Fall 2017 Applicants

[terraaurea]

1 hour ago, Spiro Spero said:

Agreed - I'm from the NY burbs so commuting to Columbia's program seemed like a good fallback... until I saw the price

Yeah, it's crazy even for someone who lives near there! I'm from Wisconsin so if I need to go far away I need to be confident in any of my decisions, ha. My boyfriend applied to Columbia's bioethics program (he wants to do a masters there while waiting to hear back from med schools--because that masters takes only 1 year). However, he wants to be a surgeon, so any debt that he wracks up isn't going to take long to get rid of in the long run. I'll be paying debt for 1000000000 years no matter what, on the other hand.

[Spiro Spero]

Has anyone here applied to Cambridge and moved out of the "awaiting department consideration" stage? It's been a while and I haven't gotten an email response from the Grad. Sec. 

[Canonical]

24 minutes ago, Spiro Spero said:

Has anyone here applied to Cambridge and moved out of the "awaiting department consideration" stage? It's been a while and I haven't gotten an email response from the Grad. Sec. 

ikr.  i got my application in on the 4th of jan and i'm still awaiting consideration........perhaps all the applications were excellent and they don't know what to do, hahaha.  seems someone who applied before then did get looked at https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4492560 or perhaps the early applications were so good they can't be bothered to look at us.  who knows, perhaps they are gonna wait until application period shuts on 27th april.  anyway, good luck.

[Spiro Spero]

6 minutes ago, Canonical said:

ikr.  i got my application in on the 4th of jan and i'm still awaiting consideration........perhaps all the applications were excellent and they don't know what to do, hahaha.  seems someone who applied before then did get looked at https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4492560 or perhaps the early applications were so good they can't be bothered to look at us.  who knows, perhaps they are gonna wait until application period shuts on 27th april.  anyway, good luck.

Yup, mine was in Dec. 21 and I'm still awaiting... good to know I'm not the only one. April 27 would be pretty much impossible for me, since American schools want a decision by April 15. Will keep an eye on the student room threads. Good luck to you too!

[terraaurea]

Just got accepted to BU's MA program in Archaeology! They don't offer funding for MA students, but if all else fails I have somewhere to go! Pumped!

[Spiro Spero]

Congrats! That's exciting. I'm waiting on BU art history, very interested in working with a certain prof who's jointly appointed in both depts  

[terraaurea]

6 hours ago, Spiro Spero said:

Congrats! That's exciting. I'm waiting on BU art history, very interested in working with a certain prof who's jointly appointed in both depts  

What prof? Kleiner? 

[Spiro Spero]

@terraaurea Yup! 

Edited February 9, 2017 by Spiro Spero

[terraaurea]

9 minutes ago, Spiro Spero said:

@terraaurea Yup! 

Awesome! What are your research focuses? 

[Spiro Spero]

14 hours ago, terraaurea said:

Awesome! What are your research focuses? 

My other big area of interest (besides Magna Graecia) is the Severan dynasty, especially its monumental architecture and self-representation, so I'm really interested in Kleiner's work on monuments. But three people have posted acceptances to the PhD in the past 24 hours, so I'm rapidly losing hope... we must persevere!

Edited February 9, 2017 by Spiro Spero

[terraaurea]

3 minutes ago, Spiro Spero said:

My other big area of interest (besides Magna Graecia) is the Severan dynasty, especially its monumental architecture and self-representation, so I'm really interested in Kleiner's work on monuments. But three people have posted acceptances to the PhD in the past 24 hours, so I'm rapidly losing hope... we must persevere!

Keep up hope! Monumental architecture is the bomb. Also the Severans were known in the imperial cult thing, so there's that fun stuff (I'm studying imperial cult on Cyprus and the Severans had an actual self-rep presence there). Waiting to hear back is killing me so badly, but I'm trying to hold in there, too...we can do it!

[Aperio]

Hey there! Long time time lurker, first time poster. Congrats to eveybody who has received good news to everyone else, keep perservering! I have some interviews coming up and I am incredibly nervous about them. Just for context, they are at Duke, UT Austin, amd UCLA (it's going to be a busy couple of weeks haha). I am totaly not sure what to expect. What are the odds of getting rejected after interviewing? My greatest fear, which I am told is somewhat unreasonable, is some sort of pop translation quiz. I am an archaeologist and sight reading still terrifies me. I dont even know what to wear! I have a suit, but that seemes like it might be overkill... Any advice would be greatly apreciated. 

