GreenEyedTrombonist

@museum_geek I always welcome advice, especially about SoPs. Good to see you're still active here!

@samman1994 also true My point was primarily referencing programs that will robo-filter before looking at an app. Basically, if you are interested in attending a program, but have a score or background that makes you worried about your chances, reach out to the DGS or a POI and discuss the application process and what they look for in a candidate. For example, although I have a background in anthropology, I am looking to apply to communication programs so I've been contacting the DGS at each program I think would be a good fit and asking if my background in anthropology would hinder my application there/ways I can strengthen myself as an applicant. So far the responses have been positive and informative.

True enough @samman1994 . I think goodness of fit is the number one thing an applicant should look for in a school, but many schools do have cutoffs for either GPA or GRE scores (or both) so it's important to pay attention to this before wasting $100 on a program that's just going to throw out the app.

There is no minimum when applying to schools, but applying to only one school does put the proverbial eggs all in one basket. There are many factors to consider when choosing which schools to apply to, including: cost of application, time to research and craft a great SoP for each school, time and money to visit schools (if possible), cost of sending each school your GRE and transcripts, and ability to make solid connections with POIs. In addition, asking your letter writers to write you letters for a ridiculously long list (say 20 or more, as an example) could backfire, as it indicates immaturity in your academic journey (i.e. being unable to narrow down schools based on your interests and goodness of fit may indicate you are not ready for this next step). Last year, I submitted to 5 schools. This year, my goal is 12 or less (with a hopeful goal of under 10). Hopefully, this is a helpful answer. <3

@Pencilvester Since I've been looking at anthro and comm I've decided that I need at least 3 potential faculty with decent to great fit. I'm in the middle of reading articles and books from the anthro faculty to email them directly and have emailed the comm programs (general department or DGS email) to ask about goodness of fit (regarding my background, research interests, and department and campus culture). Once I email the anthro POIs I'll move on to reading comm articles and emailing comm POIs. I also just finished my MA and my third committee member is in comm, so I plan to email her next week asking for an LoR and her thoughts on programs.

I completely understand that @Pencilvester (you were close, but have to click on the name when it starts auto-filling). Right now I have a list of anthropology and comm programs and am really being strict with myself about where to apply. I'm at 13 schools right now. I'd be curious to learn why you got rid of Penn State and Cornell.

Hola! I'm actually looking at many of the same schools (U Penn, Penn State, and Madison, now that I've reduced my list) because I am intending to conduct research in the same general area (online political communication). I'm also coming from a social science background and have reached out to several of these Comm programs about goodness of fit given my different background. I made sure to explicitly state my research interests and my concerns given my different background when reaching out. All the schools who have responded so far (4 comm programs at the moment) have responded positively and given me additional information to help me judge my fit to the program. Although some schools are going to be more competitive due to the number of applications they receive (some receive 100 applications while other will receive 400 for a given cycle) the ultimate deciding factor is how well you seem to fit in the program and how well you come across as a competent researcher/asset to the department. Is there a reason you are worried about competitiveness other than coming from a different background? Many Comm programs are interdisciplinary in nature and actually specifically mention wanting people from social science backgrounds (Washington State, for instance, does not require additional coursework from those with a degree in social science). For reference, the schools that have gotten back to me so far aren't on your current list, but they are Washington State, University of Oregon, Boston University, and Temple. Penn State sent me a robo-email letting me know they got my question and to allow a couple weeks for a response and I know UW Madison hasn't started yet so I'm being patient on that front (also, one of my friends, whom I met through this forum, goes there). The only other comm program I'm waiting to hear back from is NYU, but at this point I've got time.

