miratrix

Even without applying to graduate school, I would have an issue with crazy unpaid overtime. Yikes.

Wow, next WEEK? That's insane, and if it's the way the program operates in general, possibly alarming. I think you need to call them and find out what's at stake, and do whatever you can to give the other schools time to let you know (bug them if necessary). Yikes! sorry for the wave of rejections, guys...i guess harvard's a tough nut :/

I think visiting is a good idea, you will make a more informed decision. Also, that's one of my top choices, so I think you should give it a chance

It generally takes me about 20 minutes to get to Porter, whether by T (due to waiting time/time on escalators) or walking, and I live around 5 minutes away from Davis. So getting on the commuter rail and going to Waltham would take more than 20 minutes total. It still probably wouldn't be longer than any commute to central Boston that involves switching train lines...it's doable, I just wanted to give another estimate based on my experience. And yeah, it's a long way to walk with heavy groceries...maybe trying to live near Porter would be best.

I'm having a similar issue, with much lower costs - it would only cost me $15 to take the train there and stay with friends, but I don't know if I can get the days off work with two weeks' notice. Knowing about these further in advance would be really useful. I'm also looking into making the trip in early April on my own if I can't go, but it would probably be fun to go to the organized events, wouldn't it?

Depends on the field, I think, but grants and internships are pretty common, although I know a few people who have just gotten jobs. If you can bring in income in addition to the stipend over the summer, it'll go a lot farther for those 9 months!

It might not even be an international issue - I've heard nothing from 5 schools. But yay, it's March!

If it makes you feel better, I just got an email about a visiting weekend at one of my top choices in two weeks, and I don't know if I can get anyone to cover me at work (tourist industry = weekend shifts) without a month's notice. This makes me want to visit everywhere, too!

I don't know much about this, but here's an anecdote that might help: a couple of friends of mine live in Washington Heights in a safe, convenient neighborhood, share a one-bedroom apartment (they've divided their large living room to make part of it a second bedroom), and estimate their actual cost of living at around $1500/month. They don't go out a lot, but otherwise they don't try particularly hard to be frugal. (Also, their groceries cost the same as mine, perhaps because of the neighborhood they live in.) That adds up to $18,000 a year.

Wanna get arrested at a university? Track down a friend who's a student, kidnap him as a prank, and have someone who's in on the plan get all moralistic and call the cops. It works, just make sure it's not a place where you want to get a PhD, as the consequence of even a "friendly kidnapping" can be banning from the town for life. (I actually know someone who did this, at a place where I applied, so if I go there he's never visiting me!)

Was it that the mailman didn't come, or there was just nothing to deliver to your house? The second happens once a week or so here...pretty demoralizing.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, especially if they've already admitted you - clean, unwrinkled pants-that-aren't-jeans and tops that aren't t-shirts should be fine. Pretty much any collared shirts, sweaters, and shirts that just look a bit dressier than t-shirts and are also modest enough to be professional (i.e. not club wear). I'm trying to figure out what to wear for a campus visit to a school I've been admitted to that's in a much warmer climate. My roommate, who's from there, recommends a sundress and cowboy boots 8) , but I don't have either, or anything really weather-appropriate. I may hit up the Goodwill or a higher-quality (and higher-priced) consignment shop this weekend. I'm afraid acceptance is turning me totally financially irresponsible this week.

Me too, but sometimes at work I'm like "thank goodness I'm going to grad school." I may not be cut out to work with kids, at least small ones.

Peace Corps is a big time commitment - it's a long application process, 6-9 months I think, and then you actually do it for a little over 2 years. And you will not have the ability to apply to grad school during those years, probably. It's a really amazing thing to do, but only if you really want to do it, not just to waste a little time before reapplying. I think it's hilarious how the screennames are starting to look: waitingformyletters, prisonerofemail, etc. It didn't occur to me to think of a situation-specific email (but kind of wish I had).

I don't think that's the case, I know plenty of people with successful and interesting careers who don't have 12 hour work days (with occasional exceptions for big projects, but 12 hours is not normal). Not doctors and lawyers specifically, but professionals in several other fields.

I also heard back the other day. I'll PM you, I'm curious to talk more about anthro-specific and possibly identifying details

I'm visiting soon, undecided but quite curious. Never been to Texas before!

Mine didn't, but I trust that they would've told me no if they couldn't write a good one. And I've got two acceptances, one at a "reach" school, so they must've been good!

Well, it's possible that none of the accepted students visit this forum. But I don't trust the results page for anything that's not a flat-out acceptance or rejection (for instance, they said Brown had emailed all acceptances by Feb. 23, but that wasn't true).

Good response, I'm going to keep that in mind!

I guess it depends - I thought no anthropology programs interviewed, but I've seen a couple postings indicating that some do. Not the ones I've applied to, as far as I know, though. I've heard from 2 out of 7 schools and wouldn't terribly mind getting rejected from 4 out of the remaining 5, just so I'd have an easier decision. Oh how I wish I had a clear top choice! This is a good problem to have, I know, though.

To distract us from the "Notifications" topic, what are your favorite anthropology books or writers? Subfield doesn't matter, recommend what you love! I'll start with a couple ethnographies: my favorites are Veiled Sentiments by Lila Abu-Lughod (read in anth 101, still recommending!) and Saqqaq by Jens Dahl (because Greenland is fascinating).

Having a car in Boston is soooo not worth it, especially if you live somewhere central, which I assume you would going to BU. I don't know the neighborhoods around there too well, but in terms of easy transport, try to live near one of the stops on the Green Line, between Lechmere and the B train branch to Boston College (map: http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/subway/).

You're not crazy. I don't know what the best decision is for you, but the rest of your life is definitely something that should be important, just as much as research fit!

Agreed. A short paragraph's worth of damage control would be nice too ('we had such a competitive applicant pool," etc.). But anything would be better than a rejection I got for summer funding one year in college - they sent out the list of successful applicants (around 100) to everyone's mailbox, and my name just wasn't on it. If it doesn't involve public humiliation, GREAT. Also, I wonder if it's too late to switch fields to Volcanology/Igneous Pet. That's exciting. (I've always been one of those archaeologists who secretly wants to be a geologist.)