a fragrant plant

To protect my privacy I will not describe in details how my adviser bullies me. Generally speaking, this adviser wants me to do a lot of unpaid work and treats me like a slave. This adviser is very well known for his/her difficult personality in and outside the department so I know that if one day I break down and make a complaint, most people will understand and be sympathetic to my situation. I'm just not sure how it will affect my PhD career. I enjoy doing my PhD but this adviser makes me sick. The advice I got from my colleagues/friends/families are the following: be firm and be clear about your boundary, but don't get caught up in the details and don't ever go into an argument, just be composted, firm and professional because I feel that my adviser likes to provoke me and push the boundary. I am a hot-headed and direct person so it's really hard for me to stay calm when someone is so disrespectful and so manipulating. Can anyone share their experiences of dealing with a bully adviser? Thanks in advance!

as topic.

Hi Brownbear, I'll be in St Cross too. I found St Cross' accommodation quite expensive (£480-£600/pm); considering that even the 1** rooms are not ensuite. I've applied to college accommodation but am also actively looking at private let. Please PM me if you are considering sharing a flat.

How can anyone miss the mentalist? Simon baker rocks!

I'm actively searching for fundings, big or small, to enable me to take up my study in the United Kingdom. Do you know of any website that lists all available scholarships/grants for graduate students in the United Kingdom?

I applied by the November deadline and I didn't hear the result till the end of Jan - two weeks after the decision deadline. Departments don't stick to the guided deadline, apparently. Hope you'll hear soon.

I am not a drinker either. I just don't like the bitter taste of alcohol. Having said that, I do like Kopparberg's pear cider or elderflower cider. Their ciders don't have the bitter taste of alcohol. It's actually more like soda. You can try it out next time you're in IKEA

I think next week is too soon. When I learned that my colleague has just lost her mother, I gave her space and did the job myself. I waited till she was well enough to email me. I understand that you're anxious, but I think your LOR would really appreciate that you give her some space and time during this difficult time. The deadline is May 5. You still have plenty of time. If your LOR is an organized person, she shouldn't have any problem to write up something when you ask again in mid April. You can also send her a sympathy card to give her your condolence. While you're not asking for a letter directly, the card will, hopefully, reminds her of your existence.

You're NOT garbage! Graduate admission is so much more competitive these days! As a fellow of this forum rightly pointed out, nearly every graduate in anthropology would try to get into grad school. Unfortunately, there are only 5-6 (sometimes fewer) new spaces in a department! I only had one offer when I applied in 2010. This year, knowing from previous experience that graduate admission is extremely competitive in the U.S, I decided to widen my choices and applied to a few decent programs in my home country. It was one of the best decisions I've made. Even with a much better SOP I didn't get into my dream schools in the US. Just like last year I was told that that I was one of their finalists, but in the end I was put to the rejection piles. All I am trying to say is that you're not worthless. Graduate admission is completely arbitrary. Please don't lose hope, I hope you'll hear some good news from Montana and W&M.

Hello Anthroman, may I ask which college you belong to (you may PM me)? I asked because my college requested me to prove that I have three years instead of two years of fund to study at Oxford!!! I'm a UK student so I don't know if that makes a difference. Are you UK or international?

It's extremely difficult to get in to graduate school these days because more and more undergraduates opt to go straight into grad school. Yet I won't lose hope if anthropology is what you want to do for your career. I agree that whilst Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico are not highly ranked nationally, they are good programs for anthropology (especially archaeology). Arizona, in particular, is very competitive. I am also told that getting a MA first increases your chances of being accepted onto a PhD program. There are many ways of doing it, please don't lose hope.

Hello Irishscientist, may I ask whom you spoke to in the department of anthropology (you may PM me, thanks)? Obviously the ESRC studentship is extremely competitive, but when I spoke to my supervisor two weeks ago she did not mention anything like "there is almost no chance of funding". By the way, did you apply to the MPhil or the PhD program? Also, what's an internal candidate? Did you mean that they're going to give it to someone who's upgrading from a MPhil to a DPhil?

No offense, but I honestly think that you may want to expand your reading lists so that you will recognise more names OUTSIDE the United States. Seriously, you have never heard of professor Tim Ingold (Aberdeen)? You don't know who David Graeber is (Goldsmith, previously at Yale)? You have never come across professor Keith Hart (Goldsmith)? They are some of the most influential anthropologists of our age and their work are heavily cited around the world! I very much agree with you that the U.S. is currently the centre of anthropological research. However, this does not mean that anthropologists from elsewhere are producing less valuable work. If, as you claimed, most students can only identify US scholars, I will be very worried about the future of our discipline.

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Thanks! Does the new version of Kindle have real page number for books as well as pdf? Is is easier to read PDF file on Kindle DX because of the bigger screen? (The screen of Kindle DX is 2.5 times bigger than the original Kindle)