anthropologygeek

Cheers fellow Lumberjack! Must make the school proud!

AK- congrats, so happy to see another NAU undergrad get into grad school

Just got accepted to Illinois State University's Historical Archaeology program!!

Adjunct to me are for grad students while attending phd programs. After that no one can make it unless their partner is the bread winner

Simply put: no. 

anthropologygeek's comment reminded me- I should be honest and say that I chose an undergraduate institution that has left me with another kind of Ph.D- "piled high and deep"... in debt. I won't specify how much debt I'm in because it's a source of contention for me, but it's too much.
 
The good news is that I have plans to pay it back. I have a family member with a generous will that will assist with some of that repayment. Plus, also remember that academics are eligible for public employee loan forgiveness- tenure track or not, and this includes non-profit private schools as of 2009. Granted, you have to make 120 payments before the rest is washed away, but the point remains that it's not impossible.

Education should be about, well, education.  A PhD isn't a job ticket: it's a life learning expereince.  Also, I wonder why peopel think that any univesity MUST fund them?  If its right for you, right for your learning and intelectual goals, then it's a good choice.  If the educationmeans you have to sacrfice too much,then think seriously about that too.  At the end of the day in our society (and short of a major change) getting a PhD offer is not a job offer, it's a chance to learn. 

Canis, I'll agree to disagree with you on most of this article. While well-intended, I disagree with the underlying philosophy of much of it. Thanks regardless for your insights. It's definitely something I've kept in mind throughout the process.
 
I ended up accepting Ohio State's offer and declining University of Kentucky's. My POI at OSU has been really great about everything throughout the process and so that really draws me in. We're going to hash out some funding things later this week when I have a chance to visit the department, but I'm confident. If not, I have a backup financial plan with minimal loans. I'm feeling a lot more confident now than I was a week ago.

Just want to point out now NSF considers physical anthropology a hard science while the other fields social sciences. I agree completely for this since for both masters and phd I used hard chemistry techniques. Thus when analyzing that article the two must be separated and hat article only applies to the social science side o anthropology. This is because physical side has a lot more post docs, and more funding opportunities. Plus with physical we can teach biology at the university level. In fact a lot of the elite profs for physical actually are part of the bio department versus anthro department.

And I follow this philosophy...never take out more student loan debt than you WILL make in salary the first year out. Be honest with yourself. I see so many people in grad school that are just wasting their time and maxing out student loans every semester and is no where close to finishing after their fourth year. This makes me sad. And I do feel bad for the people 100k plus in student loan debt. As for me, I never worried about funding since I am confident in my ability of getting my own funding if necessary. What even better supplement the department funding with more funding which I have done my entire time.

It's called their salary for being a prof. A chair gets extra pay and nicer office but being on dissertation committees is part of the job

I think it matters more what you did than where you went to undergrad. And some schools give more opportunities than others. I would say schools like east Carolina state, Arizona state, UNLV, UN- Reno, Michigan, and say Ohio state can give better opportunities than many of the private undergrads can

I think it matters more what you did than where you went to undergrad. And some schools give more opportunities than others. I would say schools like east Carolina state, Arizona state, UNLV, UN- Reno, Michigan, and say Ohio state can give better opportunities than many of the private undergrads can

Speaking from my own experience: no, it doesn't matter much. I went to a state school that didn't have any linguistic anthropologists when I started. When one came in, I immediately started working with him to start working on my honors thesis. There weren't any linguistic anthropology courses until my last semester, and I was done with my major classes, so I didn't officially take it (I sat in though). So what I did instead was minor in applied linguistics and worked on other stuff that could strengthen my application (letters of recommendation, excellent grades, strong statements of purpose, research, etc...).
 
So yes, I agree with other posters: it matters more what you do during your undergrad and after more than the "prestige" of the undergrand institution.

Canis- make sure your both happy though. If noone is happy being apart why since you only have one life.

