Applying for Fall 2010 Music Megathread

[Soclose]

http://www.brianpenkrot.com/works/

[DrFaustus666]

Add another hopeful to the PhD-Musicology ranks.

Hi! I'm John. I wonder what any of you might think about this crazy idea I have.

I have an MM in performance (trombone) from many years ago, played freelance for a while, and gave it up for a much less satisfying but far higher paid career in computer programming (now called "information technology.")

Anyway, I have over 20 yrs in the field and am considered to be well-above-average as a programmer.

Way-back-when, in the mid-1970s when I applied for the performance degree, ETS had an "advanced test" in Music too, believe it or not. I got a 700 (98th percentile) on that test.

So here's my crazy idea for a statement of purpose for a PhD in Musicology or Music Theory (more likely the latter). A computer model to analyze reams of music? Trying to find patterns between what's "good" in one genre (say, German opera) and another (say, folk music or popular music)?

Am I nuts to attempt to pursue this? My degrees are decades old, though I have become fluent in German in the meantime.

Oh yeah, I also teach GRE Prep courses and my own score back in 2005 was 800V 670Q 5.5AW.

All of this would be as a post-retirement activity, something to do for fun and maybe a post-retirement career (my age is 57, I work for the government) --- but at heart I'm a lifelong student --- and I really want to do something worth doing in my lifetime besides writing computer programs that track Federal probationers (my job for the last 20 years).

Good luck and good wishes to all,

John

[Soclose]

John,

Regardless of your test scores and your degrees, if you are passionate about this (or anything in life) you would be nuts NOT to pursue it. You get one chance at this life. If you spend your time thinking "what if," then you are wasting your time. Just do it.

Best of luck!

Brian

[Soclose]

No from CUNY

[Timothy Vallier]

No from CUNY

That's a bummer. How was the news delivered?

Anyone else hear from CUNY?

[Timothy Vallier]

I just recieved a rejection letter from CUNY. I noticed there was a third CUNY rejection posted in the results page. Was it anyone in this thread?

The letter is Dated January 15, 2010.

The contents essentially read, we cannot accept you for admissions.

It is a very short and succinct letter.

Some thoughts:

I know this is a tough program, which receives an abundance of applications because of its location and reputation, so this was a reach for me. Also, I was expecting some sort of letter after seeing that the postal sent other rejections yesterday. Honestly, it is refreshing to get my first notification of decision from anywhere after what has felt like an excruciatingly long wait. I look forward to more decisions and hopefully an acceptance in one of them.

[angesa01]

I hate waiting! So far I have an interview scheduled with CUNY and I had a weird informal phone interview with Brooklyn, but nothing else. I know rejections come before acceptances, so no news is good news...but still. Most of my friends already know exactly where they are going, and I'm checking my email 999 times a day.

You're right about Columbia: they are preposterously selective, and they don't even have fully funded positions. But they have a fantastic program, great faculty, good resources, and many opportunities for their students to publish. Most of the schools I applied to want the social sciences background, and luckily I have that. I was a double music and political science undergraduate, so hopefully that is working in my favor when people realize my other shortfalls.

I selected UWashington Seattle because of a personal recommendation. They have a large program in American, popular, and contemporary music and a significant faculty. They have tons of assistantships and fellowships, and I heard financial aid can be generous. The only downfall is you have to finish the MA or MM program before you are officially a PhD. candidate. So even though I applied for the PhD., I would be a masters student.

Good luck!

I applied to UC Berkeley, Harvard and Columbia as well. Nothing from any, but I guess in anything related to the Humanities, one can expect to wait until mid-February.

I know that CUNY Graduate Center is a good program, and they've had a pretty good placement recently (Columbia, Yale...). I believe the program even carries a fellowship, or some form of financial support in addition to teaching, which is quite good compared to other CUNY programs. From a Professor there, I've been told they "normally" prefer applicants with already a Masters degree, rather than someone straight from undergrad.

At Columbia, in Ethnomusicology, I know that the program is VERY selective (last year they took 2 from a pool of 70, only in Ethno!), very "ethno-focused", and they look for applicants with really strong social sciences background, ideally with external funding at the time of their application (my source is a Professor there). Regarding GRE, I've been told that the Music Department does not care so much by itself, but GSAS is the one that makes "cut" according to GRE scores. Hence, the AdCom makes decisions accordingly.

Regarding Berkeley, I only know about Music History and Literature (part of it because of Dr. Taruskin).

