Bactrian

It's very possible. In fact, I think it's the norm.

Yes, many do. You would be a non-degree student and pay full price for each course. I think it's beneficial in certain circumstances. Have you been out of the school for a while? If so, then taking classes and working with new professors might result in much better letters. Switching fields? It might also help in that situation for the same reasons. I can't imagine that doing well in non-degree courses will ever hurt an applicant but in many cases I can't see it helping much either.

Did you have an actual question that you would like a real answer to? (Something like "Will you be taking new students next year?") If so, then maybe give it a few more weeks and try again. But I definitely would not just resend my original email or a second one only asking if he or she had received the first. Some faculty members consciously choose to not respond to these things. Just to reiterate: I was accepted to multiple (prestigious) schools where my initial email went unacknowledged. Not hearing back does not automatically mean you are out of the running.

Yes, it sounds like you are competitive. But so much comes down to SoP, sample, letters and the particulars of a school's internal needs, politics, and applicant pool that it's impossible to say.

When I went through this process I paid very close attention to the exact wording and tone of the responses I received. Some were easy to read in that they were either quite cold (no follow up from me) or asked me detailed questions about my background and interests (which, of course, I responded to). For the cases like those you highlighted I only wrote back if I really, truly had some questions about the program. I had put my most important question in my initial email (if that faculty member would be taking new students) but I sometimes had others. I'd also like to take a second to point out that, in my experience, this kind of stuff doesn't seem to have a great deal of sway over the process. I was accepted at schools where I never got a response to my initial emails and was rejected at schools where I had relatively long periods of correspondence.

I've been told that letters which are not held in strict confidence will more or less count for nothing during the admissions process. If you tried to hide the fact that you did the translating (not saying you would, just hypothetically) that would probably result in your application being disqualified or you being dropped from a program if you had already matriculated. I don't have any firsthand experience in this but is there a translation service you can use? I'm sure it will cost money but everything about this process does. Maybe the professors can mail the letters to translation services and then get them back in the post to send on to schools themselves (just spitballin' here)? You might try contacting programs and see what they suggest as well

I don't think a few years of non-related work experience will hurt you. Admissions committees know that people have to work to eat and it's not always possible to find something directly related to what you ultimately want to do. While some experiences might make you stand out from the crowd (having been a working economist might make you more attractive if you want to do economic history, for example) SoP, writing sample, and letters are what count the most.

Like czesc I worked in a barely related field for a number of years before going back for my PhD in history. I wouldn't try to spin or oversell any of your experiences. If they're relevant then they're relevant. If not, then not. I think you risk coming across as fake or desperate if you try to bend your past work to sound relevant. In my SoP I had two sentences mentioning how my background gave me first-hand experience with some of the themes I hoped to work on and left it at that.

I'm really curious where you applied for Spring 2014. Do you mind sharing? As far as I knew doctoral programs only accepted for one incoming class a year (in the fall).

I think it's best to just ask. In my case, all of my writers wanted to see my SoP and CV. One wanted the entirety of my thesis as well as all the papers I'd written for him. Another just wanted to read my thesis.

I second the names czesc has tossed out. For more cultural approaches the big name would Clifford Geertz but you'll see some Victor Turner, Marshall Sahlins and others as well. I see Lacan and Derrida fairly often but I'm not sure I'd consider them crucial unless you do postcolonial or gender stuff (which is where I've seen them used the most). It really does depend on your focus because there are so many worthy theorists that it's hard to know where to stop. Are you asking just out of curiosity or are you trying to put together a list of theorists you want to be familiar with?

While I can't speak for Yale (and thus can't answer your question directly) I think your best option would be to try and raise your score by retaking the exam if at all possible. The conventional wisdom is that a strong showing on the GRE won't get you into a program but a low score will keep you out.

I just went through the application process as well and I came away with mixed feelings about contacting professors. I waited until the beginning of November to send out my emails (Nov. 1 I think I sent them out) and that seemed to go over fine. I got many lovely responses from faculty and had several long exchanges. But out of the three offers I received two were from schools where the faculty never responded to my initial emails (both later interviewed me so I did eventually speak with them). Based on my own experiences I don't think emailing will greatly affect your chances of success. But I think it's still worth doing if only because you might save yourself some time and money. One faculty member I emailed said that while he thought my work was interesting he wasn't sure I'd fit well into the department as a whole and therefore didn't have a good chance of being accepted. That saved me more than $100. Plus, in my case, the sub-sub-field (heh) I reside in is very small so the exercise also got my name out there among the people who define my field.

I know a fair number of people who got good jobs after doing MAPSS. But the degree isn't a professional one and probably shouldn't be treated as such in my opinion. But if you have a specific plan of what classes you'll take and how they relate to the kinds of jobs you want ("I need to learn high-level social science stats and ethnographic skills to work in marketing research" or something) then I can see it working out--the UChicago name carries a fair amount of weight, particularly in the Chicago area. MAPSS has a dedicated career counselor in addition to what UChicago provides for everyone. If you're seriously considering MAPSS then I would contact him or try to meet with him if you're visiting. I was PhD all the way so I'm probably not the best person to speak on this subject.

