NOWAYNOHOW

I've seen the rubric sheets given to faculty during the committee meetings and the knowledge of how things are ranked has haunted me ever since. Sure, it makes me feel better that my most glaring weakness is not generally an issue for my discipline, but that doesn't make the whole process any less terrifying. I'm prone to anxiety, but I have to remind myself that I am my harshest critic. I think the same goes for most applicants, at least those with decent self-knowledge and similarly anxious tendencies. We will always fixate on the things we've done wrong, but not give nearly enough weight to our successes. So, yeah, the committee is going to frown upon my Q GRE, and probably notice I'm missing two punctuation marks in my SOP, but I have to also hope that they will be impressed by my accomplishments and inspired by my proposal. So don't beat yourself up during these imaginary committee meetings. No matter what you think, your imaginary committee is probably a lot less forgiving than the ones your applications will face in real life.

Hi Jump! I'm also medical/cultural. Do you mind me asking where you applied? I don't think 12 is a lot at all! I originally had 15 on my list, but due to both fit and geographical concerns, I ended up with 7. I don't think 7 is enough, so maybe the more the merrier?

Anyone studying folklore and/or digital media? I thought maybe this article could be a nice distraction for those of us just twiddling our thumbs: http://aeon.co/magazine/altered-states/creepypasta-is-how-the-internet-learns-our-fears/

Don't write yourself off just yet. I have come to the conclusion, after talking to a lot of faculty and PhD students, that publishing IS important, but it's only one of the four things adcomms like to see: publications, presentations, research experience and teaching experience. I was told that if you have three of these, you are in really good shape. All four is probably quite rare.

From the discussions I've had with faculty about fit, the impression I got was the following: fit is about having interests and a proposed project that engages department strengths. Does it draw from the expertise of multiple members of the faculty? Does it contribute to a growing cluster or established research group within the department? Is there a special feature unique to the university that benefits your proposed course of study? Are you, as a student, going to bring research questions, a theoretical orientation and a methodological approach that complements the department in general. I think it is about saying, well, not only do Dr. A, Dr. B and Dr. C work on related issues, but I am particularly attached to critical anthropology of jeggings and so is the department at Y University. So if you are a student who wants to study in, say, Russia, but there are no faculty members that work on that region, it's probably not a super fit. Similarly, if you are a student who is more invested in critical and theoretical approaches than ethnography, but the department is very much an ethnographic bunch, then it is also not a good fit. Makes sense? IMHO, fit is as much about knowing the department as it is knowing yourself. If you can definitively express the what, where and how you want to get your PhD, it is a lot easier to find places that fit with your goals. Edited to add: I think an element of fit is also on the department side. Even if you are a good fit, Dr. A might not be taking students because she is going out in the field. Maybe there isn't enough funding to take more people interested in the anthropology of jeggings. So even if, normally, you'd be a good fit, there are always other factors that could count you out.

No -- I was accepted to a national meeting for another association better suited to my interests, so I went there. Sorry!

Oh, I think rereading is a horrible habit. I reread my SOP and found a missing comma in an in-text citation AND a missing quotation mark. On one hand, how could I have not noticed? On the other, how could my THREE readers not notice? This process is the WORST.

Me too! AND, on top of it all, it's 5 degrees out! I'm ready to stay in bed until decisions are out.

Record-setting low temperatures almost across the US, but a particularly bad storm has really mucked things up for places like NY, Boston and Chicago. It means closures and infrastructure malfunctions and a slew of other weather-related inconveniences, which is why I think we might be hearing later than last year from schools in the aforementioned cities.

I wonder how the weather might slow things down. I know, at least, that at my university, break for faculty and staff was extended and many people are still stranded abroad due to airport cancellations. I doubt that the committee will meet as planned. Maybe remotely? I am sure the same is true for other universities currently experiencing the post-Hercules polar vortex. Thoughts?

I was not super enthusiastic about the Duke examples. My adviser and another professor both said they seemed too specific and not very well written in terms of style or tone. I was impressed by the technically thorough and theoretically rigorous nature of the proposals, but I tried to find a comfortable point between what Duke encourages and something more elastic and a tiny bit personal, I suppose...

Mine was listed as completed the day after I submitted. Maybe just a glitch due to break? You could try emailing them too, I got a pretty quick response when I did.

I included the full works cited for my thesis alongside the excerpt I used as a writing sample. I didn't feel right not including full citations, and I thought that anyone interested in learning more about my research could get a better idea just by going through the (very long) works cited at the end of the submitted chapters. I also didn't include those pages in the word count, because otherwise it would leave barely any room for anything else!

Wow, an entire full page of citations for each page of the SOP? Am I misreading that? It seems like a lot, even for a regular paper (aside from a lit review). As a cultural applicant, I only had about 5 citations for my SOP. I wanted to give the committee an idea of my potential theoretical orientation and then I also cited a couple different WHO/PAHO reports about my proposed site. I knew it was important to include some citations, but on the whole I didn't want to get too specific or take up space that could otherwise serve to explain fit or relevant experience.

