[Fall 2017 Applicants]

Hey @terraaurea - as someone who was in a v similar situation (no money, parents in huge debt, recently lost our home, etc) I agree - go where the money is, go where there is funding. You won't regret that in the slightest. It will allow you to concentrate on your work much better as well. There might be people out there who tell you that education is priceless and, sure, I guess so in some ways, but people who make this claim usually don't know what it's like to be poor/ in debt/ have terrible credit. Do what you can to keep yourself in the best position. Plus, FSU is a fantastic program! This sounds like a great option

[Fall 2017 Applicants]

7 hours ago, Spiro Spero said:

Ah yeah, that's a deficiency. I'm into Roman arch but also Magna Graecia/pre-Roman southern Italy, so I was interested in their profs in that area. I also applied to BU (art history), Tulane, SUNY Buffalo, and Cambridge, and have offers from Trinity College Dublin and Uni. Sheffield (arch dept) for MAs.

I'm pretty early on in my process of narrowing my research interests and am coming from a different undergrad major, so only two PhD programs - they're reaches but I've got my fingers crossed, haha. 

It's tricky trying to find a suitable department with such an interdisciplinary field! At some places it's classics, at others it's art history, others archaeology... If I end up just doing an MA this cycle, I'd really like to apply to IPCAA when I finish it. 

Did someone say MAGNA GRAECIA/ PRE-ROMAN SOUTHERN ITALY and IPCAA in the same sentence? That's like my biography!  Definitely apply to IPCAA if you just go for the MA this time around! 

We should chat sometime about your interests. It's rare I find someone else who's interested specifically in pre-Roman southern Italy so I'm very excited to read that about you! My personal favourite region is Lucania (I've worked both in eastern and western Lucania) but I have also worked in Apulia. 

I am going to PM you about your original question anyway...

[Fall 2017 Applicants]

15 hours ago, the gadfly said:

I have received an offer of admission to the PhD program in classics at Toronto.  I am absolutely thrilled.  I applied to the program with expressed interest in the University's collaborative program in ancient and medieval philosophy.

Congratulations! Great program and a great city

[Fall 2017 Applicants]

49 minutes ago, likeavirgil said:

It's a shame that Gradcafe seems to be dying (at least in Classics), because there just isn't enough data anymore to draw inferences about admissions. With only one reported IPCAA interview invite from a POI, it's hard to know whether there might be a more general official invitation from a DGS or whether individual POIs will continue sending out emails (or maybe they already have!). I see that there were two IPCAA interviews reported last year with very different dates (1/12 and 1/22), but it's also pretty likely that these things differ each year.

I didn't even apply to IPCAA, but all the uncertainty is making me anxious on behalf of those who did! 

I was the one who posted that my POI called me (in last year's app cycle). POI was interim director of the program, which I didn't know when I posted that, since the current director was on leave for that term. It's always the director who reaches out and not the POI. Three years previously I'd also been contacted for an interview by the director at the time, not by my POI. 

[Fall 2017 Applicants]

9 hours ago, likeavirgil said:

!!

There's now an IPCAA interview post on the Results page. They're on schedule, it looks like!

(Relatedly: does anyone know whether IPGRH follows a similar timeline?)

IPGRH meets separately from IPCAA when it comes to deciding whom to invite, though our prospectives weekend is always the same weekend. Sometimes they meet earlier, other times they meet later. As pro Augustis mentioned, he had an interview prior to prospectives weekend which seems to mean two rounds of interviews; IPCAA does not do this.

[Fall 2017 Applicants]

13 hours ago, terraaurea said:

@likeavirgilUnfortunatly the upload-system wouldn't let me put up more than one paper. I suppose I could have put two papers in one word document, but it didn't come to mind at the time...dang! Either way I managed to stretch the paper I turned in to 19 pages without writing anything else (nobody should notice the 2.5 spacing...), but I still mentioned in my personal statement why I uploaded that one. I have a linguistic anthropology paper I could have uploaded, but the style of writing is so drastically different from what I write for Classics, so it may have seemed strange for them to read, I feel. This is so tough, ugh!

