NOWAYNOHOW

This is a funny question.  I used to professionally do X and my weird intellectual interest was Y.  After several years it was clear that X should have stayed a passion, and I thought I'd go back to try my hand at Y.  Now I do Y for a living (and am hoping for a PhD in it) and maintain a healthier interest in X. 
 
Anyway, cool story bro.  Also fashion, whiskey, taxidermy, biomedical curiosities and oddities, science and speculative fiction, tattoos and some of the worst television has to offer.  Nothing too exciting.

Just got an official acceptance to Boston U via e-mail!! 5 year fellowship. So excited! Its nice to have some positive feedback after a few rejections.
 
Best of luck and good vibes to all those still waiting!!  

Thanks for sharing that anthroflea! 
 
I find it very interesting that some of the posters on that forum seem to have forgotten just how hard and uncertain it is to be an applicant to grad school… I get really frustrated with the narrative (that comes out in those posts, but can be seen in a lot of other places like: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wait-but-why/generation-y-unhappy_b_3930620.html) that refer to 'people born between the late 1970's and mid-90's,' to use the phrasing of the article, as entitled and unwilling to work hard. I think if those people spent some time, for example on this forum, they would see lots of people in that age group who work incredibly hard in their school work and jobs, go through the long/expensive/difficult process of grad applications and spend some of their free time on a forum supporting each other and sharing reading lists and book recommendations and the likes -  and they would have to reconsider. On top of the hard work that we've put in to prepare for and apply to grad school, I'm sure many of us have been in the position of seeing academic and professional opportunities disappear due to the economic downturn. (I, for one, graduated college in 2008 and had several exciting job interviews cancelled due to hiring freezes that year, and ended up waiting tables and interning, which I really enjoyed, but it was hard to see my 'dream jobs' move out of reach).
 
Anyways, I apologize for that rant, but I think the people who publish articles like that and say those things on their faculty forums, don't realize that it takes a lot for us to keep our heads up when the opportunities we were hoping for vanish or a harder to get than they were before the economic downturn or before moves like this: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/09/30/cantor-gop-budget-science-spending-column/2896333/. I wish they would take a more supportive tone and point to all the people in whatever-generation-they-want-to-call-us who are working hard despite the odds, rather than pretending that they were better/more humble grad school applicants than we are: 
 
"Frankly, when I was applying for grad schools, I think my "default" expectation was not to get in. Sure, I had a 4.0 GPA and almost-perfect GREs...I think they are wasting THEIR time and effort by refusing to move on…" - Quote from the first poster on the Chronicle Forum thread

Yikes!  Besides being kind of nasty in terms of tone (and dismissive of applicants in general), I think this is more about unqualified students who try to appeal, or who simply ask the wrong (see: rude) questions.  As I hear back, I'm trying to find out how I can improve, not why I was rejected -- and despite the fact that these two questions might yield the same answer, they are certainly questions with two very different implications. 

Here are some preliminary results, I added my MA to make N=25.
 
I realize I left stuff out, but I don't have too much time to waste on this! ha! Perhaps I can do more later.
 
Enjoy! 
 
N =25 Participants
19 (76%) Participants entered PhD Program 6 (24%) Participants entered MA Program Field of Study
9 (36%) Participants applied to Cultural Anthropology  3 (12%) Participants applied to Linguistic Anthropology 11 (44%) Participants applied to Archaeology 1 (4%) Participant applied to Biological Anthropology 1 (4%)  Participant applied to Medical Anthropology  
 
Funding:
Average funding package = $16,610 Maximum award package = $36,900 Minimum award package = $0 19 (76%) students had tuition waived 6 (24%) students did not receive tuition remission   

 
 
Funding Continued:
Average amount of years funded = 3.5 Maximum years funded = 7 Minimum years funded = 0
 
Health Insurance:
10 (40%) of participants received full coverage 6 (24%) of participants received no coverage 5 (20%) of participants unknown 4 (16%) of participants received partial coverage

Hey guys, I just got an offer from a NY school for archaeology and I was (positively) surprised by the stipend. Would any of you who got into Columbia, CUNY, NYU etc care to share the details of the funding packages you were offered? Feel free to PM me if you're uncomfortable sharing the info on here! (I should probably disclose that I completely agree with Canis that sharing this information between ourselves empowers students -- it allows us to see what constitutes a good funding offer, and to spot (and potentially fight) unjustifiable inequalities.

