Fall 2017 Applicants

[striped]

Hello all, 

 

It's been a bit since I've been around but I am focusing my attention once again on my application as the deadlines draw nearer. My new SoP for this cycle is almost complete (after being edited by many and rewritten by me at least 10 times now), and all my LORs are secure again. The only thing that has me very nervous this cycle is that none of the potential POIs I have reached out have responded to me. This is something I know we can't really control, but should one apply to graduate school where they have not spoken to a faculty member? It seems insane both to apply and to not apply based on this factor. I feel it's crucial to have someone there who knows your work, has spoken to you about taking on new students, and can vouch a bit for your application- but at the same time, if no one responds to you, what do you do? 

Thanks for any advice! 

[Quickmick]

I scratched a school off because of this. You bring up good points, and I would add another one. Would you want to commit to moving somewhere to work (for years) with someone you have never met/spoken with and who didn't return your emails? While this is a job, I do hope to forge relationships along the way. I don't think I would agree to take a road trip across the country with someone I've never spoken with, let alone be trained professionally for year to come. While I obviously don't "know" someone after an exchange of emails or brief meeting, I can get a sense of if we would get along and that does count when I am looking at things.

[museum_geek]

One thing to remember is that faculty members are busy and aren't always great at responding to emails.  At this point in the application season I've sent out ~15 emails to POIs. About half of those faculty members have responded and of those that did most were lukewarm at best, encouraging me to apply but not showing much enthusiasm for my project. All in all I've gotten one really enthusiastic response from a POI which resulted in a rather productive phone call and some positive vibes about the program.  I also have a phone call with another POI set up for later this week but they seem a little more reserved.  

What I'm trying to say is don't get discouraged!  I used to do cold calls when I worked in non-profit development and the response rates are similar - one positive response for every 10 or so calls/emails you send out.  Another thing to consider - sometimes professors take a long time to get back to you.  The super enthusiastic POI I spoke to on the phone took 3 days to respond to my initial email; another faculty member took nearly 10 days to get back to me!  

As for faculty who don't respond, my plan is to ditch the program if it's one I was already on the fence about, and continue with my application if it's a program I feel strongly about attending.  In any case, most of the schools I plan on applying to have multiple faculty I can contact.  I think it's worth applying to a program you really like without hearing back from a POI, but that's just my personal preference.

[Bschaefer]

I can see this going both ways. When I applied for fall 2015, I got a handful of emails but they seemed as a typical email and I got accepted to 3 out of 4 schools. Now, applying for PhD programs, I've gotten emails back from everyone and a phone call. I think it really depends on who you are applying to work with, what school, etc. I know that abstract deadlines are happening the past two weeks and that can get annoying. Honestly, it may just be the time that you send the email etc. I know If I get an email from a student late at night after a long day, I'll wait till the morning to respond (pending if it's an emergency). 

-Exactly what @museum_geek said, don't get discouraged, the first few weeks of school are always chaotic and may be a chance of luck. If you don't hear back from them in a week or so, send another email and if there is still no response, then consider not applying. 

[Bschaefer]

I am also surprised that there aren't more people are posting in this forum 2 months before apps are due

[knp]

This is still a particularly chaotic time of year! Anytime from next week to the last week of October is probably the sweet spot. If you emailed more than a week ago particularly, a lot of professors, including many who are normally good at email, seem to drop the majority of their emails between getting back from the field and the third or fourth week of school. It's a slightly annoying patch but not necessarily a global problem with those faculty.

I have heard tales, too, of faculty who won't respond to any emails before applications come in lest they bias the process against those who don't know that the convention is to email. I don't know of any faculty by name who do that, but I'm also in a super obscure field where my POIs were fielding maybe 5 prospective student emails a year. If you're interested in, like, med anth at Berkeley—phew! I wouldn't have committed anywhere without talking to my POIs, but emailing now isn't the only way to do it: there are many more and better chances to talk to the faculty of anywhere you get into between now and when you have to make a decision. If you're admitted, the program will pay (usually all, but sometimes just 'most') of your costs to come to the visit weekend, for example; if you're too far to come, Skype seems to be the way those conversations happen.

[museum_geek]

2 hours ago, Bschaefer said:

I am also surprised that there aren't more people are posting in this forum 2 months before apps are due

Agreed!  I remember this forum being way more active when I applied to MA programs a couple years ago.  Maybe things will pick up when we get closer to the deadlines?

[striped]

Thanks for the tips/thoughts! The POI of my dreams responded but only told me to apply- that my project was interesting, but that POIs don't get assigned until students are admitted/arrived. Is it like this for most schools? I guess I'm asking if I should apply to universities with whom I have had no contact with due to unresponsive potential advisors. It seems odd to not apply just because someone was too busy to email me? Maybe I have the wrong perspective? 

I am not applying to any schools I am on the fence about at this point- is anyone else applying to schools where they don't have someone who has agreed to work with them? 

[museum_geek]

I am definitely applying to a few schools where I haven't heard back from the POI.  I would prefer to hear back from everyone I email but I'm not going to take myself out of the running before the application process even begins.  However, I have taken a couple schools off my list after getting an email from a POI saying that they are on leave for the academic year or that there isn't much departmental focus on my project/region outside of their own interests.  But for a school I've decided is a strong fit and is somewhere I definitely want to apply? Radio silence from a POI isn't going to deter me.

[Bschaefer]

2 hours ago, striped said:

Thanks for the tips/thoughts! The POI of my dreams responded but only told me to apply- that my project was interesting, but that POIs don't get assigned until students are admitted/arrived. Is it like this for most schools? I guess I'm asking if I should apply to universities with whom I have had no contact with due to unresponsive potential advisors. It seems odd to not apply just because someone was too busy to email me? Maybe I have the wrong perspective? 

