Letter of Intent

[gradschoolstressed]

Applying to grad schools is stressing me out way more than it should. Being on here hasn't made it any better so far, I'm now concerned that the schools I've chosen to apply to aren't decent enough programs after reading everyone's "Cornell, Duke, Chicago, etc." Yikes.

At any rate, I'm really struggling with my letter of intent/statement of purpose/you know what I mean. I've read conflicting opinions that personalizing it can either be beneficial or very harmful. I'm not using the "when I was a kid" approach, but I am trying to personalize it to make sure that I actually come through in my writing, instead of it just turning out to be dry sentences addressing each point they want to know about. I'm also not sure how much of my undergraduate background to include, as they will have my transcripts and resume/CV to look at separately.

And while I'm on the panic train, my GRE verbal score was great, but my reasoning score was awful (39th percentile) and my writing score was mediocre at best.

Any thoughts?

[radiomars]

I would recommend retaking the GRE to improve your quantitative score -- 39th percentile could cost you admission. Assuming you have the time to study and retake before your app deadlines, you should retake. If it's too late, I would also consider putting off applications until the next cycle so you can get all your marks up to scratch. If you're gonna go with it, I wish you the best of luck.

In regards to your statement, you can include things already in your CV. The difference is that in the essay, you can tell the committee what the experience meant to you and what you learned from it -- things they can't deduce from just a resume. An important piece of advice regarding essays -- "Show, don't tell". If you want to demonstrate your leadership abilities, don't say "I am an effective leader". Instead, share an experience that proved your leadership abilities. And you should definitely try to tie in your letter with the school you're applying to, even down to specific faculty interests and papers. It doesn't hurt to show them that you are aware of the work they're doing, and how it plays in to your own ambitions.

[Chai_latte]

Look at the avg. scores for the schools you're applying to. If yours are below (or avg. and you think you can do better), definitely re-take. This might sound silly, but I didn't know quant scores would be that important for anthro. Anyway, don't worry about schools other ppl applied to. If the schools you picked are good matches FOR YOU, go with them!

I'm in the physical sciences. I personalized my SOP. The opening paragraph was a show-don't-tell, relevant story. Of course, I never lost sight of the SOP's role. I spoke of my previous research, fit with the dept., goals etc. And I was very successful in my app process. There are ways to inject style into your statement w/o getting off track. I'd die before I'd write a dry SOP.

As for UG background, they have your info. The only UG stuff I focused on was my research (experience itself, publication, research-related honor society etc.). Skip the grades (if you don't have to BRIEFLY explain some of them away), extracurriculars (unless particularly relevant to your field/research) and scores. Let the LORs handle the rest.

[anthropologygeek]

About gre scores- look and see what the cut offs are for each school. Every anthropology department has this info somewhere on their websites. If you meet the minimal your fine. Profs could care less about the gre but departments and schools won't let you in if you don't meet the min. And most likely poi won't even see you app if you don't meet the min.

About Personal Statement- Talk is cheap. Saying your awesome doesn't mean anything. Proving your awesome is so much better. Don't say I'm interested in apples when you can prove your interested in apples.

As for Ivies who cares. Their not the end all. In anthropology, it's all about who's your advisor is and connections. I know for a fact my dissertation would be impossible if I went anywhere else. Also, if you look around hardl any of the top people in most fields actuall work in an iy league school. Culture might be different since I know basically nothing about that field but any of the others I know that this is the case. Find the best school that fits your interest and go for the best in your specialty. Some people here will disagree with this because they are blinded by the ivy league and school name but this is reality. Think of any sub-field and find who's the best in that subfield and they won't be teaching at an ivy. Again my disclaimer is I don't know much about culture anthropology besides taking the minimal in that subfield

[newleaf]

About gre scores- look and see what the cut offs are for each school. Every anthropology department has this info somewhere on their websites. If you meet the minimal your fine. Profs could care less about the gre but departments and schools won't let you in if you don't meet the min. And most likely poi won't even see you app if you don't meet the min.

About Personal Statement- Talk is cheap. Saying your awesome doesn't mean anything. Proving your awesome is so much better. Don't say I'm interested in apples when you can prove your interested in apples.

As for Ivies who cares. Their not the end all. In anthropology, it's all about who's your advisor is and connections. I know for a fact my dissertation would be impossible if I went anywhere else. Also, if you look around hardl any of the top people in most fields actuall work in an iy league school. Culture might be different since I know basically nothing about that field but any of the others I know that this is the case. Find the best school that fits your interest and go for the best in your specialty. Some people here will disagree with this because they are blinded by the ivy league and school name but this is reality. Think of any sub-field and find who's the best in that subfield and they won't be teaching at an ivy. Again my disclaimer is I don't know much about culture anthropology besides taking the minimal in that subfield

Gradschool stressed, I know Im like a month late, but please take anthrogeeks posts with a grain of salt because he's not socialcultural.

You NEED to say why things interest you and how. What if you changed from an undergrad history major who studied latin america to an anthropology applicant interested in chinese migration to australia? There is not way to "show" your interest, you need to craft a statement that demonstrates that youve thought concisely about a problem that is interesting to the discipline at the moment, that can speak to the current language of the discipline, that the depts that you want to go to has the resources to see the project through. Your undergrad background is important insofar as it demonstrates your trajectory as a scholar, as well as anything you did (i.e. research training) that provides you the necessary background to do what you need to do.

RE getting a job. I don't know what kind of magical unicornland anthrogeek lives in, but getting a job is way more than your advisor and his/her network (again we might be talking past each other because of social cultural). All of the 'top' anthropologists are in 'top' departments. Find me a few heavily cited authors that are in state schools that aren't like a UC, UVA, or Michigan and we can talk. The job prospects of people not coming from elite schools was most violently apparent at the American Anthropological Association meetings in SF last week.

Out of curiosity:

"I know for a fact my dissertation would be impossible if I went anywhere else"

Does that mean no other department has the resources for it? Either your dissertation will be a groundbreaking brilliant contribution, or esoteric AF.

ps excuse grammar spelling

Edited November 25, 2012 by newleaf

[anthropologygeek]

New Leaf- The only reason I am allowed to do my dissertation is due to a relationship my advisor has spent a career forming and yes it is groundbreaking because no offense my advisor is the top of their field in my specialty. And like I have said on this forum I do not know if it's true for all fields in anthropology but I do know for physical and biology the top of the fields are not at Michigan or a UC. They are scattered all throughout the country and just so happens aren't on the west or east coast. And yes I'm going to have to work for a job but my advisor track record tells me if I stay on my current course and keep doing the things I'm doing I am going to be able to get a job. And knowing an advisor track record with his former students and what they do after the graduate should be included in your decision to go to a certain school or even apply to a certain school.