@Bschaefer Awesome! My list is currently (still researching, not finalized for applying yet): 1. Columbia 2. UC Irvine 3. USC (California, not Carolina) 4. U of Penn 5. UC Davis 6. Rutgers 7. Cornell 8. George Washington 9. U Mass Amherst and then 7 comm programs: 1. Boston University 2. U of Oregon 3. Penn State 4. Temple 5. Washington State 6. UW Madison 7. NYU Right now I'm considering removing Boston because, when I emailed them about my research interests and goodness of fit, the reply was they wouldn't look at my research interests until after I'm admitted, but their application website clearly says I need to prove goodness of fit and faculty research connections in a personal statement so...

It does sound like you ultimately want something that's applied rather than academic in nature. Sociology may be the place for you, though you might also consider applied anthropology. I know of at least two MA programs (one in California and one in Texas) that are terminal grad programs for applied researchers. I actually just finished my MA in Applied Anthropology and centered my research around social media, geek culture, and online philanthropic communities (I promise, those all went together, haha).

I'd suggest contacting someone from the program you are interested in, whether a graduate student services coordinator or a specific professor or two with which you'd like to work. None of us can answer if you should apply since each program is different. For instance, I have decided to apply to anthropology and communications programs this season (based on my research interests), but my background is anthropology. I've been reaching out to comm programs I'm interested in and mentioning my research interests and my background, then asking if they think my interests and background would be good for their program/if they would like me to do additional work to improve my knowledge of comm on top of the degree program/any other questions I may have for that program. So far, it's served me well. Some programs are explicit about their intent to not submit students without a specific background while others are quite interdisciplinary and encourage applicants from multiple majors. In short, contact the program first and ask. At worst, you get told you probably wouldn't be a good fit and you don't apply. At best, they say you might be a great fit and encourage you to apply (plus now you're on their radar).

I agree with fuzzylogician. I would also add, before starting the SoPs, spend some time writing down the answers to each prompt. Some of the information you'll notice is repeated, but the way you discuss that information may be different in each SoP. I'm in the same boat; trying to finalize my list for applications (applying to anthropology and communications programs) and determining which information most of the SoPs ask for, which have specific prompts, and how to create the best SoP for each school. Fun times, haha.

So, now that I have finished my MA, figured I'd weigh in. I am down to 9k in student loans after taking out 5k my first year and 12k my second year (to help pay off the first loan and consolidate my debt). HOWEVER, my debt would have been much lower because my first year I worked as a student researcher (helped me pay off that first loan quite a bit) and my second year I was hired as a TA by a different department (paid my tuition, fees, and a monthly stipend). I was hired as the TA right before the school year started so I had already taken out the 12k loan. Had I known I had the position earlier, I would have never gotten that loan and would be down to 1-3k in debt right now. So, in essence, even in a non-funded program, it is possible to find jobs that either reduce your debt or get rid of it completely. I loved my MA program. I was able to research what I wanted (online philanthropic communities with emphasis on Twitch, Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter) and made connections I would never have made without my professors. I have been able to present my research to Nissan, various professionals in user and ethnographic research, and have upcoming presentations at a large company and a non-profit. I believe my experience in my MA program has made me a stronger candidate this PhD round (and has certainly strengthened my LoRs since I've worked much closer with professors during my time as a graduate than as an undergrad).

hey @Bschaefer ! Good to see you again and good luck! I've got my list of anth programs down to 9 and plan to email PoIs in the next 2 weeks (want to catch up on some readings first). I'm working on reducing my list for comm programs now. At which schools are you looking?

Honestly? It's partially subjective. Now, the graders of the essays are quite experienced and know the guidelines inside and out, but it's still ultimately based on their opinion. That's why we get 4.5, 5.5, etc scores (that .5 is usually a discrepancy between graders that is then averaged). Ultimately, you don't need to worry about the differences between satisfactory and adequate so much as you need to worry about following the directions and fully answering the prompt. If it helps, I improved my AW score from 4.5 to 5.5 between the end of undergrad and my first year of my MA. I think a large part of this score difference was that, the second time, I worried less about perfect grammar and focused on an "introduction, argument, counter-argument, argument, conclusion about how this prompt is wrong to create a false dichotomy" approach.

