Archaeodan

@phyanth Aight, so my last rec sent me a text saying she's got them fully written, just needs to submit when she gets a free second. WOO. That's a load off. I'm applying to Georgia Geography (anth prof has an appointment in both departments), Penn State Anth, Brown Anth, and Chicago Ecology (cool collab project). Possibly also BU Anth if POI says yeah, but that's January 15th deadline. Chicago is the only real sticking point here, because they require the whole package including recs by Friday. So yeah. Been a fun week lol.

Still waiting on one rec letter. She's a friend, so it's hard to keep pestering her because I don't want to make her feel bad, but like damn. Doomsday is very close. And I know as soon as these go in, I'm gonna be a ball of nerves. My job requires me to be on my emails at all times, so it's super gonna enable constant freaking out. My poor coworkers lol.

Heck yeah Positivity Thread! My dream program, which had permanently closed earlier this year, officially joined into another program and exists again with the POI I wanted making the move, too! Better, they're accepting applications for 2018 and are fully funding students. Got the news from the Director of Grad Studies today. I'm so pumped!

You're welcome I acknowledge I may sound like I'm 45, but girl, I'm 23. You're definitely not too young for this. Your mom will likely keep worrying, it's a natural feeling and a default setting for mothers, but she just wants the best for you. I had a similar issue with my mother about my latest move; she was concerned and kept telling me and it was making my own doubts worse. I ended up having to sit her down and acknowledge that even though we were all unhappy I was moving far again, there were many reasons why this was good for me She came around. Try it with yours? Powerpoints help. So do surprise donuts. Moms just want to be reassured that you've thought this through and will be ok.

Coming from the perspective of someone who spent their life moving to far-flung parts of three different countries (US, Italy, UK), moving always sucks. The month leading up is stressful, the first day there is exhausting, the first week lonely. However, people get how you feel and want to help you love their home. Because of the wonderful people I've met, I have NEVER lived somewhere I didn't hate leaving at the end. Culture shock exists, but as long as you approach every new situation as a chance to learn and experience another group's perfectly valid different way of doing things, you're going to have a really good time. Just take every day as it comes, say yes to as many events/hang-outs as you possibly can, and jump straight in as fast as you can. Actually move into your new place as close to the start of the first scheduled thing for school as possible. I've found it's better to have less time at the beginning to mope and be alone. Also, pro-tip. People will know you're not local. Don't try to hide your accent or change the way you speak to sound local. You will probably end up confusing or offending people. I've found people really get a kick out of my obvious "not from here" accent/word choice. Don't over-exaggerate your accent, but embrace it, roll with the lighthearted teasing, and enjoy. Seriously, moving somewhere new is hard, but it's rarely ever a bad thing. PS: Skype/Facetime is your friend. Actually seeing your people from home will make you feel way less homesick than just calling or texting. PPS: Keep the things that are part of your routine. For example, I have always spent a lot of time in coffee shops. They feel like home to me. So, every time I move somewhere new, I make sure to case out the coffee shops within the first week. Really can help you settle into a place if you keep your routine things. Bringing your dog should super help with this. PPPS: Unpack and go grocery shopping as soon as possible. You'll be tired and just want to crash, but trust me, the sooner you do the little things to feel more in place, the less you'll feel like your world's been turned upside down. PPPPS: Enjoy. This will be really good. Just go for it.

While doing my masters, one of my profs told us that archaeologists at any stage in their careers always need a Plan B. So, I've had mine planned for years. Plan B is museum work (doing it now, my job would love to keep me if I don't get into PhD). Plan C is move back to Italy, follow the family tradition, and become a seamstress.

Getting my masters first was definitely the best decision for me. It gave me time to figure out precisely what my research interests are and gave me a lot more specialized training helpful in zooarchaeology. I don't know how it was for you, but my undergrad Anthro program was really generalized. I mean, we took separate classes in sociocultural, bio, and archaeology, but the papers we had to write were more historical and ethnographic than sciencey. Zooarch is sciencey, so I solidified my paper writing skills, worked in various positions in the lab, and got good jobs when I got out. I was able to make myself a much more useful and independent researcher because I took the time to get the masters (in my case an MS) first. I'm sure it's possible to go straight from undergrad to PhD, but the reason so many of us don't is that we feel unprepared before and it's much easier to get in after. In any case, performing well in a masters proves you can perform well through the rigors of grad school, because you already did. It's a good self-recommendation. Undergrad doesn't so easily translate.

