Forsaken in LA

I know this is a bit early to start a discussion on this, but I thought since some people are preparing for applications now it would be a great time to talk to other people drudging through the same thing.  I thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves talking about our area of interests, where we want to apply to, and where you're at in preparing for grad school.  Maybe this will give other people the ideas of what they should be preparing for as well.
 
I guess I'll start since I'm the one starting the thread.  
 
I've done quite a bit to prepare myself for grad school.  I've been on a research project with two of my department's professors, one of which is my advisor, but I've recently dropped out of doing it because I'm also starting my senior thesis this summer.  I am working on a thesis, by my own choosing, on a subject that is interesting to me.  I'm looking at prison records at two of our penitentiaries from the 1918 influenza pandemic and seeing how the flu affected the prison's population and hopefully how they differed since they are different types of prisons.
 
I am finishing my BA in the 2014-15 school year and will be graduating Spring 2015 with a major in anthropology and a double minor in classical civilizations and history.  My main area of interest is in Roman bioarchaeology.  I want to learn more about the health of the general population, not just the aristocracy.  I think gladiatorial health would be interesting to learn about because we mostly hear about how they died, mostly in combat, but we don't hear much about the diseases that some of them might have had.  But along with that, I'm also interested in a paleopathological analysis of the Mediterranean area as a whole.  Part of my interest lies in the bubonic plague/black death and I'm interested in how the Italian strain of it is different than the London strain, not just the 14th century plague, but also the plague of Justinian (6th century CE) as well.
 
I'm actually planning on applying to quite a few schools, approximately 10, so I'm hoping my recommenders don't mind.  :/  I just want to keep my options open and have a better chance of getting into a good program that offers funding.  Masters only schools: University of West Florida, University of Central Florida, and East Carolina University.  PhD schools: University of South Florida, University of South Carolina, Michigan State University, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Notre Dame, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Durham University, McMaster University, and Edinburgh University.  Told you a lot of schools.  
 
Currently, I'm just studying for the GRE, I plan on taking it in July or early August before fall semester starts.  This will give me time to retake it if I really need/want to.  I've already talked to a couple recommenders and asked if they'd be willing to write some when classes start up again and I told them I'd ask again once fall semester started.  I've also been in contact with a couple POIs, some via email and some at national conferences.  I plan on going to a total of 3 conferences this year so I can network a little more.  Starting next week I'm also going to start writing my SoPs.  I want to give myself time to work on them before classes start again so all I have to do is touch them up a little bit later.  
 
Sorry for such a long thread but I rarely post on here and thought it would be nice for us all to talk about our interests and where they are eventually leading us in our future endeavors.  

Now since I will be graduating in a week, I am signing off for good. Everyone here have been great and I hope I have helped a few. Also, if I've helped you please repay me by helping future grad cafers. I feel this is a community for graduate students and since I'm no longer a grad student and will be accepting my first ever batch of grad students come January, I would feel like I would be spying if I came on here. The grad cafe has helped/fueled my anxiety while applying years ago and I have received great advice. May the luck forever be in everyone's favor moving forward. One exception of coming on, I will come back in February if I remember and explain the method of how grad students are accepted at my hopefully forever university.

Congrats Nosleep! I'll be applying there after my MA! 

I'm not in anthropology but I have the same worries. My plan is that I will only stay in this as long as it is fun and I still think I am doing the right thing. I figure that the long track of an academic career is only worth it if you can get out whenever you find a better opportunity or decide that this path isn't providing the right opportunities any more. For me, this started with selecting PhD programs--my plan was to not even go to a PhD program if I could not get accepted by a program that I really fit well with. Right now, I will be ready to quit my PhD program if I ever felt that it's no longer worth it to do a PhD. At the postdoc stage, I'm not really willing to move my family (it's only 2 now but could be more by this time) all over the world for a bunch of 2 year stints that might not go anywhere--so if I don't get postdocs that will lead anywhere, I would be ready to leave academia. 
 
