graduate33

And what about 'best of luck with your studies'...is it a polite way of saying 'I wish you good luck but we don't need to keep in touch'? I'm not American and somewhat get lost in all the various ways US profs have to sign off their emails. I may want to contact this prof again in the future but I'm not sure if this ending is encouraging or not. Thanks

Thanks for your reply bioarch_fan. I don't think that the fact that I was a bit angry was perceptible to him because my emails stayed polite and friendly after he missed the appointment. It's all about keeping the focus on the big picture, I really like his research and who knows what could happen in the future, in terms of collaboration I mean.

I get that, although I was a bit upset, once I got his email I did reply to him and welcome the opportunity to reschedule. No news on his part since then...

no need to be rude. Of course life happens, that's not the point. It only seems that he forgot the appointment, which can also happen (unfortunately)--I mentioned the electronic planner because he's using one (I don't), it's an info he gave me (in a humorous tone) when we set up the meeting to underline that there would be no risk for him to miss it!

hi all, what do you think of the following situation: A month ago, a phone conversation was scheduled with a potential POI, it was supposed to take place 2 days ago, at 3pm. The POI was meant to call me, I waited until 3.30pm in vain, then decided to email him just in case. Perhaps, I should have reminded him of this phone meeting a few days before the actual date but I didn't feel the need to do so. We're professionals, if we set up a meeting with someone we normally honor it. So, I send the email saying politely that it looks like the meeting is not happening. (It's an IVY, and his areas of research match mine almost perfectly.) He responded within 2mn, saying that as a coincidence he was emailing me at exactly the same moment that I was emailing him, he was running late and could not phone me on time but he can do so now. He then phoned immediately but I missed the call, leave a message saying that I can reach him within the next 2 hours or we'll have to reschedule the meeting next week. That doesn't sound good to me at all, I understand that profs are very busy during the beginning of the semester but nowadays, with all the technology available such as electronic planners and the likes (and on top of that he's also prof of communication), it's almost impossible to miss an appointment even if several weeks have passed between the moment it's set up and the moment it happens. It kind of killed my desire to apply to this university...

OK, I'll try my luck and see how it turns out...

same to you!

Ok, thanks for your feedback. I've actually told her about my background without giving her all the specific details. I'm planning on applying to 5-7 schools max, with one reach school.

I received today another response from a potential POI at an Ivy who said ' Dear Ms...I encourage you to apply'. Nothing more, nothing less...it's a grad program ranked in the top 5 so I'm glad she even took the time to reply (even 2 weeks after I sent my initial email). However I'm not sure what to make of it especially because I was asking her if she was taking on students next year. Any thoughts?

Indeed

False alarm--I got a very positive response from the POI so it's all good!

I already contacted 4 POI yesterday from excellent programs (2 are ivy leagues'). So far, I got 2 very very positive encouraging responses, one of them is from an ivy. This POI (my top choice, perfect fit) responded within 10mn (very informal email), asked me if we could schedule a phone meeting around later this month so he could tell me more about the program and learn about my interests. I responded 'ok', asked if he would be available on the 31 of Aug, for instance, and immediately gave my phone details. He hasn't replied back yet...it's only been a day but I'm wondering if my answer was too eager or I should have let him offer a specific date instead? Aaagh...I may read too much into this, I'm just so excited that he liked my project and would really love to work with this person. Let's wait and see...

Thanks for your input Panama. I'm really interested in integrating visual aspects to my anthropological research so I'm not considering applying for a MFA or film school.

I don't have much to add to the topic - sorry Wildviolet - but I just wanted to say that this is the cutest thread I've read so far on this forum.

Great, I do appreciate your help! @jennyb: I heard about J. Jackson--that's a very good starting point.

Thank you both for your replies. I'm interested in making images, documentaries and also using visuals that have been created before (of course).

Hi All, I'm considering applying to a PhD in Cultural Anthropology with an emphasis on visual anthropology. Would you have some recommendations in terms of department ratings and funding available for grad students? Thanks

Hi all, Have any international students ever arrived in the US (with a tourist visa or no visa) well before the 30 days grace period (before the start of your program), then left the US to go to Canada, Bahamas or Mexico to re-entry and thus activate your visa J-1? Thanks

what about 'best of luck'? does that even mean anything?

It does!

It's sorted. I've got 'unsatisfactory' instead of an F; according to my school's policy this won't count toward my GPA.

Thank you all for your responses. I knew I was still enrolled in the class, I just did the minimum because I took on too many courses this semester and it's not in my field of research. I really thought that she would let me know if I was about to fail the class so I could withdraw instead of getting an F or fail, especially because she knew I was an exchange student. She continued grading my papers as if to nothing instead so I thought that it wasn't that bad...I'm not saying that it's her fault, it's my responsibility to know what's going on but I must admit that I'm still struggling sometimes with the US system--I'm an exchange student from Europe.

It's a grad course (2nd year Master student), unrelated to my topic of research but that triggered some interest that I would like to pursue in the future. I do not expect a pass, I know it'd be a fail, I was just wondering if it wouldn't look as bad as an F; this is the advice I was looking for. I'm just a bit worried that it could seriously damage my chances of getting into any PhD program knowing how fierce the competition is...but this is my only bad grade: the other ones are A, A-, B+, same for the first semester.

hi all, I've taken a class as a pass/fail this semester because I knew I wouldn't be able to attend each and every sessions, it looks like the registrar didn't make the change so it's graded instead; I'm still trying to sort this out with them but they think that it may be too late to make the change. For this class, I wrote the 2 most important papers that counted for 55% of the total grade but didn't do some of the other requirements that counted for less according to the syllabus. The instructor gave me a F without notice, as if I did nothing at all, and is not keen on taking into account the grades she gave me for the papers, respectively A- and B (she made quite harsh comments on that one). I think she got vexed because I missed class a lot, but I told her why at the beginning of the semester. My grades for the other courses are good, so I'm not sure how to deal with that because it can look very bad on my application for a PhD in the fall. I've tried to talk to her, she would only talk via email now but - in the event that it's too late for the registrar to make it a pass/fail - she won't change the grade into a D or a C instead. Also, a pass/fail is less damageable than a F on a transcript or does it look as bad? Thanks in advance for your help.

Before dropping the class and asking him for lunch quite a few months have passed. It was not a lunch date at all but more of a goodbye-let's-part-on-good-terms-lunch before I leave next week. I was not expecting anything fancy to happen out this. We're both adults, we can discuss things without making the situation awkward. It's common practice here in this US university to have lunch/coffee with your prof, they normally ask you but in this particular situation I did the first step because I'm the one leaving very soon. It is indeed a learning lesson, it's now time to move on.