Fall 2021 Applicants

[Chaplin]

Hi all! No news here, but thought I would join in the conversation! Several of my top choice schools were not taking applications this year. I considered not sending out applications at all and waiting until next year, as I didn't want to feel like I might have missed the opportunity to go to my top choice institutions because of COVID. Ultimately, I ended up applying to one school as it was the only one of my top choices that was accepting applications, and I decided I would rather wait another year then compromise on where I end up. In a normal year I would never only send out one application, because I understand the pure statistical improbability. I don't know if I can extrapolate from my own decision-making process, but I imagine there are others who decided to wait this year out and try next year. As for the one application, I'm vacillating between hope and despair, as I'm sure are the rest of you. I think it's important to remember that this is a year unlike any other, and we might all get rejections purely for reasons totally beyond our control. Wishing you all good news!

[exhaustionandtoast]

I'm not really sure where this belongs since it's not exactly classics and not exactly history, but I had to email the Yale Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations program about something in my app, and they said that they have already started reviewing applications (deadline was Saturday). So hopefully the Classics department is doing the same and people will start hearing back soon!

[Catalystica]

Hi everyone!  had an interview with UC Berkeley's AHMA program today. I was really shocked to have anything happen so early (I got the email on Friday), I was expecting another week before the check-your-email-every-hour panic set in. But here it comes anyway so figured I'd share just in case others are also waiting.

[PeppermintTea]

I'm wondering about the interview process; do schools interview all students they're interested in? Are there some schools that offer acceptances without interviews for some candidates? Does an interview signal a probable acceptance? 

Any tips on interviewing? 

Thanks!

[Catalystica]

6 minutes ago, PeppermintTea said:

I'm wondering about the interview process; do schools interview all students they're interested in? Are there some schools that offer acceptances without interviews for some candidates? Does an interview signal a probable acceptance? 

Any tips on interviewing? 

Thanks!

I had one interview that turned into a waitlist that never panned out and one acceptance without interview last time I went through this process. At both interviews I was asked about my interests, experiences, writing sample, and plans for future study. I'd be ready to talk about what that school has to offer you specifically, and whatever it is you're interested in and how you might continue working on it- though what you say doesn't lock you in to what you'd be able to do as a student there. Also have questions ready to ask the faculty members who will be present (they'll probably tell you who will be there in advance, they did for both of mine). 

[PeppermintTea]

3 hours ago, Catalystica said:

I had one interview that turned into a waitlist that never panned out and one acceptance without interview last time I went through this process. At both interviews I was asked about my interests, experiences, writing sample, and plans for future study. I'd be ready to talk about what that school has to offer you specifically, and whatever it is you're interested in and how you might continue working on it- though what you say doesn't lock you in to what you'd be able to do as a student there. Also have questions ready to ask the faculty members who will be present (they'll probably tell you who will be there in advance, they did for both of mine). 

Thank you, this is very helpful!

[ClassicsCandidate]

So glad to hear some people are already hearing back! I've been hovering over my email far too much / checking on my application portals more than is probably healthy this early in the month, lol. And thanks to those who are keeping us updated; it's good to know at least someone is hearing back from their schools!

[Chaplin]

3 hours ago, PeppermintTea said:

I'm wondering about the interview process; do schools interview all students they're interested in? Are there some schools that offer acceptances without interviews for some candidates? Does an interview signal a probable acceptance? 

Any tips on interviewing? 

Thanks!

I also had one interview last time I went through the application process. For me this included my PI (an archaeologist) and the graduate program chair (a philologist). The PI asked me primarily about my research interests, the limitations of different methodologies, the theorists I have read, and questions along that line. The other professors asked exclusively about my language experience and how I planned to compensate for my lack of experiences in the languages. If there are any obvious lacunae in your CV (like there were in mine) I think it's important for you to be able to speak to how you will work to amend them. They also asked me if I had questions about their program, so I would be prepared with questions. After my interview (which happened in January), I didn't hear anything from the department until I got a rejection in mid-March. I know that others got rejections in January and February, so presumably I was on a wait-list of some kind, though I was never notified. There are definitely schools that accept applicants without interviews. 

