museum_geek

Thanks for the words of wisdom - I feel a bit less nervous now!

@AnthropologyNRT Congrats, you have some great options! How was the finalists weekend at Rice? I'm going to a similar event this weekend at one of my top choices - I'm one of about a dozen people visiting campus for a couple days to interview/meet dept members/tour campus/etc. Any advice? Whatever you're doing seems to be successful!

There's a couple acceptances from Yale on the results board: http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=yale+anthropology&t=a&o=

Has anyone gotten anything from UC San Diego yet? There were 5 rejections and an informal acceptance posted on the results search last week, but I haven't heard back from them. I just hope I'm not out of the running!

Farflung just hit the nail on the head with their advice. If this school hasn't admitted you or hasn't set this up as a formal interview with travel/lodging reimbursed then don't feel obligated to visit. If they won't admit you because you didn't take off work and fly across the country on your own dime, then it's probably not a great place to spend the next 6-8 years of your life.

@Konstantine Don't give up hope! First (and most importantly) you still have 12 schools to hear from - this application season is far from over for you. As a fellow sociocultural applicant whose entire (aside from 1 or 2 classes) undergrad focused on archaeology, and whose only field experience coming out of undergrad was a bioarch field school, I can sympathize with your position. I ended up working at a small science museum for a couple years after undergrad and I'm now finishing up an interdisciplinary MA, during which I did an internship at a large anthropology museum which allowed me to work with ethnographic collections. In any case, even if you don't get an offer this season, you definitely have options - summer internship apps are just starting to open up and I'm sure you would be able to find something relevant. AAA has some decent anthro internships listed on their website, and you can also go to this website to find more museum jobs/internships. Hope this helps!

Agreed - SoP is probably the most important aspect of an application. It's the only opportunity in your application packet to speak directly to the adcomm and convince them why you're a good fit and should spend the next 6-8 years in the department as a junior colleague.

@AnthropologyNRT Congrats on a well deserved acceptance!

@GreenEyedTrombonist Sorry about your rejection, that really sucks. Sending some good vibes your way for your interview!

I never thought I would reach a point in my life where I actually look forward to Mondays, but here I am. For PhD applicants hope springs eternal with the coming of each new week!

I didn't see the alleged posts but I've been following the drama on the results page and it really is an extraordinary claim. If it's true then I think it speaks to some serious issues with the faculty member(s) who posted/commented on the proposals in question.

@GreenEyedTrombonist I'm sure sending over your main deliverable will be fine. If this professor is really insistent, maybe you can send a chapter of your dissertation? In any case, getting an interview is exciting news. I'm sure you'll do great!

So apparently my phone interview with UVA went fairly well and I ended up getting an invite to spend a weekend on campus with other finalists in late February. It's three days and I'll be meeting with the faculty I mentioned in my SoP, touring campus, dinner with the DGS, etc. I think there's 12-15 applicants going and the professor I spoke with said they're taking 5-6 people this year. Anyone have advice for attending this type of event?

I'm also anxiously awaiting news from Princeton. Fingers crossed!

@Caymay Good to know! From everything I've read and my conversations with my POI, it seems like a close knit, collegial department. As long as I get some funding it will be a hard offer to turn down. @AnthropologyNRT You rock! I'm sure you'll be getting good news from Irvine soon!

@AnthropologyNRT Congrats! You are absolutely killing it this cycle! How did your Irvine interview go? @Bschaefer @Caymay Thanks for letting me know - I had a feeling it was good news but good to know for sure. Wisconsin is one of my top choices so I'm super stoked!

Anyone want to claim the Rice interview(s)? I didn't get anything from them today so that's probably curtains for me. In other news, I randomly checked my Wisconsin portal this afternoon and the status has now changed to "Your program has recommended you for admission. The Graduate School will be reviewing your file." I guess that's an acceptance, even though I haven't heard from the department or my POI yet...

Thanks all. Here's to more good news for everyone!

Thanks! No word on funding yet, but I'm hopeful that things will work out financially. In any case it's a relief to get that first acceptance!

I got into Syracuse!!! I got the email 45 minutes before my UVA interview - talk about a rollercoaster of emotions! I went from anxiety over the interview to freaking out over the acceptance and back to anxiety in about 5 minutes

Got an interview invite from the University of Virginia this afternoon - wasn't expecting to hear back from them so early. Hard to say if I'm more nervous or excited at the moment!

@terraaurea Yup, I applied to the anthro program at UT Austin and have yet to hear anything. The waiting is driving me nuts!

@terraaurea I wouldn't sweat it. Not many (if any at all) programs require applicants to get in touch with faculty before applying. Most of the POIs I emailed never got back to me anyway!

Yeah that program looks pretty cool. I also considered applying for it since I'm in an interdisciplinary master's program and two of my committee members are in my school's History department, but I changed my mind at the last minute.

Didn't Michigan accidentally send out acceptances to a bunch of people last year? I seem to remember everyone freaking out because they got accepted and then got a "sorry you're not actually accepted, our bad" email a couple hours later.