Nessie

Don't panic, I'm getting them too! I was actually going to post/rant today about how incredibly annoying they are! Everytime I see an email from Duke, my heart stops and then I have to reboot it once I realise it's just another bloody app status email. You're right, the first one or two was fine, but is there really any need to keep sending them with absolutely no change in status!?

No offense, but I honestly think that you may want to expand your reading lists so that you will recognise more names OUTSIDE the United States. Seriously, you have never heard of professor Tim Ingold (Aberdeen)? You don't know who David Graeber is (Goldsmith, previously at Yale)? You have never come across professor Keith Hart (Goldsmith)? They are some of the most influential anthropologists of our age and their work are heavily cited around the world!

I very much agree with you that the U.S. is currently the centre of anthropological research. However, this does not mean that anthropologists from elsewhere are producing less valuable work. If, as you claimed, most students can only identify US scholars, I will be very worried about the future of our discipline.

Don't forget that social anthropology was invented in London. And don't also forget that the intellectual scene in Paris is unreal. North American 'elitism' only really carries significance in North America. And of course, wherever you go, profs tend more often to be educated in that nation. The whole 'trading on brand' is meaningless unless you produce some research that can stand up to it of course.
In my opinion UCL is probably as good as anywhere right about now. Oxbridge are great too, as is Manchester, St.Andrews, Aberdeen and also Goldsmiths london. Don't be afraid to look outside the states!

Not to be a negative Nancy, but don't go to any of those schools if you want to come back to the us and teach at a research 1. you'll do adjunct work for a decade before tt becomes an option. Flinders u? Wtf IS THAT? sorry to come off elitist as hell, but don't commit yourself to a dissertation that isn't worth the paper its printed on. I think people in the academy forget to realize that it's just as stratified as any other system. The elites reproduce themselves and the non elites lament.

I hate that the URL for the gmail inbox changes to "https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox" after I log in. My brain sees 'inbox' and '=1' and automatically makes it "Inbox=1 YAY YAY!"

NO, BRAIN, THERE'S NO NEW MAIL THERE, I TOLD YOU THE LAST TIME.

haha at thinking you would be hanging out with cool people in grad school...it's full of nerds, social outcasts, and the socially awkward. Try to find a cooler department (psych, crim j, comm) to hang with - still dorks but at least they go out. i am in poli sci and it's a bunch of friggin' losers. 4 years of these clowns and i've had it. i have an undergrad GF too - good deal if you are good looking and cool enough to swing it - most grad students aren't. do your best to meet new people - join an intramural sports team or volunteer or something. and don't tell me you are too busy. if you have time to sit around and whine on here, you've got time to get out there and meet some new people.

Drop out. You obviously can't handle it.

I was interested because of the topic but this post is false advertising. Booooooo

No. It may be because you're new to being a TA. It's not your job to decide how the papers should be graded, it's your job to grade them how the professor in charge of the course told you too. In general, I tend to grade writing on par with my peers.


You shouldn't be grading from a student's perspective. You aren't a student for the purposes of this, you are a graduate student. Go with what the professor says, seriously.

What's best, when it's your first time grading is to read 2-4 papers side-by-side with the professor and see what s/he comments on, how s/he uses the rubric, and the grade s/he assigns to those papers. Then, use that to guide you in your own grading.

No. That's what everyone is saying to you. I think it was a poor decision to send the second email, and it would be an even worse decision to send any further ones. I sincerely doubt that they have one pile for applications to get looked at and one pile for those to be binned immediately, and that if they did, an email would probably not be sufficient to move from one to the other.

Those of you who are offended by curt replies need to develop some thicker skin of you are going to be successful graduate students. Most faculty members are -extremely- busy people and they are dealing with a lot of these types of emails right now. If they sat down and wrote a well thought out reply to everyone that has emailed them wanting to work for them, that would probably be an entire day or more wasted on that process.

Plus, people who are emailing professors right now are indeed being a tad bit annoying. It's totally fine to email a professor to verify that they are a good research fit before applying to the school, but at this point you've already applied and if you are an appropriate fit your application will be reviewed. Emailing potential advisers right now is superfluous and irritating.

Why do people do this? It isn't going to give you a leg up on your competition to remind a POI to look at your resume and credentials. They are swamped, and I can imagine even in semi-productive labs, would rather be doing other things with their time than looking at all of our CVs and SOPs.

I wouldn't email anymore professors.

Report email as spam/phishing scam.

Thank you; your consideration of our program application fee is a great compliment to us.

Personally, I would like a limo at the door, with a man in a tuxedo with a rich English accent coming to tell me I'm accepted, fully funded, and they're moving me out. But, an e-mail would also do.

