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I have a preliminary list! Are they "reaches?"


Ilikekitties

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I talked with a 2013 alumnus of my undergraduate institution about some schools that I could apply to next fall. I have interests in ethics, food studies, animal studies, and human-animal relations (under the umbrella of cultural anthropology.) He gave me a list of 5 schools that I might look into, and also some professors there who share my interests:

 

University of Washington, Seattle (18% admitted)

University of Arizona (12% admitted)

UC Santa Cruz (18% admitted)

University of Toledo N/A

University of British Columbia (17% admitted)

 

With these acceptance rates, are they reach schools? Match schools? I realize that this depends on the applicant.

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I'm interested in food studies, human-animal relations and critical theory.  I am applying this year and looking at UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Illinois Chicago, Rice, Columbia and for my Canadian school I choose Simon Fraiser.  I'd apply to all of them and not worry too much about the acceptance rates.  Do they work for you? Only you can answer that question. 

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Honestly, I've seen some schools with MUCH lower acceptance rates than those.  That's nothing to be afraid of really.  I have a couple schools on my list that are around the 10% acceptance rate, but my interests match up pretty well with the department's and with a couple faculty members.  Just go for the schools that you feel most comfortable with.  Read the professor's articles, maybe even a thesis if you can find it.  Talk to the professor via email, Skype, or a phone call.  Visit the school and see if you could actually see yourself attending that specific school.  This is something that you should probably start no later than September, except the reading part, that you should start right away, if you haven't done so already.  Just get yourself acquainted with the school before spending all of that money applying to the school and you not like it once you do apply.

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Also, think about funding. I can tell you from personal experience that at least one of those state school systems that you mentioned is going through a very hard financial time and some schools in that system are only able to offer admitted students funding for their first year. Not having to worry about funding all the time is key to being able to focus on your studies, so make sure to apply to external funding sources (like the NSF GRFP) and rather than looking at the percent accepted, look at the percent funded.

 

I had a discussion with a POI where they told me because of their financial situation they'd only be able to accept me if I could get outside funding. Apply to external sources will make you more competitive for the positions you apply to (because you can list the external funding you apply to on your application) and if you get external funding you'll be able to pick where to go based completely on fit and not on the support a school can or can't offer right now.

 

Is there a reason you're only apply to state schools? Those are all very excellent schools, but you might want to consider some non-state school as well, since funding at private schools is not tied to the state budget, and some (but certainly not all) private schools may be in a better position to offer a more comprehensive and longer funding package.

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