IntaTea
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Posts posted by IntaTea
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NYU!
in 2011 Archive
Anyone going?
I'll be starting a PhD program in the Fall. Will need Bobst library buddies!
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In my opinion, the MA program is not very competitive at this point because of its size, though this does not mean you will not receive an excellent education if you attend. A large number of the MA students are not fit to be graduate students. Many of them are just 'into movies', and attend to avoid getting a 'real job'. Others want to become film critics and seem to think that an MA is the path into this profession. A handful of others want to be curators or programmers, and again seem to think this will help them pursue that profession. Only a few are serious about pursuing an academic career in cinema studies.
I would say this is a very accurate portrait of the MA students. I would also add that very few of the students have any idea what PhD work or advanced research entails. As a result, you will occasionally encounter students that believe they want to do PhD and are "hardcore" but really are more interested in the prestige of the designation. This is true of PhD applicantion pools in general but it can be somewhat socially frustrating if you are in a large MA program and students enjoy the department politics game a bit too much. But I do think if you are a serious student and can easily absent yourself from the drama you can do well at NYU. Just don't listen to all the myths and rumors that are constantly circulating among the MAs. Very few have any clue what they are talking about.
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Does anyone know how competitive NYU's Cinema Studies MA is? And for those of you who got in, what were your stats? I got in for the fall but I had a TERRIBLE GRE score, aprox. 3.6 GPA, double major in English/International Affairs, great rec letters (2 from former NYU alumni), pretty great writing sample that was quite original (according to a professor), and a good sop.
Originally NYU was my first choice, but I'm beginning to doubt the quality of the education I'm going to get there. Not to mention, they offer MA students little to zero funding, and quite frankly I don't know if I want to be in debt $50,000 at the end of an 18 month program. Also, I dislike that there's no thesis option. Instead they require the comp exam. I must admit I'm a little disappointed due to the negative comments I've heard surrounding NYU's program. I know a couple recent graduates who said they didn't feel prepared AT ALL for a PhD after graduating from the CS program and I also know a PhD alumni who claimed to not have learned anything while being there. Supposedly it's one of the top programs, but I wonder about percentages of acceptance. It could be that the program is only renowned because IT IS NYU, not because the students actually receive good educations. NYU's mentality (at the MA level) seems to be "get them in, get their money, get them out..." which isn't comforting when I think about the fact that I will likely be indebted to them for life. Honestly, SFSU's program seems to be slightly better, despite the fact that is not as well-known.
Any advice from former MA graduates or current Cinema Studies students would be much appreciated.
In General, I can say that the acceptance rate of grads (to PhD programs from MA) is not as high as it might be for other programs. Mostly, this is bc the MA program is huge. However, NYC is one of the best places to do cinema research and immerse yourself in the independent cinema world. What I would also caution is that they do not actually take a ton of their own MAs straight into the PhD program upon MA completion. It's usually about 1 student. They do try to reserve spots for MA alums from previous years but it's not the gaurenteed spot that you might think it is. True, there isn't a ton of funding for MAs but there is some. You can reapply for funding after the first year and you might get some. Does this help?
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So their usual figure was 12? I suppose I had some sort of alien notion that they took even more than that. I don't know why I would have thought that.
I am a Florida resident but I haven't heard the grapevine information that you have, although I did see similar conjecture on the survey.
I have heard the same exact claim about PA, though (50% reduction).
Have they sent out ANY rejections? At first, I was assuming if I hadn't heard that meant secret waitlist but I e-mailed and got information to the negative. 1. either that's not the case or 2. they have trimmed their waitlist now.
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I'm such a loser...but has anybody heard from NYU or Columbia MA programs yet???
NYU tends to be late with their MA notifications. I wouldn't expect it before April. I would also look for the notification in snail mail--possibly to your home address. I know they just finished with their PhD admits so if you haven't heard it's probably not a bad thing.
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So I'm officially 0 for 5. And I'm published/presented at prestigious conference this year.
Just a question -- does anyone really ever get accepted to a program without having a faculty advocating for their acceptance?