[After reading my SOP]: "This guy has no idea what he's talking about."

Well, I thought since there are people from many different fields here, I'd start this topic as a sort-of 'things you always wanted to know' or just were curious about. The idea is that someone would post a question that could be answered relatively quickly and concisely, and someone else would answer it as best they can, and then post a question themselves (or not, if they can't come up with one). They don't have to be particularly deep, and don't be afraid to ask 'stupid' questions. This is all in fun; perhaps we can all teach each other a little bit about our own disciplines.

So here's a question which comes out of many utterly fruitless discussions in my house:

What are the current leading theories about the shape of the universe, or colloquially, what happens if you continue to travel in a straight line?

I've had this discussion many, many times in my household and I always say that it's the 'come back to where you started' hypothesis, like travelling on the surface of the earth. So, is that accurate?

Perhaps, this wasn't the best question to start with, but to the respondent, please try to answer in plain English if possible...

Edit: Actually, to solicit more responses, you can post any questions you may have, regardless of whether you answer a question, and hopefully someone'll come by and answer!

Hi all,
I've been a lurker on this forum for some time and it's provided me with a lot of help/advice in the completion of applications to schools in the States. However, I remain a somewhat ignorant Brit when it comes to a. my chances of getting in b. my chances of getting funding and c. when I'm likely to hear back with any news.
I've applied to the following schools: Princeton, Columbia, U Penn, Georgetown & WashU - for their History PhD programmes. To date I've studied for a Masters in History of International Relations at the London School of Economics (awarded a Distinction) and have some reasonable work experience in the Houses of Parliament (although I'm not sure how relevant this will be, I've been told to put it down). My GRE results weren't great, V 600ish, Q 650ish, 5.5 in the written section - however I'd never taken any test like this, will this be considered? I also speak German to a reasonable level and can work with foreign primary sources, again I'm not sure exactly how relevant this is but it can't hurt right? Finally I was in quite a bit of contact with professors from said institutions before I applied and they seemed generally interested in my work to date and my proposals for further study, also I've got some pretty good (I think) references from LSE.
In the UK I've applied (and been accepted) to UCL but I have an American girl friend whose visa expires at the end of the month and a keen interest in modern US history so it seems to make sense to try my hand in the States.
I'd greatly appreciate any input/advice on the application process and my chances.

Ignore them -- you're working much harder than they are, and you know much more than they do. What they really want is for you to do all their work for them.
Then they would think you were a good TA, but then you'd REALLY be a bad one.

Guys, I'm screwed.

I'm not sure. I stopped doing math after I took the GRE.

First of all, congrats! I think you should definitely go and see what you think of the place. From my own experience, people do tend to be prejudiced towards highly ranked schools. My undergrad institution is very highly ranked in my country and has a reputation for elitism and snobbery that it doesn't deserve. I know you're not implying all those at Ivies are snobs, but some people do have this misconception. To be honest, I was pretty appalled at the way people at my postgrad uni (much less highly ranked) stereotyped those who attending my undergrad. 90% of the people I met at this place were really wonderful, interesting people. Just because a bunch of people have similar backgrounds, that doesn't make them any less interesting or unique! The faculty (in my department at least) were really nice and helpful in everything and genuinely seemed to want to help you. The small size of the place allowed you to form really strong relationships with people. Everyone there is a friend of a friend, that's just how it is.
Sure, there were some people who thought they were better than everyone else, but I'm pretty sure they exist wherever you go! My point is, don't judge a book by its cover and don't let a reputation that is probably undeserved put you off a school that might be right for you! Good luck!

My problems are escalating. The mailman just parked his little truck outside my house, then crossed the street and started walking the other direction. Presumably, he will make a loop, ending with my house. I find this very distressing and am wondering about the legal ramifications of tackling said mailman and rummaging through his rucksack to make sure there aren't any grad school letters for me. Three more months . . .

I think weather is definitely a big factor to consider. I'm currently in Northern Scotland and after 6 years of Scottish weather (plus a lifetime of British weather) I'm definitely up for some sun! It's not a deciding factor but it is one worth considering. A lot of people here suffer from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) due to the very short hours of daylight in the winter. Although not strictly weather, it's worth thinking about how you'd cope with the sun going down at 3pm everyday. It can get very depressing!

I think weather is definitely a big factor to consider. I'm currently in Northern Scotland and after 6 years of Scottish weather (plus a lifetime of British weather) I'm definitely up for some sun! It's not a deciding factor but it is one worth considering. A lot of people here suffer from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) due to the very short hours of daylight in the winter. Although not strictly weather, it's worth thinking about how you'd cope with the sun going down at 3pm everyday. It can get very depressing!