Fall 2016 Applicants

[jellyfish11]

21 minutes ago, Lexie16 said:

Sure, I would love to do that.

I was just accepted to the University of Florida's PhD program in anthropology. My undergrad GPA was 3.79, GRE (v/q/w) was 160/154/4.5. No masters. I am interested in the drug war and how enforcement of the law has impacted social order, definitions of security, and perceptions of peace. Topically, I'm interested in governance, law, violence, drugs, and Latin America. My BA is in anthropology. I have worked as a legal assistant and as a policy analyst.

When I was in high school, two members of my family suffered from heroin addictions. As they moved through the criminal justice system throughout the next 8 years, it changed my perception of what is moral and how we should approach addiction and policing the drug war. Classes in college taught me that the domestic side of this issue was only a very small piece of the puzzle. The drug war is something the United States has pursued for decades and seen little to no improvement in stemming the flow of drugs; yet we have destroyed countless lives as result of our drug policies. We know how many people have died. We know how many kilos of drugs we've confiscated. Drug policy needs to change domestically and abroad, and I believe that people's stories are what we're missing. And I feel I can help get those voices into the open.

First of all, congratulations!! Secondly, your topic is so relevant and important, I'm glad you're going to be able to study it. It sounds really fascinating as well.

[Lexie16]

@jellyfish11 Thank you!! Not to sound cheesy or anything, but this is something I've wanted for years. It's a little boggling to think that I'm getting there.

Wishing you the best of luck yourself, and that you hear something soon!! You said you're archaeology? What region and topics are you interested in?

[mini monkey]

2 hours ago, pastthesarcophagi said:

What do you mean having to move only a month and a half after a response?

 

Also, why aren't people posting their subdisciplines in the results page. It is driving me insane! I guess I should assume that if they don't specify, its socio-cultural? I know there are separate admissions meetings/processes for many of the subdisciplines at the schools I have spoken to.

My lease will be up then; even if I get rejections across the board I will still have to move to another place.

[mini monkey]

2 hours ago, jellyfish11 said:

Hmm, I was told that departments usually decide all subfields together. Two of the results are mine and I'm archaeology, but in both cases several other people have posted interviews from those schools the same day, and at least one specified a different subfield. (I didn't specify my subfield in the results, sorry! I'll do so in the future). I guess it depends on the school, but I think most schools with a four-field approach meet together.

My POI at one university verified this. He said that even if he wants a student (biological anthropology) that it is up to everyone in the department and who is allowed to take students for that rotation.

[Lexie16]

Who are the couple of Anthro people who have been accepted to UFlorida as well?? I would love to say hi and congratulations!!

Edited January 28, 2016 by Lexie16

[jellyfish11]

17 hours ago, Lexie16 said:

@jellyfish11 Thank you!! Not to sound cheesy or anything, but this is something I've wanted for years. It's a little boggling to think that I'm getting there.

Wishing you the best of luck yourself, and that you hear something soon!! You said you're archaeology? What region and topics are you interested in?

Hey Lexie! I don't like to post details about my subject interests on the forums because I like to remain anonymous, but I'd be happy to talk via PM. And thanks for the support! I have gotten 2 interview reqs from schools pretty high up on my list!

[ladyoflight17]

Hi guys, I applied to three Anthropology Programs: NYU, Boston U, Princeton. I have seen some people post about interviews from NYU. Any word on Princeton? I really wanna get into Princeton! Do they usually interview? 

[MedAnth077]

Princeton usually notifies acceptances the first week of February, it looks like. I'm not sure if they do interviews, though.

[catcatcatdog]

I can confirm that Princeton does not interview.

[ladyoflight17]

Thanks for confirming guys! I got a notification from my Academia.edu account that someone from Princeton, NJ searched for me. Is this is a good sign? My Academia page is pretty unimpressive ... just my pic, a few lines on educational background and areas of interest. Will this work against me? Now I am silently freaking out ... 

[MedAnth077]

That seems like a great sign! 

[Slagatha]

Good or bad, someone's trying to work you out! 

[catcatcatdog]

That was my first hint that I had been admitted to Princeton! BUT I also had multiple Academia hits from the town of another university to which I was not admitted, so you never really know. So keep your hopes up, but try to relax! I'll have my fingers crossed for you.

[ladyoflight17]

Thanks for the support guys! I am so grateful for this forum. My family doesn't really understand why I'm stressing out. They don't get how competitive these programs are! So I am glad to connect with people who know how real the struggle is!

[bdesh]

Congratulations to all the recent new admits! And best of luck to those with interviews coming up!

[masculinities]

Hello all! I've been lurking here for a long while. All the waiting has prompted me to actually join in the conversation!

I'm waiting on results from nine applications (all Ph.D.), and all I've gotten back so far are three likely rejections (no interview from Brown, Irvine, or Berkeley). Anxiously awaiting what typically seems to be a big week for results!

[mini monkey]

Just now, masculinities said:

Hello all! I've been lurking here for a long while. All the waiting has prompted me to actually join in the conversation!

