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Waiting Game Fall 2015


GhostsBeforeBreakfast

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I just checked my PhD application for the University of Maryland and realized that the status changed from under departmental review to graduate school review. Does this mean anything....?

 

 

I'm also curious about this...

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No word from NYU? It's been well over a week since the interview. My potential supervisor at Stanford got in touch with me the day after my interview...

 

Have you heard back from NYU yet? I'm actually in the exact same boat, in terms of both Stanford and the IFA

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I've now been rejected by almost all the programs, including my safe school which told me I did "not meet admission requirements." I guess a 4.0 GPA does not count for anything. This is a rude awakening. My GRE scores are not very good. And I only applied to 4 programs. Do you think all this hurt my chances? I don't know if it will do any good taking the GRE again and applying again next year. This whole process is exhausting and depressing. 

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I've now been rejected by almost all the programs, including my safe school which told me I did "not meet admission requirements." I guess a 4.0 GPA does not count for anything. This is a rude awakening. My GRE scores are not very good. And I only applied to 4 programs. Do you think all this hurt my chances? I don't know if it will do any good taking the GRE again and applying again next year. This whole process is exhausting and depressing. 

 

If they told you that you didn't meet requirements, I would ask what specifically they were referring to. If it is GRE and the programs have a cut off that you didn't meet, I don't think it's insurmountable to retake them and improve - go take a look at the GRE forum and you'll find many people who improved drastically with consistent studying. I actually think it's encouraging if the reason you didn't get in had more to do with not meeting basic criteria than something more nebulous (and hard to fix) like your writing style not being received well or your research being too theoretical. Some programs also require demonstrated language ability, and so you could get screened out if you don't meet that requirement. If you can figure out what the issue is, I don't see why you wouldn't be successful reapplying. 

Edited by brown_eyed_girl
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I've now been rejected by almost all the programs, including my safe school which told me I did "not meet admission requirements." I guess a 4.0 GPA does not count for anything. This is a rude awakening. My GRE scores are not very good. And I only applied to 4 programs. Do you think all this hurt my chances? I don't know if it will do any good taking the GRE again and applying again next year. This whole process is exhausting and depressing. 

Do you have an MA? Is it possible that you accidentally applied to schools that require an MA to be accepted into the PhD program? The PhD program at my MA institution had this requirement, and we got quite a number of applicants to the PhD program each year who misunderstood the policy. How "not very good" are your GRE scores? Most departments do not have a minimum, but if your scores were truly abysmal (like <50% on verbal..) I could see that being an issue. 

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If they told you that you didn't meet requirements, I would ask what specifically they were referring to. If it is GRE and the programs have a cut off that you didn't meet, I don't think it's insurmountable to retake them and improve - go take a look at the GRE forum and you'll find many people who improved drastically with consistent studying. I actually think it's encouraging if the reason you didn't get in had more to do with not meeting basic criteria than something more nebulous (and hard to fix) like your writing style not being received well or your research being too theoretical. Some programs also require demonstrated language ability, and so you could get screened out if you don't meet that requirement. If you can figure out what the issue is, I don't see why you wouldn't be successful reapplying. 

 

Thanks brown_eyed for your wise advice. I have contacted to ask them to elaborate on their answer but I haven't heard anything back yet. I'm fluent in the main language of my research area and have also taken several semesters of French. So I don't think language is the issue, though I'm sure it would help to learn German too. 

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Do you have an MA? Is it possible that you accidentally applied to schools that require an MA to be accepted into the PhD program? The PhD program at my MA institution had this requirement, and we got quite a number of applicants to the PhD program each year who misunderstood the policy. How "not very good" are your GRE scores? Most departments do not have a minimum, but if your scores were truly abysmal (like <50% on verbal..) I could see that being an issue. 

 

 Yes, I have an MA but my BA is not in art history so that might be part of the problem. My GRE scores are above 50% but not by much. Looks like I'll have to take the test again. Most programs say on their websites that scores are not that important but most likely they are when choosing from many good qualified applicants. 

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Rodin12, how highly ranked are the programs you are applying for? Though I don't think GRE scores are the end all be all, I do think they are often used to screen people out, especially when choosing from many well-qualified people. After all, for getting into top programs, I'd say having a 4.00 (or close to it) is more like a prerequisite than a guarantee. Though I'm sure it's possible to get into a top program with a dismal GRE, I wouldn't bank on being the exception to the rule. I found this chart helpful when considering target GRE scores to keep my applications competitive. As you'll see, even in programs ranked 11-50, average verbal scores are in the 160s: 

 

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/gre-scores-for-arts-and-humanities-programs/

 

(Incidentally, I also recommend the Magoosh free GRE vocab app.)

Edited by brown_eyed_girl
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I just checked my PhD application for the University of Maryland and realized that the status changed from under departmental review to graduate school review. Does this mean anything....?

 

Don't know if anyone answered this, but it is common that the departments evaluate candidates and when decisions have been made they forward the package to the graduate school who makes a final check before posting results. It sounds like the decision has been made. You are close to hearing.

Edited by ***
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Where in the world is UPenn on their application decisions?  At this point I'd rather just know either way so I can stop checking my email every five minutes...

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I know that there were already a few acceptances on the results board for Williams, but I am curious - has anyone been notified of being placed on the wait list? I'd like to know if not having heard anything by now means rejection or if there remains some glimmer of hope....

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I know that there were already a few acceptances on the results board for Williams, but I am curious - has anyone been notified of being placed on the wait list? I'd like to know if not having heard anything by now means rejection or if there remains some glimmer of hope....

 I contaced Williams last week to ask about my status and was told that I was wait-listed (and that they will send out more info this week)

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My general ranting:

 

Has anyone heard from the Columbia MA MODA program?

 

I just got rejected from NYU IFA MA, so I guess I shouldn't have my hopes up for this one.

 

Also never interviewed with the Courtauld, so sort of waiting on a rejection from them. The Documentary Reborn class was my top choice. Did anyone hear back? April is sooo close it's very frustrating not to have just gotten a rejection letter. I could stop obsessively checking my email.

 

I have a great scholarship to USC's MA program at the Roski school, and have to put down a deposit soon. I emailed Williams to ask when I'd hear back from them and they said if I have a scholarship elsewhere I should take it as my chances there are unlikely.

 

I was admitted to Hunter, so it's between that and USC. Assuming I am rejected from Columbia, Courtauld, UCL....

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I'm done. I heard back today from the school that I was waitlisted at that I was now rejected. It's weird, even though I had already accepted another offer and so everything was all set and done, it's still such a bitter pill to swallow. 

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I haven't heard anything from Rutgers or UVA, and I think I was sort of accepted at Indiana, but funding is still up in the air.  I've already accepted an amazing, fully-funded offer somewhere else, so it doesn't technically matter.  It would be really nice to have closure from these remaining ones, though.

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