CuddlyWingman

For me, the meet and greet was super informal, so it was more like a mixer than anything else. Aside from the general welcome from the university and the grad student staffs, we were more or less set free to socialize and meet other students. So, if I were you, I wouldn't sweat it, and just try to make some friends inside and outside your field

One semester down, three (hopefully) to go! I've started TAing, as well as writing my research proposal, so hopefully everything will fall into place for me to graduate next spring. If not, I will be a very sad panda indeed. I'm having almost the exact opposite problem! I'm a northerner trying to adjust to life in the tropics haha My body still doesn't understand why the snow and ice have been replaced by heat and random monsoons.

Thanks, guys! I will keep an eye out for any other info, then. I actually just heard back from one of them, so hopefully that means that they are moving in the right direction!

This! Apply to more than a single master's program! You'll want to go work before your PhD anyway! Not that my 20 y.o. self would listen to this, of course.

What you might also do, OP, is check if some of the schools you're interested in offer spring semester admission. Those admission deadlines may be further out, and let you take more time to decide what schools would be the best fit for you. You definitely do not want to rush off to school (and headlong into debt) because you "are determined to continue in academia", just to find that you are in the wrong program. Good luck in your search!

Similar to Mini Monkey, I came into the program without funding, but then was able to land a TAship after the fact. Especially with MA programs, a lot of schools want to get to know you before they give you the opportunity to work/be funded. Ask around with both the department and with current grad students, they'll be more than willing to help you out.

Some great stuff here already, I'll chime in here as well. The first question to ask yourself in this case, I think, is how you are going to fund your schooling. While it's entirely possible to balance sports, work, and school as an undergrad (I did it, too), grad school is a different monster. If you're lucky, you can get funding through a TA position, or some other work-study sort of situation. If not, and you don't have piles of cash lying around, then it's pretty likely that you'll be working at least one part-time job to get through. Not to mention, the grad courses that you will be taking are likely going to eat up far more of your time than undergrad. It's perfectly possible to go straight from undergrad to grad (most of my cohort did just that), but it will require you to analyze and adjust your priorities. Best of luck!

First things first, I would have a copy of my cover letter and resume on hand, for reference. I would also look over the company (university/agency/etc.) mission statement, description of services, etc. and formulate one or two questions regarding their work. I would want to make sure that I was familiar with my contact's work, with their current projects, and to have an idea of how my own work (or research, if for school) would fit into their overall agenda. For both of them, make sure that you are in a quiet, calm area that you can be comfortable in, and make sure that you won't be disturbed. Also, as Demeter said, a notepad beside your computer is absolutely invaluable.

Hi folks, I'm currently waiting to hear back from several agencies regarding summer work with the Feds, and I was wondering if anyone here had experience with the Parks or Forest Service, or the BLM. About how long did it take for them to get back to you? I'm coming up on 2 months for some of these applications, and am getting a little nervous about what I'll be doing come summer.

So, it looks like quite a few good points have already been made here, but I'll add my two cents. I was in your shoes last year, whilst applying to grad programs, and I was asking essentially the same question. I'm not sure about your field, but especially in Archaeology, work and life experience are absolutely a factor in the application review process. I ended up being accepted into an MA-to-PhD program, after applying to several PhD and MA programs across the country. My best advice would be to focus your efforts on the MA level, or possibly on schools that have a combined MA/PhD track. That way, you are competing mostly with other "fresh undergrads", as opposed to people who may have been working in your field for 10-15 years. One other thing. If you can, try to contact some of the grad students at the schools you are interested in, see what kind of experience they had coming in, and try to judge how well you would fit with the demographic. Other than that, understand that fair or not, you will be judged more critically because of your age, and you will need to present yourself and your research interests all the more confidently to balance against that. Best of luck with your studies!

Combination of my old gamertag "SnoopysWingman" and what I nicknamed my Jigglypuff that solo'd Firered back in the day, "CuddlyDoom". So, yea.

This is really good, especially when we are talking about PhD programs. To the OP, since you are going to be fresh out of your undergrad, the first couple of years in most PhD programs will be roughly equivalent to a Master's program. You will go to classes, do papers, etc., along with the Master's students in your school. Depending on your field, the work could ramp up after the first year or so, as you move into the independent research phase of your program. It will be more strenuous than your undergrad (obviously), but doable. Time management skills are key, both in terms of being "socially mature" and a good student. As an aside, I would highly recommend looking into more MA programs as you apply. Speaking from a background in Archaeology, most PhD programs will want you to have a fair amount of work experience before they take you in. So, you might want a handful of back-ups, just in case. Best of luck in your application process!

Hi Everyone, I've been lurking here for a while, essentially since I decided to apply to several grad programs last year. I haven't found a topic that specifically talked about this issue, so I wanted to get a feel for what the consensus was regarding doing a Master's and a PhD at two different universities. Starting out, I only applied to about 4 schools out of undergrad (my first mistake), 3 PhD and 1 Master's/PhD (my second mistake). Lo and behold, being a young, fresh graduate, the only one I got into was the Master's/PhD program, which was not my first choice for school. Regardless, I took it, and am making progress through my first year in my master's program. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the school, faculty, and community, but it's not where I would have ideally ended up. My question then, is if I should apply to several programs for my PhD work come next year. The school I'm in has a PhD program already, but I don't want to get stuck in a position like I did last time, with only one option open, or even worse not having any program to continue in.