Fall 2017 Applicants

[EvelynD]

Yeah that’s what I mean! Sometimes I wish more people were involved with animal studies so I could select more schools too, but on the other hand it wouldn't guarantee an admission. I think I'll have 4 'animal schools', and 2 regular schools with good programs. I will just do my best and see where it gets me! 

Today I took my first tutor session to work on the math section of the GRE. I didn't take math when I was in high school so I really understood nóthing when I first got my GRE book. I decided to ignore the math until I met with my tutor, and the lesson went quite well! Tomorrow I'm going to practice myself and book a date for the test (probably the 22nd of September). 

[museum_geek]

Good luck on the GRE!  To be honest the most stressful part of the experience for me was the studying (and trying to sleep the night before the test).  Once I got into the room the test itself flew by.  

[EvelynD]

Same for me, I thought I understood some of the math, but when I tried to do some exersizes by myself I couldn't get past the 'medium' section. Then I found an official math section test online and that one was even more difficult than the book. So I'm not sure if I'm going to pass the math, at this moment I'm not even able to find and answer, let alone the correct one. The English section is going better, besides the fact that the 'hard' questions in the text completion are too difficult as well (most of the time I have never even seen 4 out of the 6 answer words). I would probably know them if they were in Dutch, but not in another language. 
I still have 2 weeks, so here comes 8 hours a day non-stop studying. 

[anthrosoul]

Wow, after reading over these threads for the past few years (when I decided/realized I wanted a PhD) it is surreal that I now get to be part of it. I am applying this season myself, though only to two universities. Since I'm applying straight out of undergrad, I don't have high hopes for admission because, quite frankly, I don't think I have the sufficient experience necessary (no publications, no conference presentations, no tangible experience in my niche). Nonetheless, I wanted to apply to my top two programs of choice (Yale and Cornell). I'm interested in environmental anthropology, particularly questions of experience, narrative and climate change. 

[Quickmick]

@anthrosoul you might want to look at U Georgia for environmental--I work with someone who got their PhD there and they had a great experience.

 

Generally things are good. I sent out 5 apps this week (including my one and probably only Anthro), I have two more to go for sure and I think I will stop there (though there is the chance I waffle and send out a couple more ). No advantage in applying before the deadline--I know--but it will allow me to turn all (well most) of my attention to MS defense coming around March.

Edited September 9, 2016 by Quickmick

[EvelynD]

I think its smart you apply this early, it gives you the chance to let it all sink in and perhaps find that one university that you initially missed, and it saves you soo much stress later on! 

I'm still deciding where I want to apply. My favorite university takes the longest to obtain a PhD degree. Two uni's I'm going to apply at for sure, one I'm still waiting on a response from my poi, and one is probably gonna be taken of the list because I don't get a feeling the have prof's and research that fits me. And I came across a job ad for PhD projects from a uni in Canada today, so I'm concidering adding that one as well. 

[anthrosoul]

17 minutes ago, Quickmick said:

@anthrosoul you might want to look at U Georgia for environmental--I work with someone who got their PhD there and they had a great experience.

I already looked into U Georgia and might consider it more during the next application cycle. 

As I said in my initial post, since this is my first time applying and it is right out from undergrad I, truthfully, do not expect to get in anywhere. I decided against U Georgia for this "test" round because of locality. While I've heard really mixed opinions on how much to consider location when choosing a graduate program, I think it is important -- especially since I have options (in regards to environmental anthropologists being scattered throughout the states).

[Quickmick]

I imagine you would look at this as a matter of course, but I would suggest taking a peek at the money and cost of living down there during your evaluation.

[museum_geek]

1 hour ago, anthrosoul said:

I decided against U Georgia for this "test" round because of locality. While I've heard really mixed opinions on how much to consider location when choosing a graduate program, I think it is important -- especially since I have options (in regards to environmental anthropologists being scattered throughout the states).

Agreed that location is important when choosing a program - quality of life definitely plays a part when deciding where you want to spend the next 5-7 years of your life.  From what I've heard and read, though, Athens is supposed to be a pretty decent little town and UGA has a great program.

[anthrosoul]

2 hours ago, EvelynD said:

I think its smart you apply this early, it gives you the chance to let it all sink in and perhaps find that one university that you initially missed, and it saves you soo much stress later on! 

