CulturalAnth

Haha.. I always check to see who is looking me up! For the last week all my searches are local to me though! Secret crushes? Stalking exes? Probably not POIs, lol.

That's awesome. He also graduated 2005 (I think, he's 27).. so..... you probably know him, maybe, lol. He's also an anthropology major, and is now doing computer science. We're in Utah right now. I've never lived in the bay area, so I don't know anyone else there, beside his family. Maybe I'll PM you his name and see if you 2 know each other! Anyway.... I'm pretty sure what got me in is my undergrad mentor is a big name in his field of anthropology of childhood... at least for the 2 places I've been accepted. Also, it's unlikely that I'm going to a super prestigious university, which is okay.. as long as I end up at a research university in the long run. One of my arch profs at USU came from WSU and has a TT position, so I know it's possible

He went to Cupertino High too! What year did you graduate?

P.S. I see you're from Sunnyvale.. my hubby is from Cupertino

Who do you like at Notre Dame? My POIs were James McKenna (my FAVORITE anthropologist), and Smith-Oka. That was my top choice.. I really, really, wanted to go there. UNLV told me they wanted GRE scores to be above the 50th percentile (mine were for Verbal and Writing, but not for math). I took a risk and didn't retake my GRE, letting the rest of my application make up for my lack of stellar scores (good GPA, LOR, research assistantship, teaching fellow, professional presentations and posters, honors, scholarships, awards, community service, field school....) I could do the MA and go to do the PhD, but would have to reapply and it's not guaranteed. I don't want to be SOL with getting a PhD. Also, I wanted to move somewhere, where I can be there for a while, since I have kids who could use at least a little stability.

Did you mean UNLV? They were the ones that cared about my GRE scores. However, I visited the campus and met with everyone there, and had a glowing recommendation from an anthropologist they admire and respect, and I think that really helped my application. I'm pretty sure my POIs fought for me (which kind of makes me sad because I'll likely be declining their offer).

Forsaken- Chicago sounds like a great program! Do you know if they accept PhD students from their MA cohort? Corvallis: I am totally a sufferer of SAD, and I know that the rain would get to me. I visited on a beautiful, warm, sunny day. I would love the abundance of brew pubs and proximity to Portland! One more possible bonus for WSU: I asked, and was told, that when I start my PhD I could move to the Vancouver campus. I would love to live there, so much more than Pullman. If I put in 2 years in Pullman, if may be worth it to be 20 mins away from Portland (I LOVE Portland!).

Oh man, I LOVED Corvallis when I went to visit and meet with the POI there. It is really the ideal place for me and my family to live. It's just that the research and programs are better at UNLV and WSU. This is what I would be doing at WSU, though, and I'm pretty excited about it. My field work would be in Ethiopia, and I can bring my family along! http://cas.wsu.edu/connect/archives/jan2014/breastmilk.html Canis, B.C. would be wonderful too!

I have been accepted into 2 programs, and waiting to hear from 2 more (WUSTL and Oregon State). I've been having a hard time with weighing my pros and cons between the 2 I've been accepted to: UNLV and WSU. I posted a thread in "Decisions, Decisions" ... but, right now I am leaning towards WSU because it's PhD, and UNLV is only for Masters. The thing is, I LOVE LOVE LOVE UNLV. I love Las Vegas. It's close to my family. I have friends who already live there. I love the weather and entertainment, the food (and the research of course).. etc. But, I don't think I can pass up a straight-to-PhD program. And it's more likely to be funded. I'm not happy about living in Pullman, though. I'm losing hope on WUSTL, but if accepted there, I will pick that one. If I am accepted to Oregon, I am going to decline.

If your class research led to a poster or presentation, include it, for sure! I presented 3 times on a course's final paper, and it's on my CV

Have you heard back from any programs with your scores? I got really mediocre GRE scores (158V, 142Q, 4W), and have so far been accepted into 2 programs. One of which said they really do care about GRE scores, and all others telling me they don't care about GRE scores (still waiting to hear back from 2 more).

With my celebrity-like-POI, I told him I was familiar with his work, and have been a fan for quite some time, and would like the opportunity to work with him. I didn't get accepted into the program at his uni, but I have made a life-long friend, and informal mentor in my field. When I wasn't accepted, he wrote me a long, very kind, personal email, that pretty much stated that he was just as disappointed as I was, but it was the committee decision. In the end.. I am glad I let him know that I very much like and respect his work, because either way, I've made a great contact in my field.

I would say nice-casual.. something put together, and good looking, but also reflects the real you

I live in Utah, and lived in SLC for a while. I can't tell you what grad life is like, but I can recommend good neighborhoods and things to do.

- Ask your professors who they recommend based on what they know of your interests. Having that recommendation does a long way. So far, the 2 grad programs I've been accepted to are the ones that my undergrad mentor referred me to. - Who are the authors of your favorite books, journal articles, etc, in your field? Start looking them up and see if they have grad programs at their universities. I actually started researching really soon, knowing exactly what I wanted to do and study. But now is a good time for you. Send out emails to prospective profs who you would like to work with, and ask them if they would tell you more about their program and what they're looking for in a candidate.

