GreenEyedTrombonist

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 avoided too much interrogation by mentioning papers by the professors.  Still, I've got a lot of researching and reviewing to do before starting.

I'm pretty certain I am California bound. All three are amazing, so it is truly not easy to decide.

Congratulations @AnthropologyNRT Are you leaning towards any school yet or still considering all options?

Admission offered from UT Austin today! After two years of rejection I have been admitted to all 3 programs I applied to. Keep on keeping on!

NYU rejections have started rolling out. Pretty much just waiting for one more rejection to finish off this season so I can start working towards applying next season.  

Networking is definitely important inside and outside of academia. Through a mix of networking and careful decision making, I went from writing things for my own fancy to getting paid to write for companies I hold in high regard. Networking has opened multiple opportunities for me that I wouldn't have had otherwise and that I'm extremely grateful for (not mentioning most of them here, but there have been many). I consider networking to be an essential element to building a career (not to replace skill or qualifications, but to coincide with them). 

@AnthropologyNRT Thank you! I definitely think this forum helped me identify ways to improve my application for next year.  I hope that I've contributed to the same takeaway for others.
I also got that final rejection a few hours after NYU, haha.

They'd be lucky to have you! You are a source of support and all around positive human being, I know that if you want a PhD, it will be there eventually. Thanks for being so cool to everyone this year.

NYU rejections have started rolling out. Pretty much just waiting for one more rejection to finish off this season so I can start working towards applying next season.  

Once the department submits who they want, the graduate school people check that you meet the minimum school requirements for admission and process the paperwork, thus the different admission statuses.

Another week done and still have 3 schools to officially hear from. I'll just take a nap. Wake me when the notifications are all sent out.

Wow, @GreenEyedTrombonist! That was a whole lot of very useful information. And rather reassuring as well! Thank you for that. It seems that a lot of these CSU Anthropology MAs don't separate the programs of Arch and SocioCult by name, but some do have different tracks and you have to choose one. I had thought about the possibility of somehow integrating archaeology into a thesis that also addressed Sociocultural issues in an interdisciplinary way, so that's definitely something I will continue to think about too. Thank you for the suggestions! 

@Konstantine Have you considered doing an anthro MA that doesn't separate out by archaeo or anth. So, instead of an MA in Archeo or one in Socioculture, it's just an MA in anth. Doing something like this could give you access to the sociocultural classes you desire while still working on archaeo stuff as well. Maybe you could even do your thesis as an interdisciplinary approach, looking through archaeology at the material culture and history of a place and sociocultural for the contemporary culture. 
As for your questions, I'm currently doing my MA in Applied Anthro at SJSU. I didn't pay a cent in tuition this year because I got a job as a TA. Last year, I had a grant based on financial need that covered 75% of my tuition. I had to shell out just under 1k each semester, but that's a lot better than some places. I'm claiming all my books and supplies on taxes, so that'll be fine too. 
Our program is set up with the main grad courses happening 6:00-8:45 at night so that people who work can do both without much interference. There are some rules about financial assistance, but if you're enrolled in 2 grad level courses, you're considered full time. That should be pretty standard across the CSU's.
As for more successful applicants, it sounds like the main problem is that you've been doing archaeo for a long time and want to switch tracks. Have you presented at conferences or tried to work with a sociocultural prof to get more experience on that side of things? These are also ways to show that, even though you do archaeo for your job, you are still very much involved and interested in sociocultural anthropology.

Heard back from my POI at Syracuse, funded for four years with a pretty good chance at getting a fifth year through the Maxwell School!  It feels so good to have a realistic (read: funded) PhD option!

I would reach out to professors to see if you can volunteer on a research project, or maybe do some exploratory research on your own and present at conferences. I don't think an ethnographic field school is necessarily better than working as a volunteer on ethnographic research, but presenting ethnographic research at conferences could help bridge that gap.

If this is directed at me, I'd like to point out that you are assuming a lot about my eating and exercise habits. I've never stated here what my medical conditions are, so you have no knowledge if my conditions are caused by my "lifestyle", genetics, or a mix of the two. Whether you meant it as such or not, this comment comes off as highly condescending, dismissive, and judgmental as a result. 

I don't know the exact nutritional needs of anyone here so I won't make generalities. I can tell you that, for my body, eating more than 50-100 grams of carbs a day is unhealthy and causes unpleasant side effects. Usually, nutritionists suggest I eat 50 or less grams of carbs a day because of my body's needs. This means I can eat low-carb and trace-carb veggies, but I shouldn't eat any breads, pastas, rices, processed foods, baked goods, etc. That's the way my body works. It sucks and I often miss a step (right now I don't buy the groceries so regulating my diet isn't working that great), but I feel much better when I cut all big carb items from my life. 
Because my body's needs are unique to me, I get extremely annoyed by others trying to tell me what I should do to maintain a healthy diet and, therefore, won't tell others what they should or shouldn't put in their bodies.

I'm so sorry @GreenEyedTrombonist, I really hope he'll be as comfortable as possible. You know where to find me of you need to talk!!

Yep, apply. It's not a contractual obligation saying you will go to that university, but it could lead to extra funding so why not?

I read 106 books last year because the goodread challenge.  Right now I'm working on 1984. Have you read Gilgamesh? Can't get more classic than that.

Might I suggest happy ramen? Real ramen can be delicious and not nearly as bad for you as the packets you can get to make at home. 
Now I want to go to a ramen or noodle place.  

I may look into it. I'm not too sure what the price range is for repairs, though. With all the President's Day sales, I'm not sure if it wouldn't be cheaper to buy a new pair of shoes. Would be nice to get a few more uses out of them before retiring them, though.

Haha thanks for the advice, y'all. Don't worry, I don't feast on ramen and stress exclusively. Basically follow an 80/20 diet. Fruit and yogurt for breakfast, salad or a wrap or something for lunch, and usually lean meats, whole grains, and veggies for dinner. Ramen with egg + green onions is an occasional salty treat .

Might I suggest happy ramen? Real ramen can be delicious and not nearly as bad for you as the packets you can get to make at home. 
Now I want to go to a ramen or noodle place.