museum_geek

Now that I have all my applications submitted and I've taken care of everything I can possibly control, the anxiety and nerves have really started to set in.  One thing that helps me - especially in the mornings when I check my email and don't have anything new - is the thought that I am, at this particular moment in time, closer than I have ever been to hearing back from my dream school.  I have less time to wait than I did at this same time yesterday, and unless I get trapped in some sort of sci-fi time warp I will only get closer from here. 
 
The nerves and anxiety eventually return but that line of thinking typically gives me a brief respite.  And this still beats the heck out of stressing over my LOR writers!

I see what you're saying. And I am also guilty of saying "only go if it's funded." Here's why: chances of getting a job in the field that pays even decently after graduation are slim to none. The point is not that going to a funded program is going to a better one. The point is that an anthropology degree is genuinely not worth paying tuition AND not earning any salary at all for 5-8 years. 

Our recruitment/interview weekend for prospective students will take place next weekend.  I don't have any concrete info on who has been invited but usually 8-10 people come for the visit, with invites going out ~2 weeks prior to the visit date.  With that said, most but not all people who end up getting admitted get invited to the visiting weekend, and I even know at least one person who was admitted late in a cycle without any prior contact from the department after submitting their application.

TL:DR - Look at the fit w/ the PI, then the stipend (and location of school/cost of living), and what you want in a program. Also, it is very acceptable to give your decision on 15 April - they hold your place in the program until then unless otherwise stated.
For me, the biggest factour was the fit with the PI. Since you’re going to be in the program for at least 4 years, this is a huge commitment to study with someone so if you fit better with one over another PI then put it at the top of your list (or at least I did). Overall, you will be forever connected to the person (unless you switch subdiscipline or projector schools) so you should think how their tutelage is going to help you post-PhD. For example, if you got into a program for anthropological archaeology in Africa and your PI did work there once or works in Middle East area whereas another program your PI actively does research in Kenya and has other students doing research throughout East Africa, then that might influence your decision. For me, I’m an Andeanist so ultimately I decided on a PI that does work in the Andes in a program with a specific research focus in the Andes as opposed to a program where I was told doing Andean is fine but I would have to figure everything out on my own and they would be there to “loosely guide” me which did not sound appealing. 
The next thing I would consider would be the stipend, how much they are going to ask in fees (some school tariff international students more than domestic so be sure to get an idea of what you are expected to pay), and where the school is. Some schools have higher stipends and are located in the city whereas schools located in rural areas have somewhat lower stipends. I don’t see this as ‘better’ schools having more money for students, but that the cost of living is higher in NYC than say Binghamton, NY. I’m not sure of the specific stipends for different programs but they seem to vary starting around 17K to 36k at some of the Ivys. Additionally, some schools do not let you work outside of the PhD program so you are only getting the stipend with no additional income. I marked this second on my list last year because I was between moving to Chicago, rural Connecticut, staying in Atlanta, or moving back to Western Massachusetts. Each school offered different stipends but I had to factour the cost of living. I think it would be worth asking the current graduate students about this becuase they are actually living with this reality as opposed to the professors who are actually salaried.
Every school is going to have pro’s and con’s and the strength in my opinion is debatable becuase everyone values something different. I study Biologial Anthropology and so the programs that have 1 Bioanth or none - to me - are not strong becuase I would not apply or get accepted. That doesn’t mean that they are strong in sociocultural theory or linguistics, just that the department is not really applicable to me. So for this, I would think about what is important in the program, the school, and they types of support you can receive from them. Plus, theoretically, every anthropology program in the United States (with a few exceptions) are 4-field but if they are absent on one of the 4, it’s not necessarily a disadvantage - just a different organization of the program/school/department. I would also look at nearby universities with Anthro departments or similar depts. to your research. Usually they will have an agreement for you to be able to take courses and maybe use lab facilities once you’ve developed a rapport with other Anthros. 
Hope this helps. 

