ElusiveMuse Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 l said: I'm also coming straight out of undergrad. I applied to 5 PhD programs and 1 masters program, and so far I've only been accepted into the MA program. It's a great school and a wonderful opportunity, but it's a shame about the lack of financial assistance! Did Notre Dame already tell you they aren't giving you any financial assistance? I was accepted today but no mention of that one way or the other. I'm worried about UMich. I was waitlisted about two weeks ago but not invited to any recruitment weekend or anything. I applied to 10 schools (2 Masters, 8 PhD) and have been rejected from UCSB, Indiana University, and I'm sure the rest because other people have been accepted according to the results search and I haven't heard anything. Granted, who expects to be accepted to top tier schools? I certainly didn't but it is kind of bitter to know that I should sit back and await rejection when I don't have many acceptances to sweeten the situation. Boston U is still a possibility I suppose. I'm pretty depressed about my prospects! I'm an Americanist by the way. Edited to add- I'm also waiting on Delaware, I forgot. I didn't notice any results in the search yet...anyone?
l'espoir Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 I e-mailed the woman from Notre Dame who sent me the acceptance letter, and she said that no financial aid is open to first-year students. There are possible job openings in the libraries, but no tuition remission. Now I have to decide whether or not I can go! Second-year will be fine, but one year can still rack up quite a bill. Congratulations, by the way Will you be visiting? I'm too far away at the moment, so I can't. I've been to campus before though, and it's gorgeous! I look forward to meeting you if you decide to accept!
l'espoir Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 As for Michigan, I haven't heard a peep! From the sounds of it, you're in much better shape than I am. I called at the beginning of the week and was told that some decisions have been made, but not all. We should find out "some time within the next few days." (whatever that means)
bob_the_muse Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 for the person who is waitlisted at umich (or for anyone waitlisted...): let the faculty member who contacted you know that you are REALLY interested in the program and that it is your first choice..etc. lay it on thick. i can tell you that michigan generally has at least a few of the students it admits take offers from other schools: so there are openings. i'm not sure how they determine who gets admitted off the wait list but i am sure that it would not hurt your case to let the faculty know how much you want it. also, as a general point, you should probably think very hard about accepting an offer for any program in art history (M.A. or PhD) that does not offer you funding. going into debt for art history is not the smartest move financially and since there are many programs that do offer funding, why pay for it? if they do not offer you funding at first, try to negotiate. good luck everybody.
Lapin Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 I've been lurking on GradCafe for a few weeks, and finally decided to post once I found this board. First of all, congrats to those with acceptances, and to those of you who aren't so thrilled right now, they say misery loves company, so count another person in. I've received all rejections so far. I applied to top programs only, but I also thought I had a pretty good shot -- MA in my field from a reputable institution, strong academic records and GREs, a polished writing sample, clear (but evidently unpopular?) research interests, been working in my field, etc. It's becoming clear to me what a crapshoot this whole process is -- especially for those of us in glutted fields (I'm yet another mod/cont person). And I'm having some serious doubts -- that when the acceptance I'm still expecting does come along, I may not feel up to a PhD anymore. If grad school admissions are so ridiculous, imagine the job market! Maybe a string of rejections is the best thing for me right now. The problem is, I've been studying and teaching art for so long now, I don't know what else to do with myself. This is clearly not the time to transition to museum work, administration, etc -- no jobs there! Anyone considering alternative plans, and if so, what? What's everyone's "Plan B?" (Maybe we should start a new thread?) And, for those of you with acceptances, I'm curious as to what you think worked in your favor (and I don't hate you...)
ElusiveMuse Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 I definitely wouldn't go somewhere that didn't pay. I'd reapply next year if my only offers didn't come with financial support. But I must have misunderstood the Notre Dame art history website, where it says this- "Students accepted into the MA program typically receive financial aid in the form of a full tuition waiver." Full tuition waiver does not mean both years? I knew their stipends were hard to come by and only for second years but I thought that meant at least that you got two years of tuition. Should I call the faculty member who notified me?
l'espoir Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 That's exactly what I thought! Their website is very misleading. I never would have applied to the program if I had known there was no tuition remission the first year. I think it's worth calling the person who notified you -- perhaps he/she can clear up the misunderstanding (and hopefully conjure up some money to give us all).
cpl593h Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 To the person who called Northwestern: Did they say if they've notified their acceptances already? I've heard nothing from them and was planning to call, but it seems as though they began informing people of acceptance around this week last year. Also, does anyone know who to contact at Penn to inquire about where they are in the decision-making process? It seems as though they've notified some people... I'm waiting for these two to decide whether or not to take a really great acceptance offer from another school, so I'm dying to know!
l'espoir Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 Northwestern said that they've already notified those who were accepted. Rejections have also been posted on the website, but they may take a day or two to show up.
cpl593h Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 Ah, looks like a rejection for me then. Thanks for clearing that up.
