panda_bear

does anyone know if they are on the waitlist for university of minnesota?

Jumping in as a New Yorker. Completely agree with what everyone else has said. Re broker: it's very well possible to get a place without one, but by no means count on it. Assume you will need one (esp for any manhattan apt), and just be pleasantly surprised when you go to an apt that's actually being shown by management. My current apt is downtown in a super desirable area and I didn't have a broker but I know I basically won the NYC apt lottery with that one. Some tips though: Search nakedapartments.com...they pride themselves on least amount of scams (scam being when a broker posts as ad for an apt that no longer is on the market and gets you into their office by basically saying "sorry, that one JUST leased, but I have two other places over your budget and in areas you said you weren't interested in". Its a waste or time. They can especially smell out of towners right away so be on your toes about this. Additionally, look for broker agents whose fees are 8-12%. They exist but stay clear of citi habitats which charge 15% non negotiable. Some other ones are negotiable if you are good at negotiating. Apply to multiple apartments and use them against one another in negotiating that fee. If this is all overwhelming for someone who isn't from NYC (understandable), look for a sublet on Craigslist, or ask friends of friends if they know of any sublet (this is even better...as someone who has subletter part of my apt in CL I dismissed non NYers bc it's a sellers market, so your "in" may very well have to be through personal channels). It's better to come to NYC knowing your living situation is somewhat trusted and solid, and then once you feel like you know the market better, search for a lease when you're here. It's a massive endeavor to get a place here that is desirable, in a safe neighborhood, and in your budget, etc.

Cultural. I didn't interview but I went out to visit the department in November and meet with a few faculty and graduate students. Perhaps that means in my case no need to conduct an interview? I think I'm unique case re UCSD so my experience shouldn't be seen as illustrative (or maybe it should? Honestly this whole process is somewhat unpredictable (hence the reason why we are all asking and looking up past years info...there's like zero transparency for applicants, it's nerve wrecking)).

yes but super informally. i was told the official letters don't go out until march. (they're a little later with things...i remember their application being due late january!)

So I know there's a section for this in the main forum area, but I'd like to start a conversation about this specifically for anthropology, as the circumstances for this discipline are far different than others. Lets talk frankly about this. There are SO MANY of us about to start programs, people in programs, and those currently in the job market, and not a whole lot of real academic jobs (by real I mean possibly tenure track and not adjuncting/struggling). My mentor was joking at the AAAs where one of their students had nine job interviews: this student was basically up for all of the jobs right now. A joke, but something not far from the truth that there's like 1 job for 1000 applicants. A tenure track position at a university that's desirable to ones preferences is basically like winning the lottery. I've always dreamed of entering academia, but one thing I've been thinking about during this application process are my goals, realistic or otherwise, for what I want to do with my PhD. I somewhat unsure of my options beyond a career in academia. Are these things people are thinking about too?

CU admissions committee isn't meeting until later next week.

Shows how much I know re funded MA programs. That's awesome that yours was funded, anthropolige! I feel like that MAY be rare, especially if its a department with a reputation for a great PhD program (again, speaking from knowing the set up of an Ivy League institution only, where the MA program is highly problematic and gives me automatic pause regarding the value of that degree). With that, I would really, really recommend only going for it if it's funded.

i think given your unique educational background, perhaps a terminal MA in anthropology isn't the completely necessary route. also, unless you have 60K lying around, it's not really worth it. i'm of the opinion that unless it's a professional degree, MAs aren't really worth their price. i'm speaking as someone who has talked to faculty about this at an ivy league university that has a terminal MA program filled with students who think their MA will give them a leg up in PhD admissions, when in fact their department just treats them as a cash cow for funding. sad but true. the best bet is to look at the departments that you are most interested in applying to (or, emailing the faculty you are most interested in working with) and asking their advice, with the clear intention of applying to their PhD program. i would wait until the summer to do this, given the periods of busy-ness most departments are entering (admissions now, midterms soon, finals later, etc). conferences are great, but only if you're in the discipline. they are expensive, and to be honest, i know for a fact that academics don't have time/really care to be talking to prospectives at their discipline's one big social event of the year (AAAs is really just a big party where you get to see all your friends you haven't seen in a while; that's the main reason to go ). i went to the one this year as a prospective (opportunity just arose; i didn't pay or anything...) and it was useless for networking unless you have a mentor to introduce you/talk you up. it was fun/enlightening to be there, but it's really not a useful tool unless you're "connected" so to speak.

yeah re CU: their meeting re admissions isn't until the last week of feb. don't expect to hear until march (CU is my alma mater for ungrad, that's how i know )

I as well am curious about that NYU acceptance that popped up. Perhaps it was super unofficial (i put my UCSD acceptance up when mine was super unofficial and probably the only one notified already). I was told they were meeting this week (so assumed notification by fri or by next week? just guessing). Related: kro7 mentioned above that people were invited to NYU this week. I'm wondering how you know this?

what's the website? i keep hearing on this forum about checking one's status on admissions websites but i'm unclear what website to look at! can you PM me the link?

i didn't interview at either UCSD or UCI. I know my friend last year interviewed (via phone) for UCSC around this time. I did, however, visit San Diego in November, which I guess counts for something? I wonder when people say they have interviews if they haven't met their departments yet? I met most of my POIs already either on campus visits or at the AAAs in November and already had the kind of chats that that seems to make up interview questions. Just a thought in case others followed a similar path as me. Cultural anthro. Bear in mind, according to my POI, decisions haven't gone out officially or anything. I don't know if other faculty are contacting their candidates or not as well.

For me, today has been a day of news, so it seems. I just got a SUPER unofficial yes from Irvine (a missed called/voicemail). No details whatsoever, but "good news". I also got a SUPER unofficial yes from San Diego, from my POI. I also got an unofficial no from Minnesota. Not really surprised at this one, as there's only one person I wanted to work with. Would have liked to have options/leverage though. Oh well. Just a note, I'm calling these all unofficial, as they are from POIs, not admissions-like emails or anything. I'm not sure if this is customary, for these to be unofficial or not? Just wanted to clarify. Hope everyone is hanging in there! This is my first bit of news, and honestly, it all makes me feel better just to hear SOMETHING, even if it's bad news. Nothing worse than being in a holding period with not news.

I know someone IRL who got into Berkeley with full funding. They have not sent out any letters to those accepted, so it was an informal acceptance for this person. This person also got acceptances from Yale, Cornell, and Michigan. And sociocultural anth, all informal acceptances from POIs. Re NYU I learned super informally like, third-hand, that NYU is meeting this week.

hi majolie, sorry to hear the news if i recall my pre-application meetings with various faculty at NYU, i think the admissions is different for different subdisciplines. i was told 400 is pretty standard for NYU...talking with my advisor (who is on the anthro admissions committee at another institution with similar numbers) though, i feel hopeful, as about half of those are chucked right away for having no clear place in anthro (applying just for the institution name) and then another sizable amount eliminated for having no fit with the faculty. in other words, thinking positively about everything.

new here i haven't heard from anyone yet! was wondering if anyone heard from NYU, UCLA, UCSD, UC Irvine, Berkeley, Minnesota, or Hawaii?