Ilikekitties

So....I *should* be preparing for possible interviews (I haven't been invited to do an interview before, so I guess that's particularly bad). Instead I'm just keeping in touch with family, doing work, surfing the internet, reading "fun" books, watching movies, etc.

I want a time machine that can propel me into the future. I am so impatient that I can’t think about anything else.

Yeah this is my 3rd round. I need some luck.

I definitely am. I just wanna know my decisions already!!

Anyone familiar with Corvallis? What is it like?

Anyone live in Tampa? How is the crime rate?

Thanks! My app is all submitted, now comes the dreadful waiting period. I'd need affordable housing if I get in and decide to attend.

I’m applying and I’m wondering what the campus/Starkville is like. Also I’ve only ever lived in Northern Midwestern states.

I'm considering a few MA programs in applied anthro this year. When I was a senior in 2015/16, I was dead-set on entering a PhD program straight out of undergrad, but my horrible track record at acceptances basically shot that horse in the face. Now, after having graduated 1.5 years ago, I am unsure if I want to obtain a PhD, so I'm only applying to MA programs this year. For people who went the "MA-first" route, what was your experience like? Are you glad that you got your MA first, or do you regret it? Did you feel better prepared for you PhD program?

Idk if I feel foolish or brave, but this is my 3rd round of apps after 2 unsuccessful rounds. My profs told me not to give up, so I haven't....yet. Anyone else in a similar position? I'm sure others have had rotten luck, just as I have.

Hello all. I have less than $10 USD in my American bank account, so I'm unable to send my GRE score reports. I'm working abroad and my employer has not paid me yet (I've worked for 2 months...it's China and they're slow). I don't know when I will be paid, but ETS will not accept my Chinese bank card. I currently have about $45 worth in Chinese currency....this is all the money that I have (my housing is paid for by my employer). Does ETS offer fee waivers for score reports? I was in a similar position last year (same employer) but I asked my parents for money and then repaid them. I was a McNair scholar (my parents are low-income, first-gen) so I did receive a test fee waiver.

Can I PM you as well?

Can I PM you?

Anyone here familiar with applied anthro? Any experience with it?

I understand that the point of a PhD is to become a specialist, but maybe I'm not ready for that commitment and right now. In my SOPs of the past I never really defined a field site, I just mentioned some places where I had done work in the past. I think for some in 2015 I even wrote that I was open to any geographical area. The India/Mexico/England thing was just an example and I didn't imitate this in my SOPs. I have seen that some people are interested in multiple regions of the world, not that they're specialists in multiple areas. Maybe they've only published about one or two places recently. I'm also referring to the fact that professors have career changes. I know some professors who are studying vastly different things from their PhD dissertation. I even know of person who started out in physical anthro, switched to cultural in the same program, and still graduated in a timely matter. I just think that sticking to one topic for the rest of my life is kinda silly if there are other things that I'd want to explore too. But yeah, I totally get that this is way in the future, way after the dissertation.

Thanks! I guess my fear is that I'd be boxed into a zone if I choose one place. Like I'd be "a China person" or whatever and that's a big commitment.

I'd apply to Washington again because that's the place where I got waitlisted, but they accept sociocultural people for odd years. MSU soc straight up told me that I was not a good fit for their program (I was confused because their department deals a lot with human-environment issues, but whatever), and Exeter's PhD program rejected me because I didn't fulfill the prerequisites (their website never stated that a MA was REQUIRED, only that most of the people they accept have MA's). I was admitted to the New School MA program in 2016, but I only got partial funding. Attending a well-funded MA program for area studies/language is something that I've never considered. That's an intriguing idea. Would programs in HK allow me to learn Mandarin? I guess it would depend. I've never taken a Mandarin class...I literally just know some food words. This also means that I'd have to pick an area to study....so hard. Why do some profs get to study multiple areas, like say India, Mexico, and England?

I did a field school in Jamaica and I conducted research in Costa Rica and the US. I talked about my study abroad experiences and my current experience in China in my SOPs. I can't decide on any one location, but yeah of course location affects everything. I think I know the most about China because I've lived here the longest and I'm constantly talking to people here and learning a lot. But I don't wanna be like BAM I'm a China scholar.

I'm interested in edibility and pet-keeping and how cultures may place animals into categories, like “food.” I'm drawing from Mary Douglas, Donna Haraway, Pierre Bourdieu, Thorstein Veblen, and Foucault (I'm not an expert on any of these people, but I'd be interested in reading more of them in grad school if I ever get in). I took one cultural anthro theory class in college and did well in it...then I TA-d it...but honestly I need more than one semester of college-level theory. You just read so much so quickly. I'm not well-versed ATM, but I do like discussing it with people. In 2015/16, I applied to the New School, Cornell, Columbia, Maryland, UIUC, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Davis, Toronto, McGill, and Notre Dame. All of these were anthro. In 2016/17, I applied to MSU (sociology/animal studies), Exeter (anthrozoology), Toronto, McGill, Washington, and Notre Dame. For 2017/18, I think that I will apply to Notre Dame again (mainly because I was a top applicant)....not sure if I'd want to apply to anywhere else for a 2nd or 3rd time Any thoughts? Mainly I'm just looking at human-animal relationships, multi-species ethnography, edibility/nutrition, and human-environment interaction. In my internet searches, the vast majority of these people are in archeology, which I have little interest in. I'm kind of also interested in cultural perspectives of health and wellness...but I haven't done any research on that...it's just more of an interest that I haven't pursued academically. As for geographical interests...hell if I know. China is an interesting place to be (I've been here for the past year and will be here for one more) but I don't speak Mandarin. I do speak Spanish and French and in college I studied abroad in Costa Rica. Also, most of the programs that I applied to before were PhD programs...not sure if I'm ready to jump into that. Mainly I have a hard time finding people who share my interests.

Hey all. Like you can see from my signature, I will not be attending grad school this fall, much to my disappointment. After two cycles of nearly all rejections across the board (I have only received one acceptance from a MA program that offered minimal funding), I'm feeling really shitty about myself and my future. So...cheer me up! Or, chime in if you need to be cheered up too! I'm a glass half-empty kind of person, so I need something to keep me from becoming depressed.

I have taught ESL in central China for the past academic year. The pay is not excellent, but housing/utilities and roundtrip airfare are covered and the cost of living is extremely cheap. One thing might be to consider what age/school level you prefer, because China is one of the few countries where you can teach at the university level with a BA, although you have a MA. It may be easier to get a uni job here than in other countries, however. Personally, I like teaching uni students. I have the freedom to teach what I want and to create my own lesson plans. Universities may be places where this kind of work is appropriate, as primary and secondary schools might have a set curriculum. Also, I am not certified to teach and I had only tutoring experience in college before I applied. China is much more lax. I also have student loans, and I have made enough money to eat out very frequently and also make monthly payments comfortably. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

My waitlist turned into a rejection

Got another rejection

The wait is over! I got rejected....5/6 this year (one program left to hear from) and 10/11 last year

So, accepted applicants would wait until the 15th to give a decision? And the 15th is on a Saturday (where I am it's already Saturday). Does this affect things? I'm just getting so anxious because I was certain that I would have heard by now. So, should I contact them on the 15th in local time? Or wait until Monday?