Good luck with everything !

May I ask why Seattle?

Edited January 23, 2010 by Timothy Vallier

[angesa01]

Hi John,

Go for it! Why not? Really....why not?

Add another hopeful to the PhD-Musicology ranks.

Hi! I'm John. I wonder what any of you might think about this crazy idea I have.

I have an MM in performance (trombone) from many years ago, played freelance for a while, and gave it up for a much less satisfying but far higher paid career in computer programming (now called "information technology.")

Anyway, I have over 20 yrs in the field and am considered to be well-above-average as a programmer.

Way-back-when, in the mid-1970s when I applied for the performance degree, ETS had an "advanced test" in Music too, believe it or not. I got a 700 (98th percentile) on that test.

So here's my crazy idea for a statement of purpose for a PhD in Musicology or Music Theory (more likely the latter). A computer model to analyze reams of music? Trying to find patterns between what's "good" in one genre (say, German opera) and another (say, folk music or popular music)?

Am I nuts to attempt to pursue this? My degrees are decades old, though I have become fluent in German in the meantime.

Oh yeah, I also teach GRE Prep courses and my own score back in 2005 was 800V 670Q 5.5AW.

All of this would be as a post-retirement activity, something to do for fun and maybe a post-retirement career (my age is 57, I work for the government) --- but at heart I'm a lifelong student --- and I really want to do something worth doing in my lifetime besides writing computer programs that track Federal probationers (my job for the last 20 years).

Good luck and good wishes to all,

John

Edited January 23, 2010 by Timothy Vallier

[tbone979]

I received a friendly, informal email from a member of the comp faculty at Northwestern on Wednesday letting me know I would soon receive an official snail mail letter inviting me to interview/test on campus on Feb 20 or 21. Very excited (obviously).

[Timothy Vallier]

I received a friendly, informal email from a member of the comp faculty at Northwestern on Wednesday letting me know I would soon receive an official snail mail letter inviting me to interview/test on campus on Feb 20 or 21. Very excited (obviously).

That is really exciting! Congrats. Did they mention if the interview would be one on one or group style? Also, are they covering travel and boarding? I'm really curious what they ask you, since it seems interviews in the music composition only happen at a few schools. Keep us all posted.

[tbone979]

My understanding is this visit is heavily about the test. From what I gather, the composition faculty tells admissions what applicants they want. Those applicants are invited for the testing day and based on those tests, the theory/pedagogy wing has a strong influence on who is ultimately accepted.

Edited January 23, 2010 by tbone979

[Timothy Vallier]

This is exactly how Yale does it. It seems like a frustratingly stressful situation. Best of luck on the exam. I have a sample exam from Yale that they give out freely to anyone who requests. Maybe northwestern will do the same?

[Soclose]

Congrats tbone!

I was under the impression that the 20th would be testing and the 21st was interviews. Best of luck. Who was it that sent you the email?

Edited January 23, 2010 by Soclose

[Timothy Vallier]

I just saw another CUNY rejection go up on the results page. Anyone here? Any thoughts on how many acceptances they take?

[Timothy Vallier]

It is starting to make me very nervous getting rejected from CUNY. Anyone else feeling the pressure from having received your first rejection? Also, the rest of my schools have been very quiet. Has anyone heard a peep from any of their other app schools? I received a very stern mass e-mail from one of my apps telling everyone to stop contacting them, and that "no, we will not accept late applications". It made me chuckle a little.

[adamscottneal]

Hi Timothy - we corresponded months ago and then I got hyperbusy - sorry I never got back to you!

Anyway, just wanted to say hi to everyone else too. I was on this site like everyday last year, and besides being busy I'm trying reeeeally hard not to obsess this year!

I'm applying for PhD/DMA in Comp. This is my third try - first time I decided to do a second master's instead of going to the places I was accepted, second time I was rejected from all five (Columbia, Princeton, NYU-GSAS, CUNY, Stony Brook).

This time I applied to: Brown, Buffalo, Columbia, NYU-GSAS, Princeton, Virginia, Florida, Chicago, Stanford, UCSB, and UCSD. I already got a rejection from UCSB, just waiting to hear from the rest.

I know it's painful, but be patient! Last year I got an early rejection from CUNY, then didn't hear anything until the end of February. I was on the waiting list at NYU - heard from them around 3/15...then finally at the end of March I got all my rejections. Schools I have spoken to say they don't even begin looking at apps until the end of January - so they maybe had their first meeting this week. With 100 apps and 2-3 spots in some places - it's gotta be a tough job.

