alexis

I think I'm one of "them" too--I was worried that I might be annoying with my blog--but never posted "what are my chances" posts. (Is it just me or do international students do that more? They post once, expecting us to be the all-knowing experts.)

Haha yeah I had to google it too at first, you make a good point. (I assume the rest of this statement is the type of thing said on the law school boards...in which case, I'm glad I never applied to law school!)

I completely agree with you, that's why I like this forum. I was feeling fairly confident until I went onto some other boards that convinced me I needed a near-perfect GRE quantitative score to get into my programs. Then I realized it consists of mostly of people who really have no idea what they're talking about, they're not on adcoms, but they speak with an air of authority. THAT'S annoying. I'll take the positivity & encouragement I see on here (and the YMMV qualifications of course!) any day.

I found this article really interesting. It rang true to me. I went to a "public ivy" for undergrad, and while it wasn't Yale, there are a LOT of things my school shares in common with it. (E.g., everyone dressing the exact same? Check. Rich kids/exclusive admissions/sense of entitlement? Check.) It makes me realize that I am A: kind of the type of student who he describes, who cares about getting As, and wants success for success' sake, even if it's something I don't particularly enjoy. But I'm also B: genuinely interested in intellectual thought--and if I don't get accepted to the PhD programs that I'm applying to, that doesn't make me any less smart, motivated, or able. The article was a good reminder and wake-up call that we cannot find our value from test scores, grades, the type of school we go to, or how much money we make. It was a good thing for me to read while stressing out about this application process. (BTW, I'm not applying in the humanities, but I'm hijacking ya'll's thread I was a history major in undergrad, so I kind of qualify)

I agree with the above; I don't think it makes one seem unfocused by applying to two different programs within the same school, particularly if they're in interdisciplinary fields. (Or we can hope that the two different colleges within the same institution don't communicate )

Did you read 2-3 papers written by each of those professors to prepare, or were they other papers in your area of interest?

I agree with removing the "childlike" part, which you've already done. But otherwise, I don't see a problem with your ending; I also kind of like the two part aspect of your second statement, if you could reword it, I think it would be good. You could talk about how your interests/experiences and commitment to research in anthropology would make you an asset to the program, or something along those lines. One of my friends currently getting her PhD in Neuroscience told me the SOP is basically telling them "how you want to go to their school so badly that your life depends on it." That would be great if someone wrote that. "If you don't accept me to your Oh Holy Awesomeness program, my life will be ruined!!"

For those of you who've been on interviews, how in detail are they? I generally do quite well on interviews, I'm articulate, friendly, etc. But I still feel like a total impostor when it comes to research--while I can explain the research I've done/am interested in, I still feel a bit "green" and worried they'll ask a bunch of in-depth questions and I'll freak out. What kind of questions did you guys get asked?

I don't think there is much basis other than some kind of "gut" feeling based on prestige of programs/perceived fit/etc...and trying to guess helps ease the crazy uncertainty we will be facing over the next few months. It's nice to think we have some sort of knowledge on our chances--and can make sense out of the nonsensical--even if in reality, we have absolutely no clue what will happen

Also applying to social psych programs, one school for organizational psychology, another in the research area of the effects of emotions on decision making.

Ha I did the same thing, and am also feeling that way! Although I do think it is possible we might hear back sooner than expected, and possibly around the same time as the December deadlines...our applications might be reviewed earlier than others, and since the December programs don't meet until after winter break, the difference might be moot. I was told by my one program with a Jan 15 that my application was complete and it would be reviewed in January when the admissions committee "first officially meets," which leads me to believe they may look at some before all arrive. Who knows though

I like to try and tell myself they don't post the average GRE scores because they aren't super high (and only the top programs who are really competitive like to brag about it), and most schools care more about other parts of the application...no idea if it's true, but makes me feel better about my chances!

I'm so mad at myself, I meant to buy cookie mix at the store tonight and make them to give to my LOR writers tomorrow along with a thank you note (it's the last day of classes tomorrow). And...I forgot. Oh well, guess it's just a thank you note

I thought one grade was by the computer, one by a human? Then I think it only goes to a second human if there is a disparity in the grade (not sure how big the difference has to be). It sure would be good to know what that grading algorithm is though...

