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I was waitlisted at UNC and then sent a rejection letter and the professor told me it was "very unlikely" because a lot of people had confirmed places. Would this mean a clear NO or could there somehow be a very small chance. I emailed the Professor/Chair that I would wait until April 15th.

HEY Phoebed, Yes that seems like a good idea. I mean I should mention that I was Anthropologically isolated during the application process. I was writing my statement in a vacuum and I would persistently email professors because that was my only aid. In a way I considered my topic (cultural divides/US/secularism etc) would be attractive due to its originality in that it wasn't the everyday exotic fieldwork project. I tried reading as many journal articles as possible since i was told to focus upon recent theory. I forgot to mention that i placed a lot of emphasis on popular culture and how that plays into cultural divides etc. One thing i found is that it is V difficult to get feedback from Unis on the reasons for rejection. Thanks for your advise though. I'm happy to discuss this further. I need some consoling after all those rejections!

I POSTED THIS ON 'ANTHROPOLOGY 2008' and I'M ALSO POSTING HERE JUST IN CASE PEOPLE MISS IT (sorry about the random capitalizations) I have a Query which is essentially directed at all those who received good Anthropology PhD offers this year. I am considering reapplying next year. I am a UK student and graduated in IR. This meant I had no direct Anthropology experience. I guess my record was pretty average but I realized that a lot of emphasis is put on the actual statement of purpose. I therefore put a lot of effort into mine and spent a lot of time emailing professors to check whether there was room for my interests. The thing is, it seems the discipline has evolved a little asymmetrically. My focus was more theoretical than fieldwork based. I even had a paragraph mentioning connections with Foucault and Nietzsche though my general emphasis was on Anthropology of the US, specifically cultural divides, secular/religion and ethics. All of this was based around recent work by Talal Asad. Some departments would email back with enthusiasm while others would suggest i look into sociology etc. The thing is I know a lot of departments are really into the whole traditional fieldwork aspect. On the other hand UNC emailed saying that I was above minimum admission standards but there were too many people with my interests. THE REST WERE ALL REJECTIONS!! SO...I'm a little mixed up. Right now my plan is to start a masters in Anthropology somewhere here in the UK(where i can afford one) and reapply during my study. BUT WHAT IS IT THAT COULD GIVE MY APPLICATION THE BOOST IT NEEDS. Would you guys know of any region or subject etc which you think will always need positions filling. I realize the Masters should give me the necessary background in Anthropology, BUT I ALSO NEED A GOOD SUBJECT AREA!

I have a Query which is essentially directed at all those who received good Anthropology PhD offers this year. I am considering reapplying next year. I am a UK student and graduated in IR. This meant I had no direct Anthropology experience. I guess my record was pretty average but I realized that a lot of emphasis is put on the actual statement of purpose. I therefore put a lot of effort into mine and spent a lot of time emailing professors to check whether there was room for my interests. The thing is, it seems the discipline has evolved a little asymmetrically. My focus was more theoretical than fieldwork based. I even had a paragraph mentioning connections with Foucault and Nietzsche though my general emphasis was on Anthropology of the US, specifically cultural divides, secular/religion and ethics. All of this was based around recent work by Talal Asad. Some departments would email back with enthusiasm while others would suggest i look into sociology etc. The thing is I know a lot of departments are really into the whole traditional fieldwork aspect. On the other hand UNC emailed saying that I was above minimum admission standards but there were too many people with my interests. THE REST WERE ALL REJECTIONS!! SO...I'm a little mixed up. Right now my plan is to start a masters in Anthropology somewhere here in the UK(where i can afford one) and reapply during my study. BUT WHAT IS IT THAT COULD GIVE MY APPLICATION THE BOOST IT NEEDS. Would you guys know of any region or subject etc which you think will always need positions filling. I realize the Masters should give me the necessary background in Anthropology, BUT I ALSO NEED A GOOD SUBJECT AREA!