NOWAYNOHOW

I have a lot on my spreadsheet -- over 15, but I know I have to cut some off the list. I'm concerned because I am geographically limited and also coming from outside the discipline, so I feel like I have to apply to ALL the schools within a reasonable distance. I am going to try and cut it down to 12, because I'm not sure about fit and my ability to juggle so many apps! Still, I don't think 12 is excessive. With funding being the way it is, and schools taking very few students from large applicant pools, why take a chance on 5 when you can increase your odds with 12? It costs more to apply, but if your goal (like mine) is to be SOMEWHERE by fall, then it might take that many applications...

I just can't bring myself to take them again. I have a family friend at Princeton Review and she told me if I'm not confident I can raise my quant score at least 5 points, I shouldn't bother and that the importance of the scores varies according to department overall. Considering I have so much on my plate with the term starting and all, I have decided to chance it and just move forward knowing my weakspot. Good luck!

Hi Ktmcg! I am in a comm/media studies MA program looking to switch disciplines for the PhD, so I feel I can speak to your question there: if you are not passionate and versed in sociology as a discipline, I'd recommend looking for faculty that do research on technology and society in communications and media programs. It is increasingly difficult to switch disciplines and you will be competing against other students with sociology backgrounds for very few funded spots. The good news is it sounds like you have a solid profile and I'm sure any comm program would be happy to have you! If you are open to NY schools, I know there are a number of great faculty at NYU, Rutgers, CUNY and Columbia all working on STS/communication technology on some level. I too have to stay in one geographic area, but it's definitely helpful to widen that net even if it means a bit of a commute...

Is getting an MPH somewhere with faculty in queer and LGBTQ areas an option? It opens up more doors and a place like Columbia definitely has the right faculty for that course of study--I have multiple friends there doing very similar things.

I guess I will just update: after talking to several profs who sit on adcoms, a grad administrator and one veteran ets insider, i've been told not to bother retaking. Percentiles are traditionally not included in the dossiers adcoms see, and that a lot of faculty straight up refuse to consider scores anyway and prefer to judge on the basis of sop, refs and writing sample etc. I know it is risky to walk into the season with a low quant score as part of an otherwise competitve package, but I'm going to trust advice provided by seasoned faculty, administrators and peers...

I think it's more of a time management thing -- I can choose to either study and retake, or devote that time to revising a manuscript in hopes of getting it published, etc.

It was recently brought to my attention that the percentiles (in quant) have changed a great deal since the new scoring was adopted across the board. Generally this wouldn't be a problem, but I took my test back during the transition and now I'm in a bind. I have a low q score that initially put me in the 40th percentile, but now puts me in the 29th. That is a huge change! I was told by my advisers that I shouldn't retake (I have a high v and aw score and I am looking at programs that don't emphasize math), but I wonder now if the 29th percentile thing is just unacceptable and will really hurt my application. Has anyone experienced an issue like this? Are you retaking or just moving forward and focusing on other parts of your application package? Retaking for me is going to be a huge risk. I don't have the free time to review like I did before my first test and fear my scores could go down and not up....

The 300 comes from 1200 being the old rumored cutoff, as that was the conversion right after the scoring changed over. I took the test during the transition and we saw our scores in both the 170 and 800 ranges. Unrelated, but thanks for posting that ets pdf -- since I took the test right after they changed the scoring, the percentiles have changed dramatically! I know my math score was low, but when I took it it put me in the 40th percentile, but now that same score is the 29th percentile. I guess I got screwed by taking the test so close to the changeover, which is why percentiles have changed so much after scores started to stabilize on the new test... So what I'm saying is that I guess I have to retake. UGH!

If it makes you feel any better, i scored a 147Q and my MA advisers keep telling me not to bother retaking the test and to focus on other parts of my applications. As long as you reach 300 cumulatively, word is you'll be fine...Good luck!

Bump! Come on guys!

Hi Whiteunicorn -- I'm currently at NYU getting my MA from another department, but I have taken Draper courses and have a lot of friends in Draper. While I didn't attend, I was initially admitted to the CUNY MALS and the Draper MA. I also have a lot of friends at CUNY, so I feel I can speak a bit to the experience there as well. CUNY is a fabulous institution (I'm applying there for my PhD), but I have heard they have very little time for their MA students. On one hand, the MALS has been aggressively expanded over the past couple of years, but remains relatively untested. I am not sure how you plan to go through the program, but it also is supposed to take longer than the Draper MA, which just seems silly if you plan to move on to the PhD. On the whole, the CUNY MALS seems to be less structured and provide less guidance for students, but still is supposed to take longer than many terminal MA degrees. On the other hand, Draper is a much older and more established program. I'd go so far as to say it is NYU's hidden gem if you want to study the humanities or social sciences. It offers a structured advising system that has students paired with faculty fellows in their area of interest. The Draper students I've studied alongside are easily the brightest MA-level peers I've encountered, far outshining many of the people in my own cohort. They are all very close, supportive, and deeply committed to their scholarship and future as academics. They have a fantastic placement record and the professors work hard to help students craft successful PhD applications. If you can afford it (or have gotten some assistance from the department) I would definitely recommend Draper. Sometimes I even regret not taking their offer! Just a few thoughts! Either way, you can't really lose--CUNY and NYU have a lot to offer. Feel free to DM if you have other questions.

