anthro1

Hi, I graduated in '08 from a top level anthropology program on the East Coast USA with a 3.8 GPA (with a high verbal GRE score but fairly weak scores on the math portion) I only applied to 3 grad schools for my Masters in Anthro, thinking that having a Masters would boost my prospects for entry in to a well regarded PhD program. (I was also very ill during my app process which made applying to more schools impossible.) I've been given a full tuition + stipend for a masters program in Canada. The school is well regarded in Canada, although not well known in the USA. I would be given a lot of support, opportunity for research and obviously would have no debt. I would also have money to do research/travel for my thesis research and opportunity to network in my chosen field of anthro. However, I'm worried that by taking an MA from a lesser known school than my undergrad degree, I might actually be hurting myself and making it more difficult to get entry into a really solid PhD program (Brown, Cornell, NYU, U Texas Austin, the UC school system, U Michigan, U Penn.) Would admissions look at my history and wonder why I went to a lesser known school for my Masters, while I went to one of the top anthro programs in the country for my undergrad? Or would my research make me more 'unique' and therefore marketable? What is more important -- the name on the degree, or the amount/quality of work I put out during my masters? I'm at a complete loss and would love constructive input. Thanks. If you need further details, you can message me, but I'm trying to be fairly vague on a public forum setting for obvious reasons. Sorry to be rather vague on here, but I look forward to any insights. Thank you!