strudelle

Everyone has different priorities. The fact is that some people going into grad school don't have any money. For some people, including myself, funding is the only way they can attend graduate school at all. In my situation, I would not choose between funding and fit. It is both or it is nothing.

Of course everyone wants to give themselves the best possible chance of success after graduate school, and for many people funding is a huge part of that because it enables you to focus on school, not have to get an outside job, and not have to go into more debt that you will have to repay later. But no matter how amazing the fit is or how prestigious the department, there is never any guarantee that you will get an amazing, highly paid job afterward. So you really have to think about how important fit AND funding are.

If you have the financial ability to go to your dream program without any guaranteed funding, go for it. But everyone has different life circumstances so this questions of funding vs. fit completely depends on the individual.

You will hopefully be applying for external funding for research no matter what kind of funding package you're offered, so I don't think that receiving funding is in any way related to an inability to learn to apply for outside funds. Especially if you have received a fellowship - which you do have to apply for separately most of the time.

To be perfectly honest, a list of relevant courses probably isn't going to improve your CV that much.  Schools are looking more for hands on experience than a bunch of science courses.  By all means, if it would make you feel better and more knowledgeable in your field, take some extra science courses.  I don't know exactly what you plan to focus on, so some more science might help you.  But it isn't absolutely necessary.  Most forensic anthropologists I know have spent more time working with coroners offices, local law enforcement, and working with human remains in the anthropology department than stocking up on chemistry and bio classes.  I think these real world experiences will offer you more in terms of CV padding if that's what you're looking for.
 
I see you're in Michigan.  Ohio State University offers a pretty good forensic anthropology field school during the month of May that I think is still accepting applications (google it).  

To be perfectly honest, a list of relevant courses probably isn't going to improve your CV that much.  Schools are looking more for hands on experience than a bunch of science courses.  By all means, if it would make you feel better and more knowledgeable in your field, take some extra science courses.  I don't know exactly what you plan to focus on, so some more science might help you.  But it isn't absolutely necessary.  Most forensic anthropologists I know have spent more time working with coroners offices, local law enforcement, and working with human remains in the anthropology department than stocking up on chemistry and bio classes.  I think these real world experiences will offer you more in terms of CV padding if that's what you're looking for.
 
I see you're in Michigan.  Ohio State University offers a pretty good forensic anthropology field school during the month of May that I think is still accepting applications (google it).  

Just wanted to note that you can get into a PhD program without formal research experience - I did.  You have to be knowledgeable about the topic you want to study, and you can build up a good background by doing independent research. 
 
People do get into advanced degree programs in anthropology without previously having majored in anthropology.  It's all about making your past experiences relevant to what you want to do. 

Canis - While I'm not sure "toxic" is the word I would use, I would certainly say that kind of atmosphere is not conducive to learning, growing, or producing research.  My SOP stated a pretty broad area of interest because I am genuinely interested in doing research on many topics, and my POI seems completely comfortable with allowing me to explore and discover my own trajectory.  Her existing graduate students study things that are similar to her interests, but they have their own distinct foci.  As anyone who has done any kind of research knows, the more you research, the more questions arise.  Sometimes a focused research project can veer off into a new direction based on evidence and can lead to completely different topics.  I wouldn't want to be in a situation where I was only ever allowed to explore ONE thing and was only allowed to continue the professor's work rather than developing my own.  I think that being able to ask your own questions and develop research on your own unique topic (with guidance from a POI) is very valuable.  It sounds like you definitely avoided a bad situation.  I hope your future university offers you more flexibility and better support! 

I love Chicago. It's one of my favorite major cities because it has the benefits of a big city but feels like a small town. The L is great (I miss good public transit), there are a lot of lovely neighborhoods, and I've met a lot of nice and helpful people there. Plus the school is amazing! One of the best anthro programs. I hope you love it.