I'm honestly quite convinced they only skim those anyway, so don't feel too bad Though, at the same time, I can't confirm this, it's just a suspicion... 

[Fall 2017 Applicants]

3 hours ago, terraaurea said:

@ciistai and @likeavirgil I'm glad to hear about that for publications. I thought about entering a linguistic anthropology paper for publication at my university's Anthropology organization, but this semester got way too hectic with applying to graduate programs. I want the first thing I publish (someday!) to be as good as it can be, and something that's a little more conducive to what I am researching in the long-run. I have my hands full enough as it is with this Honors senior thesis that I need to finish this spring. 

@ciistai I do have a quick question about IPCAA. Do you know when people start to hear back, and in what way? Looking at gradcafe I see a variety of things from phonecalls, to emails, to mail, etc. Also, what is the prospective student weekend like? I'm super curious and can't find any info on it anywhere. 

Will send you a private msg later this evening to answer the second question (the short answer is that it's actually awesome). As to the first - I rec'd an email on January 14th last year about my interview which was for the following month. From what I understand, many rejections were mailed out in late January. Can elaborate more in my private message later

[Fall 2017 Applicants]

On 1/6/2017 at 1:51 PM, Spiro Spero said:

I actually just got into Trinity College Dublin's MPhil in Classics yesterday - know anything about it/its reputation? It's not quite British but it's nearby, haha. I'm hoping to use the Masters as a springboard into the top/more selective PhDs afterwards. 

I don't know anything about that one sadly! However the MPhil is a great step before the PhD (especially an American PhD) and I very seriously recommend it. I applied to PhDs while still doing my BA and my top choice school told me to go do my Master's and reapply. Did my MPhil, reapplied a few years later, and got in!  #happyendings 

[Fall 2017 Applicants]

1 hour ago, terraaurea said:

Hello everyone! I just joined, and I'm also so, so anxious about applications. I'm an undergraduate senior double-majoring in Anthropology and Classical Civilization. I'm applying to MA and PhD programs in Classical Archaeology. Some are in Classics, others are purely Archaeology. 

So far I've applied/will apply to: Umich-Ann Arbor (IPCAA, PhD), UCLA (Cotsen Institute, PhD), University of Cincinnati (Classics, PhD), Cornell (Classics, PhD; second choice CIAMS MA), UTexas-Austin (Classics, PhD), Brown (Joukowsky, PhD), Florida State (Classics, MA), Colorado-Boulder (Classics, MA), Boston University (Archaeology, MA), and maybe University of Arizona (depends on if I hear back from anyone before the Feb 15th deadline). 

All of the programs are so selective, and there are so many wonderful applicants, so I feel really overwhelmed. I have a double-minor in French and Latin, will have 4 semesters of Greek by the time I graduate, and will have 2 semesters of German. I've done a field school over a summer in Cyprus, and came back to Cyprus this past summer for a study season. Even then I feel so anxious because I don't have any publications and I only have 5 semesters of Latin total (it seems like many people have studied it since they were in the womb and I am jealous!). I know my profs will write me wonderful letters because I've gotten to know them well, but they are realistic with me and don't lie when they say that even very competitive applicants get turned down or waitlisted...

I'm looking forward to keeping up with this thread and seeing how everyone's grad app journeys go!! I'm going to go twiddle my thumbs anxiously a little more.

P.S. my interests are in mainly Roman provincial archaeology and GIS/spatial analysis. I also still have a sweet-spot for Cypriot archaeology because I've grown attached to it over the last two years. 

Good luck and do not worry about the publications (most don't have any as undergrads) or the Latin - you seem very qualified. Your modern language experience is a serious asset as is your fieldwork experience. Let me know if you have any Qs about IPCAA!

