GRE scores for Ph.D Cultural / Social Anthropology

[pss1975]

Hi,

I'm in the second year of a 2-year MA in Social Anthropology and am going to be starting to apply for a Ph.D in Cultural Anthropology for Fall 2012.

I gave the new version of the GRE and got score ranges of 650-750 for verbal and 630-730 for quantitative.

1. How good or bad are these scores when applying to universities in the US?

2. Are there any cultural/social anthropology programs in other countries that require GRE scores?

3. I would very much appreciate advice and/or suggestions of good universities in the US and other countries to apply to. I am only limited by the fact that I can only go to a school that gives me funding.

Thanks.

[far_to_go]

Hi,

1) Congrats on those scores- they're pretty good. Schools vary in terms of their cut-off scores, and many schools don't have official cut-offs. One way to get an idea of how your scores measure up is to check the websites of schools you're interested in applying to. I remember, for instance, that the University of Texas at Austin anthro program had average combined scores of around 1300.

2) I can't help you here- I only applied to US programs.

3) I hear you on funding! That's a concern for most applicants, of course. As you'll hear many times on this forum, your "fit" with the department that you're applying to is the #1 factor that determines whether you get in, and whether it's a "good" school for you in the long run. So, I can't really offer any advice without knowing what's you're interested in studying and what you're looking for in a department.

[pss1975]

Thanks for the reply. I got my GRE scores - 162 Verbal, 153 Quantitative and 3 AW (I was expecting a 1 so was pleasantly surprised.) I hope you don't mind that I am pestering you with questions. How specific does one have to be with regards to research interests. For eg. would it be enough to say that I am interested in studying the anthropology of craft in India and Japan or do I have to go into detail?

BTW - I have been following your blog and you mentioned maybe coming to India. Have you decided to take it up? I live in Delhi at present and would be glad to give you any info you need. Unfortunately I will not be in Delhi during the time you have mentioned but I can send you my contact details in case you have any queries.

I am going home to Bangalore for 2 weeks. As soon as I get back to Delhi I then move on to Baroda for 3 weeks. My MA program includes fieldwork and this year we are going to be studying the Bhils of Chota Udaipur. I have selected the topic of "Language, Identity and Culture" and am looking forward to it.

(I just read my post and am sorry it is of the rambling variety. You can blame it on the fact that I am in the middle of my final exams for this semester, working on finishing my papers and attempting to apply to universities, all simultaneously )