In short, what gets me through these worries is to take it one step at a time. Doing a PhD doesn't mean I am locking myself in academia for 10 more years (phd+postdocs)--it gives me relief to know that I can leave whenever I need/want to.

Hi Forsaken,
 
I applied to masters programs only because i need that help and transition to my PhD in order to narrow down my specific research interest...I love history and could study so many different time periods!

Congrats Nosleep! I'll be applying there after my MA! 

Thank you, I'm beyond scared AND excited!

Was getting down to the wire there, but I've officially accepted the offer from Stanford! So excited :-D

Are you saying that your program has a 100% placement rate to TT positions for it's graduates? That's spectacular! Pm me the school please, I should like to verify this.

congrats daykid! I'm thinking of applying after I get my MA.  Put in a good word! 

CUNY it is!

CUNY Hunter is in the neighborhood that I call home! Send a PM my way if you have any questions.

Hello again, everyone. Sorry I haven't been on in a while; things have been very busy. Today I received an update from two universities. Here are the final results for all the ones I applied to:
 
1. Purdue- Rejected.
2. SIUC- Accepted. Will be attending.
3. CWU- Accepted. Appears I got off the waitlist. 
4. California State University at Northridge- Accepted.
 
I'll be sending out emails to CWU and CSUN to let them know that I am declining their offers. Hope this helps someone! 

Hey guys! I've finally been accepted to a doctoral program!
 
CUNY accepted me this morning. Now I have some serious decisions to make.

Hi all,
 
I'm a graduating Draper student starting a PhD this fall. Just posted this overview of the program before I saw this thread. Feel free to PM me with questions.
 

PM me if you have specific questions regarding Draper. 

Congrats Sarab!  San Diego is such an amazing city as well! 

OK, San Diego it is! Michigan is a great department, but when it was time to decide I really needed to take into account not only research fit, but also adviser relationship fit and just my overall well-being and comfort level in the department. Plus, my husband will have more opportunities there, and I really needed to think of him as well.
 
Good luck to everyone!

congrats on that!

Just chiming in to say that you do not need to be enrolled or even affiliated with a program to get some of these. I applied for Ford Pre-Doctoral and received an Honorable Mention last week, which puts me in a better position to get the actual fellowship next year once I am in fact enrolled this fall.

Hm...at least as far as I know (only the STS people in Draper, I don't know any of the other subject groups) nobody applied to anthro.  Across what I can remember there were applications to rhetoric, sociology, history of science, history and philosophy.  On the other hand, I know someone in the 2013 anthro cohort at NYU that came out of the NYU Latin American/Caribbean MA, so make of that what you will.  Draper is technically headed by an anthropologist (Nagle) so that is a plus, but I think an area studies degree will probably go further for you. 

Last week was Spring Break guys.
 
Hang in there!

I meant to respond to this earlier...
 
UCLA was on spring break last week. Professors have been very busy the last two weeks with the flurry of activity that comes at the end of the quarter - making exams, finishing grading, finalizing their teaching plans for spring, etc. This week is the first week of spring classes, and that is a very hectic time as well. Professors are busy people. It doesn't help that major conferences like the SAA, ARCE, AAPA, etc. are right around the corner. 
 
As for your last question, I doubt many people have a clear first choice and decide right away. Choosing a graduate program is a very serious thing, and one should take one's time doing so, as annoying as it may be to others. Some people are still visiting their choices and deciding between them. Other students may be waiting to hear back from the waitlist of *their* top choices; it is often a domino effect. 

As much as I love Draper, you're right regarding expenses.  Living in NYC is hugely expensive and there's no way around that fact.  I'd take the year at Chicago for half off.  There are way less opportunities for Draper students to fund their own studies (no TA/RA, for example) and some of the areas of study are larger and thus students have to fight harder for resources.  You can always apply to be in NY for the PhD after your MA from Chicago. 

congrats all!
 
 
 
I kinda just wanted my 200th post...