I would say that it might be way too early to contact a POI especially since you are starting an MA soon. I think it's great that you are already thinking about a PhD, but I would imagine that right now professors are focusing on the current application season and trying to get people in the program and all that stuff. By August/September, they're probably thinking about the next cohort or on getting incoming students set up. They will not think about your specific situation until probably October 2020. That's a lot of time for them to completely forget about the conversation they could have with you before you leave. If you are trying to get on their radar for when you apply it doesn't seem like the best choice.  I think it would make more sense to talk to your POI later.
Also I would think that it would be better to focus on having a good relationship with the faculty in the MA program you will be attending. However, if you think that the POI might offer valuable advice/ an interesting perspective for your MA and the research you will be carrying out then that would be different.  But also if I were a professor, I would be wondering that if you were so interested in them why didn't you apply directly to that school and do the PhD since you are already thinking about it? Like what is the point of doing the MA? I don't know if that makes sense, I just think you might be getting a bit ahead of yourself.
I hope this helps and best of luck!

There's a reason many people take two cycles to find a decent offer - there's lots of competition, especially for programs that fully fund all their students.  When I applied last year, the DGS at the program I ended up at told me they received about 75 applications.  They accepted six people, and we ended up with a cohort of four people.  Ultimately, I think it's best not to think about the numbers game and just try to control what you can control.  You will get the right offer if you keep at it!

Hey Everyone, 
There was a great article on application advice for those getting ready for this application season. I would highly recommend following some/all to help get you prepared and ready so you’re not scrambling before the deadline. Also check out some of the other fora that more senior PhD students have done too. 
 
https://anthrodendum.org/2018/07/31/the-hiddencurriculum-of-applying-to-graduate-school-for-anthropology/

Yeah, it's pretty common.  I just spent the last 6 weeks taking courses in an indigenous language while doing preliminary fieldwork.  In fact, my department encourages PhD students to use the summer in between 1st and 2nd year to learn a new language that will help with fieldwork.

Yeah, it's pretty common.  I just spent the last 6 weeks taking courses in an indigenous language while doing preliminary fieldwork.  In fact, my department encourages PhD students to use the summer in between 1st and 2nd year to learn a new language that will help with fieldwork.

@PMJ I think it’s pretty normal for doctoral students to learn a new language while in the program. For me, I’m learning Quechua and Aymara since I work in Peru and not many High Schools and Uni’s offer those courses haha. So for the most part, I’ve done some stuff in country and also have found workbooks that I go through to help keep it up. Sure, it’s not going from Spanish to Japanese, but I think even if you could audit the first few class sections to get down the characters, sounds, and pronounciations - then it will be much more easy than attempting this on your own. 
My MA advisor starting taking spanish courses in her second year of PhD. Sure, her accent isn’t the best buuuuut she’s fluent and actively conducts research in Peru. I would even suggest trying to get the critical language scholarship and study abroad in Japan - that way you’ll be forced to speak it. Also Duo Lingo in pretty good! I actually just started with the Japanese course and it’s really simple and enjoyable. 

You have a strong CV - VISTA and Peace Corps will look especially good to anthro programs.  You don't need publications or a Master's thesis to get into PhD programs, but you will need to be more specific about a potential research topic - geographic region, especially.  If you have the money for it, I would suggest applying to a mix of PhDs and MAs.  You'll probably get some PhD offers, but a Master's might be a good route as well in terms of honing your research topic.  This comes with a giant caveat - only do a Master's if you get funding!  I'm not sure which programs have funding available, but there's more info about that elsewhere in the forum if you care to find it.
If you're interested in MedAnth, you might also check out the PhD programs at WUSTL, UCSF, UCSD, and Brown.  Best of luck with your applications!

Oh, you are in a tough spot  
I would like to tease this out a bit because I think so much depends on other factors--some of which you hint at here. For example, you call Case your "dream school" and "dream program" but your admission to Alabama tells me that you did not focus exclusively on mph/phd programs this year. So what makes Case the dream?  Is it just that it has a nice option of doing two degrees at once, as you suggest earlier in your post? Are there other programs which offer this option to which you could reapply next year? Are you able to wait a year, working on a publication or conference paper, and try again? If so, is it worth it to risk doing two degrees over multiple years with zero funding--or worse, getting as far as you can with zero funding, leaving with a terminal MA that you could have gotten elsewhere, and reapplying again while thousands of dollars deep into debt? Or is this your second or third time applying and you feel that this is the best offer you are going to get?  Also, is the MA program at Alabama the kind of program that is going to get you into a better PhD program in two years? Is it well ranked in your subfield or area with a record of placing people in good PhD programs? Lastly, and most importantly, which school has the better advisor fit or lab group for you? What do your POIs at each program have to say?
I had written a paragraph with my two cents but after noticing that the last bit (about the advisors) was missing, I decided I should probably hold back. I know you know this and I do not mean to lecture you in any way, but finding people that you are excited to work with is the perhaps most important part of any PhD program. That you didn't mention them so far makes me wonder what, besides finances and convenience, is pushing you towards either program. Perhaps the advisors at both programs are equally wonderful? But how? Just wondering.

