EA76

As someone still waiting, I’m curious if the rejection was sent only to your PI or to you, too? Did your research.gov status change? Also, how common is it to be ranked competitive/high priority and still not be funded? That’s a frustrating outcome!

GOT IT!! Incoming graduate student, one publication, extensive fieldwork/language study. E/E, VG/VG, E/VG

Does anyone know anything about how difficult it is to change schools— i.e. to attend a different program than your proposed one (for those of us applying before beginning PhDs)? I notice few people on the results list seem to have switched programs, but I would want to given what I've learned about different programs I'm considering. (Not to get ahead of myself—I'd have to win first, but it's something I was wondering about...)

I was also able to log on, and my status is still "received."

Sorry for missing earlier explanations of the Fastlane maintenance significance, but how long does it usually take after the site is back up for awards to be posted? Does that all happen at the same time (i.e. I should expect to know a result at 6am on the 29th) or is there still a waiting period after the Fastlane site is back up?

Congratulations on getting the full-funding offer at MAPSS— I don't think they give many of those out, so that speaks very highly to your application materials! I can't speak to the program well, but have had two friends go through it— so before I say anything, just know that this is a second-hand account and might be better to hear first-hand perspectives, such as those outlined in the forum posts below from a few years ago (copied/pasted after my answer). To put it simply though, I think many people feel that MAPSS is a money-making scheme more than anything else. That's a fairly widely-acknowledged perspective both among students and within the University, which means certain faculty members who have a negative option on MAPSS students may not be willing to take you seriously or work with you. It's expensive, even if you get scholarship money—especially because Chicago isn't a cheap place to live. They do offer a lot of support in applying for PhDs, but you should know that you won't be applying next year— they only offer application support to people on the tail-end of the program who have done well, from what I understand, so you are looking at the 9 months in the MAPSS program, plus another year or so that you'd have to fill before beginning a PhD program that, most likely, won't take the MAPSS credit as transfer credit anyway (The point I'm trying to make is you'd be extending an already lengthy doctoral-level education by 2+ years). Both of my friends had less-than-stellar experiences, personally and academically. The core coursework is challenging and deeply-embeds you in the social sciences (only good things to say about that!), but, beyond that, my friends didn't have the opportunity to connect with the faculty they would have liked to work with or pursue the research they were excited about both because of the length of the program (it's very short) and because of the stigma against MAPSS students (to put it as harshly as possible: basically as just being rich kids who didn't get in to Chicago's PhD programs, but are able to "pay their way" into a PhD program by, to some extent, "buying" a UChicago degree). That's not a stereotype that applied to my friends, or would apply to you, but I think "haunts" the students in the program, to some extent. If you're set on getting into a top PhD program and moving forward in academia as a career than it may be worth taking out loans/drawing on your savings and putting things "on hold" (to some extent) for two years— especially if you think you're in a position where you won't be competitive without it (i.e. low GPA, low GRE scores, little experience in the social sciences, etc.). That doesn't seem to be the case for you though; if you were offered the full-funding package, you must have been competitive for the PhD programs I'd imagine— even if it didn't work out this year, it might be worth re-applying next year. We may not want to get into a big MAPSS debate here (it seems to happen every year!), but feel free to PM me if you want. I'd also recommend re-starting the thread below to get more recent opinions (or starting a new one in one of the other forums), if you're interested in hearing what people who have actually done the program (again, that's not me!) might say:

After you talk with your advisor, as Takeruk recommends, I would angle to try to accept as many of the grants as possible, assuming you can do so in an honest way— even if it means adjusting your budget according to the first grant you won and accepting a smaller amount than what you originally applied for from the other two. Thinking less about finances and more in terms of your long-term career, potentially having all three awards on your CV would be great, and may also be an opportunity to make new contacts, connect with major funders in your field, etc.— so even if you don't need the money, if there's a way to pursue whatever is offered to you, I'd do that.

Hi Kosmosis, If you're thinking of a PhD moving forward, I'd recommend looking into particular schools and spending time reading the kind of research that's being done in anthropology departments that are historically strong in the areas you're interested in. This will be very valuable research for your future PhD applications, but will also help you to figure out whether the kind of current research that's being done is similar to what you're hoping to do in the future. Harvard has a major focus in political anthropology (see this page), and also a number of faculty working on the anthropology of place (page here), which would link in well with you interest in cultural geography. I don't know what your regional/theoretical focus is, specifically, but if you're interested in urban space or in politics/space in the US, CUNY could be a great program to look into/read research from— they have a very strong history in that kind of research thanks to David Harvey and Setha Low being there. CUNY also has the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics, which also seems relevant— you could read through work published by their associated faculty, too. Depending on your research and regional interests, other places that immediately come to mind would be Johns Hopkins for the political/legal emphasis, Stanford, and perhaps Berkeley as well. All that being said, if cultural geography is really where the majority of your interests lie, it might be worth checking out geography programs in the UK, if you have any interest in studying there. Geography is a very exciting, very forward-thinking (and almost anthropological!) discipline in the UK in a way that is isn't in the States, so that could be worthwhile to do some research into, too. Cultural geography in the UK also has a comparative element methodologically, which you'll likely find to be much more uncommon in US anthropology departments. Hope this helps! I know you weren't asking specifically about programs, but I do think that's a great place to start, especially while a masters student, because that will give you both a sense of where you might want to position yourself in the future, as well as a better feel for what's going on at present in anthropological research— which I would argue is especially important if you're looking at doctoral work in that you'll need to be careful about positioning your work alongside what's being published now.

Hi STS4656-- I had an interview at Harvard (social) about 3 weeks ago, but no word since. I was really hoping to hear at the start of this week. You?

I think a number of the schools I'm waiting on have closed for Presidents' Day, unfortunately... At least one more day of waiting for me.

So schools are closed today, right? I should stop refreshing my inbox for the day?

Officially heard back on interviews, and now just waiting for final decisions! Congratulations to all of you who have already been admitted. Does anyone have a general feeling for how long after interviews you might expect to hear a final outcome on the application?

Has anyone heard anything from Yale? Just wondering if they're delayed in releasing their shortlist and contacting people for interviews, or if perhaps they aren't interviewing at all this year...?

I have my CUNY interview this week— I was notified in the original batch sent out at the beginning of the month, so I think they're still working through that original list. Not sure if that helps you!

I've been following this page for a while, now driven (by the insanity of waiting) to finally post myself. Can anyone fill me in on the Stanford interviews? It looks like some years, they request all interviews at once, in one round; but then, in some recent years, there are two sets of interview dates posted, which leads me to believe it isn't always like that...? Any idea if the Stanford posts on the results page are for all sub-disciplines/all admits?