One of my apps said "less than 1,000 words and 5,000 characters." My total was 950 words or so, and it was under 5,000 characters without spaces, and over 5,000 characters with spaces...so I think they mean without spaces. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense to me how I could be under their word limit and over their character limit if they were supposed to be generally equivalent.

I was an officer in the military for a few years, up until recently, now I'm doing the full-time student thing and working part-time doing HR consultant work, which was a sweet gig I got through one of my professors. (Bonus to going into my field of study = lots of side consulting gigs out there!)

Liking this thread! I wish I could get into coffee for the boost, but I hate it for some reason. I'm on this crappy diet (for medical reasons, long story) where I'm not supposed to have any sugar, caffeine, alcohol, wheat, etc. I do sneak in a glass of wine occasionally, and eat a lot of sugar-free chocolate. Other than that, I drink a lot of water...lame.

I'm not sure where I read this, may have been on various forums, so take this with a grain of salt, but I don't think many applicants have much success when their AW is rescored. It would look bad on ETS if they changed those scores much, so it would take a pretty blatant mistake on their part probably to change the score.

You're right, my concern is not the GPA issue. Just wondering if there is a standard unwritten rule about this (do most people send updated transcripts, or only those who need to in regards to increasing GPA etc, case-by-case basis, etc). P.S. Not sure if it makes a difference, but I need all the help I can get...my GRE scores (specifically quant) are low for the programs I want to go to, so not sure if another semester of good grades--especially since I took the spring off (last grades are from Dec 08)--might help in some small way.

I think this has been touched upon some (particularly for students whose records have improved, e.g.,with midterm grades), but I wasn't sure what the standard protocol was, or if it's important to contact all the schools to find out. I should get my transcripts for the fall semester by around Christmas time. I was thinking of sending out an updated official transcript (fortunately my grad school sends them for free) to all my programs, even though some deadlines will have passed. They already have my current transcripts; my application is complete, I just starting thinking that if they don't look at the application until the new year, they might like current grades. If they don't end up looking at them, it's not a big deal. I currently have a 3.98, and I expect to do quite well this semester too. It could only add that little additional information, just to say "FYI, I've also taken these grad courses that are relevant to the subject I'd be studying at your PhD program, and I did well in them." (Although the programs did already know they are in progress.) It's not a situation where I need my application to include these grades; it probably wouldn't have a huge bearing on my chances. Does anyone know if it's a good or bad idea to send updated transcripts after the deadline?

That is so awesome, congrats! It must be such a relief to not only know you're pretty much accepted, but also that you would love it there.

Agreed, it's definitely program specific--I'm assuming, though, that this particular program likes you to contact professors, or it wouldn't ask the question. Maybe it would, but that would seem really weird to me. We would need to know the OP's program to know for sure though

I'm not applying to Yale, and I could be completely wrong with this, but I think they're asking who've you have contacted within your program of study. I.e., someone you might want to work with. I have a friend applying to PhD programs who had one school ask her this as well--she is a bit worried because she hadn't contacted anyone yet (as of Dec 1). You *could* list this other professor whom you know, but I don't think that's what they are getting at. The "concerning your application" is the key phrase. If you haven't contacted anyone in the program that you would like to work with, I would advise that you just go ahead and email them (and ask the standard questions, such as their research interests/little info about you, and if they are taking on new advisees). Even if they don't reply- technically you still "contacted" them, and it might look bad if you haven't reached out to anyone.

I'll be 26, same as greentpointgrad and peanuttheanthro. I agree with both of you that it feels like the right/perfect time in my life to start a PhD program.

I'm currently a master's student at a Catholic university, but I'm atheist. While the crucifix is in EVERY classroom (seriously, just that, they apparently couldn't invest in putting clocks in as well), I don't see religion really playing a role, apart from there being a lot of emails from Father something-or-other and a higher prevalence of Catholic students. Most of my professors and classmates are Protestant or "other" (my guess is more like me, or agnostic, but not sure), and the religious thing really isn't an issue at all. Everyone is pretty "normal." I went there because it's a quality program, and I'm very happy with my decision. Granted, I'm an advocate of public schools and really don't like the religious affiliation that a lot of private schools have, but...eh, it isn't such a big deal.