I'll second @bioarch_fan. I'm zooarchaeology and it's maybe even smaller a field than bioarch. I would suggest starting off as broad as you're willing. Maybe you're most interested in the effects of A and B on rural communities, but you're willing to be flexible on the region, or maybe your main interest is China, but you're flexible on specific disease. Either way, I've found in my (rather a lot of) emails I've sent back and forth to POIs that they will ask more questions if they want you to be more specific, but they will tell you they can't help you if you're too spefic and they come away from your email thinking you're a bad fit. That said, if you do have very specific interests, some professors will be willing to advise you on methods while you do a different region or vice versa, but you probably will have a shorter list of potential schools than you might want. It's a trade-off, but that's kinda what it is in these tiny fields. Bone people unite!

Wooo! Back for round 2! Kinda feel like not getting in last year was for the best. Did a lot with this year, have a much better statement written, and I'm actually slightly excited to get back into the saddle of this grad school application madness. Applying to 4 this year (maybe more), all with December 1st deadlines, and I'm moving for a new job on Nov 23rd. I'm running on caffeine and luck and I'm pumped.

UConn applicants: if anyone is still waiting on an answer, you're waitlisted. Good news, prof I work for just told me they typically accept ~50% off waitlist. Best of luck!

Ahhhhhh....just got confirmation that the application the online portal indicated was not received did in fact get there. Hot damn, been trying to contact grad advising for a month about this. Ooof...that's a load off. To anyone who has yet to hear from U Oregon, the online portal doesn't always show which documents arrived, and applications are definitely still going through the decision stage. Nothing is over yet.

Before applications, our weekly super important lab meetings were the scariest part of Mondays. Now, I see those 2.5 hours with my boss breathing down my neck for useful contributions as a wonderful reprieve from uselessly stalking my emails...Funny how perspective changes.

Anyone else waiting on a response from U Oregon? There was a little problem with my application and I'm hoping they didn't just toss it as a bad job...

@enfp @EvelynD I believe it was across all subdisciplines, but I'm not sure. The way he said it made me think it was. No idea if they've been contacted, but I haven't received official notification yet either, so I'd image that, unless they heard from their POI, they haven't been notified. My POI just told me because he's cool, saw the official list, and didn't want me to freak out anymore.

I wouldn't feel to bad if you don't get into Toronto. I didn't either, and my POI told me Anthro only accepted 3 international students this year across all three campuses and 50 faculty. So, really, don't take it personally. That said, you haven't heard yet, so no sense getting yourself worried over nothing.

@enfp If it makes you feel any better, all of us sane people are trying as hard as we possibly can protesting and contacting lawmakers to change minds. I know it can't mean much practically, but a vast majority of the US disagrees with Trump's immigration ban. We're trying to fix this

I'll second that. My MS (osteoarchaeology) professors were the most useful human beings on Earth. The actual research I did was not very closely related to my proposed project at all, but the act of designing, heading up, and reporting on my own excavation was such a valuable experience I never would have been trusted with in undergrad. More importantly, my MS research taught me how to be a zooarchaeologist in practical terms, which shaped how I perceive what can be and what I want to be achieved by my future work. With how nebulous my plans were coming out of undergrad, I never would have been accepted straight into Phd. Oh, and I got funding through menial lab management work. The funding opportunity wasn't advertised before admittance, so sometimes it's worth it just to ask your potential programs what they'd offer. But that's just me. Not for nothing, though, I work as a research assistant in a university zooarch lab now, and only 1 out of 4 Phds there didn't get a masters first. So, it's not impossible to get in with a BA, but it's definitely not a bad choice to pursue a masters in between.

I'm not finished, but it's really good so far! I mean, I may be biased, as I study human/animal relations through history, but a social worker friend recommended it to me, so there's your non-specialist fan.

My depression is acting up for several reasons, but primarily because the schools I applied to haven't released decisions yet. My f...ed up brain has decided that means I'm too inadequate to merit perusal of my application, so admissions must have thrown it out at first glance and doesn't take me seriously enough to tell me I'm that bad. Oh, and I left my sunroof open the night before a noreaster snowstorm came through, so my car has an inch of snow and ice coating the interior. So, I'm trying to dry it out by with several kitty-litter-filled-pantyhose packages dispersed throughout my car. So, less musty car smell, more wet litter grossness. Yay.

Cod: A biography of the fish that changed the world by Mark Kurlansky I'll add in my enthusiastic approval of Freakonomics. Really interesting read!

Sorry about your rejections, but that's an amazingly appropriate descriptor for this feeling....Schrödinger's decision. Classic. Well, either way, the cat will be out of the bag (pun fully intended) very soon.

Nah, just my POI just after deadline saying good luck...soooo it's been straight up panic since then. Yaaaay. But hey, if last year's results timing has any bearing on this year, we should only have to wait until the beginning of February

Oh hey, another Toronto archaeology applicant. I'm in good company. Best of luck! What's your interest? I'm Arctic zooarch.

Hey Megan, If you're interested in schools abroad, I would definitely suggest you check out University of Sheffield in England. It's top-notch and the community feel there is amazing. I can tell you all about it if you're interested. I just graduated with my Osteo masters