lizgb

Ok, I'm frakking confused. So I applied to 4 PhD programs, got interviews at all of them and heard back from all but one (U Chicago) within two weeks of the interview. I waited around for U Chicago to reply for a few weeks, and then (since I really didn't like U Chicago anyway) gave up and accepted my offer to Yale. Today I got an email from U Chicago that said they THINK they can finally make me an official offer. I said no thank you, and thought that was that. Now I have this email asking me if I want to withdraw my application so they won't have to "reject" me. I am very confused. So I figugre I probably should say yes, withdraw my application- but I don't really get why. Is there some kind of record that follows you around about which schools rejected, and which schools accepted you? Does it look bad if you're officially rejected from a school you didn't even want to go to (and who actually sort of accept you anyway?) I didn't even know this was something I had to worry about! Any advice? I kind of feel like they tricked me. Thanks!

So I've had two interviews for biology PhD programs- one at Yale and one at Arizona State. I liked Yale, but I LOVED Arizona. Obviously Yale has a fantastic reputation and an excellent program, but I really clicked with the program at ASU. How much does a program's ranking and reputation matter? I've been told by some people that you should get your PhD at a school at least one level (reputation/ranking-wise) above the kind of school you'd eventually want to teach at. All other things being equal, how much would going to a more mid level school affect my ability to get post doc and faculty positions as opposed to an Ivy League school? Thanks!

Really? I have been trying to get Duke to email me back all week and have heard nothing besides the initial invite. It's really irritating, especially since this is kind of a time-sensitive issue.

I've never heard of him before, so my feeling is no. I don't know everyone in the department though, so I could be very wrong. I'd send him an email.

Thanks! You too.

Wow. I am learning all sorts of things about the city I've lived in for the past 4 years just by reading this thread. Good luck to you both at Rutgers if you get in. It's a really fun school!

Hmm.. I'm not sure. I was contacted by Lisa Squires, Assistant to the DGS. My Stats: double major in Genetics/Evo. Anthropology UGPA: 3.96 GRE: 710 quant, 570 verbal, 5.0 AW. I also took the subject test in bio and got an 820 (I think?) Did undergrad research in primate genetics and spent one month at a field school in Kenya. Duke is the only school I've seen that actually publishes their admission statistics for GPA and GRE and such. They seem to vary wildly from year to year so I don't really know what their looking for. Experience maybe? I mostly applied to biology or genetics programs- I applied to Duke because they have such a strong primatology emphasis. Love those monkeys!

Oh, I suppose his name might really be John. We always called him Jack. He has a tendency to hook up with underage prostitutes in front of his students when he's in the field. I don't really know Dr. Goldstein, but I was on the bio side so I didn't meet a lot of the cultural faculty. Yes, from the few classes in cultural I took I think they definitely integrated feminist theory. Rutgers has a wonderful feminist community (which I was very involved in) and it spans several departments-with Anthro and women and gender studies being the primary ones. Anthro is also located on Douglass campus, which until a year or two ago was an all female campus/school. You might want to talk to Dorothy Hodgson. She works with Maasai populations mostly but integrates a lot of feminist theory into it. Also, I think she has some grad students who do more urban anthropology if that's what you're into.

I'm applying to the MCGD genetics track. So yeah, it's probably different.

Hi there- anyone apply to Duke's Evo Anthro program? What is their deal? I got an email from them Sunday night (Jan 31) inviting me to an interview on February 8th! That's barely more than a week's notice! I have three other interviews this month plus work on the days that I'm actually at home. I emailed them back promptly telling them that I have a conflict for that week and if I could possibly reschedule but I've heard nothing back. Anyone else having this problem?

I went to Rutgers as an undergrad and majored in evolutionary anthropology (and took some cultural anthro classes as well). I don't know much about their graduate program admissions and what not, but I know a lot of grad students and they seem to like it. Personally, I loved the department. There are a lot of cool professors (and some not cool ones- watch out for Jack Harris, he's a great teacher but a scum bag of a person) and a bunch of awesome field sites (especially in Kenya). Unfortunately, I know that the department is always having all sorts of budget issues so watch out for that. Hope this helps!

Hey I'm going to that! I have six interviews as well with two of them double interviews. Do you think that means there will be another student in there with us? I hope it means that and NOT that 2 profs will be together with me for a whole hour. I'm totally excited about this trip though-it's my first round of interviews and the only school I'm visiting in that puts us up in an actual hotel!

I heard from UChicago's evolutionary biology for an interview. Don't know if the time table would be the same for other departments... On the website for the life sciences application it says they'll contact you on Jan 6th- Don't listen to this! I didn't hear from them for 3 weeks after that. I'd almost given up hope!

Hi. So I have several interview/recruitment weekends for PhD programs coming up in the next month. I've been researching the kinds of things you'll be asked and the kinds of questions you should ask them. A lot of the "what should you ask" examples (and I agree) have to do with money, housing, teaching, placement after grad school etc. However, I've been given schedules for my interviews and they're all with research profs (several in one day). I figure I should probably be asking them stuff about their labs and research and whatnot. However, is it appropriate to ask more general/technical kinds of questions to possible professors? If so, which prof should I ask? Should I just ask the same general questions to everyone I interview with so no one feels left out? Ack! I'd love to hear people's experiences with this. Thanks! -Liz