GreenEyedTrombonist

Thank you for letting me know!! I'm not very familiar with Google Docs so I'm going to try to just copy and paste them into the comments here.

Hey Kylie,
Consider moving the essays into a google doc. Right now they aren't viewable.

I'll send you a PM!

Something to consider that I'm running into now. If you would like to apply for external funding for your PhD after your MA, the NSF graduate student research (grant, fellowship...don't remember the official title) is only for graduating seniors and graduate students in their first year of grad school. It is possible you will be unable to get funding through NSF to help offset the cost of a PhD program (external sources of funding can make you look pretty good as an applicant).
That being said, I also did a terminal MA and it helped quite a bit by giving me research, presentation, and publication experience that has made me a stronger candidate (imo). 

Hey @esparean ! I left comments on the doc. My comments may be a little harsh (sorry about that), but I hope you see the value in them. 
In addition, I would suggest reading the pinned posts about SoPs. There is a particularly good comment thread about how to organize the SoP. I like the Focus, Fit, Future approach. This means you talk about what your research interests are, some specifics of how you got to those interests and ways you want to pursue those interests (connecting methodology to the profs you want to work with, if possible) in the Focus section. Fit is about why you want to work with specific profs at the school and elements of the program that you could benefit/work within. Future is why you want to pursue this degree in the long run and, again, why this particular program is the best choice to help you reach those goals.
I'm also looking for editors right now. Let me know if you want to tear my SoP apart.  

Hey @rhlabbasinejad ! Welcome to the dark side (aka anth, haha). Before any of us can really answer your main question, what are your specific research interests within anth? What do you want to study, where do you want to study (research location, not school), and how do you want to study it? Since goodness of fit is super important in an application, answering these questions may help us narrow down programs at which you would be happy.
Now, as for the two questions you have listed. Other than a lack of classes, I know nothing of your background. Everyone has a chance to get into a PhD program, but there are a lot of factors to consider. What can you leverage that would make you a good anth applicant? Have you tried to attend conferences, done any research outside of school, spent time exploring what anth has to offer outside of the two classes you took? Furthermore, is your research topic connected to your previous studies in Mechanical Engineering or can you leverage that degree towards your future studies? I don't know much about mechanical engineering, so this example may not connect, but I did a project where we partnered with Nissan to explore how people interact with parking and how that might change with the adoption of autonomous vehicles. Most anth programs will state that they consider your SoP (aka where you show goodness of fit) the most important factor in an application with GRE and GPA seen as less important and usually used to create a basic cut-off more than anything else. Given your different background, I have no idea how your GPA will factor in, but GRE scores should have the same weight. 
As far as funded MA, that's tricky. There are many MA programs in the US that do not state they are funded (and quite a few that do), but they actually provide employment opportunities that can cover or reduce tuition. For instance, I did not attend a funded MA, but I became a TA and had my tuition waived (plus a monthly stipend) the last year of my program. In the first year of my program, I worked as an RA and had a federal grant reduce my tuition. It may be safer to go Canada first (don't mean to pry and no need to answer, but I am a bit curious about what kind of family issues make all of Canada not an option), but, as an ignorant citizen of the US, I know very little about Canadian programs. 

Hey @rhlabbasinejad ! Welcome to the dark side (aka anth, haha). Before any of us can really answer your main question, what are your specific research interests within anth? What do you want to study, where do you want to study (research location, not school), and how do you want to study it? Since goodness of fit is super important in an application, answering these questions may help us narrow down programs at which you would be happy.
Now, as for the two questions you have listed. Other than a lack of classes, I know nothing of your background. Everyone has a chance to get into a PhD program, but there are a lot of factors to consider. What can you leverage that would make you a good anth applicant? Have you tried to attend conferences, done any research outside of school, spent time exploring what anth has to offer outside of the two classes you took? Furthermore, is your research topic connected to your previous studies in Mechanical Engineering or can you leverage that degree towards your future studies? I don't know much about mechanical engineering, so this example may not connect, but I did a project where we partnered with Nissan to explore how people interact with parking and how that might change with the adoption of autonomous vehicles. Most anth programs will state that they consider your SoP (aka where you show goodness of fit) the most important factor in an application with GRE and GPA seen as less important and usually used to create a basic cut-off more than anything else. Given your different background, I have no idea how your GPA will factor in, but GRE scores should have the same weight. 
As far as funded MA, that's tricky. There are many MA programs in the US that do not state they are funded (and quite a few that do), but they actually provide employment opportunities that can cover or reduce tuition. For instance, I did not attend a funded MA, but I became a TA and had my tuition waived (plus a monthly stipend) the last year of my program. In the first year of my program, I worked as an RA and had a federal grant reduce my tuition. It may be safer to go Canada first (don't mean to pry and no need to answer, but I am a bit curious about what kind of family issues make all of Canada not an option), but, as an ignorant citizen of the US, I know very little about Canadian programs. 

@Some violinist Nice! I expect my first draft will be around 1500 words, but I intend to cut it down to 1k for the final version.

