Fall 2021 Applicants

[ClassicsCandidate]

6 minutes ago, somethingClassics said:

Hey, just wanted to update you all that I received an email this morning for an interview with NYU on Thursday. I had received no other responses before this, so I am ecstatic to say the least! 

That's excellent, I hope you get more good news soon! ?

[somethingClassics]

Just now, ClassicsCandidate said:

That's excellent, I hope you get more good news soon! ?

Thank you, I hope you do too!!

 

[ClassicsCandidate]

13 minutes ago, somethingClassics said:

Thank you, I hope you do too!!

 

Thank you! 

[ClassicsCandidate]

I just received my University of Chicago rejection; was recommended to the MAPH program.

[screwdriverfemme]

hey y'all! I just discovered GradCafe, and wanted to pop in and say hello to all my fellow classicists. I'm applying for (funded) MAs for next fall and pretty much just playing the waiting game right now, although I've got an acceptance from University of Maryland and an interview with them for a full-funding TAship this Thursday ? Hope everyone is hanging in there as decisions slowly start to trickle out!

[ClassicsCandidate]

10 minutes ago, screwdriverfemme said:

hey y'all! I just discovered GradCafe, and wanted to pop in and say hello to all my fellow classicists. I'm applying for (funded) MAs for next fall and pretty much just playing the waiting game right now, although I've got an acceptance from University of Maryland and an interview with them for a full-funding TAship this Thursday ? Hope everyone is hanging in there as decisions slowly start to trickle out!

Congrats on your acceptance!! ? Maryland's a great school, I hope you get that TAship too! 

[screwdriverfemme]

8 minutes ago, ClassicsCandidate said:

Congrats on your acceptance!! ? Maryland's a great school, I hope you get that TAship too! 

Eee thanks!! I'm really excited; it's definitely in my top contenders, and honestly I think that if I get the funding I'll likely end up there. We'll see how it goes ... 

[ClassicsCandidate]

Just received my University of Michigan (IPCAA) rejection. 

[peploskore]

45 minutes ago, ClassicsCandidate said:

Just received my University of Michigan (IPCAA) rejection. 

Same  expected but still...brutal. 

[ClassicsCandidate]

2 minutes ago, peploskore said:

Same  expected but still...brutal. 

Yeah, the email said they got 10x the applications than the amount of students they could accept into the program. Pretty much what I've been hearing from everyone, really.  

[peploskore]

Just now, ClassicsCandidate said:

Yeah, the email said they got 10x the applications than the amount of students they could accept into the program. Pretty much what I've been hearing from everyone, really.  

That’s an insane number, wow! At this point I only have a few left to hear from and it seems very likely it will be bad news. I’m holding a little bit of hope no matter what but I’m trying to come up with some backup plans! COVID really seems to have narrowed funding and admits significantly :(  

[ClassicsCandidate]

1 minute ago, peploskore said:

That’s an insane number, wow! At this point I only have a few left to hear from and it seems very likely it will be bad news. I’m holding a little bit of hope no matter what but I’m trying to come up with some backup plans! COVID really seems to have narrowed funding and admits significantly  

I think it was the combination of both the schools that decided to take no one, which drove up the applications at other institutions, which were all deciding to bring in smaller cohorts than usual, anyway. I'm personally looking into UK and Irish universities to apply to if I don't get into anywhere this cycle and apply to US, UK, and Irish (and possibly other international) universities for the next cycle. Just trying to keep up with my ancient Greek in the meantime. But yeah, a professor at Cornell informed me that in the 10 years she's worked there, they've never had this many applicants for an admissions cycle and they were only taking three people this year. So, we'll see. My plan is to keep applying until the admissions committees are sick of seeing me lol. But it is rather disappointing to only have a few schools left to hear back from; I'm almost half through my applications and have gotten all rejections thus far.

[peploskore]

Just now, ClassicsCandidate said:

I'm personally looking into UK and Irish universities to apply to if I don't get into anywhere this cycle and apply to US, UK, and Irish (and possibly other international) universities for the next cycle.

That perspective really helps and I agree! It’s been a brutal year for this, and the number of schools that pulled applications was huge, especially for the interdisciplinary programs. 
I did my MA in the UK so if you have any questions feel free to message me! I would’ve loved to stay in the UK for a PhD but getting international funding was so intimidating and stressful. Maybe I’ll look into it for next year as well! 

[ClassicsCandidate]

2 minutes ago, peploskore said:

That perspective really helps and I agree! It’s been a brutal year for this, and the number of schools that pulled applications was huge, especially for the interdisciplinary programs. 
I did my MA in the UK so if you have any questions feel free to message me! I would’ve loved to stay in the UK for a PhD but getting international funding was so intimidating and stressful. Maybe I’ll look into it for next year as well! 

Yeah --- we all have to remember that the rejections this year might not be reflective of us as scholars but as the current situation everyone is in and the fact that there are a LOT of brilliant people applying right now and it's going to be a numbers game as far as getting in (I had someone I knew at Cornell inform me that no one who asked to work with the professor I wanted to work with got in, either, so that did help a bit) 

I'm looking into all possible funding for international students, including a Fulbright for the first year of the PhD (although of course that's not guaranteed, either), but I'll be digging into that type of research once I know for sure I haven't gotten into any program in the US. Which university did you attend, if you don't mind my asking? I've been looking into Trinity College Dublin, St. Andrews, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Durham, and Exeter thus far. 

