coyabean

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I've got some nerve. But, I like to borrow worry and trouble. So, when should we expect notifications to start coming back? I had someone from IRT say that every year it gets earlier and last year she had some coming in by the end of December! My earliest preferred app deadline is November 1 so I cannot imagine they would make me wait until March or April...right? RIGHT?!

I noticed this as well! then my adviser mentioned that by the time something is published it has been years since the writer has focused on it. Again why contact is so important. You have no idea what people are into.

I have had a great run! I'm in anthro so whether one needs to identify a particular adviser varies by school, but with every school it is important that you "fit". So, it has been good. USC ROCKS! That's why theirs is the only non-anthro program I am applying to. I have talked to no fewer than three faculty members there and they all but invited me to apply. Carolina? Not so much. I got a courtesy phone chat with a cold fish thanks to my superstar advisers name. She all but told me not to bother. I mean she never even asked what I wanted to do! Bleh. I have a waiver so I'm still gonna, but it's no longer on my radar. I've had more than one really big name go out of their way to provide me information, names, programs, etc. One guy at Cornell was just incredible. I learn so much that isn't published. That's the real benefit. People tell you about funding, drama, strengths of focus and new directions of research.

Man, don't let something like that stop you! LOL I love it. THis process is making me the kind of crazy where everything is hilarious.

Yeah, I have it on my list. When I saw that date two weeks ago I emailed all my writers and asked them to crank me out just one copy and that the rest could wait until the end of the month. I just picked up a LOR today. Had to drive a city over to get it because I was scared the mail wouldn't get here in time. I would like to throw my hat in the Ford Diversity ring too but, gosh, I am soooooooooooo busy. 21 hours, 10 apps, my research job, etc. *sigh* Right now I'm just so damn tired. Maybe i'll get it together for one more major fellowship.

As do I! But some people are so sensitive.

It could be a holdover from my professional days but I am hard-wired to send my readers off with a "take-away" and to "ask for the business." In academic terms that means giving them one or two sentences that sums up how perfect we are for each other and then a non-aggressive and uncreepy request to join their academic community.

I'm sure you weren't trying to make me suicidal but too old at 28?!!!! Just shoot me now. I am 32 and I'm a woman. Theoretically I am now barreling head-first towards irrelevancy. Sooooo, yeah. :/ But I figured with good medicine and the history of all the octogenarians in my bloodline I stand to live at least two and a half lifetimes from here. So the question became what do I want those lives to look like? I have had a million jobs and they all had one thing in common: once they hired me because I could think they started paying me to not. I want at least one lifetime where I am paid to think. It really is as simple as that for me. If you can come up with a fairly straightforward motivation then I would say you are just OLD ENOUGH for this journey. LOL

Not a problem. I cannot tell you how many strangers have been generous with their time and resources with me. Paying it forward and all of that. You ask great questions! Dr. Price and I had several long chats. He seems to think the department wants to be sort of activist but they don't want to fully commit to it? Also, the distinctions are due to their paucity of biological experts, I think. And the lack of archeological resources in the area. However, like you I am very attracted to the IRA! That's Dr. Holland's specialty. I met with a grad student from there last week. She seems to like UNC and the area but she was a little less enthusiastic about the department. They have a lot of loners in the dept, as in students who are beyond coursework but are just kind of floating around. Dr. Price also made mention of this phenomenon. It leads me to believe that the commitment to mentoring and teaching isn't there? I don't know. I urge you visit and of course decide for yourself. I have a fee waiver so I"m applying regardless and getting in wouldn't be a hardship exactly. Again, I love the area. Just left from there getting chicken and beer, actually! LOL But I think the size of the department is not an asset in this instance. There doesn't seem to be any overriding leadership or a huge investment in the students.

