anthrogradhopes

Well, I haven't published an article yet (maybe next year, I have third-year undergrad standing), but I have done the rest. I mean, I'm sure just about every candidate has done something significant and unique. And I have some rough issues on my transcript (two straight semesters of withdrawals due to a tragic sort of personal event) and I'm trying to avoid the necessity to explain it anywhere in my app by having a wealth of positive stuff to draw their attention away from the ugly black mark. Also, I'm not an Anthropology major and have been trying to remedy that by taking as many Anth courses as possible in my last two years of college. So the more appealing things I do, I've been thinking, the better. Good to hear some people think these are actually worth something. Beh.

jennyb: my impression of the department, even before I started making contacts there, was that it was fairly prestigious and well-rounded. Professors at my school seem to have similar opinions, though they may have more ties with faculty there than at schools in other places since we're right outside of Philly. Can you say more about why you didn't like the on-campus grad student housing?

That's really cute. I've been waiting my undergraduate years out just so I can have my cats again. They currenlty live with my parents but don't get much lovin', just food and the basics. They're definitely my cats. I miss them a lot and will definitely not move to grad school without them! I can't say how comforting it is to have three kitties curled up around me while I'm writing a paper late into the night.

Can you use a letter from a professor who teaches in the department you're applying to? I'm currently at a small liberal arts college but am taking classes at a university whose graduate program I intend to apply to. Is it acceptable to use a rec from the professor I'm taking the course with at the university when I submit my graduate application to that university?

I know that extracurriculars are more or less important in different fields as far as grad school admissions goes. Does anyone know how valued things like published articles, internships, field work, academic conference attendance/presentation, and the like are to anthropology grad school admissions? Do most schools barely glance at such things or do they seriously consider their relevance and value? Also, has anyone seen listings of median GRE and GPA scores for admission into top anthro programs? Just want to know if I have a shot...

omg. I died. Suddenly the teaching/grading aspect of graduate school sounds at least somewhat appealing.

Sure thing...I'll talk to the grad student I know pretty soon and will post what I find out. And sorry about all the random pluralizations in my previous post. I don't know what that was about. Good luck with your search in the meantime!

Thank you so much! That's helpful.

I am SHOCKED that my college wasn't mentioned in the "honorable mentions" section under Brown (#1). And a little disappointed; I think it deserves it.

Holy cow. That's a lot (and a lot of $...). I'm still trying to convince my boyfriend to apply to schools in California. So far I can't get him to agree to apply outside of the east coast...and it's so frustrating because there are some great programs for both of our disciplines at Stanford and UC Berkeley. Please let me know if you remember her username!

I've talked to her about funding and she's told me that just about every Ph.D. student get very livable funding for 5 years (and tells me the average student takes eight years to finish; after five years most have to teach or look for some other outside source of funding) and it doesn't seem that the recession has much affected their ability to fund. I don't know specifics about health insurance and the like. I haven't talked to her much about housing either but I have walked around West Philly pretty extensively and it seems that a lot of grad students live in very nice, cute houses in the general vicinity. I haven't talked to her at all about applied/activist bents to anthro research (not really my thing) but if you look at the website it seems like several undergrad courses integrate activism into their work so if it isn't an overarching focus of the program then at least there are likely some interested/knowledgable faculty. I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of the current grad students and they all seems very friendly and supportive of one another, very familiar with one another's projects. I thought that was great. Reviews of faculty friendliness, approachability, helpfulness, and the like were mixed: according to the students I spoke to, there are some awesome faculty members and some who weren't so awesome (unsurprisingly). UPenn is a pretty integral part of Philadelphia. University City connects to center city Philly via a five-minute SEPTA ride and the relationship between UPenn students and faculty and West Philly residents unaffiliated with the university seems to be improving every year (you can google for some of the initiatives they've taken since the 1980's, there's a lot of info). Campus security is also pretty fantastic. If you walk around University City at night, you'll likely feel very safe (this is something I've done on many occasions; I'm an undergrad in a Philly suburb and so have spent a lot of time in the city). As for departmental focuses, apparently although UPenn is known for its strength in Central and South American Anth and Archaeology, a lot of the faculty who brought this renown have retired recently, although a few still remain. I just earlier this year realized that I want to do Anthropology and I'm still trying to figure out how all of the sub-fields break down, so I apologize for not being incredibly knowledgeable or helpful in this topic. From what I gather, they're very strong in physical anthropology as well as cultural anthropology and historical archaeology. This is obviously a "duh" thing to say, but you should definitely check out the faculty profiles and graduate courses offerings if you haven't yet. Also check out the UPenn Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, which a lot of grad students (and not just anthro students) become involved with, either merely as a resource for research or in a more hands-on way, developing exhibits and becoming involved with the behind-the-scenes works, etc. Sorry so much of this is vague. I'll ask her your questions and get back to you with more specific and helpful responses.

I see a few people are planning to do what we plan to do: select schools to apply to that are in geographically proximate locations. We both are aiming for Ph.D.'s but in different fields. So many current grad students and advisers have suggested that I consider cutting ties with my boyfriend for grad school, insisting that the stress is simply not worth it, providing some half-hearted and ill-thought-out "if it's meant to be, it will be". But my boyfriend is the most supportive and caring man I can possibly imagine, and we have perfectly compatible personalities and future ambitions. We're still undergrads (both with junior standing, though technically both of us are in our fourth year of college...long stories) but all our friends agree that we pretty much act like we're married (and my boyfriend and I have indeed discussed marriage). Getting accepted into closely located programs is the only hurdle. :/ Just wondering if anyone out there has been in this situation, made/is making it work, and has some sage advice. My boyfriend and I have had a lot of long, drawn-out conversations recently about this and we each agree that in terms of future happiness, we're more valuable to one another than our careers ever could be, so splitting up just isn't an option. But balancing marriage and two Ph.D. programs will undoubtedly be rough at times...especially since my program will require field research in another country (assuming I get accepted somewhere, *gulp*).