[Fall 2017 Applicants]

On 1/3/2017 at 11:45 AM, Spiro Spero said:

Hi all! I'm a senior in undergrad applying to US and UK classics programs this cycle with an intended specialization in classical archaeology. ciistai - I might need to ask you a thing or two about the US to UK transition when I hear back from the Brits! 

Fire away!  Always glad to see another archaeologist on the board!

[Fall 2017 Applicants]

On 12/12/2016 at 10:37 PM, OvidInExile said:

Senior and a half undergraduate at UofL right now, I keep wavering about graduate school.  I'm not committed to the idea of getting into academia (I scare easily) but really like the idea of getting an M.A. in Classics somewhere.  Currently looking at schools in the U.K. for the time frame and cost, but unsure about my chances of getting in to the places I'm considering.  Very interested in Latin elegiac poetry and Euripidean tragedy.  In states, I'm looking at Tulane, Notre Dame, and Boston College I think.  I haven't finished sorting out U.K. schools yet (late I know, but it seems like they have pretty late application deadlines).

I did my MPhil at Oxford and have a few friends who have done Classics MAs elsewhere in the UK (Birmingham, Cardiff) - let me know if you have any questions! I'm a Classical Archaeologist rather than a Classicist so I won't be tons of help with the nitty-gritty personally, but happy to answer any questions you have/ ask my friends for you. I could especially help out if you have any Qs about going from a North American university to a British one.

[Fall 2017 Applicants]

Just popping in to say good luck to all you new applicants! ~good vibes~

[Summer research]

I gave myself a massive crash-course on red figure and black gloss pottery in S. Italy - then taught for three weeks at a field school (where we barely even found pottery at all!!)

[Ann Arbor, MI]

On 4/10/2016 at 4:52 AM, KatieJaiYen said:

How is everyone else securing housing for the fall? It seems like you have to physically be on the ground. What you are guys doing and how long are you going to ensure you get a lease signed?

I am currently living abroad and will not be able to go to Ann Arbor until early June. Is this too late?

I'm up in Canada though not TOO far from Ann Arbor but was worried about this as well. I found a roomie on the Off-Campus Housing site and she happened to be going to Ann Arbor the following week anyway - I did a lot of the Internet footwork in skimming through hundreds of listings to find apartments that suited our needs. She arranged and attended viewings and took photos, then we decided together. If you're okay with roommates and you can find someone already with a lease, or someone who is closer to AA than you, this could work!

[Waiting List 2016]

3 hours ago, pro Augustis said:

Thanks! Unfortunately, the Michigan thing ended up falling through. I woke up the next morning to an email beginning with apologies and explaining that, while the department wants to admit me, the university isn't giving them funding for wait list admits. So that was possibly the most anticlimactic experience of my life.

But there is an upside: I'm going to Texas, which is official as of a few minutes ago. So lots of Romans and no winter in the next few years. I'm excited. 

Congratulations again! Though, wow, that's really crappy??? I've never heard of that being the situation before :/ 

[Waiting List 2016]

1 hour ago, pro Augustis said:

Apologies for the double post... but I just got into Michigan. Very excited but am going to take the next twenty-four hours to reflect on it before making a final decision. 

Congratulations!!!! Hope to see you there of course, but either way I trust you will make the best decision for yourself! 

[Fall 2016 Applicants]

On 3/26/2016 at 11:41 PM, Pertinax said:

Yeah, I can see some people were after the visitor's weekend. Congratulations! But what gets me is that Texas usually rejects in February or, at latest, early March. Did they decide to skip that step this year? Hopkins usually rejects late, but as someone pointed out above, Duke usually rejects in February. NYU can be kind of everywhere, but seems to put out rejections regularly earlier than this. On Agrippina's list, Boston usually rejects early-mid March, and (from admittedly one example) SUNY Buffalo rejects earlier than this. On Jimleko's side, Toronto usually rejects in February. It seems a bit odd that a number of schools are delaying. I know it's likely nothing that can be identified, but postulating a reason (more candidates this year? Less candidates this year? Extended admissions process? Later interview weekends?) is my way of trying to maintain patience, I guess. I know some of us, if not all of us, still waiting on these schools for final word are also holding onto acceptances from other schools. Which unfortunately means we are holding things up for those schools/waitlisters. The road to April 15th is always a knot, what with decision making and waitlisters, but it's only going to be more tangled if programs are holding back/delaying rejections.

