EvelynD

You are right,..and what else can we do but try? Worrying isn't going to change your chances...(I say this after downing half a bottle of wine. The stress is killing me).

Haha, lets hope so! Well this actually happend to me, I haven't heard back from a PoI ever since I told him I am reapplying this year. Do I think it means anything? If I look at the whatsapp groups I am in, it sometimes takes my best friends days to reply. I can be the same and it doesn't have to mean anything!

Good luck! I've admitted 5, there are 2 more in January, and I'm thinking about adding 1-2 extra because why not. Also, there is a reorganization going on at my job, so there is a possibility that on Januari 1th I'll be out of a job. Yay!

Did you apply to more schools, or just this one?

But,..how? Like,did you email him/her, or did he/she contact you out of the blue? We need context!

Name dropping, yay or ney? Last september I wrote a chapter for a (non-academic) book from a European anthropologist, and I've been in touch with a prof from a different field who is an expert in the area I want to work in. She has been super nice to me, sending me lists of contacts and books and articles I might be interested in. I want to make a note if this in my SoP to show the progress I made over the year. Should I mention their names or not?

Tammy, I can feel your frustation about your associates! I hope you land a spot this time. i'm also a second-timer, and I have the same fears about not being accepted. I know my LoR's anren't going to try a third time, so this is it. I'm not religious but even I am saying little prayers from time to time!

I'm 100% sure these things will make us stronger applicants!

I've started this cross stich project to make a blanket with all the cards of the first generation, but I just can't find the time.

I'm one hour away from my 2nd deadline of today and I'm looking up pictures of how old Avril Lavigne has gotten.

I gave it a positive twist by highlighting the positives that came out of it, and what I learned from it that pushed me into the direction I am going in now. Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

I will send you a PM!

Good luck Jamesaly! I've turned in 2 apps by now, and 3 coming up on December 1. There is one thing I am struggling with, and that is the question of how my problem/question is relevant in anthropology. 'Because I like doing this' probably isn't the right answer. Can you guys help me out a little bit? How do I explain why my ideas are relevant?

San Antonio. Graduate school has an early deadline for the scholarships. Luckily I've written a proposal over the summer so I had most o the content for my letter, but I've heard they only have a handful of scholarships for everybody that applied for this deadline. Without it whatever you get from the department only covers your tuition. I'm kinda letting go of the naive hope that I've had so far

I'm only 4 days away from my 1th deadline. Stressssss!

Thank you for your reply! My GPA went up from a 2.6 (professional college) to a 3.4 (master at research university). But if you don't understand the educational system this still doesn't really makes sense. I think I;m just going to contact the graduate schools and program advisors to ask for their advice, and see where that leads me!

I feel like I'm alone in this process. Everybody tries but they don't really get it. Whenever I accomplish something (like skyping with a prof, big deal for me) my fiends give these luke-warm reactions. My boyfriend doesn't get the stress the deadlines cause. Some American friends don't reply when I ask for advice. Urg..

Hey guys, I'm worried the results from a BA degree I obtained in the past will hurt my changes of being admitted to a PhD program. Before I obtained my current BA and MA degrees, I obtained a BA from a professional college. In my country, a professional college is not the same as a university degree. University means academic or research, and professional means literally that; middle management, human resources, marketing, etc. You get it, it is a completely different level of education. When I was doing my professional degree I was not in the right place and did not fit in well. I didn't care about good results as I did not have any academic ambitions. As a result, I have a 2.5 GPA. The thing is, this degree does not matter for my academic career. A professional BA does not make you eligable for a MA or PhD, and it could just as well have been a diploma in hair dressing. I had to otbain a whole new BA at a research university to pursue a carreer in anthro. BUT, the adcom won't know this and might look down on me for it. How do I make clear to them that the GPA does not matter for my academic / research career? Maybe mention it in my SoP? (my PoI thought this was a good idea). If so, what do I say?

You are welcome to join the 'prepping for the 2018 cycle' post, which is about,..well...prepping for the 2018 cycle.

Hells yes! I think mine will be presentable tonight!

I found this forum last year through another forum. I was looking up info about doing a PhD in the States, and I came across a post on a forum for America enthusiasts (anything from vacationing to emigration). The post mentioned this forum so of course I checked it out,...Being from Europe and not knowing anyone who applied in the US , you guys are often my only source of help. Somethimes the gradcafé can be a bit overwheling since there is just so much stuff on here, and posts can be contradicting each other. But without if I wouldn't stand a chance. After I got rejected from all the schools I applied at last year I didn't visit this site for a while. It was too difficult to see everybody succeeding (trying not to sound like a baby here ). But now I'm back fro round two. Like someone said, other people might say they know what you are going through, but its not the same.

Have you been through the part where they ask for who recommended you? It's about one third in the application. I thought they ment LoR, but I can only pick from the department of liberal arts. Do they mean the prof's you want to work with? And I hate that all the systems are so different! Sometimes you have to google half the stuff just to find out what they mean!

By the way, would anyone mind reading my CV?

Thanks! I'm applying at around 8-10 of schools, almost all different from last year. I'll publish the full list a bit later on (don't hate me guys, just kinda want to keep it to myself), but this is for a University of Texas. Great fit, but soo many hurdles. They want me to send transcripts of all the collega's I've attended. I've attended 3. My first degree I got from this shitty college that stopt offering the BA program that I attended years ago. The only thing they are able to send is a copy of a transcript, in Dutch, to me. Not to the schools directly, so I would have to translate it which I can't afford. Also, my grades were horrible as I just got out of high school and didn't care about my education. I just calculated my GPA and it's 2.5 (as a comparison, my graduate GPA in anthro is 3,4, and this was at a university, not some crappy community college). But I have to upload it, so I'll have to figure out a way to explain this monstrosity.

Good luck! I've got a SoP that is kinda ready to be considered as a first draft, we can exchange if you like? I just found out that one of my programs has a priority deadline for funding at november 1st. didn't know, so now I have to rush things, especially my GRE scores and LoR's. Urg...