rising_star

I'm with TakeruK on this. Please, please don't use the word suspension in any of your application documents. Instead, use "leave of absence". It is the term used for this by North American universities.

Answer the prompt and stick to the word limit. It's really annoying when people don't.

Yea, I would say this is incorrect. Let's say you're interested in gender and agriculture. It could be that the professors interested in your region are more interested in religion, kinship, globalization, etc. and aren't all that interested in supervising a project in your area. Does that make sense? It would be great to have a regional specialist on your committee but that doesn't mean the person would or should be your advisor. Speaking from personal experience, I'm in an interdisciplinary social science. My advisor and I shared a thematic interest, though we did research in vastly different places. Some of the professors on my committee were there because we shared a theoretical framework, some due to shared methodology, and some due to their regional expertise (though none had experience in the country where I did my research). That structure worked for me and has worked for many, many people before me.

If you're that worried, set up a vacation response on your phone saying that you're out of the country, when you'll be back, and leaving the best way to reach you (so provide your email address if that's best). It'll be fine. It's also unlikely you'll hear anything so soon after the deadline.

I never re-read anything I submit unless I absolutely have to. That is, if I'm visiting a school I got accepted to or get a phone/Skype interview for a job, then (and only then!) will I re-read what I sent them. Anything else just results in torturing yourself for no real reason. Mystic_Fog, relax. Read a book for fun. Plan a trip. Spend time with your friends and family. Take up a new hobby. Get better at an existing hobby. Anything to take your mind off applications because it really is just a waiting game.

Not in your field but I've seen ads for Project Manager positions in university-affiliated hospitals that require the master's and several years of experience but don't have the PhD listed as a minimum qualification.

A lot of departments don't mind late letters. I got into a program where a letter was sent literally almost a month late. (Don't ask me how that happened, btw, but I found out because they wanted to nominate me for fellowship but needed three letters to do so...) At another program, the same recommender had to send their letter in three times (online wasn't done back then for this school) so they mailed it, faxed it, and then finally emailed it directly to the DGS after being frustrated that they were telling me they didn't have the letter the first two times.

Don't submit it if you have any doubts whatsoever, especially if it's optional.

PDF files only. Convert them on your end. But, as fuzzy said, bad formatting is unlikely to get you automatically rejected.

Oh, I don't back up to Google Drive or Dropbox due to PRISM related concerns. I prefer things like SpiderOak or even setting up one's own server for backups. If I had to do it all over again, I would set up my own server. That said, I don't do anything other than have automatic backups which run constantly. I use SugarSync and it automatically syncs any changes to any file in the designated folders (which for me means all of the folders with documents in them). I also change the file name every day (I use the date in the file name) to ensure that I can keep track of what I worked on and when. What this means is I don't really worry about losing data or having corrupted data.

Unless you know that someone is married, do not use "Mrs." as a title in any sort of communication.

Since when is an A- average a GPA that "is kind of a bummer"?? This makes no sense to me whatsoever. If you know math is your weakness, work on it by taking a quant course and doing well in it.

I wouldn't worry at all about what other grad students think. Taking one class outside of your field isn't a big deal and developing a minor field can actually be really helpful, especially on the job market. Enjoy the class, Deadwing!

EdNeuroGrl, I'd send another quick email with a reminder. Late LORs don't doom an application though.

In general, no. They tend to get the little things wrong. Use the actual manual of style and more professional reference software like Zotero, EndNote, etc. Even those make errors though.

Google is your friend here. Any SPSS (or STATA) code you need can be pretty easily found by googling for what you're trying to do. That said, if you don't even know what kind of statistical tests you want to run, then you need to start reading an intro stats textbook ASAP.