Has anyone here presented a poster at a conference? I am presenting at two in the next few weeks and I'm wondering what to expect. Because it isn't a podium presentation, but an undergraduate poster presentation, I get the impression that I won't need to prepare a formal talk.

What sorts of questions might I be asked? How do I avoid making an ass of myself?

For reference, my project is a comparative literature review. Not based on specimen data I have taken myself. But I've read all the sources and feel pretty familiar with what I'm discussing.

Canis - this is something I have been dealing with in the app process too, but in a different way. It was a struggle to decide if I should apply to all the best schools for me or if I should apply for a school near my fiancé. Luckily for me, I found an excellent school that is near my fiancé. It may not be my dream school, or the absolute top school I could get into, but it is still a great opportunity. I'm really happy with it and I think the compromise is completely worth it.

I think there is a lot of pressure to go to the absolute best school regardless of relationships. Most phd students I know are single and put their education first. While that is a completely valid option, I personally feel that having my SO there to support me is going to bolster my success as a student. Sometimes being away from the ones you love can put a lot more stress on you in an already stressful time.

Canis - this is something I have been dealing with in the app process too, but in a different way. It was a struggle to decide if I should apply to all the best schools for me or if I should apply for a school near my fiancé. Luckily for me, I found an excellent school that is near my fiancé. It may not be my dream school, or the absolute top school I could get into, but it is still a great opportunity. I'm really happy with it and I think the compromise is completely worth it.

I think there is a lot of pressure to go to the absolute best school regardless of relationships. Most phd students I know are single and put their education first. While that is a completely valid option, I personally feel that having my SO there to support me is going to bolster my success as a student. Sometimes being away from the ones you love can put a lot more stress on you in an already stressful time.

While I don't support sending threatening emails or harassing graduate departments, I sincerely do not see any issues with asking for constructive criticism from departments that did not admit you.  I think these things can really help us to improve our applications in the future.  I understand they may not have time to respond to every person, and in that case a form letter may be acceptable.
 
I wonder if we will be this jaded and talking about "entitlement of the youth" when we're on graduate committees one day.

DigDeep and Sara, You guys are amazing.  This is such a great resource, and should definitely be added to the wisdom repository once all the data is gathered.  I love this site and all the support here I'm going to recommend it to my students when I'm a mentor and/or professor some day.

Since cost of living plays a role here too, I just wanted to share this link: http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/
It's a very useful tool which lets you compare specific towns/cities. 

DigDeep and Sara, You guys are amazing.  This is such a great resource, and should definitely be added to the wisdom repository once all the data is gathered.  I love this site and all the support here I'm going to recommend it to my students when I'm a mentor and/or professor some day.

Got my final funding offer today!  Funny because I was so anxious about it this morning.  I will be accepting my admission to UC San Diego!  I'm very excited.  It's my top choice and it's a great school and my POI is someone I really admire.  
 
I still haven't heard anything one way or the other from UC Riverside.  Do you guys think I should email them and say "forget it, I've chosen another school," or just wait and see what happens?  I would hate it if they accepted me and it took a spot away from someone else.  

anthropologygeek - that makes perfect sense, actually.  I agree!

Got my final funding offer today!  Funny because I was so anxious about it this morning.  I will be accepting my admission to UC San Diego!  I'm very excited.  It's my top choice and it's a great school and my POI is someone I really admire.  
 
I still haven't heard anything one way or the other from UC Riverside.  Do you guys think I should email them and say "forget it, I've chosen another school," or just wait and see what happens?  I would hate it if they accepted me and it took a spot away from someone else.  

Got my final funding offer today!  Funny because I was so anxious about it this morning.  I will be accepting my admission to UC San Diego!  I'm very excited.  It's my top choice and it's a great school and my POI is someone I really admire.  
 
I still haven't heard anything one way or the other from UC Riverside.  Do you guys think I should email them and say "forget it, I've chosen another school," or just wait and see what happens?  I would hate it if they accepted me and it took a spot away from someone else.  