Edited January 5, 2021 by Chaplin

[exhaustionandtoast]

Has anyone had their application status change? All of mine still just say 'submitted' and I know it's early in the process but I'm anxious to hear SOMETHING

[Pierre de Olivi]

Is anyone else applying to NYU's ISAW or similar Classics-adjacent interdisciplinary programs? Does anyone have any news about them?

Either way, good luck all!

[Catalystica]

3 hours ago, Pierre de Olivi said:

Is anyone else applying to NYU's ISAW or similar Classics-adjacent interdisciplinary programs? Does anyone have any news about them?

Either way, good luck all!

I applied to NYU ISAW but haven't heard anything back yet. It's still pretty early and the SCS/AIA is this week so I'm sure that's biting into many professors' time.

[ClassicsCandidate]

11 hours ago, Pierre de Olivi said:

Is anyone else applying to NYU's ISAW or similar Classics-adjacent interdisciplinary programs? Does anyone have any news about them?

Either way, good luck all!

I applied to ISAW as well. If I remember correctly, most people heard back around February last year? Like, mid-month. I haven't seen anything change on mine, yet. Buy, as @Catalystica said, the SCS/AIA taking place means no one will really be making decisions until they're done with the conference.

[Marcus_Aurelius]

I want to agree with the good interview advice others have offered, and add that different schools interview different numbers of people relative to how many they can accept. So an interview usually means a good shot, but it's far from an acceptance. I think(?) most Classics program do interviews, though, as has been noted, some programs admit people without interviews (including those that only interview folks they're on the fence about).

One nice stock question to ask interviewers is about their current research interests. Those interests have likely changed from their published material, so having an idea of what faculty at the program are currently working on can help you get an idea of how the programs fits you. 

[PeppermintTea]

Has anyone applied to and heard from Stanford?

[Seneca12]

Has anyone heard back from Cornell?

[exhaustionandtoast]

5 minutes ago, Seneca12 said:

Has anyone heard back from Cornell?

On the results page it looks like someone got an interview, so hopefully you'll hear something soon! Same with Chicago 

[PeppermintTea]

I wish I knew which schools do interviews and which don't! Not that it's likely I'll worry less about this whole process lol. 

[ClassicsCandidate]

I haven't heard from anyone yet; actually surprised people are hearing back so soon!

[exhaustionandtoast]

14 minutes ago, ClassicsCandidate said:

I haven't heard from anyone yet; actually surprised people are hearing back so soon!

It makes me sort of wonder if there are actually less applicants this year than in other years 

[ClassicsCandidate]

3 minutes ago, exhaustionandtoast said:

It makes me sort of wonder if there are actually less applicants this year than in other years 

I did see a decent amount of people on Twitter / in FB groups mention they would rather hold off applying in the midst of the pandemic (which is understandable!) so I have a feeling that's a big part of it 

[Catalystica]

17 hours ago, ClassicsCandidate said:

I haven't heard from anyone yet; actually surprised people are hearing back so soon!

This feels crazy early. I wonder if semesters starting later is giving profs more time to do admissions stuff now? 

[ClassicsCandidate]

14 hours ago, Catalystica said:

This feels crazy early. I wonder if semesters starting later is giving profs more time to do admissions stuff now? 

It's definitely way earlier than I've ever heard about hearing back, to be sure. I was certain I'd be white-knuckling it until March, but it looks like I might be finding out a little sooner. For comparison, my first MA application was a rolling admissions, and I applied in early March and heard back maybe four days later. However, my second MA was mid-December and I heard back at the beginning of March, too. I think this year's admission cycle is going to be super wonky because of how everyone's schedules are pretty all over the place in comparison to previous years.

[ClassicsCandidate]

On 1/7/2021 at 4:07 PM, PeppermintTea said:

I wish I knew which schools do interviews and which don't! Not that it's likely I'll worry less about this whole process lol. 

Same, I've not had to do interviews before, so it's a bit nerve-wracking. I'm trying to remember that I would also be interviewing them, and have questions prepared beforehand.

[Chaplin]

This year might be different but last time I applied there was a huge variety in the times I heard back from schools. I got an interview in January, and started getting rejections in February, but didn't receive my final rejection until late March. All that to  say, I don't think that not having heard anything at this point is a sign of anything. Many schools take their time. 

[thecodingbugs]

On 1/8/2021 at 12:13 AM, PeppermintTea said:

Has anyone applied to and heard from Stanford?

Which program?