masthana

Wow that is pretty interesting...I've never heard of that. It sounds like it went well, though so at least it was promising!! I guess we should be prepared for anything then LOL.

I can't stop checking gradcafe and my email obsessively every few hours. I don't know why I torture myself like this. Comparing myself with others getting decisions doesn't make my application get considered faster or anything... I'm literally giving myself anxiety. Ditto on the checking my email the first thing I wake up, crusty eyes and all...

To the person waitlisted at UMN Feminist Studies, did they mention any more information, like if they've already decided their final candidates? ?

This question is really good. I will definitely have to think on this and prepare to answer this if it comes up! Good luck with UCSC Anthro, @Waltzfordebby

@FingersCrossed_2020 How did your interview go?! I hope it went great! Do you mind sharing what questions they asked so we can all learn?

I hope so LOL.

Uff first rejection - UCSD. Disappointed but 9 left to go...

I got an interview invitation from the grad director of UCSC FMST earlier this week and got it done yesterday. He said I was shortlisted to their top 8 and they'll probably make 3-4 offers around mid-Feb. The decision also involves budgetary information the department has yet to receive, so the funding may shift the final number of offers. Funny how the email said "relatively informal" but it was more formal than one of my other interviews (Anthro). Anyway, he basically dissected my whole SOP. I did my best, so we'll see. I'm a bit somber because I received my first rejection last night ? It was from the Anthro dept ^ from which my POI interviewed me 5 days after my app submission because she was so impressed...so I'm disappointed. Sigh. Anyway thanks for listening. 9 more decisions to wait on...

To the poster on the Results Board who asked about if UCLA Anthro does interviews - I don't know with any certainty if they do interviews but some searching on the Results shows no interviews and only acceptions/rejections in mid-Feb for the past few years.

My interview went on for an hour (longer than I expected!). But we built some great rapport and ended up chatting tangentially for a bunch of questions so this could be longer than other interviews. I don't remember exactly my POI's response to my answer but along the lines of what you've done - I think if you're able to authentically explain why you've shifted and then most importantly justify your topic's relevance, necessity, and contribution to the field, they should understand and support you. Good luck @I Dont Know what I'm doing ! We're going to do great

Hi all, Since January has started...interview season is about to commence! I thought it'd be nice to have an easy place to see interview tips for Anthropology students specifically (especially since there are so many threads about interview tips to read through on GradCafe). Feel free to post questions/tips/your upcoming interviews! Best of luck to all of us! ❤️ -- Here are the questions I got from my POI from UCSD Anthro. She asked a few questions I didn't anticipate so I thought this would make a great heads-up for folks! 1. Tell me about yourself and your work. How did you become interested in this topic? 2. I can see the continuities between your last research work and your current proposed research, but they're still different. Can you explain your shift and why? 3. Your work reminded me of X author. How does your work relate to them? How does it contribute to the broader __ studies? 4. Does this X current event happening in your region of interest change your project? (in my case, intense protests that suddenly erupted in my country of interest.) 5. Why Anthropology? (It seems like you could do well in different fields.) 6. What's the most inspiring piece of ethnography/anthropology you've ever read?

There are quite a lot of threads for sample questions but here are the ones I got from my POI for a Psychological/Medical Anthropology PhD from UCSD. She requested an interview 5 days after I submitted that school's application, which was CRAZY! Turned out that she liked to interview her "top candidates" (woot!) before the committee even meets in late Jan. 1. Tell me about yourself and your work. How did you became interested in this topic? 2. I can see the continuities between your last research work (in my case, she was talking about my undergraduate thesis which I got published) and your current proposed research, but they're still different. Can you explain your shift and why? 3. Your work reminded me of X author. How does your work relate to them? How does it contribute to the broader __ studies? 4. Does this X current event happening in your region of interest change your project? (in my case, intense protests that started up 2 months ago in my country of interest.) 5. Why Anthropology? (It seems like you could do well in different fields.) 6. What's the most inspiring piece of ethnography/anthropology you've ever read? Cheers!

Ah thank you @amylynn!! That's a great idea. I was thinking of having all my application materials in front of me for reference but a cheat sheet sounds much more manageable. Good luck to you too We got this.

I'm not the UCSB interview but I have a phone interview with UCSD tomorrow afternoon! Eeek. Scoured the interview tips threads and it seems pretty straightforward but I'm still nervous!

Hey all! This is my first post ever. I'm applying to 10 programs - 7 Anthropology (mix of Psych/Medical and Sociocultural) and 3 Feminist/Gender Studies. My topic is about queer Indian women's agency in the site of the family - it's at the intersection of psychological anthropology and transnational feminism. Key words: subjectivity, agency, LGBTQ+, India and South Asia. (Also I have 2 questions - see the bottom of my post.) UC Berkeley Joint Med Anthro (psych) UCLA Anthro (psych) UCSD Anthro (psych) Stanford Anthro (psych) Columbia Anthro (sociocultural) Johns Hopkins Anthro (sociocultural) Brandeis Anthro (sociocultural) U of Minnesota Feminist Studies UCSC Feminist Studies Rutgers WGS I've gotten encouraging emails back from all my potential programs' POIs just pitching them my research, which has been such a relief and affirming, honestly. All EXCEPT JHU...because I kept putting off sending the emails since it's my latest deadline and now it's too late to send off emails. Eff. Any advice if not having contacted them can be to my detriment during the admissions committee process?? Also if anyone hears decisions from any of these programs, do tell! I'm so goddamn nervous.