So today a recurring dream came true. I woke up at 6 to an email from my poi at upenn offering me admission! Last night I thought I had decided where I was going to go.... Now back to the drawing board.

HA! I was freaking out over it.  Maybe it just changed for everybody?  OY, parsing the littlest details

I was wait listed at Rutgers!    I am so excited to have gotten an answer other than "NO!"  There is hope for this cycle, though told not to expect anything for a few weeks, but to keep an eye out.  I tried to get a little more info re: wait list in general and what I can do to improve my chances (there was some talk of securing my own funding, so I'll be getting a metal detector and hitting the beach I guess) and I will let you know if I hear anything else useful. 

ETA: Rutgers maintains a ranked wait list of 5, which I'm not on. The next batch is unranked, and that is unfortunately where I am, though a POI did tell me they do regularly admit beyond the ranked list.  They also only admit students that are fully funded, so there goes my digging for change plan.  Hope that helps!
 
 
 
You are totally right, and I feel exactly the same way about Yale.  UGH!
 
 
We all got such different responses!  I mean, my POI told me she couldn't say anything and they were still deliberating.  In my dreams, I guess. 

I was wait listed at Rutgers!    I am so excited to have gotten an answer other than "NO!"  There is hope for this cycle, though told not to expect anything for a few weeks, but to keep an eye out.  I tried to get a little more info re: wait list in general and what I can do to improve my chances (there was some talk of securing my own funding, so I'll be getting a metal detector and hitting the beach I guess) and I will let you know if I hear anything else useful. 

ETA: Rutgers maintains a ranked wait list of 5, which I'm not on. The next batch is unranked, and that is unfortunately where I am, though a POI did tell me they do regularly admit beyond the ranked list.  They also only admit students that are fully funded, so there goes my digging for change plan.  Hope that helps!
 
 
 
You are totally right, and I feel exactly the same way about Yale.  UGH!
 
 
We all got such different responses!  I mean, my POI told me she couldn't say anything and they were still deliberating.  In my dreams, I guess. 

I hope you are accepted off the waitlist.

I was wait listed at Rutgers!    I am so excited to have gotten an answer other than "NO!"  There is hope for this cycle, though told not to expect anything for a few weeks, but to keep an eye out.  I tried to get a little more info re: wait list in general and what I can do to improve my chances (there was some talk of securing my own funding, so I'll be getting a metal detector and hitting the beach I guess) and I will let you know if I hear anything else useful. 

ETA: Rutgers maintains a ranked wait list of 5, which I'm not on. The next batch is unranked, and that is unfortunately where I am, though a POI did tell me they do regularly admit beyond the ranked list.  They also only admit students that are fully funded, so there goes my digging for change plan.  Hope that helps!
 
 
 
You are totally right, and I feel exactly the same way about Yale.  UGH!
 
 
We all got such different responses!  I mean, my POI told me she couldn't say anything and they were still deliberating.  In my dreams, I guess. 

Congrats NOWAY!!! That's awesome! I hope you get in, but even if not, what a great boost of confidence that you made it onto their short-short list! :-)

Congratulations NOWAYNOHOW! I've been following you on the boards and through your blog and no how awful and hard this whole application season has been for you. I'm glad that you've finally gotten an answer other than "NO" and I really wish you the best of luck!

I was wait listed at Rutgers!    I am so excited to have gotten an answer other than "NO!"  There is hope for this cycle, though told not to expect anything for a few weeks, but to keep an eye out.  I tried to get a little more info re: wait list in general and what I can do to improve my chances (there was some talk of securing my own funding, so I'll be getting a metal detector and hitting the beach I guess) and I will let you know if I hear anything else useful. 

ETA: Rutgers maintains a ranked wait list of 5, which I'm not on. The next batch is unranked, and that is unfortunately where I am, though a POI did tell me they do regularly admit beyond the ranked list.  They also only admit students that are fully funded, so there goes my digging for change plan.  Hope that helps!
 
 
 
You are totally right, and I feel exactly the same way about Yale.  UGH!
 
 
We all got such different responses!  I mean, my POI told me she couldn't say anything and they were still deliberating.  In my dreams, I guess. 

