Fall 2012 Admissions

[egomez11]

Hello Everyone,

I'm in a bit of a panic at the moment, looking for some advice.

I'm scheduled to take the GRE in 3 weeks (get the scores Dec 1st, day of a few program deadlines so its going to be a tight squeeze) and on all of my practice tests, my Verbal is mediocre 620 and my quant is embarassingly low, not even 500. I'm a horrible standardized test taker, so things arent looking so great for me.

My undergrad GPA was good 3.78 and I have strong letters of rec but no internships or relevant work exp. My top schools are PhD programs, Berkeley and USC (restricted to CA), but I'm also including Santa Cruz because its within my location and two MA programs, CCA and SFAI.

Here are my questions, with such horrible scores on the GRE that I have yet to take, what do you think my chances of getting into Berkeley or USC are? (I'm thinking slim to none, especially coming from a small state college in Denver). Secondly, does anyone know about the Visual Studies/Art History programs at CCA or SFAI? In otherwords, if I have to get a MA prior to moving on to a PhD program, will these schools be of any help to me?

Just an FYI, my area is Contemporary Art with a focus on gender and sexuality. Overall goal, really interested in research and curatorial work.

Thanks for the help everyone!

[fullofpink]

The GRE depends on the program. Some schools told me that they don't even consider it unless it's really low (we are talking 400s. Above 600 V is recommended), and others have said that you just need to reach a certain percentile. Others have said that if they are using your scores for a uni scholarship, they have the right to ask the dept to take away an aspect of the application, and they usually ask for the Quant score (you are in a boat with many others).

Without experience, you might be in for a tough run - really work hard on catering your SOP to the particular institution and show how well you fit in with the school. Also, make sure that your writing sample is your best piece of work. Otherwise, you really are in the same boat as everyone else on chances. lol.

Best of luck!

[losemygrip]

I wouldn't count on either Berkeley or USC. You need to apply to some terminal MA programs. Does San Jose State have one? I know UC Davis does. Maybe SFSU?

If you can prove yourself in an MA program, you might have a better shot at a PhD program.

[egomez11]

I wouldn't count on either Berkeley or USC. You need to apply to some terminal MA programs. Does San Jose State have one? I know UC Davis does. Maybe SFSU?

If you can prove yourself in an MA program, you might have a better shot at a PhD program.

I was thinking the same thing. Actually SFSU does have a terminal MA that I was looking at. It looks like I'll be going to that route...BTW, sorry for the late reply, my notifications were off. Thanks for the feedback!