Best of luck to all - and hopefully we'll meet at school/concerts/conferences in the future!

[Timothy Vallier]

Hi Timothy - we corresponded months ago and then I got hyperbusy - sorry I never got back to you!

Anyway, just wanted to say hi to everyone else too. I was on this site like everyday last year, and besides being busy I'm trying reeeeally hard not to obsess this year!

I'm applying for PhD/DMA in Comp. This is my third try - first time I decided to do a second master's instead of going to the places I was accepted, second time I was rejected from all five (Columbia, Princeton, NYU-GSAS, CUNY, Stony Brook).

This time I applied to: Brown, Buffalo, Columbia, NYU-GSAS, Princeton, Virginia, Florida, Chicago, Stanford, UCSB, and UCSD. I already got a rejection from UCSB, just waiting to hear from the rest.

I know it's painful, but be patient! Last year I got an early rejection from CUNY, then didn't hear anything until the end of February. I was on the waiting list at NYU - heard from them around 3/15...then finally at the end of March I got all my rejections. Schools I have spoken to say they don't even begin looking at apps until the end of January - so they maybe had their first meeting this week. With 100 apps and 2-3 spots in some places - it's gotta be a tough job.

Best of luck to all - and hopefully we'll meet at school/concerts/conferences in the future!

Hey Adam, welcome to the thread, and best of luck to you! You should post that link to your site because I remember there being some very good music there.

This thread has been quiet...any news?

Tomorrow is the first day of February. Let this be a good month for all of us!

[musico]

Yeah, very quiet !

Do we know who is the lucky one who got in Music Theory and History at University of Chicago? (saw that on the result page).

Does it mean whoever did not get the acceptance email (or "recommendation to the Dean for admissions) is out already?

[Timothy Vallier]

I just made a chart for myself to calm my anxiety. It's the schools I applied to and my best guess of when I might hear from them based on the posts in the forums and past years results.

Duke:

Early February

Princeton:

Late Feb (19th)

Temple University:

Late February, Early March

New York University:

First week of March

Columbia:

Early to Mid March

SUNY, Stony Brook:

Late March (20th)

This breaks up the schools and lets me think about them one by one in order, and makes the whole waiting process mirco and manageable.

I recommend doing this and contributing to the thread, it will make for a nice resource for our peers and future applicants, and if nothing is sort of therapeutic.

Edited February 1, 2010 by Timothy Vallier

[Soclose]

I seriously doubt that those who haven't heard from UChicago are out. The Graduate Humanities page says their decisions will be complete by mid-March. I would read that as several rounds, as some people may decline a UC offer. Composition has similar requirements in addition to Theory and Musicology, but also with scores and recordings. That will add some time to the decision process for the department.

[angesa01]

I probably shouldn't be checking all my admissions stats every day, right? Most programs don't do acceptances until March or April, and I would get an email if a decision were up...still, checking my email 12 times an hour gives me a strange paradox of emotions: relief that there are no rejections, and frustrations that there are no acceptances.

How are you all holding up?

[musico]

If it can make you feel better (or worse... sorry!), U.of.Chicago already sent out admissions result before the week-end (confirmed). They did not send the rejection letter yet...

I did not get in the Ph.D. in Musicology, got transferred to the MAPH instead, which either way isn't gonna work out because of the half-tuition you gotta pay (at best).

My impression is that they were looking for people with very well-rounded background in the humanities, and that they take test scores pretty seriously (mine was kinda low, I got 510 Verbal, 700 Quant, GPA 3.9 but obviously did not matter).

Congrats to those who got in ! And good luck for the other schools we're all waiting for...

[mr_manager]

Didn't read the entire thread, but maybe someone could help me out with a question.

The only school I applied to is NYU (music technology master's program). I did not submit test scores, as NYU doesn't need them for this particular program. I had a 3.3 gpa at a highly selective liberal arts college (undergrad) and majored in music & technology. What are my chances of getting in?

[Soclose]

If it can make you feel better (or worse... sorry!), U.of.Chicago already sent out admissions result before the week-end (confirmed). They did not send the rejection letter yet...

Is this the whole music department or for a specific concentration?

[musico]

Is this the whole music department or for a specific concentration?

I can only talk for mine, which is Music Theory and History (hope it's good for you!)