Hodgepodge of Interdisciplinary Randomness...

[kalosskylos]

I'm in a mess over what I can do with my B.A. in Anthropology. I'm currently a 3rd year undergraduate.

The thread title basically reflects what I feel about my undergraduate education at the University of Chicago. As a transfer student, I spent my first year fulfilling distribution requirements at my first school. When I transferred, most of my credits transferred as elective courses, so I basically spent my 2nd and 3rd years at UChicago taking Core curriculum courses. When I finally got around to taking courses I actually wanted to take, I was mainly restricted to taking whatever courses were available at the time to fulfill requirements within my major in Anthropology. There doesn't seem to be any kind of thematic trend in all of the courses I've taken, except that I've taken 2 history courses on Eastern Europe, 2 in Ottoman history, and Elementary Greek (higher levels aren't offered). The rest feels like a random sampling of theory courses in the various social sciences.

I'm really interested in modern Greece and the Mediterranean, but I haven't really been able to find any courses that have anything to do with this area of the world (everyone's still stuck on Classical Greece). I had plans to go to Greece this summer on a language program and to base my BA paper on a project I had planned out, but it all failed spectacularly. I had applied for two travel grants, one for Greece, and one to go to Turkey. I got the grant for Turkey, but turned it down to do the Greece one, because I knew I had a scholarship from the Greek university. Well, the university in Greece basically decided to cut the scholarship significantly this year because of Greece's financial woes, so I won't be going there either. I was clever, so I had a back-up plan to intern at a local museum over the summer (their site advertised 8-week internships), which I got, only to be told later that they'll only take me for 2-weeks to work at their children's summer camp. So basically I'm stuck in New Jersey all summer, trying desperately to find a job and/or internship, and alternate BA thesis topic.

I expect good GRE scores and SOP, but my LORs are going to be bland and impersonal because I haven't had the chance to really get to know any professors ( I did share an elevator with Marshall Sahlins once). It doesn't look like I'll be doing much productive this summer, and the summer before that I worked in a law office, which isn't too interesting or relevant.

***So at this point, I realize I'm probably not a very good candidate for a Ph.D. program in anthropology, especially coming straight out of undergrad. I feel like my transcript looks like an indecisive undergrad's shenanigans, even though I have a decent GPA (3.68 overall, 3.87 in my major) and studying basically takes up my entire life.

The question is, what can I do instead? Should I apply to Ph.D. programs? Should I apply to an M.A. program in Mediterranean or European studies (I'm worried about funding)? I'd take a year off and find a job, but if I can't even find a summer job after searching for three months, I don't see how I can find a full-time job...I'm quite hell-bent on going to grad school.

I'm sorry for the rant, but I would really appreciate even some basic advice.

[newday123]

You can try to e-mail professors at a nearby university about research assistantships. I tried this and finally got a paid RAship after a number of attempts.

You sound like a stellar student. I've heard that Chicago has a small undergraduate population. Since you've been performing well in your classes, you probably stand out. Isn't there any professor at Chicago whom you can speak to about graduate school? Someone with whom you've interacted during office hours? Are your professors too intimidating for you to talk to? It's not too late to make connections now. I'd just be specific in your e-mails and say something like: "Professor so-and-so, I enjoyed taking your X course this past semester. If you remember, I did a paper on Y topic. I really enjoy studying Z overall and think I would enjoy graduate school. May I make an appointment to chat with you about graduate school and your research ..."

[far_to_go]

I second newday's advice- don't be shy about chatting up the Chicago profs for a recommendation. I'm sure that the fact that you have your undergrad degree from Chicago will give you a head-start in the race for Ph.D. admissions.

Have you considered applying to Chicago for your grad work? I know that the conventional wisdom is that one shouldn't do one's BA and Ph.D. in the same place, but there's an exception to every rule. Since you transferred in to Chicago from somewhere else, I bet you could make a pitch in your personal statement to the effect of "I know that there's more for me to learn here at Chicago- though I've worked hard ever since I arrived here as a transfer student, I've barely scratched the surface of the riches that are available to me here..."