Courtauld MA Application

[Ramblr]

Hi! Anyone applying to the Courtauld?

I'm applying to the MA in the History of Art and was wondering what's the deal with citing the special options in the Personal Statement.

I'm going to list my three choices on the form, but I have my heart set on choice 1. The other choices I have chosen make sense and, at least, my second choice is complimentary to my first.

Is it a total faux pas if I direct my statement toward that choice ONLY? The statement is teeny, tiny: 500 words, max!

Many thanks.

[alaslesenfants]

Hope this isn't too late. I got into, but chose not to attend Courtauld last year. In my SOP, I spent about 2 sentences on my first option, and 1 on my second. I was accepted into my second option--which in retrospect, was a better fit. From what I understand, the professor of each option rates/ranks the applicants to their section and that is how the decision is made (in part).

My guess is that they understand that you need to gear your (super short!) SOP towards only one of the three options--each of which is incredibly specific. That being said, ostensibly you are only choosing options that are related to your general field (say postwar art), so it shouldn't be too hard for them to extrapolate why you might be interested in the other options

I would go ahead and gear your statement towards your first option. However, if you are really interested in attending the Institute for your second choice (which is a big IF, after all, this MA really forces you to specialize and if you are going to continue on to a PhD--which this MA really allows you to do at a high level, it is a feeder into the top programs, for modern/contemporary anyway--you should be sure not to pigeon-hole yourself into something you are not truly passionate about!) I would definitely fit in a quick word about how the second option would also be a good fit for you. Nothing fancy, just a nod so they don't have to connect all the dots themselves.

Good luck.

Hi! Anyone applying to the Courtauld?

I'm applying to the MA in the History of Art and was wondering what's the deal with citing the special options in the Personal Statement.

I'm going to list my three choices on the form, but I have my heart set on choice 1. The other choices I have chosen make sense and, at least, my second choice is complimentary to my first.

Is it a total faux pas if I direct my statement toward that choice ONLY? The statement is teeny, tiny: 500 words, max!

Many thanks.

[Ramblr]

considering it's so short, do you think it's safe to lose all the "lead up" present in longer SOPs? for example, i've very much gotten to the heart of my arguments and less into the story on how i got there. there are just so few words!!!