And I'm just being honest. If you are confident in your ability to find money for your phd funding wouldn't be a priority

Day kid- no cheap shot just the truth. I never worried about funding because I knew by the time I started any program I would have funding somehow. It's all about your skill at grant writing and being creative. If your not just giving funding but its the best school for you why not put in the extra effort and find funding thru a different department, or get a fellowship? Why not apply to all the JC and teach a couple of classes? All this takes more effort and from experience most people won't put in the extra effort.

It's easy to pile on the hate here but I think it's worthwhile to take a step back and think - maybe these people aren't talking about you? Schools get hundreds of applicants a year. They accept some, they like some but don't accept them, and they hate others. Let's not invalidate their experiences because you are taking something said on a forum four years ago personally.
 
We can see it in the comments here all the time -- not really in anthro or geography per se, but elsewhere -- where students complain about not getting into programs, asking how they can manipulate the school into changing their mind, demanding refunds because they weren't accepted to the program they applied to for the brand and not the fit. We can call those people irrational here but, on the other side, are people who have to be careful with what they say. Assistant Professors who very well could have to uproot their entire lives if they say the wrong thing to the wrong person. They deserve a space to vent.
 
Academia is a place where you have to take risks, you have to put yourself out there, and you're going to get hurt if you're going to make it. It's easy to say that it's unfair and that it shouldn't be that way, and I'd agree if you were to say it, but realize that what you are doing here is no different from what they are doing there: venting to someone at the same stage in the process as they are.
 
It doesn't stop here.

Day kid- you must not think very highly of yourself or your research. You should only be funded by your department for a year or two max. By then your have to leave and do your research thus give up the funding and should be funded by outside sources. Maybe I just have more faith in myself than other have in themselves since funding was never a factor in my decission making and ill be graduating in may with my phd with a total of 20k student loans for undergrad, masters, and phd. Not to shabby and that 20k was while I was in undergrad

Fit is most important since your always be able to find funding once you get there.

Gosh, if there's anything we learn quickly from those results it's that universities are doing a terrible job explaining the funding packages that they're offering. Hopefully everyone is asking a long list of questions of their POIs, departments, etc. to ensure they really understand the funding package - such as:
 
Do the hours specified per week for the TA position include all work, grading, etc that is performed in total?
 
If tuition is waived, is it waived for all years, or only those during the TA/RA position? What tuition and fees must be paid in years without a TA/RA?
 
What tuition/fees must be paid while away for fieldwork?
 
How often do students get additional internal/external funding?
 
How do most students fund the years beyond the funding?
 
Is the stipend or TA/RA salary paid weekly, monthly, semester, or lump sum for the year?
 
If a tuition waiver is tied to a TA/RA position, does the waiver cover only the semester of the TA/RA position or the whole school year? For example, can you take 1 semester off from the TA/RA position and still have the waiver for the school year?
 
How many TA/RA positions are open each semester for students? Are new students considered for those positions first? How does the hiring process work? How are students placed  in order of priority for the positions?
 
...and that's just the beginning of the clarifying questions we need to be asking...

Participant 23
 
Participant 24

One thing to keep in mind, not all TA jobs are the same. Some you won't neither put in 20 but some if you allow it will work you 30-40 hr. in those cases stick up for yourself and don't allow it. You are there to get your phd/masters not be the absolute best TA

This is vastly untrue.  I am sorry you have had a bad experience in the UK, however I am certain that this is not indicative of all UK Masters programmes.  I have two Masters from the UK and each has been well organised and well taught - they are what you make of them.
 
In terms of Ph.D. teaching - it depends on what school you are at, but generally you have the opportunity to gain some experience - taking tutorials etc, which are similar to sections in the US.  UK doctoral students are very much encouraged to publish, I have not heard of any university where this is not the case.  
 
I do agree that many Masters programmes are cash cows, but that is the case everywhere, especially in the US where I am currently studying.

I know alot of schools don't treat a UK masters any differently than a US

anthropologygeek - that makes perfect sense, actually.  I agree!