runningwithquills

I got in to UVA!  Looks like I'm bound for Charlottesville! 

You could try emailing the DGS at these departments, or perhaps specific profs you want to work with. Send them your SOP and writing sample, explain your background, and ask for feedback. The SOP is super important-- basically don't assume they'll know who you are, and what your application entailed. There has to be something for them to read and thereby provide feedback. 
If I may ask: is there a reason why you don't want to do the MA? It sounds like from your first post way back, you'd only be interested in the MA if that would allow you to enter a PhD program as a 2nd year student (which I've never heard of).  I guess the question is, why the rush? Especially if you only graduated with a BA back in 2013. Plenty of people enter grad school a few years out of undergrad. Btw, you might want to look at applying to Ox/Bridge Masters programs as a backup. They're quick-- 1 year. I had a TA that did that in order to convert her history degree for PhD apps. 

^I second that. Every single grad student I've spoken to said that it's a really bad idea to take out loans for grad school (be it an MA or PhD) considering what the academic job market is like. I don't have an MA, but majored in my general field of interest so my scenario is admittedly different from those who want to switch from, say, archaeology to cultural. However, I have noticed the program that I am most likely going to attend has taken in a few people with BAs who haven't had field research and hell, haven't studied anthro either. It sounds like the most important aspect of the application is the statement of purpose. When I visited the aforementioned school last week, the prof who interviewed me told me point blank that he thought I would have quite a bit of work to do with respect to environmental anthro (my undergrad project was on labour, and I hadn't taken any envt anthro classes) but said that those things can be learned (i.e. you can read books and catch up). What they ultimately evaluate you on is your potential-- can you think creatively and critically? Do you have good ideas? This is where having an interesting project is key. I know some people disagree, but I thought the sample Duke SOPs were useful. What I drew from them was dedicating 80% of my SOP to fleshing out my project, and imbuing the rest of it with more personal info (e.g. why I appreciate anthro) to show that you have a personality. 

^I second that. Every single grad student I've spoken to said that it's a really bad idea to take out loans for grad school (be it an MA or PhD) considering what the academic job market is like. I don't have an MA, but majored in my general field of interest so my scenario is admittedly different from those who want to switch from, say, archaeology to cultural. However, I have noticed the program that I am most likely going to attend has taken in a few people with BAs who haven't had field research and hell, haven't studied anthro either. It sounds like the most important aspect of the application is the statement of purpose. When I visited the aforementioned school last week, the prof who interviewed me told me point blank that he thought I would have quite a bit of work to do with respect to environmental anthro (my undergrad project was on labour, and I hadn't taken any envt anthro classes) but said that those things can be learned (i.e. you can read books and catch up). What they ultimately evaluate you on is your potential-- can you think creatively and critically? Do you have good ideas? This is where having an interesting project is key. I know some people disagree, but I thought the sample Duke SOPs were useful. What I drew from them was dedicating 80% of my SOP to fleshing out my project, and imbuing the rest of it with more personal info (e.g. why I appreciate anthro) to show that you have a personality. 

^I second that. Every single grad student I've spoken to said that it's a really bad idea to take out loans for grad school (be it an MA or PhD) considering what the academic job market is like. I don't have an MA, but majored in my general field of interest so my scenario is admittedly different from those who want to switch from, say, archaeology to cultural. However, I have noticed the program that I am most likely going to attend has taken in a few people with BAs who haven't had field research and hell, haven't studied anthro either. It sounds like the most important aspect of the application is the statement of purpose. When I visited the aforementioned school last week, the prof who interviewed me told me point blank that he thought I would have quite a bit of work to do with respect to environmental anthro (my undergrad project was on labour, and I hadn't taken any envt anthro classes) but said that those things can be learned (i.e. you can read books and catch up). What they ultimately evaluate you on is your potential-- can you think creatively and critically? Do you have good ideas? This is where having an interesting project is key. I know some people disagree, but I thought the sample Duke SOPs were useful. What I drew from them was dedicating 80% of my SOP to fleshing out my project, and imbuing the rest of it with more personal info (e.g. why I appreciate anthro) to show that you have a personality. 

Ahh just got into Princeton!!!

Ahh just got into Princeton!!!

Ahh just got into Princeton!!!

Ahh just got into Princeton!!!

Ahh just got into Princeton!!!

I have a bit of inside info re: Penn as I graduated back in May, and still remain as an RA to one of the profs there in my spare time. I didn't apply but I can tell you that they will prob issue interview requests in a week or so. I would recommend NOT emailing them. I've been trying to resist emailing the schools i applied to as well because it's really not a good idea to irritate them. The Penn prof I work with advised me "not to appear too hungry" during interviews. 

Always, always, always try to contact your POI before applying. The worst that can happen is that your e-mail falls into a black hole.  Before contacting your POI, make sure you have a pretty good idea of what you want to do -- and what your POI does. But speaking as a POI, I'd rather have an unprepared scholar contact me and walk them through putting an application together, than getting an application from someone who clearly needed more mentoring and wouldn't be able to get into programs with the portfolio they submitted.
Furthermore, with some programs receiving hundreds of applications, the first evaluation of applications is often made by faculty outside of your particular regional/topical specialty. If a POI knows to lookout for an application, they can often rescue someone who was passed over in the first round. But if they don't know about you, your application can get lost. This has happened at all the schools I've been at, so it's not particular to my current position.