History of Art - MA/PhD 2009

[pregasauraus]

I guess also by the looks of things, I didn't get in to Penn... :/

Ditto that.

[pregasauraus]

Oh, my fellow art historians...

Today is a breaking point. I am in the middle of a 5-day-long visit from my in-laws (who are staying in our apartment), sick of the bitter cold, hugely pregnant with my first baby - I finally got a break today to do some research for class (I teach), and on my way out the door, received my third rejection letter. All three rejection letters have come in just over one week. The cost of living in my city is unbelievable, I don't get paid much as a teacher, and my husband was notified today that he's not getting a raise this year. It doesn't look good for the remaining 4 schools I haven't heard from yet, and I'm starting to have a hard time facing my family and friends with the news of all these rejections.

Like all of you, I'm sure, I've never wanted anything more in my life than to get my PhD. And now I'm facing another year where I'm going to have to revise my application materials, get the money together for multiple applications, and bear down for another wait for results. I am not sure how to go from here. I have had my application materials reviewed by people in the field, all have given me great feedback and positive reviews, my test scores are solid, my GPA is solid, I've visited the schools or at least contacted professors to see if they think we'd be a good fit. What else can I do? I don't mean to sound like such a downer in my posts, but I'm really having a tough time with this application round.

Any advice would be greatly welcome. And I am very grateful that I have a job and a wonderful husband with a job, too, so please don't get me wrong. I know this isn't the end of life.

[RedPotato]

Im sorry to hear about your predicament, and I hope at some point your determination pays off. I actually think that more important than acceptances is the fact that you have a family, and soon to come a beautiful baby who will love his/her mommy either way.

That said, did you apply to schools that are top of the top? Harvard-Yale-Princeton seem difficult for anyone. This leads me to a question about this forum in general, which may in turn help you. Why don't people people apply to places like Tyler, Stonybrook, Binghamton, SAIC, Williams and Boston U to name a few?

[pregasauraus]

My applications were across the board - including a range from top schools to a couple of safety schools. I would have applied to SAIC, but they don't have a PhD program.

Thanks for the positive spin. I am very excited for this baby.

[tommyzero]

I am surprised (and slightly nauseated) to see that someone on the results board has already received a mail rejection from Chicago. Their website states that they will only be mailing results in the first week of March. Anyone else heard from them?

[kate_ellen]

...no word from Chicago here. I'm not in the US so am expecting the letter later anyway. Still, even the person I contacted in the department said we wouldn't hear until mid-March. Last year they seemed to be one of the first to notify...I wonder why its taken so long this time.

[l'espoir]

F.Y.I. to those of you who applied to Notre Dame's MA program, I e-mailed someone from the department and was told that they'd be getting back to us all within the next ten days.

Pregasauraus -- We're all rooting for you! Try not to get too discouraged; all you need is one acceptance, and you've still got four more schools to hear from. From the sounds of it, they'd be daft not to let you in.

Applied - 5

Rejections - 1 (Yale)

Acceptances - 0

[paperclips]

I'm the JHU admit...the prof e-mailed me directly, but said the chair would send out official letters. Sorry, don't want to say too much else online. Good luck to everyone!

[monetlover]

Will JHU send it by postal service or notify online? We'll prob get the news beginning of next week. The next two "Mid-March" weeks will be scary as hell won't they?

[paperclips]

I don't know -- it sounded like it would come in the mail? Not sure how they usually do it.

[mm_donuts]

About Chicago:

I didn't apply there, but I have a friend in the program who mentioned that their target number for the 2009 incoming class is 3 students, unless they decide NOT to hire a new faculty member. That might be why we haven't seen any acceptances on the results page...

[paperclips]

To the person waitlisted at Penn -- did they tell you upfront that you were waitlisted? I've been getting bizarre phone calls and e-mails from a couple profs at Penn inviting me to visit, but they haven't accepted me, or said that I'm on a waitlist...just curious if this is normal for them, or what.

[pregasauraus]

I've been getting bizarre phone calls and e-mails from a couple profs at Penn inviting me to visit, but they haven't accepted me, or said that I'm on a waitlist...just curious if this is normal for them, or what.

