Fall 2014

[NoSleepTilBreuckelen]

Hi everyone - delighted to have found this discussion!

 

I'm applying to PhD programs and this is application round 1.5 for me (applied to Masters programs before, but not to PhD). I'm still sorting out what my top choice school is, in part because I'm pretty torn between which direction I want my research to go. (Oh, and my favorite color is charcoal grey!)

 

I completed a Masters in archaeogenetics and loved it! Used distributions of genetic diversity in crop plants today to investigate domestication and dispersal of these plants. Would be psyched to continue in archaeogenetics, but would also be very interested in focusing on the use of genetics and biodiversity studies in conservation and sustainability issues today. So basically thinking of applying to ecology and evolution programs instead of anth programs. Have any of you hit forks in the road like this? Any idea on how to choose?

 

Great to meet you all! 

[RYANTH]

Hello all! Haven't read through all of your posts yet, but thought I'd add my info for now...

 

Applying to several programs:

PhD Anthropology @ Brown University

PhD Anthropology (Physical) @ U Illinois Urbana-Champaign

PhD Anthropology (Physical/BioArch) @ Washington University in St. Louis

M.A. Anthropology @ Northern Illinois University

M.A. Linguistics @ Northeastern University

 

From what I gather, it's PhD programs are a total crapshoot. I've got fairly competitive GPA/GRE scores, quite a bit of research experience and an internship at the Field Museum (Chicago) under my belt. 

[colorless]

Archaeology-Mesopotamia here.

[novacancy]

Have you contacted anyone at CUNY (I'm assuming Hunter) yet? Dr. McGovern is so nice & friendly, & I think some of his work is really cool. It didn't start popping up for me until I began my first semester of grad school, when all of my new courses moved in roughly chronological order, beginning with the late Pleistocene & early Holocene. He's a great point of contact for CUNY/Hunter.

 

Hi pears, I've corresponded with Dr. McGovern and Dr. Perdikaris (Brooklyn)! They both seem incredibly nice and have been very helpful thus far. It sounds like Dr. McGovern has ongoing projects in the North Atlantic... man, I'd love to be a part of that.

 

Did you go there for undergrad? The CUNY university system has me so confused. I see that some people are applying directly to particular locations (e.g., Hunter, Brooklyn, etc.), but I've started a general application through the Graduate Center. I'm under the impression that I would be able to work with professors from any of the CUNY locations. Any thoughts?

[sarab]

Hi pears, I've corresponded with Dr. McGovern and Dr. Perdikaris (Brooklyn)! They both seem incredibly nice and have been very helpful thus far. It sounds like Dr. McGovern has ongoing projects in the North Atlantic... man, I'd love to be a part of that.

 

Did you go there for undergrad? The CUNY university system has me so confused. I see that some people are applying directly to particular locations (e.g., Hunter, Brooklyn, etc.), but I've started a general application through the Graduate Center. I'm under the impression that I would be able to work with professors from any of the CUNY locations. Any thoughts?

 

You apply through the graduate center, and yes, you are able to work with professors from other CUNY locations.

[novacancy]

You apply through the graduate center, and yes, you are able to work with professors from other CUNY locations.

 

Thanks for your help and best of luck!

[pears]

Hi pears, I've corresponded with Dr. McGovern and Dr. Perdikaris (Brooklyn)! They both seem incredibly nice and have been very helpful thus far. It sounds like Dr. McGovern has ongoing projects in the North Atlantic... man, I'd love to be a part of that.

 

Did you go there for undergrad? The CUNY university system has me so confused. I see that some people are applying directly to particular locations (e.g., Hunter, Brooklyn, etc.), but I've started a general application through the Graduate Center. I'm under the impression that I would be able to work with professors from any of the CUNY locations. Any thoughts?