Even if you can't study much it might be worth it to retake. I did not study for either time I took the GRE, but I saw increases in all of my scores between the first test (end of undergrad) and the second (1 year into my MA). I think, if you intend to go into a sociocultural anth program, trying to bump your Verbal and AW scores could prove beneficial. HOWEVER, GRE scores don't usually matter as much as your SoP, LoRs, and overall application, so if you really don't have time focus on polishing that SoP and making sure the rest of your app makes up for it.

hey @phdthoughts ! Good to see you again This year I've really been trying to explore as many schools as I can to give myself the best chance of finding the perfect fit. I'll be emailing schools starting Monday and currently have a list of 27 (between anth and comm). My goals today are to start sketching out those paragraphs that will be similar in my SoPs (I'm going to use a different master SoP for anth and comm and, of course, personalize for each school) and going into deeper research on each school to see what I can discover about methodology/goodness of fit. I did send an email to U of O's program a couple days ago and was "highly encouraged to apply" so I'm hopeful this season. How is everyone else doing?

@DBear Definitely think I've entered the nervous stage. I did a big long "what can I improve" post over on the anthro side, haha.

Hey all! I'm looking for as much help as possible this application season (not accepted last season), so I'm giving in and making one of these posts. As a word at the start, I hope this doesn't come off as bragging. I didn't get in last season and that hurt, so I really want to do everything I can to improve my app this time around. Thanks so much for your help! Education: MA Applied Anthropology as of August 2017 with a 3.97/4.0 GPA from San Jose State University. I also received my BA Anthropology, minor Humanities (3.7 GPA) in May 2012 from the same school. GRE: 164 Verbal/156 Quantitative/ 5.5 Analytical with no plans to retake right now Presentations: 1 presentation at a conference called "Perspectives on Evil and Human Wickedness" in 2014, 2 presentations at SWAA 2016, 3 at SWAA 2017, 1 to Nissan Research Center of Silicon Valley 2016, 1 to city officials in 2016, 1 at a school anthropology event in 2016, 1 on Geek & Sundry's Twitch channel in 2017, 1 upcoming at Mozilla in 2017, 4 on my own Twitch channel (related to my grad research), and still making plans for 1 to Braven (nonprofit org). Publications: None in anthro journals as of yet. Two online publications related to my graduate research (a toolkit and the final 154 page report), Microsoft has also requested a copy of my graduate report for their archives, SWAA 2016 Conference Proceedings (upcoming), other various online publications of papers and reports, and I'm a freelance writer for a few websites so I have probably over 50 articles between Nerdy but Flirty, Geek & Sundry, and Zombie Orpheus Entertainment. I intend to submit articles to a couple anthro journals and write a blog for a decently known anthro blog, but I'm not sure that these will be submitted in time to list them on my apps. Research Projects: 1 on parking in partnership with Nissan, 1 on women/GamerGate/the online workforce/cyberharassment laws, 1 on community leadership in conjunction with CommUniverCity, 1 on households and stuff in conjunction with the French Ministry of Transportation, and my graduate research on an online philanthropic community in conjunction with Geek & Sundry and HyperRPG. Related Work Experience: I spent my first year of my MA as a student researcher on a project for CommUniverCity (collaborative program between my school, the city, and the local communities). The next year I was a TA and have strong references from my supervisor, the classes professors, and associated staff (it's a class taught as a collaboration between the school and a nonprofit org). Current Research Interests: I am most inspired when researching new and digital technology and its impact on communities and culture. From my work researching cyberharassment lawsuits as well as observing the last US presidential race, I have become interested in the intersection of law, politics, and social media platforms. I would like my project to analyze the role of Twitter and other social media platforms in the 2020 presidential election. I would like to compare how these social media platforms are used by politicians in the race, especially as compared with how it was previously utilized (built on the observation that Trump's use of Twitter has been credited as a huge help to his win, but his continued misuse of Twitter may contribute to his downfall-there are a few news citations for this). LoRs: I intend to ask my same people from last application season for anth (my advisor/graduate chair, the tenure track prof who was my boss on the community leadership project, and the graduate program coordinator from my department who also taught two of my courses). I am curious if it would be worthwhile to change out one of these for the department chair (taught one of my final courses and seems to have a very good opinion of me). For comm, I intend to switch one of these for my 3rd committee member who is a comm professor. I am applying to anthropology and communications programs and am currently narrowing down my list (about to email profs and more extensively research campus and department culture for each program). I think my SoP was the weakest element of my last app, so I'm starting fresh there. Overall, I think I'm a strong applicant based on basic stats, but I'd love any advice you think might help (either areas to try and make stronger or focusing only on my SoP going forward, for example).

