Ilikekitties

I never said that I disagreed with her or that I thought that she was wrong...taking time off is a personal choice. I don't know what's "right" for me - I'll probably never know until I try things out. She's told me many times that she went straight to grad school and she wished that she hadn't. She's been telling me this for years. She did tell me that I'm the hardest worker she's ever seen.

Sure. Thanks!

Hi all. One of my recommenders will be commenting on how she thinks that I would benefit from spending 1-2 years outside of academia before entering grad school in order to get more life experience (I'm a senior). In other words, she's gonna tell them that I'm not ready. Is this a major red flag? My other two recommenders will not have this caveat.

I'm not interested in working directly with animals necessarily. I don't know what I'd do with them. But I do like researching how humans may interact with them and talk about them. I've received many positive responses from faculty who do this kind of work.

hehe thanks!

I took the GRE today (finally) and I'm wondering if there are any scores that would be a "red flag" for students who are applying to cultural anthro programs.

I don't think that I want to be a professor. I want to do something with animals...I have some ideas. I want to try things - I don't want to be tied down or locked into anything. Yes, enrolling in a PhD program will tie me down because I will be focusing in on a narrow area, but I know that I love school and I know that I love anthropology. Do I have dreams of leading a fulfilling life? Yes. Whatever I do with my life, I want it to live it. I don't want to be stuck in one job (unless it's perfect). I want the freedom to explore. I'm open to career paths. Who knows? I just want to be happy. I love animals. I love school. I love anthropology. That's a start. This is kind of a secret of mine, but I've always wanted to try acting. I'm a very shy person...but I might sign up for an intro acting class next semester. I don't want to be a afraid to take risks and to try new things, even if I think that I would fail (I def think that I could fail acting). I've been told that it's a great class. I want to push myself. Channeling Tuck Everlasting, I'm afraid of the unlived life. Getting a PhD is something that I would like to aim for, but my career aspirations are a bit foggy. I want to be open to different avenues. I don't want my heart set on one thing.

I've heard this regarding jobs in academia and (maybe) going to school for anthro. My advisors urged me to apply for public policy programs/non-anthro programs. But they didn't bash grad school as a whole. I have not heard "adjunct crisis" but I bet that I can guess what it is.

This prof is actually a visiting assistant prof, so she doesn't know how many more semesters she'll be here. It's her first job post-PhD.

Thanks for the tips!!! I know that one of my profs had to borrow like 35k for her fully-funded PhD at SMU because the stipend was too low. :/

Thanks for the info about the funding! As for the stipend, I have no idea what I could live off of.

Then I probably won't end up going there lol. I can't go anywhere unless I'm fully-funded, which....won't be very likely.

Cultural anthro, so yes, interview and immersion-based.

Yup! Thanks!

I think that if I get any opportunities for next year, whether they be Fulbright, Americorps, grad school, full-time job, etc, I think that the most important thing for me is the question of whether or not I’ll be secure enough to be financially independent. I have cousins who are years older than myself and they’re still living at home. I love my parents and all, but I can’t do that. So I do think that my decision will come down to benefits and whether or not the pay will be high enough to support myself for the specific location. It’s not so much that I’m hell-bent on going to grad school right away, but if I happen to get in with full funding and a nice stipend, it may be a good decision financially over whatever I could get for a job. We’ll see. I’m trying not to think about it until I have options to choose from. I want to apply for as many things as I can because I want options. If grad school falls through, I won’t be super bummed as long as I have something that will prevent me staying in my parents’ house. An uncle of mine asked me if I would be moving back home because he thinks it’s a smart choice. He has two daughters and a son between the ages of 22 and 27 - the 27-year-old nurse is broke living in her apartment and the 22-year-old college grad/nurse is broke living in an apartment with her boyfriend. The 24-year-old college grad/engineer is living at home and is much better off financially. That scares me.

One prof mentioned that I should know what it's like to be an adult outside of school. She said that I'm intellectually very mature for a BA, but I could mature socially from having more life experience.

I'm not sure why they are recommending PC/AC, mostly AC though. I'm applying for mostly PhD programs in anthropology. I'll be graduating in May. I'm ambivalent about starting grad school right away. What is more important to me is whether or not I would be able to support myself financially. I do love school though. I'm applying to 12 programs because I want to increase my chances of admittance. I'm also in a program that will allow me to use fee waivers (I'm low-income/first-gen).

Two of my profs are recommending that I take 1-2 years off between undergrad and grad. I'm a senior in undergrad and they recommend that I look into Peace Corps or Americorps. Any suggestions? What kinds of people can make it through the PhD without burnout and without taking time off? I will also be applying to 12 grad programs this fall, so will either of these programs be a reason for a grad program to defer me?

Thank you so much! Mary Douglas was mentioned by a faculty member. I may have read something by her in an anthology of anthro theory. I read it three years ago and I'm extremely rusty.

Hi all. My prof said that I need to have more of a theoretical basis for my research questions. My research comes down to the construction of categories/how people group things. I'm thinking Foucault. Others? I've read a little bit of The Order of Things.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Yup! Sad but true.

Yup - I can't go unless I get full funding. My parents are low income and they cannot help me. I'm not there yet: first I have to get in lol. I have my doubts of whether I'll get into any of these programs. Thanks! I just know that faculty at my undergrad institution don't recommend Chicago or Harvard for anthro. Chicago is too cutthroat and Harvard is too "old school," apparently.

I just want to know their general reputation in the field of cultural anthro. I'm interested in human-animal relationships. Prof at UIUC has offered to put me in contact with some of her students if I'm admitted.

Cultural/environmental.