Fantasmapocalypse

The stipend is bigger, but the cost of living is likely proportionately higher, so it doesn't sound like that makes much of a difference. Honestly, if you are banking on having overlap in your areas (physical, theoretical, topical, etc) of interest rather than learning new ones or supplementing your training and interests I can't see how the "other" school is a good option for you. The question that you basically are facing, it sounds like, is to ask your yourself: Is the school (training) or city more important to you? On the one hand, I see many people argue that you train on coast opposite of your intended destination for teaching (i.e. go to an East coast school if you want to teach on the West) or to differentiate your BA/MA/PhD schools... and if you have time, money, connections, that all sounds great. But there is also an argument to be made that what "they" care about is 1.) that you have a PhD (or MA)... and, in some instances, if it comes to it, 2.) the prestige of the degree granting school. I don't know if any of this helps and this is probably 6 weeks too late but I think you need to consider what you want from your MA program - do you want some one to "train" you (they have expertise that you lack), do you want someone to "coach" you (they train you in processes/theory but have different regions/topics of interest) or do you want a perfect fit? Most people don't get the perfect fit so do you want to apprentice or do you want to be coached?

And I got funding!

My experience and gut tells me that if you can't get the help to "complete" your project then I would simply share a status update of where the project is, what you've accomplished, the challenges you've faced, and what your recommendations for next steps are. You are working on a BA, and you are an intern. You are not the project lead and cannot/should not be chastized for "failing" to complete something outside of your control. What I have found helpful when I was working on projects like yours and the set-backs you've encountered was to talk about the experience and process of doing research as much as the "end results". For example, at CSU Sacramento we were given a final paper that needed to include original ethnographic research, and I decided to interview different martial arts instructors in the region to talk about their lineages, their relationships with their seniors/juniors and their instructors. A key problem I came to appreciate in the process was how knowledge is created/codified/certified/verified. And while I hardly did anything groundbreaking or new, I learned how you ask questions and how to interview people and navigate your way through different ethnographic situations. I think your work, as "incomplete" as it is, would be useful to share for someone who is also perhaps struggling to work on projects as an intern or who would like to know more about the process from your perspective and how people actually circumvent and solve problems. Lack of funding, tools, etc. is all something valid to discuss and explore! Keep the faith. ❤️ Keep at it! Your work matters and so do you.

Look for other ways to get to your country of interest. See if there are English teaching opportunities that can help position you in the country, even for the short term, to give yourself a more competitive slant. 'Field experience', even a few weeks or months, give you that much more practical leverage on paper. If you have been to or even better know people in your desired area you are that much more likely to succeed in winning the grant. Find alternate sources of funding, perhaps those connected to your region or topic of interest. Many times you can spin or incorporate a small portion of your thesis to help win over smaller grants and other funding. My experience focuses on Japan and east Asia so I can't really offer specific details outside of this region but don't give up! I went through two rounds of apps, accepted an unfunded offer and just got a notice last week it is now almost 90% funded and includes pay for the first year.

Your writing sample should be your most polished piece of work, preferably something presented at a conference and/or peer-reviewed or published, even if it is in conference proceedings. Barring that, I would go with your strongest paper (perhaps a senior thesis if undergrad, MA thesis or capstone, etc) that connects the most with your program(s) of choice and/or highlights your specialization and skills. So if you are writing for a program with faculty who specialize in gender, select something in that area. If you are writing about popular culture and nationalism, you could potentially frame that in your SOP for departments focused on media, youth culture, nationalism, popular culture, etc. Your sample is just that, a sample. IMO I would probably take your strongest work and submit it as last graded or as published. If you have revisions from a trusted advisor's input, then go for that. However, I think your writing sample is less important then showing in your SOP how your previous work connects to the department and your current plans. Search committees and admit committees will probably not read and entire sample, so it can be risky trying to tweak a 20, 30, 40, etc page paper at the cost of your letters of rec and SOP. IMO your SOP is your campaign platform and sales pitch. It is written for that program, or should mostly be original and written specifically for them.

I just got my rejection letter from UCSB's EALCS program... I turned down an offer for the JET Program and ended up accepting an offer for UNR instead.

Yeah it's too bad. I would apply to UCD in a heartbeat but I also respect them not taking students they can't/won't fund!

In the United States, a CV is specifically your academic resume and qualifications. It lists your education, teaching and research experience, publications, funding, etc. A resume is a job document, highlighting the training and employment that usually is specifically related to the job you are applying for. In Europe and elsewhere a CV and resume may refer to one document (resume). A CV generally changes from month to month and can be dozens of pages long for a senior scholar. A resume is generally less specialized and thus less detailed and shorter.

Not unless you want to get a second MA in anthro that is!

I spent a significant amount of time commuting to my MA program. My partner and I share a vehicle, so on class days I would take them to work and then commute approximately 2 hrs to school, give or take an hour for traffic and finding a parking spot. It was exhausting, TAing and holding office hours and going to seminar. I regularly got home around 1am after driving back to pick up my partner. My program was designed for 'professionals' so it was only three hour seminars twice a week, but 3 years of that was murder. You should seriously consider how much commuting will impact your day, your energy, your study time, etc. time isn't just money it is energy and sanity imo...

I not bitter with my own experiences with bureaucracy and administration at all! <-< lol

My assumption has always been prestige of the school matters to administrators, bureaucrats, and the public... they don't have the expertise to judge programs so they go by 'brand names''.... to people in the know, I would imagine you are spot on. But it is one of those infernal things that inevitably seem to be the swing factor when to candidates are 'tied' or the hiring person is exhausted/incompetent and they go off arbitrary deciding factors... how many of us have been in those situations where it doesn't matter until it does, eh? ?

Unless I'm completely mistaken, UCD has not been accepting cultural anthro applicants for the past few cycles. Their focus is strongly in the physical field (esp primatology and I would imagine forensics and/or medical), and from what I've heard they have had a glut of cultural students still within the program that need to finish so funding can be (re)directed to new students. Alan Klima and Tim Choy are both amazing specialists in SE and E Asia though....

No funding, loosely aligned faculty and/or a program as opposed to a proper department are also red flags....

It can! Manoa requires you to have an MA in anthropology in order to apply to the PhD program. Some departments will accept a related BA or MA. For example an Archaeology or Bio Anth PhD Student may be able to make the argument that having a math degree is acceptable with a minor or no background in Anthropology if they are specializing in regression or statistical analysis.... Marty Biskowski, a deeply loved member of CSU Sacramento's faculty, was a mathematician before he became a Mesoamerican Archaeologist.