Hey all! I'll be applying again this season as well. I've improved my explanation of my research interests and how they apply to Comm and am working on the SoP now. I am also looking at applying to more programs and have been researching colleges that might be a good fit. I am reducing that list now so I get to a good set. I have finished my MA, so I'm hoping that helps my applications this year. I am also redoing my webpage to include my grad report and links to other important writings I've done. I am concerned about my SoP (weakest part of my application last year) and about how to make it clear that, although I have a background in anthropology, I would do well in a Comm program.

Hey all! I'm also trying for a second time this season. I've been narrowing/redefining my research interests and I think they are much more succinct and interesting to established anthropologists now. I'm still doing a lot of work on my SoP, but I'm hoping my CV will help. I've also been looking at more programs than I did last year and am trying to narrow my list now, haha. One thing of note is that I have officially finished my MA so I'll be redoing my personal webpage to include my grad report (as well as links to other writings of note). I will be applying to both Anth and Comm programs and am looking to research the use and impact of social media on the 2020 US presidential race. I have 40 potential schools right now that I am looking into. My next steps are researching these programs a bit more in depth and reaching out to their faculty. I'm probably most concerned about the SoP. I still feel a bit lost on exactly how I want to format it and what information I should include. I didn't like my SoP last season and I think it is the primary reason it wasn't a good season for me so I've been starting from scratch. I'll definitely be looking through this site for any helpful tips, haha.

@AnthropologyNRT Didn't get in this year (tracker updated again in the afternoon). At least it's all done and I can focus on finishing my MA, attending conferences, writing articles, and getting a job.

Guys, stuff is finally happening at Irvine. For those who remember, my Irvine tracker said "waiting for supplemental documents" for (basically) forever. Contacting the school didn't change it and neither did contacting the program DGS. I was resigned to my fate that it would say this (despite knowing I sent them everything) until it finally said I was rejected (acceptances already went out). Well, my status changed this morning and I'm officially "being reviewed". I'm not holding out hope of an acceptance or anything, but this at least means something's happening, haha.

I once went to a conference where an abstract said someone would be discussing the architecture of Lord of the Rings and they decided that that was too obvious an analysis, so they presented on architecture in the real world (don't remember where) instead. Although this is an extreme case and outside the field, it shows that diverting from the original abstract isn't the end of the world. I once submitted an abstract and one week before the conference a study came out directly related to what I was talking about (it was exploratory research) so I rewrote my paper to include that study. That paper won an award at the conference, so the fact it didn't exactly match my original abstract was definitely not a big deal. I wouldn't worry about trying to resubmit or someone being upset the presentation doesn't exactly match the abstract. I'd just take this as a learning experience, as fuzzylogician said.

Anything that lets me: 1. Do my research 2. Teach undergrad or higher 3. Write books and articles, preferably for wide disbursement, but I know most academic books have a smaller market 4. Present at conferences, conventions, on podcasts, online shows, etc while also being able to afford to live comfortably, haha.

patiently waits for her last school to send the official rejection so she can be done already