crthomps

A bit late to the party here, but I was accepted at UCLA this year (sociocultural) with no contact with faculty (and of course no interview).

It appears many UT Austin results are out now; I hope you got in!

@anthropobean Thanks for the kind words. The support of others in this situation has meant a lot through this process, which has, since mid-January, been confusing, exhausting, and downright depressing. Sorry to hear about Chicago, though it seems you have a great growth mindset surrounding this whole situation. Best of luck with Stanford!

@anthropobean awesome! Thanks for the update. Did you get in? ??

@RyanHGSE17 Can't say for sure what Austin is planning to do, so I could be wrong! But this year does seem to be a whole new ballgame. Those numbers are from the departments themselves, unfortunately. Cornell accepted 4 on 187 applications, while Chicago will take 4-6 on more than 300 applications, though I don't think those acceptances have quite gone out yet.

@RyanHGSE17 Still all quiet from Austin, though decisions should be imminent (last year it seems they were mid-late Feb). Seems like more and more decisions are rolling out early this week, so it could be any day now. Also seems like Austin may be taking very few people though, if the numbers from schools like Cornell (4), Chicago (5), and Michigan (2) are any benchmark...

Hi all! Just checking back in after some time and wishing the best for everyone this week into next. I got my first official decision today, which was a rejection from Princeton. Not how I wanted to start this out, but it's the reality, and now it's up to me to figure out how to process this in a healthy way. I still have 2 good chances, so we'll see how it all plays out. This is feeling more and more like playing the lottery though. Best of luck to everyone in the coming days and weeks, and I'll check back in when I hear more.

@sophrodr Not sure about CUNY's timeline, but I've found it (at least marginally) helpful to look back at past years' results trends on this site to find out when interviews and decisions are actually released for schools. In the case of most of the schools I applied to, interviews and final decisions are being released well before the published dates on the schools' site.

@Anny_anthy Can only speak to my own experience, but no, I do not have a masters. It is my sense, though, that more than a masters, Chicago perhaps values folks with "life experience" beyond the direct undergrad --> PhD route. I took several years off school, for instance, working in an entirely different industry, and have only now, at the age of 34, completed my BA. It was communicated to me during my interviews that this was a strong positive on my application. Then again, this entire process (at all schools) is so filled with opacity that it seems nearly impossible to extrapolate any one persons' experience.

@updayday Interviews went out from Chicago a little over a week ago. Princeton, there’s been no word. That’s all I know!

@RyanHGSE17 nothing at all yet from Austin. I know a number of us here have applied there, and no interviews or anything else have yet been posted in results. We should hear something in the next couple weeks I’d imagine.

@anth_lola if it helps soothe your mind any, I’m close with a number of senior faculty in anthropology at the school I just graduated with a BA from (Columbia), and they were each quite enlightening throughout my application process. One of the things they all told me at one point or another was that while contacting faculty you’re interested in working with before or during the application process is increasingly common practice, it in no way impacts one’s chances. The applications of those who have contacted faculty are not treated any differently than the applications of those who haven’t; if anything, it just helps route applications to specific readers, if that makes sense.

@updayday Thanks for asking! I had two, one with a newer associate prof. and the other with one of the heads of the department. They were each about 40 minutes, and were back to back yesterday morning. Not too much to report. I think they went quite well, all things considered. Nothing really out of the ordinary was asked, and neither was as scary as I feared they might be. They were both mainly interested in learning more about where my project is headed in light of COVID, and how serious I am about attending Chicago. We talked a bit about funding and the difficulty of this cycle. They both confirmed applicants' fears that there are fewer spots available this year, as well, in fact dramatically so. The numbers are depressing, tbh -- both the size of the applicant pool and how many they will ultimately admit. I don't have any solid timelines from here, but expect all admits will hear back within the next month.

@tundratussocks Have you been in contact with this recommender? Two of mine waited until the 11th hour to submit for all four of my schools, so I don't think it's out of the ordinary! And don't stress (too much). You're gonna do great!!! This also being my first cycle, one of the things that's helped keep me sane has been to only allow myself a specific 15 minute period each day to refresh things like r/gradadmissions, gradcafe, and my admissions portals. That has helped at least to minimize the negative thought spirals. Another thing that I think too few of us recognize is the incredible accomplishment in simply submitting these applications. Those of us who have been through a cycle know the toll it takes on us emotionally and intellectually to get to the point where they're ready to submit. So congratulations!!! You've done an amazing thing just by getting here.

@samur Yeah that sounds about right. All contact I had with my POI during the application process was very curt and professional. In fact she gave me almost the exact same line, word for word. The interview is tomorrow at noon. I'm extremely nervous! I'll let y'all know how it goes.