substitutemeat2022

Oh... I'm not entirely sure about it being a crapshoot. Every program on my list is not a "good fit" to the same degree. Stanford, Duke, UPenn, UC Irvine, UCB (in no particular order) were the best fits for me. I'm assuming its a rejection from UPenn since I wasn't invited to interview. Not sure about UCI yet (was told by POIs that I will hear this week). I made the long/short lists of the other programs. That being said there are several factors that are out of the applicants control - whether a prof is available for first year supervision (which some programs consider to be quite important), the intended topic/area distribution for incoming cohort, funding for projects in your area, the departments (not just the POIs) interest in what you have proposed etc.

Hello! I have received letters of rejection from UMich, Cornell, UCLA, Brandeis, MIT HASTS. I think my rejections were largely based on fit and had little to do with rankings. However, in one interview, ranking might have played a role. During the interview, I was asked if I had applied to other programs. I chose to reply honestly to such questions in all my interviews (I don't know if this is the best strategy, though). One of the profs on the committee asked me to rank my application preferences. I evaded this question. His response at the end of the interview was, "I'm sure you'll get accepted into a bigger program than ours". I was ultimately rejected by this department. So I think at a small program, they consider how serious you are about joining them in the event that you get an offer from a better-ranked program.

Hello! Thank you so much. More than anything else I'm relieved and grateful for the opportunity. I finished a master's in philosophy last August. Took a few weeks off and spent September to November working on the application. This was my first time applying. Applied to 13 places in total (Stanford, Duke, UPenn, UCB, UCI, UCSD, UCLA, MIT HASTS, Cornell, Brandeis, UPitt, CUNY, UMich). It took a lot of time to check for fit and narrow down on that list, get in touch with profs/grad students and finally figure out how to position myself in the SOP.

Just got an update from Stanford. I got an offer of admission! I'm pretty certain that this is the offer I'm going to accept. It's finally over? 3a (Stanford, Duke, UCSD)/1w (UCBs Joint Program)/many confirmed and assumed rejections?

Re: UCI Same!

This is exactly the mindset that I'm going into it with

Thanks Yup, my areas of focus are sociocultural and medical anthro. As far as I know, the sociocultural interviews are happening on the 15th and 17th. I think the archaeology interviews will be conducted earlier. Not sure what to expect?

Mines on the 17th. Sociocultural/Medical

I've applied to Stanford as well. I'm anxiously waiting. The thought that it's too late to receive an interview call constantly lingers at the back of my mind. But... I went through the previous years patterns of communication just now (as one does ?). It looks like in 2019 the sociocultural anthro folk sent out interview requests on February 7th/8th.

Yeah... I've noticed that letters sent through the DGS's office are usually staggered. Hang in there... It might just turn up.

Looks like Irvine's interview invites came through as letters from the DGS. Those are usually uploaded on to the portal in batches. So there's still a chance that you might get an invite.

Looks like everything is a bit more delayed this year. Anyone hear anything from Stanford Cultural Anthropology by the way? I know there's a post about an interview for Archaeology but I haven't seen anything else just yet.

It looks like Duke has concluded their interviews and is now sending out decisions. Not sure about UC Berkeley though.

No idea! I wrote to Prof. Hamdy who redirected me to the graduate program directors, Profs. Zhan and Kim. I wrote to them this morning... no response just yet.

Thank you! I'm so glad Duke came through. I am finally able to think about this admissions drama with some clarity. And yeah the joint med anthro program has limited funds. The admissions alternate between UCB and UCSF. Given my interests, I was lucky that this admission cycle was UCBs admission year. But UCBs sociocultural anthro program has funds for at least 4-5 people a year I think.