 

Yeah! He does lots of super cool work. Not exactly my area of study, but he was my POI there. I didn't do my undergrad there, but I know a couple of people who did their M.A. there, & my "permanent residence" is a couple minutes away. CUNY is a consortium of sorts, & depending on the program, they also overlap with other NYC schools (NYU, Columbia) for resources.

[Vidhi]

Hi!

 

I am applying for cultural/social anthropology for fall 2014. My research interests are Music, Postcolonialism and Pakistan. The thing is I haven't written to any POI as of yet. Partly because I am still trying to develop my 'proposal' and partly because I am not sure what to say and how much to say. Should give a 500/1000 word proposal as attachment or should I discuss it in brief in the email? Or both? 

 

And finally, is it too late to write to them? 

 

My first choice is Columbia, followed by UPenn and UC, Berkeley. 

 

Thanks,

[mesoarch]

Hi!

 

I am applying for cultural/social anthropology for fall 2014. My research interests are Music, Postcolonialism and Pakistan. The thing is I haven't written to any POI as of yet. Partly because I am still trying to develop my 'proposal' and partly because I am not sure what to say and how much to say. Should give a 500/1000 word proposal as attachment or should I discuss it in brief in the email? Or both? 

 

And finally, is it too late to write to them? 

 

My first choice is Columbia, followed by UPenn and UC, Berkeley. 

 

Thanks,

 

It's certainly not too late to write to POI's.  I'm sure some people will disagree with this, but every professor I've spoken to has said not to include attachments in your initial e-mail.  I've read here on the forums of people who attached their CV and had success, but my profs seemed to consider it more of an annoyance.  I've been sending an e-mail with just 2-3 sentences summarizing my research interests and experience, then a couple of straight forward questions like if they're accepting students or other faculty they think may align with my interests, and I've had a great success rate - 7 responses out of 8 contacted.  1 was the generic "looking forward to your application" response, 2 gave info that helped me scratch programs off my list, and 4 have turned into longer exchanges.

[pears]

It's certainly not too late to write to POI's.  I'm sure some people will disagree with this, but every professor I've spoken to has said not to include attachments in your initial e-mail.  I've read here on the forums of people who attached their CV and had success, but my profs seemed to consider it more of an annoyance.  I've been sending an e-mail with just 2-3 sentences summarizing my research interests and experience, then a couple of straight forward questions like if they're accepting students or other faculty they think may align with my interests, and I've had a great success rate - 7 responses out of 8 contacted.  1 was the generic "looking forward to your application" response, 2 gave info that helped me scratch programs off my list, and 4 have turned into longer exchanges.

 

This is good advice, & I've heard people (professors, professionals, et al) say the same thing about attachments: they're a minor nuisance. If they want your CV or anything else, they'll ask for it, or they'll see it later when you apply.

[Vidhi]

Thanks a lot  Mocha and Decaf for the suggestions. Will get on to it right away. 

[magiaepasta]

Hi all! I decided to contact POIs and got a great response. Just sent out emails introducing myself and the type of research I was interested in pursuing, along with why I thought the professor/department/school was a good fit for what I wanted to do. Of the six I sent out, four have responded, and 3 were overwhelmingly positive and encouraging me to contact other members of the department who dovetail my research interests. I figure there's no harm, the worst that's going to happen is you won't get a response. A professor from my first choice school and I are arranging a time to Skype - so I say go for it!

[circus]

Hello again,

 

I, too, have gotten overwhelmingly positive and encouraging responses from the profs. I contacted. HOWEVER, I have now decided to stay at my current university for my M.A for a number of reasons. I guess I'm feeling a little awkward now about all the great conversations I started with profs. at other schools, lol. Oh, how the tables have turned, I'll just let them down gently I guess (jk, I know I'm the beggar not the chooser in this situation)!

