Hey everyone, I'm new here, but I've been lurking for a long time. Hope to become a member of this great community of folks.
I'd like to reach out on your opinions of good grad programs for me, and my likelihood of acceptance. I'm a non-traditional student in that I'm a little late to the game. Here's a little about myself:
- I'm 34. Does this hurt my chances of admission to a PhD program, or further down the road, hurt job prospects in academia?
- I attended a moderately-ranked flagship public university, where I studied anthropology and LATAM studies (double major). My GPA was 3.6. I was involved in some undergraduate research and was published while in undergrad. I didn't do much as far as extracurriculars.
- After graduating, I was involved in a number of startups in the technology industry. It ended up being not for me, and nothing I worked on was a success outside of life experience. I've written a book about this time in my 20's and it'll be published next year by a major publisher.
- At about 30, I realized I wanted to work toward understanding human culture more than anything else. Despite my hiatus, there is no doubt I want to be in anthropology (sociocultural) and in academia, which fits my personality and skills perfectly. Obviously I would like to end up at a major research university.
- I have been living in Mexico for most of the laat six years, and as a result have just finished a book about violence, conflict, drugs, and prostitution in an incredibly dangerous area where I lived for a year and a half and was most certainly given access that no outsider has been given previously. Along with the book, I've compiled a photobook. Both are pending publication and will be published prior to my grad school application. I'm also working on a documentary on police corruption in the same region (using spy drones and ridealongs with cops). Next, I'm trekking through the Sonoran Desert with unauthorized migrants and heading down to live with Zapatistas for a bit.
- I'm the founder and director of two charity organizations in Mexico, one helping recently deported persons and the other sex workers with drug addictions.
- I'm the founder and editor of two anthropology-related blogs, one related to Mexico.
- [Edit] Forgot to add that I'm working with a long-term material culture project in Mexico with a professor at a top department. I've also done field schools in Chiapis and Oaxaca, a summer class at UNAM, and I speak fluent Spanish and Portugese, and can converse in a couple Maya languagss.
In conclusion: I'd like to attend a "highly ranked" anthropology program but tend to dislike ratings and remember the fact that the NRC rankings are very old. Here are some schools on my short list right now: Arizona, Berkeley, Chicago, Harvard, New Mexico, Michigan, UCLA, UT Austin.
What do you think? Opinions? Likelihood of acceptance? Any other programs I should be looking at, Duke, Wisconsin? My current school interests are based on a mixture of rankings, faculty, and personal interest in attending.
Should I (or do I need to) go for an MA program first? If so, I am interested in LATAM studies at UT Austin.
Thanks in advance for your help!
