yellowshoes Posted February 8, 2010 Posted February 8, 2010 Maybe BC will send out some more letters today, and hopefully they will be acceptences this time and yours will be among them rwfan88!
NEPA Posted February 8, 2010 Posted February 8, 2010 Maybe BC will send out some more letters today, and hopefully they will be acceptences this time and yours will be among them rwfan88! Thanks for the good wishes! I guess we'll see.
yellowshoes Posted February 8, 2010 Posted February 8, 2010 Got my letter today; not as bad as I had feared; I was rejected for PhD but accepted for MA. Not sure if I should be happy or not. For starters, they don't fund their MAs so it's not like they have a lot invested. Secondly, for all I know they may let everyone who wants to get a MA get one. It's nice, though. Maybe this means you are for sure in or at least close to it, rwfan88, or else this way of releasing letters REALLY makes no sense.
yellowshoes Posted February 9, 2010 Posted February 9, 2010 Not to mention that a lot of people who apply for their PhD there mark "no" when it asks whether or not they want to be considered for a MA. So the competition may be weak. Any ingisht into this matter is more than welcome.
Keller65 Posted February 9, 2010 Author Posted February 9, 2010 (edited) I would take it. It is a great springboard -- not to mention, I hear they are bringing in a well-connected classicist to replace Chris Bruell. Edited February 9, 2010 by Keller65
yellowshoes Posted February 9, 2010 Posted February 9, 2010 I would take it. It is a great springboard -- not to mention, I hear they are bringing in a well-connected classicist to replace Chris Bruell. Dr. Kelly informed me some time ago that they would definitely be bringing in someone great to replace him, and that they would know before decisions had to be made. It would put me in severe debt, but truth be told I will be in debt anyway if I go to my undergrad institution another year and it seems that BC is decently strong in theory (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Also, there's no promise I would get any better offers next year. One of my main concerns is that depending on how many MAs they accept, they may or not may not care about their MA students at all. I don't want to pay a ton of money to go to a program where they virtually couldn't care less that I'm there. This may not be the case at all, I'm just speculating.
NEPA Posted February 9, 2010 Posted February 9, 2010 (edited) If I'm not accepted into any of the PhD programs I applied to this year, I definitely plan on taking a look at BC's MA program if I were to get accepted into that rather than the PhD. Like you've all said, it's gonna hurt to have to invest all that money, and I'd want to ask around about how it would affect my chances to get into a good PhD program, but I've liked what I've seen of their department as a whole. I would definitely want to talk to current MA students, and maybe a visit would be in order since I live about 5-6 hours from Boston. How they treat potential MA students who want to visit could be a good indicator of how they treat actual MA students. (Plus I have a friend at BC now so I could maybe share an apartment to save money.) Edited February 9, 2010 by rwfan88
yellowshoes Posted February 9, 2010 Posted February 9, 2010 (edited) If I'm not accepted into any of the PhD programs I applied to this year, I definitely plan on taking a look at BC's MA program if I were to get accepted into that rather than the PhD. Like you've all said, it's gonna hurt to have to invest all that money, and I'd want to ask around about how it would affect my chances to get into a good PhD program, but I've liked what I've seen of their department as a whole. I would definitely want to talk to current MA students, and maybe a visit would be in order since I live about 5-6 hours from Boston. How they treat potential MA students who want to visit could be a good indicator of how they treat actual MA students. (Plus I have a friend at BC now so I could maybe share an apartment to save money.) I asked Dr. Kelly how many typically are accepted for the MA and how many enroll. No info about the number accepted but said usually 8-12 come. He also said that he was sorry about the tough decision in my case, that they got 160 applicants for PhD and are only able to take 6. No word on if they have already taken those 6. Seems like "were" able would be a better term if they already had. Didn't say anything about "congrats on the MA" or the like, but I'm not reading too much into that because clearly anyone who applied for PhD wouldn't necessarily be thrilled by the MA offer. I actually wrote to ask who would be replacing Dr. Bruell, but they do not know yet. He said he will certainly keep me posted and to write bakc for updates as I wish. I also emailed the director of the MA program but havent heard back yet. Perhaps I will get a better read from that end. I looked on the site for a list of current students but didn't find one. I will certainly ask for some contact info for some of them. Is there a better way to do that then simply asking the director of the MA program for the info? That is a great idea (talking to current MAs) and perhaps the best way of seeing how MAs are treated. I would say you would definitely need to visit, rwfan, since you only live 6 hours away. I am about a 4 hour flight away, but I would certainly visit before I planned to go. Of course that is dangerous, as I already love Boston and would probably fall in love with the campus which would compromise my rational decision-making. Not a bad idea to throw out the idea of visiting to the profs in hopes of getting a vibe. I still have hope that you are being strongly considered for the PhD program rw! Based on those who didn't mark "consider for MA" on their apps, BC doesn't torture its applicants by sending rejection letters way late, so it's good that you haven't heard I think! You could always e-mail. Dr. Kelly is very nice and prompt. Edited February 9, 2010 by yellowshoes
Keller65 Posted February 9, 2010 Author Posted February 9, 2010 I have heard some fleeting scuttlebutt that the endowed chair hire is a senior theorist at Emory. Take it with a huge grain of salt. I think whether or not the M.A. program is competitive isn't too relevant, in fact it may work in your favor if it isn't -- much easier to distinguish yourself to some great professors.