I would apply for both the postdoc and the writing fellowships, just to see what options you end up with once everything is all said and done. In the meantime, I would proceed with writing under the assumption that you will be accepting the postdoc. That way, if you do end up going with a writing fellowship, you'll have plenty of time to revise and work on the dissertation. Since you're in anthro, the gold standard is publishing a book based on your dissertation. Typically such books require substantial revision, even from a good dissertation, in addition to finding a willing publisher. At the same time, any TT job you get will expect you to publish the book so there's going to be a portion of your research time dedicated to that... That said, here are some of the things I would be considering, were I in your shoes: Publication opportunities coming from the postdoc: What will these look like and where would such research be published? Will you be required to get supplemental funding? Will the postdoc allow time for you to work on your own research (that is, research separate from the project you're being hired to work on)? (I say this because some do allot 10-20% of your time for this, though this is by no means universal). Pay/benefits: What will you be paid as a postdoc? As a writing fellow? What support is their for your own research? What benefits (health insurance, retirement, conference travel, etc.) is available? Will you be reimbursed for moving expenses and, if so, for how much of them? How likely is renewal/extension (of any of the potential options)? Under what conditions is that renewal/extension possible? It's hard to say what you should do one way or another, especially without more information about the options. But, it's almost December so I'm in favor of keeping every viable option on the table until you can no longer do so.

I second what fuzzylogician has said. I would also add the following: Break your papers up into smaller, more manageable steps. That is, make yourself a list of all of the tasks that need to be done (background reading, note-taking, rough draft writing, editing, revising, etc.) and then assign each a set amount of time. Limiting the time is key because when you're worried about your performance, it's easy to get mired in the reading and note-taking phases, rather than moving on to writing. Meet with your professors about your papers. No, they aren't going to read a whole draft for you but, through a conversation, you can get valuable feedback on your ideas and see if you're headed in a productive direction before you potentially go down a dead-end road. Work with your classmates, if possible. This one might be hard for you since you're comparing yourself to them. But, it might be helpful to exchange complete rough drafts with another person or two for a couple of reasons. First, because it will give you useful feedback on your writing and ideas (peer review is essential in academia). Second, it might help you with all of this comparing that you're doing because you might realize that other people are more or less where you are. I hope this helps. You can do this, though you'll need to get out of your own way to do so.

Not a good idea. It would be best to write your SOP in the language you intend to submit it, unless you are an experienced translator. If you're asking, my guess is that you aren't skilled in translation. So, write your SOP in whatever language it needs to be submitted in (presumably English) and then get lots of eyes on it to ensure that your writing is clearly conveying what you want it to.

I think for an applicant to a PhD program, showing that you understand the basics of publication (so preparing a manuscript, identifying an appropriate journal, getting it submitted, etc.) is a good thing and one that will have some value. In my field, it's common for those up to pre-tenure (so third year review) to list the titles of articles which have been submitted, even if they haven't been accepted yet. Part of the reason for that is to give people a sense of what your most recent research is on, which is important if you're like a lot of people and your research post-PhD diverges from what you did during your dissertation.

It depends on what kind of academic job you want to pursue. If you're interested in being at a regional university, community college, or liberal arts college, then publications are one of several things they will be looking for, in addition to things like teaching experience and the ability to involve undergraduates in your research.

Then don't pitch your project as entirely urban studies in your SOP or in your emails to POIs (if you decide to send such emails). You should frame this as stemming from your previous research and interests in Middle Eastern history and focus on how the skills you already have will enable you to pursue this slightly different line of inquiry. If you frame it as a left turn, then other people will see it as such too.

Just curious, why are you prioritizing a shared regional interest over a shared theoretical or topical interest? I ask because the latter could ultimately prove to be more important, particularly depending on how you intend to market yourself toward the end of your degree. It can be very different to be known as a regional studies specialist versus a scholar interested in youth social movements.

For academic positions, always, always, always use a CV. Why would you want to highlight your work experience over your research experience?

No, your application won't be rejected based on this. A strong letter from someone who has been teaching for several years is better than a "did well in class" letter from someone with a PhD.