sierra918

Oh ok! That definitely makes a difference! It's completely acceptable to get your MA and Ph.D at the same institution. My apologies for the confusion.

Agreed!!!

I totally agree. I've also heard that it isn't especially favorable when you're looking at jobs in academia.

If I'm understanding it correctly, then you should only be judged against other Seniors in your particular field.

I'm not certain that you can.

It is my understanding that each year is evaluated independently of one another. So, I applied for Archaeology under the "extenuating circumstances" clause. As such, I will only be judged against others who applied under the same category.

When I did my MA several years ago, I was also 21 when I started. I can tell you that everyone in my cohort had insecurities. I was the youngest, but I also finished first and had more experience than many of my cohort. Don't worry about your age. You were accepted because you belong

I agree with Neist. Graduate school is nothing like undergraduate whee you can switch majors whenever you want. You are accepted into a specific program. You'd have to read-apply next year for the other program.

No, I don't believe the NSF would punish you that way. In pretty sure you can't accepted to federally funded fellowships at the same time though.

So glad to hear it! Congratulations to you!!!

That makes a lot of sense. I'd never considered it from that perspective.

Agreed!

Great idea! Best of luck to you ?

I've been mulling over this as well! I have s campus visit over the next two days. I'm going to do business casual tomorrow and see what everyone else wears for Friday ?

You are so welcome!

So you got in!!!! I read your other thread where you assumed you hadn't been accepted, and it was devastating to read. I am SUPER excited for you

Thanks very much! As for whether my M.A. helped, I believe that it did. I think it's very program-specific though. I think what was most important was that I met with the professor I wanted to work with, and our interests were really well-aligned. I think having him go to bat for me made all the difference! My subfield is archaeology, and I've been Working full-time for a CRM firm for 5 years, and then I have accumulated 3 full years of different archaeology jobs before that. This is where my age has been a benefit ? If I were you, I'd personally contact the profs you want to work with, meet with them if you can, make sure they are taking students, and find out if they're interested in your research. Also, you can ask the POI what their competitive applicants look like and what you can do to get there.

I completely agree! Many programs expect you to respond to their offers well before the GRFP awards are announced. I know someone whose acceptance to a program hinged on whether they got the GRFP, so they weren't accepted until after they'd been awarded in April!! Can you imagine? That being said, we are in the homestretch now! Good luck ?

I doubt it's your age. I'm 30, and I was just accepted to Vanderbilt, which is a really competitive program! I believe it had much more to do with the fact that I have an M.A. and about 8 years full time experience in the field. I also contacted a professor before I applied, and we discussed my goals at length. The Peace Corps sounds like an amazing opportunity! If you really want to Ph.D though, I'd try to get as much practical or research experience as I could before reapplying. You could certainly get that with the Peace Corps, but that doesn't have to be your only avenue! What is your subfield?

I've been dying to add my story here! It's not an overly interesting one though!! I emailed my POI this morning to see if he had any news. In the afternoon, he sent a reply saying that I'd been accepted with an amazing funding package!! I screamed when I read it and scared my 4-year old to death!! This is my top choice, and I'm ecstatic to attend!!

Thanks so much! I am beyond overjoyed!!

I've been accepted to Vanderbilt!!!!! This was my absolute first choice program, and I am unbelievably excited! I got 5 years of awesome funding with a TA-ship!!!

Bummer! Hopefully your friend gets into an amazing program!

Excellent! Thanks for sharing! If you don't mind me asking, was your friend accepted?

Has anyone heard from Vandy?