Got my final funding offer today!  Funny because I was so anxious about it this morning.  I will be accepting my admission to UC San Diego!  I'm very excited.  It's my top choice and it's a great school and my POI is someone I really admire.  
 
I still haven't heard anything one way or the other from UC Riverside.  Do you guys think I should email them and say "forget it, I've chosen another school," or just wait and see what happens?  I would hate it if they accepted me and it took a spot away from someone else.  

Got my final funding offer today!  Funny because I was so anxious about it this morning.  I will be accepting my admission to UC San Diego!  I'm very excited.  It's my top choice and it's a great school and my POI is someone I really admire.  
 
I still haven't heard anything one way or the other from UC Riverside.  Do you guys think I should email them and say "forget it, I've chosen another school," or just wait and see what happens?  I would hate it if they accepted me and it took a spot away from someone else.  

Everyone has different priorities. The fact is that some people going into grad school don't have any money. For some people, including myself, funding is the only way they can attend graduate school at all. In my situation, I would not choose between funding and fit. It is both or it is nothing.

Of course everyone wants to give themselves the best possible chance of success after graduate school, and for many people funding is a huge part of that because it enables you to focus on school, not have to get an outside job, and not have to go into more debt that you will have to repay later. But no matter how amazing the fit is or how prestigious the department, there is never any guarantee that you will get an amazing, highly paid job afterward. So you really have to think about how important fit AND funding are.

If you have the financial ability to go to your dream program without any guaranteed funding, go for it. But everyone has different life circumstances so this questions of funding vs. fit completely depends on the individual.

You will hopefully be applying for external funding for research no matter what kind of funding package you're offered, so I don't think that receiving funding is in any way related to an inability to learn to apply for outside funds. Especially if you have received a fellowship - which you do have to apply for separately most of the time.

Everyone has different priorities. The fact is that some people going into grad school don't have any money. For some people, including myself, funding is the only way they can attend graduate school at all. In my situation, I would not choose between funding and fit. It is both or it is nothing.

Of course everyone wants to give themselves the best possible chance of success after graduate school, and for many people funding is a huge part of that because it enables you to focus on school, not have to get an outside job, and not have to go into more debt that you will have to repay later. But no matter how amazing the fit is or how prestigious the department, there is never any guarantee that you will get an amazing, highly paid job afterward. So you really have to think about how important fit AND funding are.

If you have the financial ability to go to your dream program without any guaranteed funding, go for it. But everyone has different life circumstances so this questions of funding vs. fit completely depends on the individual.

You will hopefully be applying for external funding for research no matter what kind of funding package you're offered, so I don't think that receiving funding is in any way related to an inability to learn to apply for outside funds. Especially if you have received a fellowship - which you do have to apply for separately most of the time.

Everyone has different priorities. The fact is that some people going into grad school don't have any money. For some people, including myself, funding is the only way they can attend graduate school at all. In my situation, I would not choose between funding and fit. It is both or it is nothing.

Of course everyone wants to give themselves the best possible chance of success after graduate school, and for many people funding is a huge part of that because it enables you to focus on school, not have to get an outside job, and not have to go into more debt that you will have to repay later. But no matter how amazing the fit is or how prestigious the department, there is never any guarantee that you will get an amazing, highly paid job afterward. So you really have to think about how important fit AND funding are.

If you have the financial ability to go to your dream program without any guaranteed funding, go for it. But everyone has different life circumstances so this questions of funding vs. fit completely depends on the individual.

You will hopefully be applying for external funding for research no matter what kind of funding package you're offered, so I don't think that receiving funding is in any way related to an inability to learn to apply for outside funds. Especially if you have received a fellowship - which you do have to apply for separately most of the time.

That's awesome! Congratulations xstopfloating! So happy for you

Sarab I secretly hope you end up in San Diego so we can be there together. Go for the good weather!!!

Sarab I secretly hope you end up in San Diego so we can be there together. Go for the good weather!!!