Honestly? This year, I think that might have been the case. There aren't as many film Ph.D programs out there (when compared to other humanities) and they also tend to be smaller (than say English or Comp. Lit). I don't know about most film programs--but I do know humanities programs generally cut spots drastically this year. I applied to 10 programs and just happen to be waitlisted at the one program I had connections at. I don't think that was a coincidence. Sadly, it will probably be the only potential offer I have this round. This season was really tough and I do think you probably had to know a faculty member or have a recommender that knows someone on the faculty. However, I am concerned that if this waitlist doesn't turn into an admit I won't have any better luck next round. =( Who knows! I encourage you not to take the outcome personally. You sound like a great candidate! Try again next year and hopefully things will be better. It's really hard to predict.
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They are interviewing 20 people for the 6-8 PhD slots. I hope that helps. Sometimes it's better to clear up any uncertainty.
Really? I'm surprised it is that many. I was pretty sure they cut their total number of spots way down this year.
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I have only heard from 2 programs and it's killing me and causing large amounts of anxiety... I wonder when they will tell me something pretty much 24/7. I would love rejection at this point... then I can just plan for next year.
Anyone wanna claim the NYU- Cinema Studies PhD interviews on results search? I wonder how many are being interviewed.
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On 2/25/2011 at 4:54 PM, 8675309 said:
So no word on NYU or WashU for anyone? It seems admits usually hear before the wave of rejections.
I'm 0 for 2 so far. Still waiting on 3 although Harvard obviously is a forthcoming rejection.
I'm 0 out of 2 as well. No word from NYU or WashU yet. WashU seems to be later than usual this year. NYU tends to be a March notification school. I have heard that NYU is only admitting 4 this year. Of course, that could just be hearsay.
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Or I wonder if the notifications have already gone out, but didn't make it to the results page here.
I was wondering the same thing! What are the class sizes like? I thought it was about 6 for Yale. Maybe they only admitted a few this year and no one reported. Also, I have not seen any posts about some of the joint programs (like Film Studies) either. I wonder what the hold up is. Anyone willing to call/email and report back?
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I know it seems like the programs are snoozing re: admissions decisions but it's only February; most decisions are going to be finalized in March and, even, April. For those who haven't heard yet (myself included), I think that it means that our applications are still in review. There was a great post re: Columbia's screening process that acknowledged that there are applications in "limbo" that take longer b/c some have approved them while others have not. I don't know if that means "waitlisted" or just "maybe." I think that if you're waitlisted, the university lets you know. So, I assume that no news means still "in review," which is not great but it isn't terrible either. It's important to consider the date that you submitted your app b/c I think that apps might be considered in order of arrival. My apps were submitted very close to the final deadlines of each school so I imagine that I will be one of the last to be notified, which sucks but is fair.
I think that more decisions are going to come out the week of and after Spring Break b/c reviewers will have had more time to review, meet, and discuss candidates with one another. It sucks to wait but I really do think that, if you haven't heard yet, it's probably because you're app hasn't even been reviewed yet.
When is Spring Break?
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Nope. I'm also waiting on their Comp Lit. I was hoping Monday would lift last week's spell on programs. But I guess people might be on holiday today.
Just out of curiosity, how many languages would you be coming in with? I'm coming from the film side more than the comp lit side so I wasn't sure what the norm was for comp. lit. The website seems to suggest they expect quite a few.
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I feel like most Comp Lit programs have snoozed through this week. Wake up, people! Decide! Come on!
Has anyone heard from Yale Comp Lit/Film? It seems a bit later than last year's notifications and I still haven't heard anything.
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I'm in at NYU-Cinema Studies (M.A.). They sent the letter to my home address so I haven't actually seen it yet. Do funding offers usually come with that letter or later on?
NYU!
in 2011 Archive
Posted
Brooklyn (Williamsburg,etc), Queens (Astoria), and Upper East Side (below Harlem) are more affordable and popular with grad students. The East Village is ideal but a bit pricey. Manhattan apt hunting is an art so I recommend doing lots of research before you make any moves. Student housing may not always be the cheapest option but it is probably the easiest.