Exactly. Get creative.
Its alright to panic, sometimes panic is a good wake up call that we need to change things up. But don't let it freeze you. Use that energy to moving towards your goals

Glad we could help!
 
I'm working on my SoP right now and am focusing on getting all of the information out first (before editing and tailoring to each program). My focus section is about 5 paragraphs at the moment (about 1.25 pages single spaced/724 words), though I expect that will reduce as I remove fluff and interweave my focus with the fit. I expect my sections will be focus (longest), fit (next longest), future (fairly short and direct). Right now I think the hardest part for completing it will be tailoring the fit section to each school, mostly because I'm looking at 11 programs, haha.  

Hey OP,

I'm not in your area, but wanted to mention that I graduated undergrad in 2012 and didn't go back for my MA until 2015 (I was 25). I was underemployed the entire time I was out of school and not doing much that could go towards academia. The year before I returned to school, I participated as an independent scholar in a conference (co-wrote a paper with my friend) and began as a volunteer content creator/ "professor" for an online fantasy education-based MMORPG. I utilized these experiences in my letter of intent to show that, even though my work experience was lousy towards my grad school aspirations, I was still thinking academically and pursuing academic interests in my own time.
Rather than panicking about the work, if you want an academic masters, see if there are any ways you can participate in a conference, volunteer for work related to your interests, or even do something like start a blog about your research interests. Rather than panicking about the experience you lack, figure out how to leverage what you've done (and add what you can before you submit your apps).

I definitely agree with @Sigaba . Don't retake more of the exam than you need to. Your written scores were sufficient so move on to showing you have improved in these areas in your orals. You don't need to study 100% of the time. Give your brain some breaks so you don't burn out. Also, you definitely should practice the orals multiple times before your retake. If your written answers were good but your orals weren't, maybe there is some way you are presenting the information verbally that is hurting you? In any case, it's good to practice.
 
As for the refusal to see you, it could be a specific prof's whim, a condition of you being allowed to retake, or something else. You don't know so try not to take it personally. 

Hey OP,

I'm not in your area, but wanted to mention that I graduated undergrad in 2012 and didn't go back for my MA until 2015 (I was 25). I was underemployed the entire time I was out of school and not doing much that could go towards academia. The year before I returned to school, I participated as an independent scholar in a conference (co-wrote a paper with my friend) and began as a volunteer content creator/ "professor" for an online fantasy education-based MMORPG. I utilized these experiences in my letter of intent to show that, even though my work experience was lousy towards my grad school aspirations, I was still thinking academically and pursuing academic interests in my own time.
Rather than panicking about the work, if you want an academic masters, see if there are any ways you can participate in a conference, volunteer for work related to your interests, or even do something like start a blog about your research interests. Rather than panicking about the experience you lack, figure out how to leverage what you've done (and add what you can before you submit your apps).

You should do what you feel is best and based on advice from your respective fields. I'll just offer some of my thoughts too.
What is missing, to me, from this plan is the part where you discuss your past experience and how it will lead you to succeed in this graduate program. I'd say this would fall under the "fit" category of the FFF model, and a common SOP structure is Fit (your experience), Focus, Fit (their facilities & people), Future. Another common one is Focus, Fit (experience to show why you're a good fit for the focus, then blend to fit in terms of facilities and people) then Future. There's no single magic formula, just illustrating a point.
In addition, from the way you framed this SOP, your essay right now sounds like it will be very one-sided. In other words, it sounds like you are offering tons of reasons why you want to be at their program and why it will benefit you, but you should also ensure that you write this SOP to show how you would be a good addition to their department (Note: emphasis on "show"). Now, since you have not started writing yet, you probably would have planned to say this anyways, but sometimes initial mindset can subtly change the way you phrase things. In your outline here, you've only emphasize why you would benefit from the grad program and but that is only one side of the "fit" aspect. The other side is also important: you want to demonstrate that you will succeed in their program and be a PhD student they would be proud to graduate (for adcom members not related to your work) and/or would want to work with (for the members who are related to your application).
One last note: like @GreenEyedTrombonist, I had a Masters going into PhD applications, so I spent a fair bit of time/space in my SOP about my past. Probably more than most guidelines, I'd say 2/3 of my SOP was about my history (however, in the spirit of the "fit" criteria). I see that lots of SOP guides now suggest 20% to 40% past and more on the future. I think these are probably better guidelines, but I maintain that there is no magic formula and SOPs are meant to be a little free form. If you can make a compelling argument, then focus on that first instead of trying to twist your essay into a predetermined/generic structure.

If anyone has a different experience, feel free to correct me, but 12 point font is the gold standard for academic writing, including SoPs. Since I'm not from your field, I would suggest maybe looking at the requirements for other programs you chose not to apply to. They may include reqs for SoPs that make it clearer what is normal in your field and what your adcoms will probably expect. Although it is good to do focus/fit/future these do not necessarily need to be 3 large paragraphs. You may have more than one reason or more than one thing you wish to discuss in fit or future, or you may want to break your focus down to topic and methodology. It's perfectly acceptable to have more than three paragraphs while sticking to those three main topics. 