Texas can be notorious delayers on contacting those they've waitlisted/ rejected. I hadn't heard from them by this time 3 years ago so withdrew my application entirely. I had emailed them earlier in March to ask what was up and they said something like, "please let us keep your name in consideration." Was I on a waitlist? No idea, kinda vague. In any case this is definitely not uncharacteristic of them.

Tangentially related - Duke finally rejected me! Feels weird to be celebrating a rejection but this is the much-awaited official end of my app season (besides the final response from Stanford which I'm sure will be a rejection). I also just signed a contract on an apartment in Ann Arbor. Woohoo. Wishing everyone the best of luck with final decision-making!

[Waiting List 2016]

1 hour ago, anactoria said:

Holy smokes, got a call from Stanford's DGS this morning offering a place off the waitlist. I'm flying out to visit just about a week before the deadline. Feeling vaguely dazed. 

Wow - congratulations!!! Such exciting news! I hope you enjoy the visit!

[Ann Arbor, MI]

23 hours ago, magnanimous said:

@ciistai Glad I was able to help! I'm used to thinking that housing in Ann Arbor is pretty expensive, but I guess that's because I've never lived outside of the Midwest! There are some pretty good deals around A2, so good luck with the hunt!

Oh trust me - after Toronto and Oxford, A2 is very fairly priced!! It's all about perspective  

[Waiting List 2016]

AAMW waitlistees - I rejected my offer officially over the weekend. Good luck!!

[Rejecting a great offer...]

5 hours ago, DrZoidberg said:

 

This is me, too! I just want to accept them all and writing to say I won't be attending makes me want to apologize and shower them with nice words about the program and research, which I know is too much, but ugh I am not very good at this.

I managed to keep it really moderate, I think. One response was just a one-liner but two other profs were very touched by my email and one actually wrote me quite a lengthy one in return! Makes me feel even guiltier actually... but I'm glad I got it over with. 

[Fall 2016 Applicants]

2 hours ago, anactoria said:

Ahh yes I totally remember you! I was the extremely jetlagged one  I think we talked about the weirdness of Oxford and Cambridge?

Hahaha yes!!! Well, I'm glad I won't be the only person who was there who will be turning down an offer from them. Such a hard decision, they really impressed me.

[Rejecting a great offer...]

Thanks everyone - this is really helpful! I think I will muster the strength to send these emails today. 

[Fall 2016 Applicants]

3 hours ago, anactoria said:

Yeah ): I'm inching closer to declining Penn myself and am also having a tough time, since I loved the faculty and had a great visit in general. I think I'll email the DGS and then send a (separate) personal email to one of the professors who met with me during the visit (she also Skype interviewed me, put a lot of effort into recruiting me, and is the person I would have theoretically gone there ~for~). I think it's probably unnecessary to personally inform all the profs you met that you're declining the offer, unless they spent a lot of time with you or were personally involved in your admission.

WAIT... did we meet??? Were you at Penn Prospie weekend? I was the lone AAMW candidate with the blue dress haha. (Why did I not make this connection before... so much travel must have got to me.)

[Rejecting a great offer...]

7 minutes ago, Markerz said:

I might be in a very similar position soon. How many individual profs did you talk to that you would want to send it to? I think its appropriate, especially if they invested some time in talking to you. Youll probably still be working in the same feild as them and see them at conferences or suchlike, perhaps even collaborate in some way.

I met with four archaeology professors individually, but there was another (an historian) who set up an impromptu meeting with me when he learned of my research interests - and that one was quite early in the morning!! So I am grateful to him as well.