I am also getting my MA in an interdisciplinary (well, relatively) department and I've been encouraged by a lot of faculty to pick one discipline for the PhD, rather than going through to a similarly nontraditional doctoral program. I think if you want to teach, it's more attractive to say you can do Discipline 101 and Specialty 300 than trying to prove how your interdisciplinary degree makes you versatile, but unable to do the fundamentals. I know you usually learn those either way, but on paper, eh

I can't speak to all of your questions, but the advice I got always boiled down to looking forward. Don't focus on what you should or could have taken; instead, briefly highlight your relevant course and work experience after presenting a cohesive and engaging research plan. If your proposal demonstrates that you understand the field, and where your work might fit into the field, then committees will focus on what you know, not what you don't know. Develop your plan for graduate school, and don't dwell too much on undergraduate regrets. I also wouldn't say this seems like you're coming to the discipline late in your academic career. If you aren't in grad school yet, then it is rather early in your career! Anyway, I'm several years out of undergrad, and I'm about the average age of people in my MA program applying for the PhD. I know people in their 40s applying too! I don't think you need to explain why you are coming to these interests late, but perhaps why you are coming to them at all. Is there a significant need for further scholarship on your subject? Does your topic advance research in similar areas of interest? etc... Hope that helps!

Hi 1Leafy! I'm going for my PhD in medical anthropology too. I bet we applied to a lot of the same programs! Your background sounds super interesting and I have no doubt that all the actual experience with biology will make you a very valuable candidate. Unrelated: Is anyone having doubts about the amount of schools they applied to? I keep feeling like 7 isn't enough and that I should add more, if only to increase the chances of admission somewhere. I know we should be thinking quality and not quantity, but the idea of having NOWHERE to go in September is almost too much to bear. My real problem is that the programs I could still apply to (late deadlines, geographically OK) aren't great fits. Waste of time? Should I keep looking? Am I paranoid? Anyone else putting together last minute applications for the same reason?

About half of my applications say they don't have GRE scores, even though I sent them over a month ago and I've double checked the codes. I think that it just takes the office a while to match scores up with files, you know? In my case, I have a different name on my scores and my applications (maiden/married) so I am expecting it to take a bit longer. I think you have a couple weeks before you have to get nervous or start checking in with admissions.

I submitted an app late AND spelled a POI's first name wrong in that SOP because I was so freaked out by missing the deadline. Not sure I'd call it a little mistake, but definitely in the "OH NO" category. Other horror stories?

To those worrying about late recs, I would not worry too much -- as long as the letter in before the 1st, you should be fine. Committees generally don't meet until after break and they know there's only so much you can do about late letters.

Hi Paintbyyear -- I'm not at Columbia, but I am at NYU and have heard great things about the department from NYU faculty. My interactions with my Columbia POI have been, in a word, stellar. HOWEVER, I do medical anthropology, and Columbia anth students have access to the sociomedical sciences department, etc, making it an especially good environment for the kind of research I do. So if your interests lie elsewhere, maybe things are different. I also wouldn't worry so much about culture at this stage in the game. If there are professors you want to work with and you think you are a good fit, apply, and worry about culture if and when you are admitted.

FYI If anyone else is having this problem, I called CUNY and they said email is fine. Yay!

So glad this is up! I submitted CUNY + Columbia yesterday, so five more to finish. I am concerned because I didn't realize until it was too late that CUNY wants the CV and writing sample in print! Yikes! I freaked out (deadline is today, 12/1) until I found a part in CUNY's general grad admissions Q&A where they say to send writing samples to a certain email. Usually contradictory info drives me nuts (and most programs have some of that) but I'm hoping this loophole works, or at least buys me enough time to send everything via snail mail. Should I send snail mail anyway? Or hope the email submit works unless told otherwise? Anyone else running into these problems? It's a huge headache.

I am finishing up my MA at MCC. My impression since beginning there is that MCC is as much work as you want it to be. On one hand, I know people in my cohort who do the bare minimum, have a good GPA and don't want to advance to the PhD. On the other hand, I work 3 jobs (research, editorial and TA) and finished most of my credits in the first year to focus on working, applications and the thesis in my second. If a well-ranked PhD program is your goal, you can do it at MCC, but it takes a lot of ambition, determination and discipline to distinguish yourself from a very large MA cohort and to build a profile that will prove to adcomms that you are a good candidate. I would say that it seems like a group of 15-20 students apply to PhD programs each year overall, and not all of those are serious. Most serious applicants do get in to great programs - USC, UPenn, NYU, etc. etc... I haven't finished applying yet, so I can't tell you how things are going to turn out, but if you have specific questions feel free to DM me.

To get some discussion going: What do you ask your POIs when (or if) you contact them? Do you feel as awkward as I do knowing that it is primarily a formality? Sure, sometimes there are legit questions not answered by department websites, or sometimes profs will ask potential students to contact them, but most of the time I feel a little silly. I generally like to ask if the specific area I am working in is growing within the department, and whether certain resources outside the department (generally things related to the medical school and schools of public health) are available for grad students. I've found those to be good questions -- generally I get very direct answers (e.g. this year's cohort was 3/8 your area, we are planning to expand work in that subject, etc) and it doesn't feel like a fluffy conversation. Thoughts?