I'm waiting on results from nine applications (all Ph.D.), and all I've gotten back so far are three likely rejections (no interview from Brown, Irvine, or Berkeley). Anxiously awaiting what typically seems to be a big week for results!

If you don't mind me asking, what makes you think those three are rejections? I assumed I was rejected from my top choice earlier this week (they sent out interviews to other applicants), but turns out that it was the exact opposite!  Don't lose hope! 

 

Also, I have NO idea how to update my signature... heh... It's a little bit outdated now, of course. TGC's set up is very different from two years ago! Edit: Haha, figured it out! 

Edited January 31, 2016 by mini monkey

[masculinities]

33 minutes ago, mini monkey said:

If you don't mind me asking, what makes you think those three are rejections? I assumed I was rejected from my top choice earlier this week (they sent out interviews to other applicants), but turns out that it was the exact opposite!  Don't lose hope! 

 

Also, I have NO idea how to update my signature... heh... It's a little bit outdated now, of course. TGC's set up is very different from two years ago! Edit: Haha, figured it out! 

Ah, fair enough! Congratulations on the acceptance!

I'm just going off of Irvine's tendency to interview all their finalists, the fact that Berkeley sent out a mass email to all finalists, and that Brown's sociocultural professors usually reach out to all their finalists within a few days of each other. Here's to hoping I'm wrong!

[bdesh]

My emotional state during this waiting process



My relationship with my inbox 

[MedAnth077]

Quick question- does NYU generally interview all candidates? I saw that they interviewed a few so far; really hoping I'm still in the running there. Also very hopeful about Princeton, but who knows at this point.

[mini monkey]

Just now, MedAnth077 said:

Quick question- does NYU generally interview all candidates? I saw that they interviewed a few so far; really hoping I'm still in the running there. Also very hopeful about Princeton, but who knows at this point.

I know biological anthropology does interviews. I am in the same boat: applied for bioanth, people I know have gotten interviews already, so assuming this won't bode well later. Then again, if you talked to the person before hand via a Skype interview or whatnot they might end up counting that as an interview in itself. 

[busybee]

10 hours ago, masculinities said:

Ah, fair enough! Congratulations on the acceptance!

I'm just going off of Irvine's tendency to interview all their finalists, the fact that Berkeley sent out a mass email to all finalists, and that Brown's sociocultural professors usually reach out to all their finalists within a few days of each other. Here's to hoping I'm wrong!

If you applied to medical anth at Berkeley, they are not planning on conducting interviews. I am not sure about sociocultural there, but based on the grad cafe information posted, it seems like if you haven't been asked to interview, you have been "rejected." (I use scare quotes because this is such a pejorative term and has no bearing on the actual candidate. From what I have learned during my application experience on grad cafe, admission is not necessarily based on who is "most" qualified, as many qualified people apply, but has a lot to do with fit, contact with POIs, the number of slots they have for the year, what kind of interests the department is looking for in candidates, departmental politics, etc.)

An informal interview is part of the process for Brown admittance, and they do interview all finalists for each subdiscipline slot (not just sociocultural). If you have not been asked to interview, I would assume the same as the sociocultural track at Berkeley.

However, I am not sure about wait listed spots, and I simply could be wrong about all of what I just wrote!

Disclaimer: I'm just an applicant, not a tenured professor on an admissions committee. So there may still be a glimmer of hope for these two schools, I think. Don't give up hope. Don't count your chickens before they have hatched!

Edited January 31, 2016 by busybee

[MedAnth077]

15 minutes ago, mini monkey said:

I know biological anthropology does interviews. I am in the same boat: applied for bioanth, people I know have gotten interviews already, so assuming this won't bode well later. Then again, if you talked to the person before hand via a Skype interview or whatnot they might end up counting that as an interview in itself. 

Thank you! I did have a wonderful phone conversation with a faculty member at NYU; not my POI, but her research interests also intersected very well with mine. I didn't even consider that they might count that as contact enough to get a feel for my personality and fit with the program. Thanks!

I also agree with busybee that who is selected does have more to do with departmental politics and the interests they need or want applicants to have for that year. I'm saying this as someone who did get an interview at a school (I prefer to be private about where I'm interviewing, so I will forgo mentioning the school). Although I think I'm a pretty solid candidate, my gut feeling is that it has less to do with me or my application, and more to do with politics and what's going on on their end in terms of which faculty they need to find students for. They have a faculty member who has a limited (and new/emerging) scope of interest, and I have that same "pocket" of interest. Of course, I'd love to believe that I'm amazing and the top of the stack for every school--- but something tells me otherwise here.

 

[catcatcatdog]

3 hours ago, MedAnth077 said:

Quick question- does NYU generally interview all candidates? I saw that they interviewed a few so far; really hoping I'm still in the running there. Also very hopeful about Princeton, but who knows at this point.

I think so? That was my impression interviewing with them in sociocultural.

[MedAnth077]

1 hour ago, catcatcatdog said:

I think so? That was my impression interviewing with them in sociocultural.

Good to know. Thanks!