If anyone has a different experience, feel free to correct me, but 12 point font is the gold standard for academic writing, including SoPs. Since I'm not from your field, I would suggest maybe looking at the requirements for other programs you chose not to apply to. They may include reqs for SoPs that make it clearer what is normal in your field and what your adcoms will probably expect. Although it is good to do focus/fit/future these do not necessarily need to be 3 large paragraphs. You may have more than one reason or more than one thing you wish to discuss in fit or future, or you may want to break your focus down to topic and methodology. It's perfectly acceptable to have more than three paragraphs while sticking to those three main topics. 

Could it hurt your chances? Yes, it could. Will it hurt your chances? Harder to know, but to some extent, probably yes. At the very least, your letter writers probably won't be known to your readers, and their word might carry less weight. They might have a harder time comparing you to other (relevant) applicants, because they probably haven't placed that many students in Comm programs. They can't really speak directly to your ability to succeed in an Comm PhD program and perhaps it'd be harder for them to discuss the originality and relevancy of your research ideas since it's in a different field than their expertise. 
What can you do to mitigate the damage? Have explicit conversations with your letter writers, so they can write the most targeted letter possible. Make sure they understand what type of programs you're applying for (you don't want them writing they're sure you'll succeed in an Anthro PhD, for example). Make sure they also understand why you've switched your focus, and what in your current education and path has prepared you to undertake this kind of program. Talk about transferrable skills and traits, and connections between ideas and topics, as much as possible. Tel them about how you ended up with this plan of applying to Comm PhD programs with a degree in Anthro. Help them see how they can help you. There will be many things they can write about that will be relevant for Comm as well as Anthro, including your ability to come up with interesting ideas, your contributions in class, your writing skills, your presentation skills, how you get along with others in a group, your maturity and projected ability to see through a rigorous PhD program. Lots of students switch fields going for their PhD. It is possible to do so with letters from one's old field.

@Islamahmed I am applying to PhD only. I just got my MA in Applied Anthropology, so there's no reason for me to apply to do an MA again. On the Comm side, I'm not necessarily opposed to entering at the MA level, but might as well try for the PhD.
@EvelynD Doing better than me! Writing is pretty much on the wall that I'm much more likely to get into a Comm program given my interests. x] Regarding the submittal of your thesis, I would reach out to friends to see if they'd be willing to edit a chapter or section for grammar. Does the content suck because of the findings, the quality of the methods, or something else? Some of these can probably be corrected for before submitting it with your app. 
Still need to edit my SoP, but I have an article due today (not academic/journal, just for work) so I'm procrastinating...
 

@Islamahmed I am applying to PhD only. I just got my MA in Applied Anthropology, so there's no reason for me to apply to do an MA again. On the Comm side, I'm not necessarily opposed to entering at the MA level, but might as well try for the PhD.
@EvelynD Doing better than me! Writing is pretty much on the wall that I'm much more likely to get into a Comm program given my interests. x] Regarding the submittal of your thesis, I would reach out to friends to see if they'd be willing to edit a chapter or section for grammar. Does the content suck because of the findings, the quality of the methods, or something else? Some of these can probably be corrected for before submitting it with your app. 
Still need to edit my SoP, but I have an article due today (not academic/journal, just for work) so I'm procrastinating...
 

@museum_geek thanks so much! I'm trying to do some work on them this weekend.

Super late response but yes, feel free to send me your SoPs!  I remember how stressed I got about writing a SoP when I applied last year - I ended up going through 4 or 5 drafts before I felt comfortable submitting applications and even then I wasn't totally confident in what I had written.  I'm happy to pay it forward after all the great advice and edits I got last year, so feel free to get in touch!

Thanks @TakeruK ! I am limited by funds so I've been keeping track of the schools with fee waivers. I have a spreadsheet with each of the schools, program, due date, rec letter number, sop/personal statement/cv requirement, fee amount, fee waiver availability, and a few other things. 
I just finished my MA and my third committee member is from Comm, so I plan to email her today or tomorrow about being an LoR and discussing the Comm programs. I'll also be emailing my advisor at the same time. 

So I don't know how anthro/communi field works, but a huge factor in my narrowing my list down was actually how active the POI currently was. In my field this is based off of publications, and I found the majority of the people I had on my list (along with the schools) had barely published in the last 4 years. Also, at the end of the day I went based off of "Is there another school with a better program than this? Yes? Cut" I.e. I only wanted to apply to one ivy league, and Harvard was the best out of all of them, so I cut all the others from my list. I actually theoretically had around 15 schools, but then I just compared them to one another. I would have been ok at any of them, but it came down to, who had the most interesting program. Anyways hope that helps! You may want to factor in stipend money and location. I cut out new york city early on because of stipend/living issues. The school I was looking at paid very little relative to the living costs. Anyways hope this helps!

Good thing to ask @Doll Tearsheet I think I'll be able to do some feedback in a few months so feel free to shoot me a DM at that time. 

@GreenEyedTrombonist Marvellous. I will reach out, and any others that express interest, when I'm ready with a draft. Should you be busy when that time comes, then I would understand of course.