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MPollywog

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  • Interests
    Archaeology
  • Application Season
    2014 Fall

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  1. Just found out I got rejected from Harvard via an email from my POI. The archaeology applicants who were accepted have already been notified, I don't know about the other subdisciplines. Sorry guys
  2. I'm in the same boat. I can't concentrate on anything. I'm waiting on one school and if I get in I'll be moving across the country from my boyfriend and my family. Not knowing what I'm going to be doing with my life six months from now is really starting to wear on me. We're stuck in graduate admissions limbo.
  3. I wrote a thank you email to one of the POIs I interviewed with. He sent me one back wishing me a good spring semester. I think it's a nice gesture.
  4. Colorless - I haven't heard anything new from the POI I've been in contact with since my interview. I was told that the professors (I'm not sure if Harvard has an official admissions committee) were meeting around the end of January and that I should probably find out in mid-February. The POI I spoke with didn't know the exact admissions schedule and was just estimating when things would be sent out, so it may take longer. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. I'll let you know if I hear anything.
  5. THIS. I had to bug multiple people repeatedly for the first semester of my MA before I got a TA position. Even with the TA position and a couple of grants it has still been a serious monetary investment. I think it was worth it. I've learned a ton, I've gotten to travel to South Africa and Botswana, I got to lead an excavation of a Later Stone Age campsite in South Africa, and I've met a lot of people who will be good contacts to have in the future. Also, if I don't end up getting into a PhD program and have to fall back on doing CRM, I'll be able to get a higher paying, more stable job. The experience is definitely what you make it. If you don't try you won't succeed. If you work hard and seek out opportunities I think it can be very beneficial. Also, my advisor is awesome so that REALLY helps. I wouldn't have applied to PhD programs if he hadn't encouraged me to. If possible I would recommend trying to work with someone that you feel very comfortable and relaxed with.
  6. I started out doing classical archaeology through the art history department at my undergraduate university. I did my field school at an Etruscan sanctuary near Florence. After completing my BA and doing CRM for a couple of years I decided to go back to school and get my MA with my thesis focused on the Later Stone Age of southern Africa. So now my major interests are the MSA and LSA of southern and east Africa and the effects of climate change on cultural and technological evolution, specifically around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum.
  7. Hey KingScilla, I'm in the last semester of my MA at Texas State right now. Let me know if you have any questions about the program!
  8. UT Austin. I was told as soon as I got there that they didn't have the money to fund me but that I could attend if I got outside funding. Oh well!
  9. For the interview I had an in person I went with "snappy casual". I wore some nice jeans tucked into boots with a cute sweater but dressing up a bit more couldn't hurt. In my experience anthropologists are pretty open minded when it comes to fashion so I wouldn't worry about it too much. You may want to look up pictures of the individuals you're going to be interviewing with to get a gauge for how formal they are.
  10. First off, the anthropology department at UT recently moved into a new building and the facilities are SUPER nice. I took a tour in December and was thoroughly impressed. I live in the Austin area and really like it. It's not like any other city in Texas. A lot of people refer to it as an island of blue in a sea of red because most people here are very liberal. The median age is about 30 so people are very active both physically and socially. Pretty much every weekend there is some kind of festival, themed 5k run, parade, or other event going on. There's a wide variety of live music every single night. The Mexican martinis are to die for and if you move here you'll be addicted to breakfast tacos within a month (it's a good thing). South Congress and Rainey Street are both fun places for the over-22 and under-35 crowd. They're both streets full of fun bars and restaurants. Sixth Street is supposedly the Bourbon Street of Austin but it's mostly college kids and tourists getting wasted and stumbling around. If you're looking for some good people watching it's the place to go on Halloween and other party-oriented holidays. The Austin City Limits music festival is alright but South by Southwest is awesome. It's a week and a half long event that takes over most of the city and is centered around new technology (there are a bunch of trade shows and exhibits for new gadgets), movies (a lot of movies premier or have early showings during SXSW), and live music (hundreds of bands play at different venues). Passes are pretty expensive but there are tons of things you can get into for free. Every time I've gone I haven't had any problem finding places with free drinks, food, and music. There are multiple farmers markets that go on throughout the week, compared to the rest of Texas Austinites are really into healthy living. Zilker Park is a fun place to hang out during the 9 months of summer that we get down here. It's situated right on the river and you can rent canoes and kayaks or go stand up paddle boarding or swimming. Adult sports teams are fairly prevalent too. There's even an adult ski ball league. Since this is your first time going to Austin you may want to see the bats at the Congress St. bridge, it's kind of touristy but it's pretty cool. The cost of living is relatively cheap compared to the rest of the country. Gas, food, and rent is all pretty inexpensive compared to what I've seen in the northeast. One thing that catches people off guard is that we have 8.25% sales tax. However, there is no state income tax. It's a big, sprawling city so it helps to have a car if you live here. I love living in central Texas area. The Hill Country is only about an hour away and full of historic little towns with wineries, breweries, and amazing barbecue. If you like being outside, drinking Mexican martinis, and eating awesome food then I think you'll like it here just fine.
  11. Well damn. My advisor is the one who told me to send the POI a thank you email. I don't think the POI would have replied, especially in such a nice way, if he had found it annoying. However, we had spoken over the phone two weeks ago so it's not like I was contacting him out of the blue. I'm not going to stress out about it. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would completely discount me over a two sentence email.
  12. I think if you send a polite, concise email it won't come off as intrusive. Yesterday, at the recommendation of my advisor, I emailed a POI that I had an interview with a couple of weeks ago and just said thanks for talking to me. My email was only a couple of sentences long and the POI sent me a friendly little email back. Email and let them know that you're a finalist for that scholarship, it can't hurt. You could also just email them and say something along the lines of "Thank you for taking the time to correspond with me concerning my application to _____ University. I appreciate your help and guidance. I hope your semester is off to a great start! Best wishes, NOWAYNOHOW". As long as you're not repeatedly badgering them or blatantly asking if you've been admitted I think you'll be fine. I don't think there's a right or wrong way to interact with POIs, you don't need to overthink it. At this point in the game I think a little reminder that you still exist can only work in your favor.
  13. Letmein14 - I spoke with a professor from Harvard at the beginning of this month and he already had a copy of my application. I don't know if the whole department had already started looking at applications or if he decided to on his own accord, but I know they've all had access to our applications since the end of December.
  14. Letmein14 - I have no idea about Yale but I was told that Harvard will be meeting at the end of this month. I was given the impression that admissions are determined more by individual professors as opposed to a whole admissions committee. The person I spoke with didn't know exactly when admissions notifications will be sent out but I'm assuming it will be around mid-February.
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