I understand. But in a way, I feel like it was, and maybe not on purpose. I wouldn't go 2 years without seeing my older kids, I would still see them regularly. But it is still a decision that I have to make: stay close to them and take a $10/hr job until they're adults, or go to grad school so that we can all have a better future. I am sure that mother had to make the same heart-wrenching choice.

Really, it is a personal decision- one to be made with one's own family. It doesn't need judgement. Going to school to make a good future for your children does not seem selfish to me. Also, this is very much a cultural standard, and typical American "mommy-wars." in many, many places around the world mothers and fathers have to make sacrifices for their children, and sometimes that involves moving a way for a time period to make a better life for your family. I am in no way a privileged person. My kids really don't have a chance to succeed in life with my family history of working-class, blue-collar, and welfare parents. I have no inheritance, no financial support and have had no help getting to where I am. I choose to go to school after having kids. After I took my GED. I am the first in my entire family to even graduate college, let alone go to grad school! My childhood was hard, and I had to figure a lot of stuff out on my own. Do I want the same for my own kids? No. I want them to have a better life, and a better start to making a life for themselves than I had. I don't want to have them be high school drop outs like I was to work a minimum wage job. I don't want them to have to wait until they are 25 and a parent to finally figure out how to make going to college work for them. Do I need people like you to judge people like me? No thank you. I really have no other way to make a better life, and a better future for my children. Their father is an unemployed, and will remain so as long as he can, living with his mother. He's never going to do anything good with his life, anything to make their future better. It is up to me to do that. Does this mean I might have to live apart from them for a while? I might. Isn't it hard enough without people like you telling me I am a bad mother for making a sacrifice different than what you consider to be acceptable? And, WHY, would I not be judged for this decision had I been a man?

You know, this is a really good point. I know of many (non-American) families where this happens all the time. A good friend of mine with Jamaican parents was sent to Jamaica for 2 years to live with her grandparents while her parents moved from the U.S. to Canada and set up a good life for her to come back to. She is just fine. In fact she has very fond memories of that time, and is very close to her parents with absolutely no hard feelings about it.

I visited Pullman last Oct. to meet with the grad program and my POI. It's the one place that I am feeling "iffy" about living at. My biggest concerns are: winters and my dietary restrictions. When I visited, just being there for two days, I could not find good places for me to eat! I'm concerned that if I spend the next 6-10 years there it's going to really weigh on me! I've only heard fantastic things about the anthropology department, though, and it would be a really great place to get my PhD!

What I was advised to do, and what I did, is find schools that are great or good fits AND likely to offer funding. I was told to apply for a couple really prestigious schools where I had a good or great fit (in my case those were Notre Dame and WashU), some middle ground choices (for me UNLV and WSU), and a couple safety choices (OSU for me). Applying to 5-10 with a few in each category.. but making sure that all of them would have a good or great fit. As your acceptances role in, then take into account the funding packages, knowing that you've applied to schools where you would fit in well in any case

Sort of.. it's complicated, and it's hard to say what you'll do before having kids and what you actually do once you do have kids (not just about this, but everything really, haha)! Grad school has been on the radar since I started going to school when my oldest was 3 months old. I've done really well at school, all of my professors think I am going to go great places and do great things, and they have all encouraged me to go to grad school. It's my dream job. It's what I want to do, and who I want to be. Why should I give up on my dreams, and take some $10/hr job, knowing that I can do better- for myself AND my family, just because I have children? They have a loving parent who is fully capable of taking care of them. My ex is never going to amount to anything more than being unemployed and living with his mother. They've got to get a good future from one of us, and it's not going to be him! If we're going to talk gender roles, he has happily taken on the role of a stay at home mom. That's fine- it's his life, and my kids are in good hands. It really comes down to what I posted above.. it's ok for fathers to move away for work, school, and military, but not for mothers. I think that's crap. I love my kids as much as any mother, and part of my going to grad school is FOR my kids. That would be unquestionable if I were a man.

Here is what the short term parental leave says: Eligibility: The Short-term Parental Leave plan applies to all full-time enrolled graduate students at all campus locations anticipating the birth or adoption of a child. Eligible graduate students are those who have been full-time graduate students for at least one academic year (two academic semesters, not including the summer) at the time Parental Leave is taken. Students must maintain their full-time enrollment status during Parental Leave. Which means I don't qualify I know that I have rights as a student, but how does that affect my GA/RA- which is a job and not protected under Title IX.

I don't know about the visa stuff, but I would hold out a little longer to hear from other programs. What if you accepted at Temple and then got a fully funded offer somewhere else?

Yes, I pretty much wrote what iphi said when I received the same. I think it is expected - they know you've applied several places.

In my case, my husband has agreed to follow me anywhere. He has the choice to either get a new job in our new city, or telecommute with his current job. He is in computer science, so it's an easy field to get a job. However, my oldest 2 children might not be able to move with me because we still have to figure out a custody arrangement, probably based on whatever the courts tell us we have to do (we can't agree on anything, ever!), so I am also facing the possibility of being away from my children (who will be 7 and 5). I do understand how hard it is to consider! In my case, I know that if they are with their father, they will be fine. I'll arrange to see them often, at least once a month if I can, and I'll try to get them all summer long, plus holidays and weekly Skype dates. One question always bothers me... why is is always OK for a father to move away for work, school, military, etc, but it's never ok for the mother? It's pretty sexist, IMO.