[terraaurea]

6 minutes ago, Aperio said:

Hey there! Long time time lurker, first time poster. Congrats to eveybody who has received good news to everyone else, keep perservering! I have some interviews coming up and I am incredibly nervous about them. Just for context, they are at Duke, UT Austin, amd UCLA (it's going to be a busy couple of weeks haha). I am totaly not sure what to expect. What are the odds of getting rejected after interviewing? My greatest fear, which I am told is somewhat unreasonable, is some sort of pop translation quiz. I am an archaeologist and sight reading still terrifies me. I dont even know what to wear! I have a suit, but that seemes like it might be overkill... Any advice would be greatly apreciated. 

Hello!! Congrats on your interviews (3, wow!). I was waitlisted at UT Austin, and they're only accepting 3 people I think this year, so you're one lucky dude so far! I've never heard of a pop translation quiz and pray that isn't what awaits me for any interviews--oh jeez...I hate sight reading...

[pro Augustis]

36 minutes ago, Aperio said:

Hey there! Long time time lurker, first time poster. Congrats to eveybody who has received good news to everyone else, keep perservering! I have some interviews coming up and I am incredibly nervous about them. Just for context, they are at Duke, UT Austin, amd UCLA (it's going to be a busy couple of weeks haha). I am totaly not sure what to expect. What are the odds of getting rejected after interviewing? My greatest fear, which I am told is somewhat unreasonable, is some sort of pop translation quiz. I am an archaeologist and sight reading still terrifies me. I dont even know what to wear! I have a suit, but that seemes like it might be overkill... Any advice would be greatly apreciated. 

Hello, UT student here. Schools vary, but I can give you a bit of an idea about UT. It's true that, as @terraaurea mentioned, admissions will be a bit tighter this year, as the last class was mammoth, but there will be more than three, and the interview is really not as stressful as it sounds (and having done this last year, I know exactly how stressful it feels going in). The professors just want to get a sense of who you are. Don't worry about gotcha questions, much less pop quizzes. We grad students, meanwhile, are simply here to answer any questions you have and give you a feel of what life is like in Austin. That will involve lots of free food and open bar tabs. Looking forward to meeting you!

 

ETA: You do not need a suit. 

Edited February 10, 2017 by pro Augustis

[Archaic_Smile]

1 hour ago, Aperio said:

Hey there! Long time time lurker, first time poster. Congrats to eveybody who has received good news to everyone else, keep perservering! I have some interviews coming up and I am incredibly nervous about them. Just for context, they are at Duke, UT Austin, amd UCLA (it's going to be a busy couple of weeks haha). I am totaly not sure what to expect. What are the odds of getting rejected after interviewing? My greatest fear, which I am told is somewhat unreasonable, is some sort of pop translation quiz. I am an archaeologist and sight reading still terrifies me. I dont even know what to wear! I have a suit, but that seemes like it might be overkill... Any advice would be greatly apreciated. 

Congrats on all your good news and good luck in the interviews!

also just wondering, is your UCLA interview for Archaeology or Classics? 

[Aperio]

49 minutes ago, Archaic_Smile said:

Congrats on all your good news and good luck in the interviews!

also just wondering, is your UCLA interview for Archaeology or Classics? 

Thanks! My app to UCLA is for archaeology, although all of my others are for classics. The indepartmental nature of the Cotsen Institute really appealed to me. 

 

And thanks @pro Augustis for the insight! Definitely looking forward to the visit.

[terraaurea]

10 minutes ago, Aperio said:

Thanks! My app to UCLA is for archaeology, although all of my others are for classics. The indepartmental nature of the Cotsen Institute really appealed to me. 

 

And thanks @pro Augustis for the insight! Definitely looking forward to the visit.

Coooool. Where all did you apply to? I think I can cross UCLA off my list now because I have yet to hear back from them. Cotsen is a great program, congrats!!

[likeavirgil]

3 hours ago, Aperio said:

Hey there! Long time time lurker, first time poster. Congrats to eveybody who has received good news to everyone else, keep perservering! I have some interviews coming up and I am incredibly nervous about them. Just for context, they are at Duke, UT Austin, amd UCLA (it's going to be a busy couple of weeks haha). I am totaly not sure what to expect. What are the odds of getting rejected after interviewing? My greatest fear, which I am told is somewhat unreasonable, is some sort of pop translation quiz. I am an archaeologist and sight reading still terrifies me. I dont even know what to wear! I have a suit, but that seemes like it might be overkill... Any advice would be greatly apreciated. 

Hello! I've been in a handful of interviews, and I can assure you that there will be no gotcha questions or sight translation.