I'm still deciding where I want to apply. My favorite university takes the longest to obtain a PhD degree. Two uni's I'm going to apply at for sure, one I'm still waiting on a response from my poi, and one is probably gonna be taken of the list because I don't get a feeling the have prof's and research that fits me. And I came across a job ad for PhD projects from a uni in Canada today, so I'm concidering adding that one as well. 

I believe that this will all be a good learning experience and I'm sure you are right! I've been talking to professors from undergrad, grad students from my undergrad institution as well as grad students from Cornell and Yale. I have yet to reach out to professors because, honestly, they intimidate me. Regardless, I've asked some of them if there are other programs they think are worth looking at and I've started making a list with that information.                           

The indecision is real! I've been going back and fourth for months about were to go and if I should even go... eventually I just made a choice to apply to my top two and stick to that. I'm 99.9% certain I'll get rejected and am curious to know how I will handle it. lol.

[EvelynD]

I know what you mean! In the morning I will be like,..'I will keep school X', but then a couple of hours later I'm like 'I better drop it, there is no match between us and it will only cost me money if I apply for no reason'. But in the evening I see mountains on TV and I feel like I should apply there, because its such a nice place to live and what if I make a mistake by dropping that uni. 

 

[anthrosoul]

3 hours ago, EvelynD said:

I know what you mean! In the morning I will be like,..'I will keep school X', but then a couple of hours later I'm like 'I better drop it, there is no match between us and it will only cost me money if I apply for no reason'. But in the evening I see mountains on TV and I feel like I should apply there, because its such a nice place to live and what if I make a mistake by dropping that uni. 

 

I think you just need to make a decision and stick to it. As the queen of indecision, trust me, I know how hard it can be to do this.... But just remember, there is always room for change. From what I gather, this is also your first application cycle - even if you get rejected everywhere, there is always next year AND next year you will be applying with experience and way more information than now. In addition, if you end up totally miserable at a PhD program, there is the option of leaving and trying to go elsewhere. I just recommend that you find schools where a faculty member, ideally members, have overlapping research interests with you and then start eliminating places through whatever criteria you see fit until you are left with a few. Good luck!  

15 hours ago, museum_geek said:

Agreed that location is important when choosing a program - quality of life definitely plays a part when deciding where you want to spend the next 5-7 years of your life.  From what I've heard and read, though, Athens is supposed to be a pretty decent little town and UGA has a great program.

Thanks for your insight, I'll research it further and may apply there next round. Perhaps I'll send some of the faculty an email introducing myself and telling them I am interested in applying in the future. 

[EvelynD]

1 hour ago, anthrosoul said:

I think you just need to make a decision and stick to it. As the queen of indecision, trust me, I know how hard it can be to do this.... But just remember, there is always room for change. From what I gather, this is also your first application cycle - even if you get rejected everywhere, there is always next year AND next year you will be applying with experience and way more information than now. In addition, if you end up totally miserable at a PhD program, there is the option of leaving and trying to go elsewhere. I just recommend that you find schools where a faculty member, ideally members, have overlapping research interests with you and then start eliminating places through whatever criteria you see fit until you are left with a few. Good luck!  

Thanks for your insight, I'll research it further and may apply there next round. Perhaps I'll send some of the faculty an email introducing myself and telling them I am interested in applying in the future. 

Yeah it is my first round (if it wasn't for this forum I'd be so lost..). At this moment I'm considering only applying to the schools I really like, and not look for reasons to like school X (eventhough the environment there is pretty cool). But I also just learned about something called animal geography, and it has close resemblance with the animal studies I want to do. So,..I might have to start all over again and research this subject. It doesn't matter, I still have 2 weeks left before my new job starts. 

I want to share my personal accomplishment of today; I've watched a sh*tload of Magoosh video's on math, and then I did a test and I had 3/5 questions right! That might seem like nothing, but a week ago I couldn't even get one right. I'm thinking of going for the GRE at the end of October, so I have some extra time to practice! 

[museum_geek]

2 hours ago, EvelynD said:

I'm thinking of going for the GRE at the end of October, so I have some extra time to practice! 

When are your applications due?  It takes about 10 days for your official GRE scores (with analytic writing) to be released and then another few days for your scores to be sent to the schools you chose.  If you have January 1 deadlines you'll probably be fine but with December 1 deadlines the end of October might be cutting it a bit close.

[EvelynD]

Most of them are December first. The thing is that I only have two options: either the 22nd of September, or at the end of October (because of the training I have to take at my new job, I can't take time off in between these dates). Do you think I should try it in two weeks, just to be sure? I took a practice test a couple of days ago and my scores were véry low, so I need all the time I can get. 

