not sure if i'll get in anywhere. am i wasting my time?

[phdmaybe311]

i'm applying to american studies and anthropology phd and masters programs for fall 2015. i've only just started. i know i'm (very) late to the game. i'm interested in hip hop culture in america. i'm an ethnic, but not racial, minority (i've gotten asked if i'm black before when i've mentioned that, so no, i'm not)

 

i'll be getting my BS in sociology from a local state school. i'm in the honors college and decently involved on campus. i work a lot. my research experience is lacking, but my school doesn't really do any research. it's really small and most students are older, 30s+. my thesis is getting a decent amount of attention from my department, but i don't know if that means anything. i've got about a year of research work, mostly data collection and coding. my thesis is based on a full-on research project that i designed and i am in the process of handing out surveys and such now. i'll have enough of the literature review and stuff done to submit as my writing sample to schools.

 

i have a 3.7 cumulative gpa and a 3.9 in my major. i started as a biology major and realized it wasn't for me, but that's where the lower grades come from, chemistry and bio. GRE is okay, VR 74%, QR 48% (yikes, i was a calculus tutor for so long too!), AW 80%. my letters are all coming from professors in my honors college and the dean of the honors college

 

phd list: univ of chicago, nyu, univ of southern california, uc santa cruz, univ of arizona, univ of maryland, brown, univ of michigan, umass - amherst, suny albany, syracuse, american, northwestern, tulane 

 

masters: suny stony brook, cornell, emory, unc - chapel hill, harvard, yale, ucla 

 

so.. think i'll get in anywhere? i know i've got a top-heavy list, but if there's even a slight chance i might get into a phd somewhere, i'd go in a second

[Daisy123]

I think you definitely are NOT wasting your time. But the only way to really know what you can and cannot do, is to contact faculty that you want to work with in the particular schools you listed > After you talk to them and tell them exactly what you have and what you are lacking ,you i will be able to know exactly where you have a shot and where you will be wasting your time. I suggest you start one by one, writing an email, or calling even professors, stating your interest and if they will be interested in talking to you some more. From there , you can build a relationship and learn more about the programs themselves. one of the most important aspects in these applications is to get a faculty member interested and willing to work with you, and learning how to show them (in your SOP) how you fit into their program. 

[duran0]

It's nearly impossible to predict the outcome of graduate admissions. I'm confused about your MA list, as I didn't think Yale or Harvard offered MAs in either American Studies or Anthropology. Furthermore, it is rarely advisable to take out massive loans for an MA in the humanities, and the name brand will matter less (if at all...) on the master's level. I would look at programs like Alabama or Purdue that have good track records of providing assistantships/scholarships and sending students to PhD programs. 

 

You should also consider places like UC Riverside's Ethnic Studies/Media & Cultural Studies, which is a great place to work on the intersections of music and culture. (See Anthony Macias, Ashon Crawley.) 

 

Good luck!