I would prioritize getting more evidence about Alabama. I know Alabama has a reputation, but it's also a university (which can distinguish itself from its surrounding political/cultural environment to greater or lesser degrees, depending) in a state with a large African-American population (although I would believe you if you told me UA is in an exclusively white part of the state). You should make it a priority to speak to POC students in the department to see what their experience is like there. It's a longer shot, but I would also ask Alabama if there's funds for you to visit, yourself.
If you go to Case, I would treat it as just a plain old master's (mph) degree. A PhD in anthropology without funding is absurd, exploitative, and unethical. (I know some places still do it...!) How much would the MPH run you for two years? If it's on the low side, I think that might be a reasonable decision: to go, pay minimal or low tuition, and plan to apply to PhD programs when your MPH finishes. One of those PhD applications could be Case, but for it to be a serious option at that point, they had better pay you a reasonable stipend. If you have to pay a lot of tuition at Case—I can't tell whether 'no funding' means 'tuition waiver but no stipend' or 'thirty thousand dollars a year of tuition'—and Alabama embodies all its worst stereotypes, your best option for the upcoming year may be neither of them, unfortunately.

I've been in my program for a year and I'm still expecting this to happen!

This has been my experience so far as well. I was told that the giant packet will be along in "a bit".

Thanks for all of your advice. It's good to hear that I'm just being paranoid! I did call the department a few days after my email didn't get a response to confirm that my acceptance was received and noted on the right lists and things. My main concern regarding the move wasn't that I needed specific information from the department, but more that I might be planning this move without the right confirmation or missing some crucial piece of knowledge.
Hopefully I didn't come across as self centered or expecting to be fawned over in my original post, I'm just in a place where I'm very nervous/excited for this whole experience and I'm letting that get to me. I know that I am capable and ready for graduate school, I just still keep half expecting to get an email telling me they made a mistake accepting me!
Once again, thank you so much, I hope everyone else is having a great transition into summer!

I can't speak to other people's experiences, but after I accepted my offer last year I got a quick note - maybe two sentences - from my DGS confirming that they had seen my acceptance and were looking forward to seeing me in the Fall.  I didn't hear anything else from them until mid-June, which is when they sent along a giant packet with orientation information, insurance/tax forms, my first TA assignment, etc.

I can't speak to other people's experiences, but after I accepted my offer last year I got a quick note - maybe two sentences - from my DGS confirming that they had seen my acceptance and were looking forward to seeing me in the Fall.  I didn't hear anything else from them until mid-June, which is when they sent along a giant packet with orientation information, insurance/tax forms, my first TA assignment, etc.

I can't speak to other people's experiences, but after I accepted my offer last year I got a quick note - maybe two sentences - from my DGS confirming that they had seen my acceptance and were looking forward to seeing me in the Fall.  I didn't hear anything else from them until mid-June, which is when they sent along a giant packet with orientation information, insurance/tax forms, my first TA assignment, etc.

Thanks! I can't believe I went from 5 rejections to 2,5 acceptances! (ok, and 6,5 rejections, but whatever ). Declining the other offer was so hard, my PoI was just great. This was the biggest luxury problem I've ever had.
By the way, today there was this item on the news (here, in the Netherlands!) about an American kid who applied at 20 schools and got admitted into all of them. I literally cried when I saw the video they made of his first acceptance. 

@EvelynD Congrats, Washington State is a great program.  Have fun in the PNW!

@Bschaefer Congrats!  Amazing program, awesome location, and of course I'm super jealous that you get to collaborate with the Field Museum!

Thanks! I’m going with University of Illinois at Chicago/The Field Museum of Natural History joint PhD program!

@Bschaefer @EvelynD So happy this cycle worked out for both of you!  Which programs did y'all end up choosing?  

I literally just did the same thing. It was a very hard decision to choose which program would be right for me in the long run. It honestly felt like I was breaking up with the POI and the university.