 

If anyone is wondering:

To continue the conversation with POIs over e-mail, I asked about their interests, specifically, what got them interested in their topics of research, if they had any recommendations for authors that I should read (I would talk about what I've read recently too), about the collegiality of the department, and the distinctions between fields, what their favorite thing about the department, university and/or city is (especially if they are newer profs), what they expect from their graduate students, if I could contact one of their students etc.Also, so far, I did not send my CV to any of the profs. It never came up, in part I think because its part of the app package and I don't think they like to see that stuff before the official process begins - just my 2 cents. 

[strudelle]

Has anyone tried to set up meetings with their POIs or gone to look at the departments?  I'm going to be in the area where all the schools I'm applying to are in December so I'm interested in seeing if I can meet with people or tour the departments.  I don't know if this is completely unorthodox because obviously they don't know me yet and have not offered me acceptance into their programs (obviously won't find out until March), but I have emailed with some of them and think it might be helpful to meet them.  

 

What do you guys think?

[bioarch_fan]

Strudelle...it is very important to visit the school before you even apply because then you will know if you really like the campus or the department.  If you can't visit until December then it would still be beneficial for you to go visit the campus before you even get accepted so then you can weed out the ones that you aren't interested in anymore.  I'm not applying until next Fall but I plan on visiting the campuses of schools that I'm interested in probably in March just so I don't waste my time applying to a school that I just don't fall in love with.  So yes, going to visit the campus is a smart idea and if you can meet with a POI then it is even better so then you can see if there's a good relationship there.

[strudelle]

Would I set up a visit through the department, or contact the POI directly to set up a visit?  I'd like to visit the departments even if my POIs won't be there.

[anthropologygeek]

When I was applying I set it up through the poi

[strudelle]

I set up meetings with two of my POIs at my top two choices. 

 

Any advice on what to do and say in these meetings?  How can I make myself seem like a really appealing candidate?  I'm really starting to worry that I'm not a qualified candidate at all (even though both POIs have expressed interest in talking to/working with me and don't seem to be phased by my lack of tons of research experience). 

 

Also, would it count against me if I wore piercings to these meetings? 

[anthropologygeek]

Strud- make sure you have questions ready to ask. And define the piercings. Are they just in the ear? Can they be classy? Of course if they are just out there to draw attention and looks hideous I would take them out

[strudelle]

Hah, no I'm not talking about anything hideous or over the top.  I have my earlobes stretched, which I can likely hide with small, tasteful jewelry.  I was more referring to a nose ring - which I think is pretty innocuous but wondered what others thought.  

 

I know that I should ask questions but I'm not really sure what kind of questions to ask.  I'm fairly familiar with the work of both POIs and I don't have a lot of questions aside from "CAN I PLEASE BE A PART OF WHAT YOU DO?!?!?!"

[anthropologygeek]

I don't think a nose ring will hurt if its tiny on the day. Now if you also have a lip ring and a chain from your nose to your lip then yeah that may be a problem

[NoSleepTilBreuckelen]

I don't think wearing piercings would give a negative impression at all! If you're more comfortable wearing your piercings, go for it, if you're feeling apprehensive about wearing them, don't. Whatever helps you be confident and comfortable is what you want to go with

[Mirabilis]

Is anyone else having a hard time slogging through their statement of purpose? There are two related areas I'd like to explore as a doctoral student, but I'm not sure if I should just focus on one for the sake of clarity and conciseness. Of course I need two solid pages for the statement, but I'm trying to write as tight a narrative as possible.

[Panama Slim]

Wow! Is it already application season?

 

Good luck to all the 2014 applicants.  If I can get in, then I am sure that the rest of you all have a shot too!

[monfemme]

Hey, glad to see that this thread is still alive. I am applying this season (and turning in some apps in a few days!) and am super nervous/excited. Am planning to do research on concepts of the body in modernity and cosmetic surgery in East Asia. Yes, my SOP was a pain; I had to rewrite it four times before my advising professor would o.k. it. She told me to write it according to the guidelines posted on the berkeley website (http://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/state_purpose.shtml), which helped a LOT.

 

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

Edited November 25, 2013 by monfemme