Are you for sure not going to be pursuing the profession of law? Then it may make sense to withdraw to avoid racking up more debt. But I think there's something to be said for finishing your law degree. Do you want to do your research from a legal or political angle? Then it might help, especially if you can specialize in a kind of law that can be brought to bear on such topics. I have no personal experience with law school but know that doing doctoral applications are a ton of work. To fit that around your 2L classes will be tough (but definitely doable). Also worth thinking about is that doctoral applications have become extremely competitive. I don't know you at all so this is in no way personal but you should bear in mind that you might not be accepted to any schools in the next admission cycle. What will you do then? If you withdraw from law school then you'll have to figure something out for two years. I'm sorry I can't give better advice (or point you to better advice) but these kinds of questions hinge on such personal matters that it's very difficult. FWIW though, I left a lucrative profession to go back and get my MA and now I'm off to a great doctoral program in the fall. It can definitely be done.

I study modern middle eastern history but I don't really understand what you're asking for. Can you be more specific with what you hope to learn?

I was fortunate in that my wife (then fiance) moved with me and got a job in Chicago. We lived off of her salary. Some people worked. I think most took out loans. Yes, I really think it did. I would not have received the multiple great offers I did without having gone through MAPSS. I believe that compared to the other MA programs at Chicago MAPSS has a much better placement rate. I suspect it's because the idea of MAPSS being a stepping stone for people who want to go on to doctoral programs is so ingrained into the program's culture that people essentially spend a year thinking about and preparing for doctoral admissions. A should also note that a significant number of people decide not to apply to doctoral programs again. MAPSS can be brutal and some decide that graduate work in the social sciences just isn't for them. Of those who opted out many that I know have managed to parlay their MAPSS degree into really, truly great jobs (mostly in the Chicago area). I took a gap year as did most people. It's discouraged by the program but I know three people who applied during their MAPSS year and were accepted. I found the cohort to be supportive and not particularly competitive but I am in a subfield of my discipline that tends to have very low representation in MAPSS. From what I know of those students who competed directly with each other when it came time for doctoral applications there was little backstabbing or badmouthing. I'm not sure what they could have to harm each other's chances anyway. Faculty will write the letters they're going to write and your grades and thesis will stand on their own. I actually happened to form my closest friendships with a group of people who were scattered across the disciplines. There wasn't any particular reason for that.

I answered people's questions in this thread.

I would say, and this is purely my own subjective opinion, if all it would really, truly take is a tweak then go ahead and do it. But I wouldn't overhaul my project to make it trendy. If it wasn't my true interest I'm not sure I could do a convincing job of it anyway.

Do you mean class size in terms of your average Chicago course or the cohort size of MAPSS? If the former I would say it's comparable to graduate courses at any university. I had one course that was very popular and had about twenty people (which was too many) and one which was less so and only had five (almost too few). If the latter, the overall cohort size doesn't matter too much. You'll spend most of your MAPSS time with the people in your discipline. I think they aim for about 15 to 20 people per "group" and some disciplines have more than one "group" (typically two). Chicago can be very intense but I would hardly describe it as being a sadistic hellscape. I did not find it to by treacherous or cutthroat and the faculty were almost all nice and helpful. But the quarter system and the level of work expected often means that you don't get much downtime, something that is reinforced by the fact that, unlike first year doctoral students, those in MAPSS have to figure out and write a thesis too. It is a ton of work (I figure I averaged about 11 to 12 hours per day, seven days a week, for the entire year) but you learn SO SO much and you'll be very proud of what you have accomplished at the end. I worked more than most, but as far as I can tell, those who ended up getting offers from great doctoral programs seem to be those who worked very, very hard. TL;DR. Tons of work. Not a sadistic hellscape.

I would target one or two faculty members, essentially only those who you think would make a good thesis adviser for you. You'll have enough on your plate getting a feel for MAPSS itself and, unlike if you were an admit to their department, faculty members don't really have any obligation to welcome you. Because of that I also wouldn't be too put off if they can't or won't meet. Your real opportunity to meet and impress faculty is in your classes. I can't give you an indication of the likelihood that they'll agree meet with you, it's really up to each individual faculty member. Some are nice and happy to meet with anyone interested in their work while others will brush you off unless they think you're the Next Big Thing in their field (which, as an MA student, no one will think you are, at least not at first).

I chose non-university housing in Hyde Park. I really like my apartment because it's pretty big with high ceilings and lots of natural light. The management company is terrible though (MAC apartments, though we made it work by being horribly annoying squeeky wheels until they fixed stuff and now they don't bother fighting with us anymore). A lot of MAPSS students, particularly those that were single, lived in the university's grad housing. Some lived in the Regency (a lot of Law students live in that building too) but I don't like high rises so I went with something else. A few people chose to live on the north side of the city (Logan Square, in particular, was popular because it is gentrifying but still relatively cheap) or in South Loop because there's way more to do up there but that also means commuting every day. By public transit it's more an hour each way though it'd be faster by car.

As mpsser says, it's a fairly even split between the disciplines (though I think poli sci is the largest contingent and psych the smallest). I will say, however, that at least in my disciplie, history, certain fields were much more heavily represented. Many people in my year were doing American or European history, I think it was easily 2/3 - 3/4 of the cohort. I've heard this year is even "worse" in that regard with close to everyone falling into those categories. i don't think this is anything in particular to MAPSS as I've heard that's more or less the norm if you look at the breakdown of applicants to any graduate program in history. I would definitely set up meetings with faculty and plan something to talk about with them. As for as dress, just look nice.

I had an RAship for the summer following my MAPSS year (when I was writing my thesis, most students take the summer to do that) but I didn't really do it for the money. As far as I know most MAPSS students don't work during their time at Chicago unless they are fortunate enough to have a professor offer them an RAship. I think some did get work-study but I'm not sure.

For those asking about UChicago MAPSS I'm answering questions about my experience in this thread.