Sounds like the MPH in Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia is right up your alley, and they have Leslie Sharp!

Pulpoperdida42, I'm also "in" medical anthropology, and the best advice I've gotten so far is that I should be looking at anthropology programs that have good faculty for my interests and to stop worrying about specialty degrees. Programs that are right for you will be the ones with pods of faculty working in med anth, but will also award a degree that will firmly place you within the broader discipline. A lot of medical anth/medical humanities degrees are specifically geared toward care providers with the understanding that the program is supplementary, but that doesn't mean there isn't a place for you somewhere else. With that said, it sounds as if you might want to be doing something more proactive than just getting your phd in anthropology. You say that you see a lot of programs cater to students with providers licenses--have you considered getting your own sort of certification? When I read ethnographies from my area of interest, I often notice that many anthropologists are stuck holding bandages or running reception desks during their fieldwork terms. If you wanted to do something more hands on, it might serve you better to get certified as a paramedic or physician's assistant and work with NGOs, the WHO, etc. At the very least, an mph will be much more useful in this regard than a phd. Just some thoughts

Not vague at all! I just hadn't heard of it as a subfield or area of interest. I have seen some very interesting stuff about DACA in the US that I think falls under that heading. Very cool.

Lackingpatience, what's Legal Anthropology? Sounds v. interesting!

Feraleyes, I think Duke Literature is the place to go for that particular specialty. I know that there is a lab being led at UCDavis (I think the Humanities Initiative) in this area as well. In terms of potential things to read, I recommend Tim Lenoir, Paul Rabinow and Sherry Turkle. This might be useful too: http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?catid=2&action=listcat

This might be a dumb question, but why not get a public policy degree and just focus on issues relevant to women? A lot of public policy departments will have faculty working on women's issues. Logically, that should get you a lot farther professionally than a humanities degree. The same goes for an MALS -- it's a risky degree for anyone, but if you aren't going into academia, it's probably especially useless.

No, not yet. I briefly was in contact with Sherry Turkle during my MA applications, but it wasn't quite related to HASTS admissions.

Roquentin, I think I am hesitant just because I'd be coming from one region to another and it doesn't seem like a lot of people from outside the home region tend to present. I may send a similar abstract to my regional conference and see what happens, or I may just apply for some travel grants and make it to St. Louis for the MPCA/ACA...thanks!

Anyone have thoughts on the worth of presenting at a regional PCA/ACA conference? I am trying to build my CV for applications and could use the practice.

I wouldn't recommend it. I was in PR for years before going back to school and experience is definitely valued over education. I seriously doubt an MA can give you the edge you need and it will almost certainly cost a ridiculous amount of money. I know this might sound like generic advice, but in communications, experience is especially important because so much of your appeal as an applicant has to do with your network of professional contacts. The only way to build that is to work. And a network of fellow students won't cut it either, because they'll be in the same position as you are after graduation...

ArtHistoryandMuseum, I am SO in love with the HASTS program! I know it is a stretch and they take very few students, but if I didn't apply I couldn't live with myself. I am a big fan of Natasha Shull's work, and would be overjoyed to work with her. I am currently building an MA thesis that engages both biomedicine and technology in a way that is somewhat dissimilar subject-wise, but not unlike Schull's most recent book methodologically (though her ethnography is much broader and culled from a much longer span of time). I also admire her exploration of values in design across tech and neuroscience... I also can see myself working well under Jean Jackson (she has recently turned to chronic pain and illness) and John Durant (who works on the public understanding of science and scientific controversies). Do you have any particular faculty or subjects in mind?

In the name of procrastination (so many term papers!), who else is preparing to apply in the fall? Is this your first time at the rodeo? What's your specialty? What's your top choice? What is your favorite color? Let's get to know each other, because it's going to be a long year.

Thanks for your responses! Dal PhDer, Uromastyx, since I'm looking at these opportunities as chances to refine my presentations and get better at publicly speaking about my work, I suppose participating can't hurt. I also want to add more academic work to my CV (now it is mostly cool and irrelevant professional experience from a former career) so a graduate conference here and there will hopefully show I'm comitted and ambitious. I am always on the lookout for bigger conferences, but I'm not always a great fit for the conference theme (oddball topic in a small field) and not sure I'm capable of succesfully presenting at that level yet anyway. I hope practice makes perfect!

Thoughts on presenting papers at graduate student conferences? I know the topic of sham conferences (or vanity conferences) has been brought up on this site, but I was wondering what people thought were the benefits or potential disadvantages to presenting at university graduate student conferences. I have been invited to present at a few being hosted by GSO at pretty great universities, but just want to know I'm doing the right thing for my research (MA level) and for doctoral applications coming in the fall.