bioarch_fan

There's actually a really good option for you if you still want to get your MPH. Look at the University of South Florida because they have a Anthropology PhD/MPH combined program available. So that would still give you a chance to get the degree in MPH that might help on the outside and still get your PhD in Anthropology.

I'm actually in Athens for my undergraduate right now. I absolutely love this town due to how close most of the student body is. There are some problems with the community as a whole because there are very strong opinions on campus. But it's still relatively friendly for everyone. If you're at all into the bar scene then you'll love Athens. We have 22 bars in a quarter of a mile radius...one reason why we're known as one of the biggest party schools in the nation. But we also have a lot of other fun stuff to do around the town, i.e. hiking, going to the lake and swimming, listening to amazing music around campus (coffee shops, our main auditorium, the student center, music festivals, etc.), numerous clubs to join (including A LOT of a capella groups), and I could go on and on about what there is to do here. Now on to your question about affordable housing...that's the main negative about Athens. There really isn't much of an option for affordable housing really (at least it depends on your living situation). If you're okay with living with 3+ roommates, then you can find decent apartments for cheap. Also, if you want to bring your own furniture then here are specific apartments for those or you can get apartments that are completely furnished (including dishes). Look into University Commons (they're about a 15 minute walk to campus). They have everything from a studio apartment all the way up to a 4 bed apartment. I have a couple friends who live in the 4 bed and they pay about $350/month and only have a couple utilities to pay for. So that's not too bad in the end. I'd also check into River Park. This would be the ideal place for you since you're doing ethnomusicology (at least I think you are). They are located on South Green, which is about a 5 minute walk to Glidden Hall (the music building). They're not exactly cheap by any means but they have numerous options as well (River Park, River's Edge, and the new River Gate) with varying prices. These normally don't come furnished at all and you will have to pay for a couple utilities here as well. There are other options that are a little farther off campus but they supply a shuttle to get back and forth to campus. These would be The Summit and University Courtyard. They have numerous apartment plans from 2-4 bedroom apartments and the prices are about $500-600 but all utilities are included. However, these apartments come fully furnished. So that would save you on having to bring anything with you. There are obviously numerous options available in Athens that are not apartment complexes as well. The sad part about Athens is that most of the landlords in Athens are horrible...we call them slumlords. And most of them have a monopoly on housing in Athens. There's one in particular that I would stay away from...their company is called Prokos Rentals. This is the worst rental company in Athens in my opinion and I've had nothing but problems from them. If you have any other questions about Athens or OU PM me and I can give you more details about it. I'm sure once you come here you'll fall in love with the campus like most people do.

Looks like we'll be only an hour and a half from each other then!!! I'm sure you'll do well there since you already know the professors and town and you get along with the department. I hope I have a good start with mine as well.

I don't know too much about the program as a whole. Since you go to Alabama (I'm presuming), talk to Keith Jacobi. I'm sure he can give you insight into the program there. If not, then he might be able to direct you to someone that can you information on the program.

I'm not doing my PhD yet, but everyone that I've talked to, including POIs, have said that what should truly matter is the concepts used. That should match your POI more than geography. That's how my MA admissions both were. Not many people work in my specific region of the world doing what I want to do, so I have to just go off of concepts.

I applied to 5 MA schools: East Carolina- Still waiting to hear back but I was accepted and awarded funding for one of my top universities, so I'll decline the offer if accepted there. North Carolina State University- Waitlisted University of Central Florida- Accepted without funding wanted to go here but can't do that without funding University of West Florida- Rejected...very sad because my POI there was amazing and does exactly what I want to do Mississippi State University- Accepted with funding for 2 years...accepted admissions!!!! I plan on visiting Mississippi State after graduation at the end of April/beginning of May, then I can meet the professors, students, and staff that I'll be working with. And looking at apartments for next year!!!! Good luck everyone in your future endeavors!!!

I almost applied to Reno but decided against it. It's still in the early stages of its graduate school specialty in bioarchaeology. But they have an amazing dental anthropologist on staff I was going to work with. I just didn't have the money to apply to too many schools. So I decided to take it off my list. But congrats!!! You'll have a good time making choices I'm sure.

I received funding decisions from University of Central Florida and was not awarded funding sadly. This program is a great one for bioarchaeology since they have 2 full time bioarchaeologists on staff, but I was accepted into a different program with funding for 2 years, so I will be accepting that one instead. I hope this clears up a space for people that can attend UCF without having to pay for their education.

One of my professors went to New School and she loved it. She's not from the US and I believe she told me that she got funding. It really depends on the individual and how much funding the department has at the time. Just talk to the department (or your POI) and tell them what worries you and they might give you advice.

It all truly depends on your interests in bioarchaeology. If you're mostly interested in what can be seen with the eyes then you'd be fine with just any osteology class offered in your anthropology department and maybe anatomy from a biology department. If you're interested in more in depth analysis of diet, migration, more health that isn't evident directly on the bone, etc. then I would suggest also looking at chemistry or something of the sort. It's also helpful to have a lower level genetics course, but that's not exactly necessary either. If you want to talk more I can try and help you out as much as I can. Just PM me sometime.

No my friend that goes to OSU is an undergrad (I believe she's a senior). Her specialty is more biocultural than mine...I think she's now focusing on the medical side of anthropology.