I was wait listed at Rutgers!    I am so excited to have gotten an answer other than "NO!"  There is hope for this cycle, though told not to expect anything for a few weeks, but to keep an eye out.  I tried to get a little more info re: wait list in general and what I can do to improve my chances (there was some talk of securing my own funding, so I'll be getting a metal detector and hitting the beach I guess) and I will let you know if I hear anything else useful. 

ETA: Rutgers maintains a ranked wait list of 5, which I'm not on. The next batch is unranked, and that is unfortunately where I am, though a POI did tell me they do regularly admit beyond the ranked list.  They also only admit students that are fully funded, so there goes my digging for change plan.  Hope that helps!
 
 
 
You are totally right, and I feel exactly the same way about Yale.  UGH!
 
 
We all got such different responses!  I mean, my POI told me she couldn't say anything and they were still deliberating.  In my dreams, I guess. 

I have to say this is patently untrue for many programs.  I know for a fact that a lot of faculty are against this very practice (throwing out applications because of cutoffs) and that in their departments they make sure that all applications are considered holistically by the committee, even if it is only a brief consideration.  Maybe this is an issue directly related to funding and the size of the program, or it has to do with growing resistance in humanities and social science to ETS, but it is safe to say that not all programs have someone sifting through files and chucking ones with low GRE and GPA. 

I'll hop in from time to time I'm sure! <3
 
Also! His acceptance was unnofficial e-mail from POI!

Hello everyone,
 
  After a month of being nervous, a month of finding GradCafe and being obsessed with the Results page and lurking, and then a month of contributing to discussions, I just want to say thank you for all those who have been so supportive in this process (you know who you are). Initially coming to this website, I was quite skeptical and, frankly, thought that it was simply a place for people to brag about what schools they applied to and where they got in. I couldn't have been more wrong. I was greeted with open arms and shown such support in times of distress and received numerous pms and it really made a difference. I can't say I was ever physically or mentally distraught, like some seemed to be, but nevertheless any stress I did have was mollified by the amazing support group that this years Anthropology applicants and gradcafe veterans exemplified.
 
 Since this time is over, and I'll be succumbing to the ordered chaos that is doctoral research, I will more than likely move on. But, I didn't want to do this without saying thank you for proving me wrong about my initial skepticism. 
 
For those of who you who have been accepted into programs, congratulations. For those of you who did not, please keep trying.  Best of luck to everyone in their future endeavors. I wish you all success, happiness, and many amazing beer-driven anthropology discussions with your new cohorts.
 
"The empires of the future are the empires of the mind". - Churchill

Anthrogeek, you are a bully. I don't know why you feel the need to take cheap shots at people you don't know anything about to try and make a point. You know nothing about me, my research or my self confidence. None of which is relevant to this conversation.
 
I wouldn't got to grad school without some type of funding offer. That is my decision and my opinion.

Day kid- you must not think very highly of yourself or your research. You should only be funded by your department for a year or two max. By then your have to leave and do your research thus give up the funding and should be funded by outside sources. Maybe I just have more faith in myself than other have in themselves since funding was never a factor in my decission making and ill be graduating in may with my phd with a total of 20k student loans for undergrad, masters, and phd. Not to shabby and that 20k was while I was in undergrad

Noticing the CUNY acceptances with fellowships - are you guys getting the 5 year fellowships? How much are they offering? Anyone who cares to share details, It would be really interesting to know how all the offers are comparing (In fact I think sharing details about offers empowers us to make better decisions, to negotiate more, and so on, but that's another post!)

All NYU offers (and I'm 90% sure wait list too) have gone out.  Not everyone got their rejection yesterday, but no clue why not.  Probably NYU's crappy overall web system.  Sorry!

CONGRATS! The Chicago MA is pretty much a golden ticket in the right hands, so that is wonderful news.
 
Unrelated, but heard back from my POI at Columbia and they politely said the process is ongoing and they couldn't say more than that.  In my mind that set off acceptance fantasies, but I'll take what I can get at this point.  Hope that helps anyone else waiting on Columbia!

denied admission to the PhD program at Chicago, but offered the MA in Latin American Studies at half tuition.  Im excited now!!
 
It will be a battle between Georgetown and Chicago, but I really want to work with a prof. at Chicago, so that will probably tilt the scale, especially if I get no FA from Georgetown.