[ClassicalEducator]

8 hours ago, EvelynD said:

Most of them are December first. The thing is that I only have two options: either the 22nd of September, or at the end of October (because of the training I have to take at my new job, I can't take time off in between these dates). Do you think I should try it in two weeks, just to be sure? I took a practice test a couple of days ago and my scores were véry low, so I need all the time I can get. 

Call the schools. I spoke to one of mine (different field and Master's rather than Ph.D) and they were very reassuring, despite that a sister school had posted a cutoff date of October 30/31 for their GREs. (Am registered to take the test on Nov. 10 - tons of drama trying to sign up since ETS's site has been down for weeks and seats were unavailable/not visible for the longest time too). The admissions staff have generally been pretty nice and know the ins and outs of deadlines - my current top choice is why I'm taking it that early for me, I honestly was hoping to push my test back a month or so but my scores won't be recommended to arrive in time for their January deadline. Good luck studying!

Edited September 11, 2016 by ClassicalEducator

[anthrosoul]

On 9/10/2016 at 2:14 PM, museum_geek said:

When are your applications due?  It takes about 10 days for your official GRE scores (with analytic writing) to be released and then another few days for your scores to be sent to the schools you chose.  If you have January 1 deadlines you'll probably be fine but with December 1 deadlines the end of October might be cutting it a bit close.

Would the end of October really be that bad? I suppose if there were issues.... this just worries me because plans I made to take a GRE class over these summer months fell through and the last thing I could find was a GRE course that ends on the last week of November so I'm going to have to take the exam early December... :/ My deadlines are January 1 & 2 

[museum_geek]

It will probably be fine but leaving your GREs until less than a month before the deadline is cutting it a bit close.  I also tend to err on the side of getting things in as early as possible though, so take this with a grain of salt 

[anthrosoul]

14 hours ago, museum_geek said:

It will probably be fine but leaving your GREs until less than a month before the deadline is cutting it a bit close.  I also tend to err on the side of getting things in as early as possible though, so take this with a grain of salt 

It was not at all my intention to leave the GRE until the last minute. I had originally planned to take a GRE prep course over the summer and to take the exam soon after but a lot of life things happened that prevented me from doing so. I also ended up falling into a strained financial situation and my university offers a "discounted" GRE prep course that, unfortunately, lasts until the very end of November... so now I'm stuck taking the GRE in early December  I'm usually pretty paranoid about things like deadlines myself so, trust me, this situation has not left me at ease. Especially because I was hoping to take the GRE at least twice since I SUCK at standardized tests. // end neurotic rant.

[Bschaefer]

@anthrosoul I think if you buy the book and dedicate 2 hours each day up until the exam, you'll be fine and have the same practice you would a class, just cheaper. 

[museum_geek]

YMMV but I used a book of practice tests and Magoosh instead of taking a class and managed to a verbal score in the 92nd percentile and a writing score in the 99th percentile. My math scores aren't great (40th percentile) but they don't really matter for cultural applicants.

[anthrosoul]

8 hours ago, Bschaefer said:

@anthrosoul I think if you buy the book and dedicate 2 hours each day up until the exam, you'll be fine and have the same practice you would a class, just cheaper. 

I am absolutely hopeless when it comes to math so I felt the need to enroll in a course. In addition, I am the type of person who really benefits from learning in a course format. I really like having a structure to guide me. 

8 hours ago, museum_geek said:

YMMV but I used a book of practice tests and Magoosh instead of taking a class and managed to a verbal score in the 92nd percentile and a writing score in the 99th percentile. My math scores aren't great (40th percentile) but they don't really matter for cultural applicants.

What book of practice tests did you use (if you dont mind me asking?) and I will look into Magoosh. Thanks!

[museum_geek]

I used a Kaplan Test Prep book, the one that included practice tests and a CD rom with some online tests/instruction.  I took the GRE a couple years ago but I'm sure they still have that type of test prep available.

[Mugi Mila]

I am using the GRE Verbal and Math workbooks from Kaplan, Barron's, and ETS. These are some workbooks I managed to obtain from my local library. I wish to enroll in a Forensic Anthropology program for the Fall 2017. I have been doing my research and spoken to some of my professors...Although I would appreciate any help given here.

By the way, when are you all taking the GRE?

[museum_geek]

When I took the GREs a couple years ago I scheduled the test for the last week of September and the timing worked out pretty well.