NEPA Posted February 9, 2010 Posted February 9, 2010 (edited) Well, yellowshoes, I decided to take your advice and e-mail Dr. Kelly about whether he could tell me if there was a timeline for notifying remaining applicants. I'm eager to hear what he says. Edited February 9, 2010 by rwfan88
yellowshoes Posted February 9, 2010 Posted February 9, 2010 Well, yellowshoes, I decided to take your advice and e-mail Dr. Kelly about whether he could tell me if there was a timeline for notifying remaining applicants. I'm eager to hear what he says. Best of luck!
NEPA Posted February 10, 2010 Posted February 10, 2010 (edited) If anyone's interested, Dr. Kelly said that they expect to have all decisions made in a week to ten days. Edited February 10, 2010 by rwfan88
Cantabrigian Posted February 12, 2010 Posted February 12, 2010 Ughhhhhhhh still no news!! Is that a good thing or not? Last year they were all out by now!!
yellowshoes Posted February 12, 2010 Posted February 12, 2010 Ughhhhhhhh still no news!! Is that a good thing or not? Last year they were all out by now!! I obviously don't know, but I'd say it's a really good thing. BC sent out a wave of rejections a couple of weeks ago, and then within a week sorted out those who weren't going to be in the running for PhD (but marked to be considered for MA) and made decisions on them. So I would guess the fact that you haven't heard means you are still in the running (or at least are being held in the symbolic waitlist). They definitely seem to operate on a "narrow it down" system rather than a "notify the best and let the worst wait a while" system. Did you mark to be considered for MA?
Cantabrigian Posted February 12, 2010 Posted February 12, 2010 Nope no MA... already getting mphil. So he said 10 days? Does the website change or is it all mail? Anyone know?
Keller65 Posted February 12, 2010 Author Posted February 12, 2010 I obviously don't know, but I'd say it's a really good thing. BC sent out a wave of rejections a couple of weeks ago, and then within a week sorted out those who weren't going to be in the running for PhD (but marked to be considered for MA) and made decisions on them. So I would guess the fact that you haven't heard means you are still in the running (or at least are being held in the symbolic waitlist). They definitely seem to operate on a "narrow it down" system rather than a "notify the best and let the worst wait a while" system. Did you mark to be considered for MA? It's kind of like "Survivor: Chestnut Hill"
dearabby207 Posted February 16, 2010 Posted February 16, 2010 Any new news on whats going on with BC? Americanist applicant here-- my online account says nothing about a letter being sent. Rather, it still lists all the application materials and the date they were received. I am not to be considered for the MA, as I am finishing my MA this semester. Any new news anyone has would be appreciated. Thanks and best of luck Scarlet 1
NEPA Posted February 17, 2010 Posted February 17, 2010 Any new news on whats going on with BC? Americanist applicant here-- my online account says nothing about a letter being sent. Rather, it still lists all the application materials and the date they were received. I am not to be considered for the MA, as I am finishing my MA this semester. Any new news anyone has would be appreciated. Thanks and best of luck The only thing I can tell you is that last week I was told they'd be done in a week to ten days. (So, I'm assuming, by the end of this week.) My online status page also hasn't changed, except they added that they need my final bachelor's transcript. From what others have said though, I don't think that means anything.
yellowshoes Posted February 17, 2010 Posted February 17, 2010 The only thing I can tell you is that last week I was told they'd be done in a week to ten days. (So, I'm assuming, by the end of this week.) My online status page also hasn't changed, except they added that they need my final bachelor's transcript. From what others have said though, I don't think that means anything. I think that means they've mailed your letter (says nothing about what the letter says, though). The "decision letter has been mailed" notification should be listed at the very bottom of "receieved items." They don't remove those items, and it doesn't stand out, but if they've add the final transcript part they've probably added that.
dearabby207 Posted February 17, 2010 Posted February 17, 2010 Mine says nothing about a letter. I interpret this to be a good thing, but who knows. Hopefully they'll call the lucky few on Friday. Thanks
NEPA Posted February 17, 2010 Posted February 17, 2010 Mine also says nothing about a letter. I'm nowhere near assuming I'm one of the lucky few, but I am hoping that by Friday I know where I stand.
NEPA Posted February 18, 2010 Posted February 18, 2010 I just got a letter that I was rejected from BC's PhD program and accepted into their MA program. It's definitely going to be an option; I'm still optimistic about Rutgers' PhD program and maybe George Mason. We'll find out soon!
Cantabrigian Posted February 19, 2010 Posted February 19, 2010 Has anyone been admitted? There are only 5 people, I'm guessing a few people must be on this forum...
dearabby207 Posted February 19, 2010 Posted February 19, 2010 Looks like another long weekend for BC applicants. Americanist here..
Keller65 Posted February 19, 2010 Author Posted February 19, 2010 Beginning to think they didn't "take" anybody. FWIW, I started this thread and was rejected back in January (something I said?).
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