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videro

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Everything posted by videro

  1. I understand where your coming from with the sample length, nothing that you're a history person. I do ancient philosophy, so 15-20 pages was a nice Goldilocks range for me. I actually defend the fees, because their representative of that graduate school is — a financial risk. They're an easy way to cut out anyone who isn't seriously interested in the programs, which saves the departments a lot of time with needless consideration for half-baked applicants. Similarly, I defend the GRE as a whole because it provides an independent task for the applicant to complete, and in this sense it imitates processes like modern-language acquisition, independent research, etc, that graduates need to do. I think it's absurd that the GRE is administered by a for-profit corporation, and I fully realize that the GRE measures competency in a particular form of 'testing-language,' rather than measuring general intelligence, but I still feel this replicates particular features of graduate life. For me, the most absurd portion of the application was letters of recommendation. Unlike every other feature of the application, which can be assembled at any time during or before the application season, letters of recommendation, if they're going to be good, need to be assembled from a history of good relationships with the right professors, and these relationships aren't something you can 'pick up' on the go in your final year of undergraduate work, if you only then decide you want to do graduate work. This isn't a problem I have in particular, but I can see where it would arise and put certain applicants at an unfair disadvantage.
  2. Yeah, it was pretty awful. The costumes are always great, though! I never look at these films and think their visually unconvincing. It's just the ethics and the character development that are off. -- So, what would everyone say was the most painful piece of the graduate application package?
  3. Oh, BBC. That bodes well. Which one's haven't you liked? I really don't know of any other than Rome.
  4. Do y'all know of any compelling classics-minded television shows, other than Rome? I need a distraction these days.
  5. Oh, all right. Wow. There's so much on this website I'm unaware of.
  6. What? I have no clue what you're talking about. Is there breaking news somewhere? Basically, it's been my standing assumption that there won't be any decisions for another week or so, and then in the last week of January/first of February, quarter-system schools like Stanford and Berkeley start releasing decisions (the same ones that have an early deadline).
  7. I really think you should stick with the British accent. They have sex appeal here, and Americans tend to assume they imply intelligence.
  8. I've always wanted to start a Youtube channel where I read Homer/Virgil aloud, just so that when people search 'what does Homeric Greek sound like' they have an option besides Daitz. I tend to imagine one of the frogs from the Baktrakomuomachia is performing whenever I hear him.
  9. You'd have to know me for it to make perfect sense. I'm very neat-looking. I don't think I've been seen in public without a collared shirt since high school, and part of me was definitely motivated by a sense that I had to impress professors to earn their respect. I've come to realize how ridiculous that is/was, so I'd like to see how the other half lives: messy, dyed hair, shave once a week, wear v-necks and flip-flops to class. If anything, it'll be good prep for Berkeley, which is one of my top choices, although I'm worried about their funding system.
  10. Actually, if I get into graduate school, I'm seriously considering getting a Greek tattoo and dying my hair. I'd only dye my hair for the Spring, but the tattoo would sort of remain as a memento for my new life.
  11. I'm an undergrad at uChicago, so I'm offering a very limited/biased perspective. For the undergrad, MAPSS students seem to show up in random places, and from our perspective there never really 'graduate' students. The professors don't seem to treat them as graduate students (probably because they aren't firmly under the wing of the department). I would echo all the standing arguments that MAPSS/MAPH are cash cows for uChicago, and, at least in my sense of it, offer only very limited opportunities to graduates.
  12. Yeah, let's talk about something that isn't 'OMG IM NERVOUS' ....which is the thought that greets me when I wake up every morning. Have you discovered this? http://whatshouldwecallmeclassics.tumblr.com/
  13. I've been told by multiple professors in my department (UChicago) that Harvard is in the ditch. They're still Harvard, so they're still competitive, but for whatever reason they're no longer anywhere near the top. I think there are other posts in thsi forum that confirm what my professors said. I haven't figure out whether (1) Harvard can place any of its graduates or (2) the tenured faculty have stopped producing compelling work, or (3) there's some other reason they've been blacklisted by the community at large. No clue. I didn't apply, mostly becaue they don't really have any classical philosophers and I wouldn't have been able to make a 'good fit' argument.
  14. A statement of purpose is definitely a research statement, though it should contain some of your personality, too. It's not only an expression of your research and how it fits with that department, but also a admission of why 'you' ultimately 'need' that department to continue your research. The personal statement (as opposed to the statement of purpose) is probably a chance to voice how college has shaped your attitude toward minorities, or how your own identity as a minority has been shaped by the college experience. It's usually option (though at Berkeley it's not). In any case, I wouldn't consider it critical. Make it short, make it free of typos, and make is honest.
  15. Kg00kg and ciistai. Don't fret, don't bother the departments you applyng to by asking them about their requirements. No one is going to turn you away because of your mediocre math scores. What you need are: (a) adequate experience with the languages, ( a great personal statement and © strong letters of recommendation. The GRE is just a rite of passage—I've had mutliple professors tell this to me. As long as you didn't bomb the verbal section, you sure as hell shouldn't bother retaking the test. It's a waste of time and money, but most importantly its a wasted outlet for stress you shouldn't have!
  16. I agree with Andromache 2012. Languages are big for classics. Don't go anywhere you won't be funded, but do yourself a favor and get a funded MA. If you do as well in the Master Program as you did Undergrad, you'll be able to set your sights on the school of your choice.
  17. I've been passing around a 15 page writing sample, and one professor even suggested it was a little long. Look at it this way--even if your paper is too long, it will merely encourage professor to read the beginning and end, while skimming the meat of the essay. Therefore, as long as you're solid in the first and final paragraphs, it won't really matter how long your paper is.
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