TwoFoolsAMinute

Stats: Iowa State University, Anthropology major/History minor: Graduating Spring 2012 New GRE range: 670-770 V, 670-770 Q Current GPA 3.01...I expect it to stay in that range. Most interested in Southwest Archaeology, but would like to be employable with a Masters degree if I choose not to pursue the PhD. Age: 38 Married with 3 children 4, 8, and 11 Currently resident of Iowa Family and friends mostly in North Texas. Ok...Well, *The most interesting researchers are scattered about. Colorado, Binghampton, Virginia. *University of Iowa is respectable and in-state making it cheaper and an easier move, but not exactly strong in my interests, but willing to accommodate. *University of North Texas is kind of a lower ranked school, but has a specialized Environmental Archaeology program that covers Geography, Archaeology, GIS, Geoarchaeology, and Zooarcheaology which kind of gives a broad set of skills that seems to me would be employable. Bonus for being close to family and friends easing the trauma of a big move. *New Mexico is the department most focused in my interest area and would likely be the best choice for a focus on a particular region. *Oklahoma has a decent department, good funding, fairly close to my north Texas homeland, and low cost of living. But the department seems pretty generalized...but could still be made to work. *Then there are the other departments that have their pros and cons such as: Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Texas, Texas State, Northern Arizona, Iowa State (I'm already there), and I could go on. I would like to say I am going to jump head first into my interest area and follow that through with a PhD and make it my life's work, but right now I can't imagine being a broke grad student for so many year while raising my family. I honestly don't know which direction to go or how likely I am to be admitted to anywhere. I am pretty sure I don't have the grades to go straight into a PhD program...but maybe I'm wrong. And I worry if I will be sunk if my GPA falls below 3.0. The Archaeology professor at Iowa State and I are not compatible and it's hurting my grades tremendously. So, what happens when you want to go into an archaeology field, and your lowest grades in the major are the Archaeology grades? I feel so lost.

I have lived in Ames for the last eleven years. I moved here in my 20's and I have found it to be a very nice place to live. It is a small town and has remained small with a limited selection of nationwide chains. Anything Ames does not have, you can find in Des Moines area which is a short drive away. Cost of living is not bad compared to most of the country and drops considerably by just going a few miles out of the city. The water is good. The crime is virtually non-existent. The city has many parks with heavily wooded walking and biking trails. City bus service is available most places. The city is bicycle friendly. Politically, it has an overall left-leaning population, but most anyone will feel comfortable. If you don't mind a city that has what you need but very little that you don't, it's not a bad place. The countryside is relatively flat agricultural land. There are a few state parks a short drive from Ames for other recreation opportunities. There's even a ski slope at Boone in the Des Moines River valley. The job market is fairly competitive with some industry, agricultural, and biotech type jobs. The USDA has a large presence in Ames. There is the usual mix of occupations you might find in any city, but none are on a large scale. Food service and retail is where the job openings usually are. Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart and a fairly large number of restaurants and bars.

I will be graduating with a BA in Anthropology in the Spring of 2012. I have been going along for the last year happily expecting to go into a PhD program and a good school after graduation. Then, I come here, read through these pages, and it looks like that people with near perfect scores are unable to get in. I expect to graduate somewhere between a 3.00 and a 3.3 GPA. I've not had the pleasure of the GRE yet, but I'm sure it will be a decent score. I want to study Southwest Archaeology. I am 37 years old and am married with 3 young children, so I have not been in a position to get a field school. My university has canceled the field school for this summer, so I will not have an opportunity. It was my intention to attend a University that was close to the research area so that I would not have to be away from home as much during my studies. This had mostly limited my choices to U of Arizona, U of Colorado, or U of New Mexico. My alternative schools where I could study what I want, but are more remote were U of Iowa, U of Oklahoma, Southern Methodist U or Binghamton in NY. Now, even after all this, are all of these schools beyond my reach to be admitted on the first try? I'm worried. I am pursuing grad school fairly late in life as it is, and I don't want to be waiting around for a year or two to get started. Any advice?