ElusiveMuse Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 Michigan told me they would make some waitlist decisions after the recruitment weekend the 13th. I wasn't invited to it so I'm not hopeful. Delaware said maybe two more weeks, no decisions made yet. Anyone waiting for BU?
void Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 As long as we are sharing this kind of information (which is totally helpful, thanks everyone!) University of Washington in Seattle was supposed to finalize their decisions by the end of last week and start notifying now/soon. Does anyone know anything about USC? An acceptance was posted weeks ago, so I am thinking probably not for them.
blancdexin Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 nyu results will be out in less than a week....>
georgica1 Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 To whomever posted the Columbia acceptance today/yesterday -- did they say anything about class numbers for this year/distribution between fields, etc.? I'm guessing since I haven't heard anything from them at this point, it's safe to say that I'm out. Definitely disappointing.
blancdexin Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Congrats to the Williams acceptance! That is really an early result, hopefully more will come out soon.
pregasauraus Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 It's becoming clear to me what a crapshoot this whole process is -- especially for those of us in glutted fields (I'm yet another mod/cont person). And I'm having some serious doubts -- that when the acceptance I'm still expecting does come along, I may not feel up to a PhD anymore. If grad school admissions are so ridiculous, imagine the job market! Maybe a string of rejections is the best thing for me right now. The problem is, I've been studying and teaching art for so long now, I don't know what else to do with myself. This is clearly not the time to transition to museum work, administration, etc -- no jobs there! Anyone considering alternative plans, and if so, what? What's everyone's "Plan B?" (Maybe we should start a new thread?) Lapin, I'm in the same boat as you, except that I'm still absolutely up for the PhD. You make a very good point about the glut of people with similar research interests and the possibility of a grim job future in that field due to the overwhelming amount of interest. Even though I'm aware of the competitive nature of our field, your observation really hit home. I've been teaching for a while now, and I don't know what I'll do either (I'm not really expecting any acceptances this year). I do love teaching, but the pay is very minimal for the amount of work I do, and I live in a very expensive city. I'm somewhat interested in museum work, but know that it wouldn't be near as good of a fit for me as teaching is. That's why I see the PhD as the only real route for me. But since I've been unable to get in after two years of applying, I think I'm going to go to pastry school. I'll teach part time, and try to find work making wedding cakes or something. And I'm only half-joking.
mm_donuts Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Also, does anyone know who to contact at Penn to inquire about where they are in the decision-making process? It seems as though they've notified some people... They've made their official decisions, but they don't know when the Dean will send out notifications. It seems that all accepted people have been called or emailed by the department (I received both today), but I'm not sure if everyone who is wait-listed has been contacted. I would start with the department admin for status updates. She's very nice. Congrats to those who survived the Princeton slaughter yesterday. Didn't make it...
paperclips Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 To whomever posted the Columbia acceptance today/yesterday -- did they say anything about class numbers for this year/distribution between fields, etc.? I'm guessing since I haven't heard anything from them at this point, it's safe to say that I'm out. Definitely disappointing. I posted the acceptance...they didn't say anything about the number of students, but it sounds like the final decisions have been submitted to the dean, so people will get official offers soon.
l'espoir Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Has anyone received an actual formal rejection from Michigan (Ann Arbor) yet?! The wait is driving me crazy. I've been rejected by every PhD program I've applied to -- Michigan is my last hope (other than an un-funded MA at Notre Dame).
ElusiveMuse Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Has anyone received an actual formal rejection from Michigan (Ann Arbor) yet?! The wait is driving me crazy. I've been rejected by every PhD program I've applied to -- Michigan is my last hope (other than an un-funded MA at Notre Dame). I called them yesterday and they said they'd send out final decisions after the recruitment weekend the 13th and 14th! I am really hoping for them, too. What is your field? Mine is American and they hinted it wasn't stacking the odds in my favor to be. The Graduate Director doesn't respond to my emails. I sent her one after the initial notification more than two weeks ago and one yesterday. I asked if, as a waitlister, I should come for a visit and they were like "I guess...if you're in the area...email the Graduate Director and ask." And so her silence doesn't bode well I fear. Also, I am 99% sure I'm going to decline Notre Dame. No funding = no thanks for me, but I am going to talk with some professors here to see if they think I should just suck it up.
l'espoir Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 I'd really really like to accept Notre Dame's offer, but as an international student who did an undergrad in the States, I'm incredibly poor! I'm pursuing every possible avenue of funding right now (i.e. outside scholarships), but I just don't know if it's going to happen. My field is Italian Renaissance/Mannerism/Baroque. Michigan hasn't even notified me about being on a wait list, so things really don't look good. I'm waiting on a concrete response before I start making plans though. Did you get accepted anywhere else other than Notre Dame? If so, you're lucky -- at least you've got options!
ElusiveMuse Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Not yet. I've been rejected by UCSB (which made me cry for two days, I love love love the Americanist there) and Indiana University (no big deal, not thrilled about it in the first place). I am waiting on University of Delaware and Boston University, both of which I would be absolutely thrilled with. I'm also waiting for my official rejections from Stanford, Penn, Harvard, and Columbia. I applied to them because I had fee waivers for the application fee so I figured hey, if they're going to reject me at least maybe they'll read my Senior Thesis first! I've not heard anything from them yet but I think I would have if I were accepted so... Crossing my fingers for Michigan, Delaware, or Boston. Good luck with funding l'espoir! Where are you from originally?
l'espoir Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 I'm from Canada (which I suppose isn't THAT international, but it's international enough :wink: ) Good luck on your remaining applications! And if you do end up going to Notre Dame, let me know. I'm still trying to think of creative (yet legal) ways of making money. Selling my soul on e-bay is not an option.
monetlover Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 I see people have posted Northwestern notifications. Mine still hasn't been put up on the website. I mean if they have already notified all the accepted students, then I pretty much know my answer. But it would still be nice to see it, accept it and put it behind me.
blancdexin Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 I'm also an international student...waiting is so nerve wracking. :cry:
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