(The worst I've ever heard was a friend who specifically mentioned having strong opinions on textual criticism and a particular author, which prompted a philology professor to excitedly pull out an OCT to see if he had thoughts on a particular passage that she was working on. It sounds like this person was asking for it, though.)

In general, you'll be asked to introduce yourself and describe your interests, then say a few words about why you like that particular school. Other questions I've gotten are 'Tell us about how your ideas changed during a research project' or 'How do you see your research fitting into the discipline as a whole?' Open-ended and difficult, but nothing too bad.

The worst you can do is pretend to know more than you do; don't bring up anything technical (eg the textual criticism of Ovid) unless you're really confident you're an expert. Professors care more about your enthusiasm and willingness to learn than any particular thing you already know. (I've said 'That's a neat question; I don't know right now, but...' multiple times and haven't been rejected yet, at least as far as I know...)

P.S. The button down + sweater combo is my go-to. Might get a little hot in Texas, though.

 

[terraaurea]

Random, but does anybody know anything about when Cornell sends out results for their Classics program? The results from previous years are kind of all over the place. 

[Spiro Spero]

@Canonical I got some info from a prof in the Cambridge Classics dept regarding MPhil consideration: "since the beginning of this year have been concentrating on processing the very large number of applications where a decision had to be made by yesterday’s funding deadline. Once we have drawn breath we will proceed to process remaining applicants, who will include you. You should hear from us within the next month, most probably within the next fortnight." 

Hope that means we will hear (good) news soon! 

[Canonical]

@Spiro Spero  Thanks, good on you for talking to them about it. I guess those were the UK/EU students. A high number already decided on is sort of depressing, though,oh well, fingers crossed.

[the gadfly]

On 2/9/2017 at 8:59 PM, Aperio said:

Hey there! Long time time lurker, first time poster. Congrats to eveybody who has received good news to everyone else, keep perservering! I have some interviews coming up and I am incredibly nervous about them. Just for context, they are at Duke, UT Austin, amd UCLA (it's going to be a busy couple of weeks haha). I am totaly not sure what to expect. What are the odds of getting rejected after interviewing? My greatest fear, which I am told is somewhat unreasonable, is some sort of pop translation quiz. I am an archaeologist and sight reading still terrifies me. I dont even know what to wear! I have a suit, but that seemes like it might be overkill... Any advice would be greatly apreciated. 

Congrats on the interviews!  I wonder if we will be in LA at the same time-the classics visit in 22-25 Feb.  As I've not had any interviews yet, I'm not sure I've much to add to what others have said;  I have indeed feared being drilled on some obscure reference from my dossier, but based on advice I've received, that is pretty irrational.  

And I am definitely not wearing a suit.  I will probably be dressed in nice pants/shoes and a button down.  I'm not sure how other interviews work, but it seems that at UCLA classics the whole visit is an interview, rather than there being a specific formal interview.  That said, when meeting with potential advisors, I will probably try to spruce up a bit.

 

Cheers to everyone with good news, and good luck to those still waiting!

[Aperio]

Thanks for the advice @likeavirgil. I am significantly less stressed after the info you guys have shared with me, so I am sincerely apreciative. 

1 hour ago, the gadfly said:

Congrats on the interviews!  I wonder if we will be in LA at the same time-the classics visit in 22-25 Feb.  As I've not had any interviews yet, I'm not sure I've much to add to what others have said;  I have indeed feared being drilled on some obscure reference from my dossier, but based on advice I've received, that is pretty irrational.  

And I am definitely not wearing a suit.  I will probably be dressed in nice pants/shoes and a button down.  I'm not sure how other interviews work, but it seems that at UCLA classics the whole visit is an interview, rather than there being a specific formal interview.  That said, when meeting with potential advisors, I will probably try to spruce up a bit.

 

Cheers to everyone with good news, and good luck to those still waiting!

I'm actually headed out there this Tuesday, so I guess not. The Cotsen Institute sent me an itinerary that is chockfull of structured events, including formal interviews with the chair and one on one interviews with faculty. It is interesting how differently the departments I'm visiting aproach these visits/interviews.

[jac21]

Looks like someone heard back from Bryn Mawr's Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology program already--way back on Feb 1 through the mail. Should I assume I'm out if I haven't heard?

[Thyestes76]

Does anybody know what UCLA' interview policy is with regard to foreign applicants. I have not heard from them, which most likely means they are not interested, but if they were they could not send an overseas invitation anyway. I am curious to know how they handle overseas interviews