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grinsngiggles

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Everything posted by grinsngiggles

  1. You should explain why participant observation is the ideal way to approach your research. Why is ethnography the way to get at your topic? You don't have to justify the switch, but I think it helps to show that you at least know what the discipline is about and are prepared to do intensive fieldwork.
  2. Totally agree with Aetaival. Don't just get a degree in anthro, though, unless it's specifically an archaeology program. Archaeology programs place a high premium on field experience and are very competitive. If you just wanted to do cultural anthropology, you could totally make a case for switching from linguistics. Archaeology, however, requires some field knowledge. You should also know that time for degree for archaeologists is very long as compared with other fields. They often have to return to their field sites multiple times and with visa problems, government actors, local activists and citizens with whom they may have to negotiate to get access to their sites, things can take a long time to even get rolling. Don't apply without knowing that it's what you want to do. Do a field school first. Go on digs if you can. if you go back and get another undergrad degree in arch, make sure the program has opportunities for you to join in digs over the summer and gain experience.
  3. I also had a writing sample that I needed to translate from French. I am a native English speaker and near-native French speaker, so the translation itself was not difficult. What was difficult was transforming the style to suit an American audience. I translated my work, let it sit for a week, looked at it again...and was appalled. Even after overhauling it, I would send it to my SO and he would remark that I'm very fond of the passive voice. I'm actually not - in everyday English writing - but because I had put so much in the passive voice in French, I hadn't noticed when I kept it in French. Also the tone of certainty and importance of your work is often absent in a French work. Placing it in reference to other scholars and being bold enough to claim that you have intervened in their work or have somehow changed the approach to the topic in some way is necessary in the American academy. I also found that I could get away with a lot at an American institution writing in French. I had taken on a huge topic, merging multiple disciplines, for a senior BA thesis. As a master's student, I'm sure you won't find that to be the case, but for me I knew that I hadn't worked through my ideas thoroughly enough, but got a perfect score because it was interesting and logical and well-written, even if it wasn't groundbreaking. Redoing it took forever, but it was well worth it. I would ask the departments to which you applied if they have any suggestions about strengthening your application. The worst you will hear is "I am sorry, but with so many students it is impossible to give individual feedback to each applicant." I'm sure you have done this but I would talk to graduate students where you're applying and faculty. Often they will all speak the same language, and you can try to channel that in your app. Each SOP should be very different, and each should fit your schools like a glove. You want them to say, why aren't they already here? Change your project depending on the school and make sure to indicate why your past research fits perfectly with the faculty's strengths, your project and your desire to attend that institution. You've been applying in insanely competitive years. It's very likely that the politics of the department, timing of sabbaticals, and number of graduate students enrolled who are interested in your work have determined whether or not you've been admitted. These are entirely outside your control.
  4. Anyone have any clue how many sociocultural applicants apply? I know it's pretty much an impossible acceptance, but sometimes I'd like to know the degree of impossibility.
  5. I was soaking in the tub, in the morning, reading. My phone, of course, was safely perched on a chair near the tub and I noticed that it began blinking to tell me there was a new message. It took me a while to register that it was an acceptance e-mail. I nearly dropped the phone in the tub, then got dressed without washing my hair and headed downstairs to share the news,
  6. You will hear this everywhere in the forums, and I hate to echo it again, but it really is all about fit with the department. For Michigan, you have to write both a personal statement and a statement of purpose - that's a lot of room to talk about yourself and your research. Most likely the people who got in were better able to communicate how their research interests and past experience fit with the department and the specific professors with whom they would like to work. I don't know what your undergrad institution was, so it's difficult to put that 3.96 in perspective. Your GRE score is fine, but won't distinguish you - and it's not a very good indicator of success in graduate school. Low GREs will hurt, but good ones do not matter that much. Additionally, in corresponding with a number of Michigan faculty, there were several professors who are leaving. If you asked to work with someone who is leaving, will be on sabbatical soon or simply cannot take any students this year, then you're out of luck - no matter how "well-qualified." I don't know if you contacted any professors beforehand, but you could do that the next time around and see who's taking students and is interested in your work. Your LORs, research and publications will continue to make you a strong candidate, but you should work on making sure your SOP and Personal Statement align with the department and are engaging with major currents of thought in the academy. Without knowing your project and those of your POIs, it's difficult to say how qualified you were for the position.
  7. We' ve had more snow than usual this winter. That being said, the city typically does a pretty good job of plowing. In Minneapolis and St. Paul it gets tricky because of the street parking and budget cuts - streets are only getting plowed twice a week. I live in the suburbs and my rear-wheel drive vehicle is great most of the time. If I do have to drive into the city during bad weather, it's slow going and sometimes I'm afraid I won't get out of the parking space I've gotten myself into. Full-wheel drive is a huge plus, but not essential. I don't know what you mean by "truck," but I wouldn't recommend a pick-up. Unless you want to sandbag the back, they have trouble not fishtailing on the highway. An SUV is really what you'd want, though gas isn't cheap here. No matter what, get snow tires! Hope that helps!
  8. Ha, yeah, sorry - Rotarian = Rotary club member. I think the average age of my club is like 63 or something.
  9. I do not have synesthesia. I am a synchronized swimmer. I am good at whistling. I am an American who learned everything except English and American history in French through the 8th grade (yeah...not so good at math...). At 22, I am one of the youngest Rotarians in the world.
  10. I used Tagxedo instead. Much easier platform and it gives you a lot of flexibility, though it tends to separate words and I'm not sure how to fix that (Hip and Hop are lurking in there - maybe I should have used a hyphen). I'm thinking I should make a poster...these things are addicting!
  11. In visiting schools and speaking with professors, they pretty much universally told me that anthropology departments don't care that much about scores as long as you're above 600 in each section. If you're lower on the quantitative, they don't really care for cultural anthropology because they don't do that many stats - it's more about the verbal score. As others have said, GREs will only keep you out and help with funding - they definitely will not get you in. I was told it's similar for GPA. It's really all about your writing sample, SoP and LoRs ... and lots of luck.
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