[peploskore]

Just now, ClassicsCandidate said:

Yeah --- we all have to remember that the rejections this year might not be reflective of us as scholars but as the current situation everyone is in and the fact that there are a LOT of brilliant people applying right now and it's going to be a numbers game as far as getting in (I had someone I knew at Cornell inform me that no one who asked to work with the professor I wanted to work with got in, either, so that did help a bit) 

I'm looking into all possible funding for international students, including a Fulbright for the first year of the PhD (although of course that's not guaranteed, either), but I'll be digging into that type of research once I know for sure I haven't gotten into any program in the US. Which university did you attend, if you don't mind my asking? I've been looking into Trinity College Dublin, St. Andrews, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Durham, and Exeter thus far. 

Exactly! It just sucks that it feels bad either way, even if I know it doesn’t reflect on me at all  but it does help to know it really is outside of our control. 

I was at King’s College London! I also got into Edinburgh and ultimately turned them and two other US MAs down because I wanted daily access to the British Museum since my focus is ancient art. I’ve had friends in various related fields at St. Andrews, Durham, Exeter, and Edinburgh who all absolutely loved their time there. I’ve heard great things about the other schools as well. I also think it would be so cool to do a degree in Germany but I would have to improve my German by leaps and bounds...

[ClassicsCandidate]

5 minutes ago, peploskore said:

I was at King’s College London! I also got into Edinburgh and ultimately turned them and two other US MAs down because I wanted daily access to the British Museum since my focus is ancient art. I’ve had friends in various related fields at St. Andrews, Durham, Exeter, and Edinburgh who all absolutely loved their time there. I’ve heard great things about the other schools as well. I also think it would be so cool to do a degree in Germany but I would have to improve my German by leaps and bounds...

Oh, nice! KCL is definitely on my list as well, I just haven't perused a lot of its site yet. One of my friends is within walking distance of the British Museum where she goes to school, too, and I imagine having it right there is an enormous help. 

Germany would be really cool but I don't know any German, myself. It's why I'm going for the English-speaking countries or places that offer to do the PhD in English and have immersion lessons for the country's language (I'd want to learn it as soon as I got there and continue until I was relatively fluent!)

[peploskore]

2 minutes ago, ClassicsCandidate said:

Oh, nice! KCL is definitely on my list as well, I just haven't perused a lot of its site yet. One of my friends is within walking distance of the British Museum where she goes to school, too, and I imagine having it right there is an enormous help. 

Germany would be really cool but I don't know any German, myself. It's why I'm going for the English-speaking countries or places that offer to do the PhD in English and have immersion lessons for the country's language (I'd want to learn it as soon as I got there and continue until I was relatively fluent!)

I loved it! I loved the inter-collegiate program - I took a bunch of classes at & with UCL and Royal Holloway which was amazing. I guess I'll wait until the end of this application cycle and then spend some time and research reflecting on next steps and looking at places abroad. I don't know if I have the mental fortitude to start this all again in the fall! 

[TaciturnTales]

54 minutes ago, ClassicsCandidate said:

Yeah, the email said they got 10x the applications than the amount of students they could accept into the program. Pretty much what I've been hearing from everyone, really.  

Sorry to hear about your University of Michigan result! I hope you get some better news soon.

The 10x application thing gives me anxiety. I wonder if those numbers are specific for Ph.D. programs. I'm applying for MA programs, since my background isn't exactly in classics. x_x

[ClassicsCandidate]

11 minutes ago, TaciturnTales said:

Sorry to hear about your University of Michigan result! I hope you get some better news soon.

The 10x application thing gives me anxiety. I wonder if those numbers are specific for Ph.D. programs. I'm applying for MA programs, since my background isn't exactly in classics. x_x

Thank you! 

Understandable. I think MAs might be a little better off but I'm not sure how the funding will work out. I was incredibly lucky when I got the Tuition Scholarship a few years ago at Villanova. Not sure how many of those they're offering this year.

[ClassicsCandidate]

And @peploskore I totally get you about the mental fortitude. Part of me wonders whether I should take a year or two in between applying again tbh

[Marcus_Aurelius]

1 hour ago, ClassicsCandidate said:

Yeah, the email said they got 10x the applications than the amount of students they could accept into the program. Pretty much what I've been hearing from everyone, really.  

Sadly many programs also have far lower than 10% acceptance rate... (My impression is 4-5% is also quite common even in normal years.)

[ClassicsCandidate]

8 minutes ago, Marcus_Aurelius said:

Sadly many programs also have far lower than 10% acceptance rate... (My impression is 4-5% is also quite common even in normal years.)

Yeah, I had a feeling that that might be the case in general and this year is much lower because of more applications and probably more applicants than a usual year in general because many people might be getting "go to grad school because the job market is bad," which happens a lot (and something I heard in 2008, alas). 

[screwdriverfemme]

8 hours ago, ClassicsCandidate said:

Yeah, the email said they got 10x the applications than the amount of students they could accept into the program. Pretty much what I've been hearing from everyone, really.  

Oof. Sorry to hear about Michigan, and definitely agreed on what everyone else has said about the ridiculous applicant-to-opening ratios this year. It's kind of bonkers, honestly. Hope that some acceptances start coming through for you soon, though! 

[ClassicsCandidate]

Thanks, @screwdriverfemme! I have yet to hear back from five more schools, so I'm crossing my fingers. At this point, I just want to know, I'm so anxious from waiting, lol.

[screwdriverfemme]

Maryland interview went well, I think (I hope)! It felt pretty short (30 min), but the department was super helpful and friendly, I got all my questions answered, etc. Fingers crossed for funding ... they said it'll be probably be the week after next before they have an answer for me, so it's just the waiting game at this point. The suspense is just terrible!