Paperclips, that sounds positive to me. Maybe they're just trying to gauge your level of interest in the program.

[purplepepper]

so 2 Harvard acceptances!! Who were the lucky ones? Congrats to you!

[rxr29]

Final Decisions for Brown have been made ... did not make the cut ... good luck to those accepted!

[phillybuff]

Hi everyone. My roommate told me about this site a few weeks ago, and since I haven't gotten any responses yet, I'm now completely addicted.

I was wondering if anyone had heard from Boston U, U. of Toronto, or George Washington, or had any idea of when the masters programs at these schools usually sent out notifications. Toronto's app was due in December, and the other two were Jan. 15th.

I hate this waiting game as much as everyone else, and it seems like a lot of the results coming in are for PhD programs. Ugh, I just want to know!

Thanks!

[blancdexin]

Anyone applied to Williams?

They just had a major screwup with the online app system where no way was able to pay the application fee, and they just sent out emails asking ppl to pay again...anyone got similar emails? I got the notice when I emailed about my application status, but would they just let my application remain incomplete had I not asked?...anyways...any thoughts?

[ah-gal]

Anyone applied to Williams?

They just had a major screwup with the online app system where no way was able to pay the application fee, and they just sent out emails asking ppl to pay again...anyone got similar emails? I got the notice when I emailed about my application status, but would they just let my application remain incomplete had I not asked?...anyways...any thoughts?

I just got an e-mail from them saying the same thing.... It seems they would NOT have let it remain incomplete since they got in touch with me to let me know... I hope this means they will make decisions soon... who knows.. keep us posted on when you hear.... they are my top choice and the anxiety is killing me.

Thanks!

[blancdexin]

thanks ah-gal for the info...they told me that results will come out in 10 days.

Anyone here only applied to Masters? I'm graduating from college in May therefore it is almost impossible to get in top PhD programs with crazy amazing folks who have already published or have been teaching...just wondering if anyone's got similar situations..

best luck to everyone tho, as I know results on MA will come out soon from many schools

[monetlover]

Hey I'm definitely in the same boat. I would have loved to graduate in May and go straight to PhD from a bachelors. But looks like I'll have to wait to get a Masters first and then apply again? Just the thought of having to go through this application process another year is giving me an anxiety attack. At this point, I don't care about the top schools, I just want to get in somewhere. This waiting is making me incredibly nervous.

[blancdexin]

Hey Monetlover,

I think that's a great strategy too. I'm just still unsure whether to devote another 5 to 7 years in school--Masters seem just right for me.

So you didn't apply to any Masters? If you have, have you heard anything yet?

Good luck to your applications and god bless everyone....

[phillybuff]

in reply to blancdexin, i only applied to masters programs, with the exception of the University of Toronto that has a specific PhD option for students graduating with a BA (though I keep hearing they're really not taking many international applicants into other programs, but I still haven't heard anything from my program specifically).

i know i want to work in this field but i'm not positive whether i want to teach yet or if i want to go into full museum work and curatorship. right now i really don't care about top choices, i'll be happy to get accepted anywhere

[l'espoir]

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!

Waiting: University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), Northwestern

Accepted: Notre Dame

Rejected: Yale, Duke, WashU

[monetlover]

I applied to 4 MA programs and 5 PhD. If I had understood earlier of all the kinds of applicants I'd be going up against (ones with Masters, teaching experience, published, etc.) then I would have applied for more MA programs. I have heard back from two PhD where I did not make the cut and still waiting to hear from everyone else.

I should've applied to WashU! They do have a great program...aughh. I should have researched my programs better. Oh well nothing to do now but hope for the best.

[curatorcritic]

kate_ellen: Are you still trying to decide between Columbia, Stanford, and Chicago? I'm an MA student in the Modern Art program at Columbia. I could probably give you some advice if you need it. I haven't heard much about the art history departments at Stanford or Chicago, but Columbia is really strong in Modern art, both in African and otherwise. Kellie Jones electrifies, especially when you get her talking about Adrian Piper and African American performance art.

As for New York, it's one of the best cities in the world, even if it's not as warm as northern California. It's definitely worth the higher cost of living.