I know you've heard it numerous times already, but it's rarely a good idea to stay at the same university for both your bachelors and your PhD. I know OSU is an amazing program (I go to Ohio University and have a friend at OSU), but branching out and getting other scholar's perspective is sometimes good.

You're so lucky to be working with Jerome Rose. He's such an amazing bioarchaeologists. I was going to apply there but I wanted to get my MA first. Might apply there for my PhD if he's still teaching then.

Lmao. Idk how much luck the bar gave me but I felt pretty good sitting there nonetheless. It's a nice little Irish pub in the Prati area of Rome (close to Vatican City). It's called the Derry Rock. If you're going to go to Rome any time, I can give you some tips on places to go because I frequented PLENTY of restaurants and bars in the week that I was there. Lol.

This week was amazing for me. I spent the week in Rome, Italy with the History Department and made some amazing friends and had the time of my life. Then mid-way through the week I received an email from University of Central Florida notifying me that I was accepted into the program (funding to be announced)...I was so excited about receiving this email and had a celebratory night out with friends that night. The next night I received an email from Mississippi State University with another acceptance (this one with 2 years funding) while I was at the same bar as the previous night. Both of these acceptances made my week better than it already was!!!

Well, I was denied from one of my schools which really sucked to see because it was one of the top MA programs for me. My POI there researches exactly what I want to research so I thought I'd have a very good chance of being admitted there. I guess I was wrong. But I did talk on the phone with another POI and I hope our discussion was good. She told me that if I get accepted anywhere else before I hear from her to get ahold of her before accepting another offer and she can see if their program can beat the funding offer, if one is given. So it sounds to me like she is expecting me to be admitted there. What do you all think of this???

Congrats!!! ASU is an amazing school for bioarch...it's on my list for PhD granting institution. Getting my MA first. Actually most of those schools you applied to are on the list right now. Lol. That's going to be a tough choice to make really. Just think about the options because they both have things that the other school doesn't offer. Good luck!!!

Yeah I'm really really really hoping that I get in there. It's tied in first for my top schools. But I've been wanting to go to UWF since I learned about my POI's (which is the one you're talking about more than likely) research. I'm just hoping that graduate school will hurry up and send out notifications. I'm starting to literally go insane waiting on these results to come out now. I thought I wouldn't get like this but I am. Lmao. I just wish the department would send out the unofficial notifications now and then the graduate school. I know some graduate programs do that but it doesn't sound like UWF does at all. :/ But thanks for the confidence boost!!!!

Thanks!!! You too

It's University of West Florida. I called the graduate school today and they said that notifications should be made in the next couple of days.....so maybe I'll hear back mid-next week then?!?!?!

This whole waiting thing is now going to make me go crazy. I emailed one of the schools to see where they are in the process and I was told that decisions have been made and sent to the graduate school, who will be the ones to notify students. I don't know if this is a good or bad sign yet. I might go insane waiting now that I know for sure decisions have been made.

What's your specialty?! I'm bio anth as well

What I would say is look at the professors and see what they research. If they have published a lot and seem like they're passionate about their work then give it a shot. Also, emailing those professors you'd want to work with and see what their response is...maybe setting up a time to call them to talk over the phone and hear their voice and any excitement they give off when talking about their research. Don't listen to just undergraduates because they aren't always the best individuals to listen to on instances like this. Maybe try and get ahold of other graduate students and get their take on the department. I don't know much about IUP, so I sadly can't tell you one way or another, but I know talking over the phone with POIs helps A LOT. Also, maybe you should think about looking into Northern Arizona University, University of New Mexico, and maybe even Florida State University. I'm not sure exactly what your interests are but I know there are a ton of programs out there that do specialize in North American prehistoric archaeology. It just takes a lot of searching to find them all. But if you're okay with just those schools then I say go for it. I know the University of Oklahoma is good. However, I'm not sure about Utah State or Illinois State (I only know one professor there but she specializes in bioarchaeology...that's why I decided against applying there).

Oh I'm sure we're all equally stressed out. I know one of my applications is for sure with the department because the status changed to that a couple days ago...so I'm assuming I'll hear back from them in a couple weeks. Two of my other apps were due January 1st, so I'm assuming I won't hear anything from them until mid-February/early March. My other apps are due until after February 15 and they're not reviewing them until then. So I probably won't hear anything from them until mid-March. So I'm just keeping myself distracted with my last semester of undergrad and working. I'm taking 19 credit hours this semester and I'm going to Rome with the History department at my school during Spring break...so I think it's easy to distract myself right now. Lol

Thank you so much for your reply!!! I'm so excited to get the chance to visit the university in a couple weeks. I've heard that it's a gorgeous campus. Do either of you know anything about the anthropology department there? I know a little bit about it but not much really. I'm just afraid that I'm leaving a college town that is known as being a party school with 22 bars within a quarter mile road to another college town that might not have as much to do. Though I know that I won't have much time to go out to the bars as I do now, I do like the choices I have here because everything is so eclectic. Going to State would also make it easier for me to go to New Orleans, which has always been on my list of things to do!!! I looked at the Cotton District apartments because they look so gorgeous on the outside but, as you stated, it's big for undergrads and that's something I'm not sure I want. I have that now and that's enough for me. Thanks again for both of your inputs!!!!!