dtpowis

Yes! Exactly. I just really don't want to get my hopes up. I'd rather be dense to all the signs than assume it's a sure thing.

I've been officially rejected my Emory. So that's cool.

Last time I saw my POI from one school, I told her that I was interested in adding an STS bit to my proposed research, and I wondered what she thought. She said I should absolutely add that to my research and my SOP, because they plan on hiring a new STS person in the coming year. I asked about whether or not I would be able to leave during candidacy to get an MPH and come back. She said, "By the time you start, we'll have a partnership with the Department of Public Health, so you can take classes there." She and I worked on a paper together last year. Over the summer, we were doing research so we never really talked. At the end of the summer, she emailed me (knowing that I was interested in applying) to say, "I'm sorry we haven't talked! I want you to know that I'm not like this as an advisor!" How do I not interpret these things as "realistic hope?" She has practically said everything, except for "You're in!" But...as we say...(you know the words, everyone now): We'll just have to see.

Some more: Is there opportunity to study abroad? (It's kind of rare, but some schools do. The school with which I'm interviewing has partnerships with EHESS in Paris and UvA in Amsterdam, and they've already told me that if I want [if I'm admitted, of course], I could spend a semester learning theory at either of those schools.) Are there opportunities to do interdisciplinary research with other colleges? (Colleges on campus, that is. For example, as a medical anthropology student, can I go propose research to the school of public health, or are they not receptive to interdisciplinary work? At my undergrad school, the anthropology department didn't get along with the biology department, so there was a substantial loss of opportunity for students that wanted to combine the two and be well-rounded.) Are there opportunities to take courses at other institutions in the area? (I don't know about Austin, but there are some cities [boston, Cleveland, St. Louis, Pittburgh] where there are many universities, and in some places there are consortium agreements that enable students to take courses at those universities if they wish.) You kind of want to put them in a position where they have to defend their school/program to you. Remember: You're there to scrutinize them as much as they are scrutinizing you. If you made the first cut, you're already in a position to put them on the defensive, and it'll remind them that you're serious and that these are things you care about. My two cents.

Awesome idea! I have an interview January 31 with a POI that I've already met and interviewed, but here are some good questions that I've asked in the past: What is funded? Is there funding for conference travel? Is there funding for summer research? What is the stipend? Is that paid out over 8-9 months or 12 months? Is health care covered or does it come out of the stipend? Does that cover the academic school year or 12 months? Who owns the research, the school or the student? How many students do you have/advise? For MA/PhD programs: Is there a thesis or a non-thesis? How does this program define "non-thesis?" Will I have the opportunity to teach? When can I begin teaching? If I bring an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, will I still be able to teach? (Teaching is very important to me.) What kind of activities are there for anthropology students? Is there a student group? What do they do? (Travel to conferences? Go to meetings? Screen films? Create cultural awareness? etc.) A question for graduate students: What do you wish you had known, coming into this program? The question I always end my interviews with: What book(s) are you reading right now? (It's part of why my stack of unread books is so tall.) I'll think of more, I'm sure.

One of my best friends in undergrad was the laziest son-of-a-bitch that I ever knew. His personal mantra was, "I don't do homework unless it's Sunday." He did the absolute minimum to get a 4.0. He never had interest in presenting research (let alone doing research), he never went to lectures at the museum, he never attended meetings of our student group. He barely made it to the national conferences with us where he used his super drinking powers to network and make connections. Despite all of this, a top ten R1 school gave him a full ride for his MA and PhD. (Oh, the devilish smile on his face when he got that letter. What a bastard.) I think you'll be fine. You just have to make up for shortcomings in other ways. Usually that means writing a very strong SOP.

I PM'd you.

P.S. I've tried getting into video games that I've had to ignore for the last four years. I gave myself wholeheartedly to Skyrim - the game that everyone warned, "I hope you don't have a job or a family before you start," - but I was bored after about a week. I'm just antsy, I think. Maybe once I get this interview out of the way, I'll be able to focus. (Here's hopin'!)

I'm actually trying to focus my efforts into reading this stack of books that I've been wanting to read for a while now, and I'm having the hardest time focusing on one thing. On the one hand, I want to read something out of pure curiosity (untethered from academic obligations or pursuit), on the other hand I want to read something that will keep me well informed before I start graduate school, and on this bizarre third hand, I want to read something that I can somehow tie into my grad school interview next week. I also need to be working on two separate conference papers that are only slightly related. Anyway, I'm finding myself somewhat paralyzed with indecision, and what I really hate about this strange predicament is that I feel like I'm pissing away the most freedom I'm going to see for the next decade or more. At least I've effectively divorced myself from the television.

I binge-watched The Wire in the first two weeks of the year. It's pretty much ruined television for me - I just can't take anything else seriously after that. Fringe was fantastic though.

I specifically calculated this for one particular school. I won an award from a national organization in 2012 and was asked to choose a mentor with whom I would like to write a paper. I specifically chose the woman that I knew would be my POI at the one school, and we've talked and worked together since. Now, it's not so weird for us to talk during the admissions process. Of the other six schools, three POIs never emailed me back when I first expressed interest in applying, so they won't be getting emails during the admissions process anyway. I'll leave the last three POIs alone (though I should have emailed them "Thanks" after meeting with them at AAA in November, and I totally forgot - now it's a little late).

Congratulations! Still waiting patiently for mine.

Yep. Definitely made a Gantt chart of expected admissions decisions based on reported dates on TheGradCafe, too. The next day, a program contacted me for an interview that, according to my chart, shouldn't have contacted me for another two weeks. The chart means nothing now. :/

Someone here on the fora said they had been asked to submit a writing sample to Emory in the first week of January because, as they explained, it was optional to submit during the application, and serious candidates who had not opted to submit a sample were being asked to, in order to be considered on "even ground" with those who had. I did not submit a sample back in October, and alas, I have not yet been asked to submit one, so I assume that I am not a finalist. We'll just have to wait and see.

Good call.

While we're on the topic, and I don't really want to start a whole new thread for this, let's talk about dress. If you've ever been to a meeting of the American Anthropological Association, you know that wearing a tie is faux pas. In fact, last November in Chicago, I just wanted to test that theory, so I wore a tie on the day I presented (so I had something of an excuse). I later met with a POI, and the first thing out of his mouth was, "So...a tie, huh?" I've done other less formal interviews with POIs too, but they were unofficial. I have an official interview in a couple weeks, not only with the POI, but faculty she believes will be interested in my work, and graduate students. (This is my first official interview with this school and POI but it's my third with them, total - so I have a history with them.) I realize that it's not AAA, but it is many of the same people that populate the AAA conference. I'm rather torn towards viewing this as a job interview though. Tie or no tie? Better yet: Business casual (i.e. dress pants, suit jacket, etc.) or academic (i.e. sweaters, slacks, etc.)?