I have 21 hours so that I can graduate in time to attend this as yet unrealized phd program I hope to be joining in the fall. When not in one of said 7 classes I am learning to write a grant by "practicing" on a half million dollar request in my research position and then there's the little matter of applying to ten schools. So, yes, overwhelmed applies. :? But, we do what we have to do, right? I have a master list on google docs not unlike the ones discussed above. They list due dates, any special requirements or requests, etc. I am also applying for the Javits and it's deadline is Oct 5th which really puts the rush on things. My earliest school app is due Nov 1st for "preferred consideration". And I retook the GRE today. My body is asking me in not so subtle ways is I am insane. I've fought off a sinus infection and all kinds of aches and pains. But I have been through worse. It's times like this that I'm grateful for the time I've served in cubicles. It helps me keep a perspective. My biggest issue is getting folks to do my LORs in a timely fashion. I created an online sharepoint for my letter writers and everything to try and make it as easy as possible and still I'm pretty sure none of them have gotten started!!! GAH! Myself I can depend upon. It's the other moving parts that are nerve racking.

Well, it looks like I found my tribe. Cultural Anthro; ten programs; 8 PhD, 2 MA. My list is in the sig. I am a non-trad student. Majored in ENG and PoliSci. My GPA is kind of a false low. I have a year of incompletes that I could not get off my transcript because it had been too long. So, a 2.9 at the time I apply. I'll probably be right at a 3.0 when I graduate. However, I have research experience, an article under review for publication and I'm currently writing a grant with a local research institute under my mentor -- it's my research question and i'm doing all the lit review. If all goes well I'll be a paid researcher with them in the fall. I did a 680V/360Q the first time. I retaking tomorrow after working through the quant books. We'll see. I'm not a spatial thinker and geometry is my achilles hell. But I figure if I just get close to 500 I'm ok. Thank goodness for verbal. I am interested in knowledge production in post-colonized cultures, particularly among ethnic minorities. Hi!

Let me just say that my superstar mentor insists that I discuss my poor GPA. He says that if he got a stellar packet and the GPA didn't jive the first thing he does is checks the SOP for an explanation. If there isn't one he assumes the applicant is trying to hide or gloss over something. I have addressed it thusly: My research interests are greatly influenced by both my own truncated college history and work experience as an administrator in proprietary or,

Same age and I feel you. The decision to return to school just gets more complicated with every year. My decision making process was both practical and spiritual. Practically speaking, I did not have children or a partner that I had I to consider. I had a job, not a career. I figured the economy was going to take every bit of 7 to 8 years to shake out and regain any kind of real growth. Spiritually, i decided that having a life filled with things that inspire me was more important than a job or stuff. When I was ready to let go of all of my attachments I knew I was finally ready for the journey. So, no one can say for sure when it is a good time to make that move. However, I do think it is should be a decision that is both practical and individually right for you on whatever deeper level you believe in. good luck.

I'm applying to UMASS-A's cultural anthro program for 2010. I'm taking a scouting trip up in mid October. Any suggestions for things to checkout? I'm into kitschky cool so the cornier the better. And does anyone suggest I rent a car for the three days I'll be there or can I scout out the town pretty well on bus?

I spent the summer there doing research and am planning to apply. I just spoke with several profs from there and it's...interesting. Dottie, Slocum and Price were all kind of interested and interesting, but Price said the department can be hegemonic. Slocum says it's doubled in size...but they're cutting admits damn near in half due to budget issues. The grad student list seems awfully long which suggests that folks kind of stall. It lacks some diversity and isn't well-funded. Having said that I LOVE Carolina. It's my kind of town. It's borderline hippie college chic, but I'm kind of into that. There is just enough diversity University-wide to be interesting. Horrific parking but free buses and an awesome cost of living.

This thread made me join this comm! I feel so alone on all of my online boards because of my horrendous GPA. The "Story": I have a ten year gap in my UG record. No real excuses. I was 17 when I started and now I'm not. That's it. No failing grades or anything but TWO semesters of incompletes and withdrawals which are calculated into my overall GPA. So, even though I've never earned less than a B, I have a 2.8 with 17 hours to go. But, at this point I'm too old to bother with transferring and too ready to move on with life now that I have a direction. I have done all I can to mitigate this. I got a research fellowship last summer which produced a publishable writing sample. I also earned two great LORs, one from an academic superstar who is, amazingly, totally on my team. My GRE is just ok 680v 340q 4.5writing. I'm retaking to see if I can work on that quant. This semester I'm working in the aforementioned superstar's research institute doing research and writing a grant! I've received great feedback from my SOPs. I'm applying to cultural anthro programs. Ten cultural anthro programs. :/ I'm trying to up my chances of an acceptance. So, this is me introducing myself, commiserating and soliciting feedback. Hi.