would very much like like to contact in this circumstance. This is far more polite than silence. Those students on the wait-list would like it very much, too.
I'll second this. I was on a wait-list and was waiting until 3:30pm on April 15th for a person who was accepted to finally make their decision. That was somewhat unpleasant.
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Yale theory offers are probably out, they tend to go out at the same time as the music history admits. However, wait-list decisions don't always go out at the same time.
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This week will probably be a big one. Good luck, everyone!
(And man, composers, you guys are really making me not sad that I went into theory instead. Your applications/admissions process sounds far more nightmarish than ours, and ours is still a huge pain)
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Hey everybody! I noticed that someone posted about a Yale Musicology PhD interview... does that mean that they have already offered the Yale Theory PhD interviews as well?
Not sure. Also, last year they accepted at least one person without interviewing them, so the Yale picture might not become clear for another week or so.
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I received three theory interviews so far (two already took place, one is coming up).
Best of luck! I'm looking forward to hearing how everyone here does once the results start rolling in.
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Congratulations to all the UChicago candidates!!
Haha, to the few people above. I have only had one rejection and no interviews.
Don't worry too much about the lack of interviews. A lot of music theory schools don't do interviews (or, like Yale, sometimes interview and sometimes don't).
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Just reading this thread made me anxious, and I'm in my PhD program already. Sheesh. Good luck everyone, try to relax as much as possible, and it'll all be over in the only somewhat distant future.
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Happy April 15 everyone! And congrats on surviving application season.
Kccur - any news?
Nooooope, not yet. But I have been kept up to date with things, so I know there are decisions still out and I definitely still have a chance. May not have slept last night, but whatever! It all ends today!
Dawn of the final day, 24(ish) hours remain! It's the final countdown! etc., etc.
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Props to both of you!
My wait list situation continues down to the end. I know how many people I'm waiting on -- actually, I even know exactly who I'm waiting on -- but it looks like it's literally going to come down to the last days. Which is all a bit stressful, but also a bit funny.
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Kccur, give that I'm working on Israeli hip hop and theorisations of blackness in the M.E., Chicago has the perfect faculty. I have concerns about both schools, and yet either would undoubtedly be a fantastic choice, and I would have been thrilled just to get one offer this application season. I do want to work interdisciplinarily both within the music dept and outside, and both schools would facilitate that, although I think it would be *necessary* at Penn to get what I need, and a nice bonus at Chicago since the dept has strengths in my research areas.
I think I'm going to finalise my decision tomorrow, having had the chance today to talk to more people
Hopefully someone will get a waitlist place out of it!Kccur, where are you waitlisted? That must be very frustrating right now, fingers crossed that you have some good news in the next few days.
Yeah, sounds like you're in good shape. Really can't go wrong.
I don't want to say exactly where I'm waitlisted -- even though nothing I could possibly say on here could affect me in any way, I'm just ultra-paranoid this app season and want to be as un-identifiable as possible. So I'll just say it's a top-three theory program. I think I only need one person to commit elsewhere, and there are currently either one or two uncommitted theory admits. It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out. Mostly I've been able to keep myself convinced that this is all very exciting -- but at this point I just want it to be over.
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I still can't decide between Chicago and Penn. Help!
I'm sure this is something you've already been thinking about, but I'll say it anyways -- which one has the faculty member you'd want to work with the most? (But since you're still having trouble deciding, I'm assuming the answer is both have faculty you'd love to work with). Additionally, how interdisciplinary do you want to be? I mean, there usually isn't a ton of ethno/music theory crossover (I'm a theorist, so bear with my theory-centric myopia), but Penn's music theory faculty is very so-so, while Chicago has Steve Rings who is a total badass.
On an almost completely different note, anyone else here currently languishing on the wait list? I'm in that boat and while I've been oddly not-anxious for most of the past month, my sanity is really starting to fray this week. People like you, music, need to go ahead and make their damn decisions already
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I think you might be underestimating your academic growth from your theory masters program. It's not uncommon for people to have far greater success applying after their masters than they did out of undergrad. Additionally, if it's language skills you're worried about and are totally set on getting a second masters before re-applying to theory PhD programs, maybe you should consider a more closely related research field instead of guitar performance? I imagine getting a second masters in something like historical musicology, focusing particularly on the composers you're interested in from a theory standpoint, could be far more helpful in both developing your language skills as well as broadening your intellectual mindset.
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So Chicago half-rejected me by accepting me into MAPH.... though I will not be going, I'm curious to know if anyone's actually considered it.
Straight rejection from Chi for me. It's funny, because before application season I thought I'd have a better shot at Chicago than the other top school I was applying to, but I'm rejected from the former and first-in-line on the wait list for the latter. Somehow, the down-to-the-wire dramatic finish of my application season isn't turning me into as much of an anxious wreck as I thought it would.
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Let's just say this person gives me the "D.T."s and I don't even drink.
Hahaha. He certainly does have a reputation in the theory world, I've never heard much about him from composers but I'd be interested in those stories.
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I hope this week brings lots of acceptances for all of us! Waiting is pretty killer... It's been insanely cold where I am (about -23ºF) recently, so there has been little more for me to do besides check Grad Cafe (from the warmth and safety of my apartment) and hope for updates. Good luck to everyone!
Should be a big week, at least in the theory world. I think UT-Austin will send out acceptances this week, and word on the street is Yale has been doing interviews over the past week and will probably announce soon as well.
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PS fellow Chicago theory/music history applicants, heard from someone today who got a Chicago acceptance yesterday, so it's not looking good for the rest of us. Drats. Thought I had a halfway decent shot there.
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Beside myself with joy. The Logan Centre is stunning, the whole university looks like Hogwarts, the new library is like something from the future, I had the best time when I visited over the summer, and *the* guy in my field teaches there. Hoping to fly out for the prospective student day, and already looking at housing options
Right? It's like no place I've ever seen. So I guess Chicago is your #1 choice? In that case, extra congrats!
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Applying for Fall 2016
in Music
Posted
Don't worry about GRE scores. I've heard professors at multiple top schools say that they basically don't care about your GRE scores at all. I think it's one of those things that is generally only required because of university-wide or graduate school policies, and most music schools/departments would be just as happy if they weren't required. Maybe some schools care about GRE scores, or maybe they can sometimes come into play for scholarships/fellowships or if you completely bomb them, but from what I've heard, musicology/theory admissions almost never take GRE scores seriously.