I am not applying to any schools I am on the fence about at this point- is anyone else applying to schools where they don't have someone who has agreed to work with them? 

Honestly, it varies from Uni to Uni. I was told by my POI at Brown that although I ultimately choose who I would want to work with, its among the faculty until you choose as opposed to other schools where if you're accepted, you know who you're working with sort of deal. You should also reach out to the graduate director too.

[suavesana]

Hi everyone!

Nice to "meet" you all. I'm applying to programs for biological anthropology, and I'm specifically interested in primatology. I'm coming in with a masters where I studied animal behavior and looked at the relationships between climate change and litter demography in squirrels. Hoping to study how climate change is influencing primate behavior!

Good luck to all of us this season! 

[Mugi Mila]

Hi all!

 It is great to know that there are others applying for graduate programs for Fall 2017. I am applying to programs in Forensic Anthropology. I have been outlining my statement of purpose and have written drafts of it.

What are some of your writing tips for this? Or what websites have you all visited?

 

[museum_geek]

I found this thread to be fairly helpful when trying to draft my SOP (which is still under construction!).

 

[fullinbox]

Hello everyone,

New here, also applying to Fall 2017. Must of my applications are actually going to area studies, but in some cases I'm applying to social anthropology. I have my topic and idea ready, but I'm still not sure how fitting it is for anthropology because I've gotten mixed reactions from profs, who said my use of Orientalism in my research is more cultural studies than anthropology.  So, still having to figure some things out, even though I'm sure of what I want to research.

[BFOB]

Hello all,

 

I'm also new to this thread, applying to medical anthropology programs this fall.  I am quite anxious about the process but really delighted to e-meet all of you in this virtual community

I'm interested in studying how the politics of global health effects the production of knowledge in medical research and international development programming.  I've been living between the US and subsaharan Africa for the past 5 years doing independent ethnographic research and medical research under the supervision of NIH funded scientists.    I've taken off 4 years between undergrad and my anticipated PhD start to make sure that I really want to pursue this course of study, and I am quite sure now that I do!  

I did well in undergrad, secured funding for an ethnographic senior research project, then a Fulbright award to conduct my own ethnographic research in Mauritius (which ended up as a short film instead of a formal paper.)  I now live/work in Uganda managing qualitative research projects and analyzing qualitative data for a large medical research institution.

My GRE scores will be average based on the practice tests I've taken, and while I did well as an undergrad, I didn't have a 4.0.  My professional story is concentrated in research (I've published papers, given conference presentations etc.), but I'd love pointers about how to strengthen my applications.  I'm finding it difficult to navigate how to appropriately contact POIs.  

Looking forward to going through this process with all of you--

 

 

 

[farflung]

On September 19, 2016 at 7:07 AM, Quickmick said:

I scratched a school off because of this. You bring up good points, and I would add another one. Would you want to commit to moving somewhere to work (for years) with someone you have never met/spoken with and who didn't return your emails? While this is a job, I do hope to forge relationships along the way. I don't think I would agree to take a road trip across the country with someone I've never spoken with, let alone be trained professionally for year to come. While I obviously don't "know" someone after an exchange of emails or brief meeting, I can get a sense of if we would get along and that does count when I am looking at things.

Hi guys, I have a few thoughts re: emailing faculty from 'the inside' (i'm an advanced grad student, on the faculty job market & with close ties to faculty). 

Sometimes faculty don't have time to respond to your emails, or write nice-sounding/personal e-mail responses. Don't freak out. Potential students aren't super high on their to-do list in September, or ever really, at least until you're admitted to the program.  A lack of response or a standard form response (i.e. "great, can't wait to read your app!") does NOT mean that faculty don't like you or your research idea. 

Those of us who are students-- like real life current PhD students-- often can't get e-mail replies from very brilliant, generous, and lovely faculty members or dissertation committee members. The world keeps turning. Prompt attention to student e-mails is not the ultimate measure of a good potential advisor. They are simply overwhelmed with teaching, writing letters of rec, publishing at breakneck speeds, taking of their families, and whatnot. Often they're on sabbatical, especially faculty at major research universities.

If a PhD program admits you this spring, then you can chat with current students about whether faculty respond to e-mails, have time to advise, etc. But don't make assumptions about those faculty based on whether they respond to a POI email. 

[museum_geek]

Good point farflung.  I can't always get my MA committee members to reply to me, let alone potential POIs!

[Quickmick]

Agreed, @farflung, and as @museum_geek mentioned I, too, am at the mercy of my committee members' timetable and know that they are busy. If a POI is too busy to respond, I can respect that, but the fact remains I wouldn't sign on without at least a brief interchange with someone I would be working with for years, even if it means I risk missing out on something great.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Quickmick

[museum_geek]

I definitely wouldn't agree to attend a program without communicating with a POI beforehand, but that's something for me to worry about if/when I have some offers on the table.  In the meantime I don't really mind sending in an application without speaking with any faculty.

[anthrostudentcyn]

As far as POI's....personally I've contacted a few who seem really really interesting to me and directly related my research to something that they wrote. Almost every professor writes me back, and I actually got two phone conversations (1hr+) and one in person meeting with POI's, who just gave me really interesting advice about the field in general!

[hmss9245]

5 hours ago, anthrostudentcyn said:

As far as POI's....personally I've contacted a few who seem really really interesting to me and directly related my research to something that they wrote. Almost every professor writes me back, and I actually got two phone conversations (1hr+) and one in person meeting with POI's, who just gave me really interesting advice about the field in general!

sounds promising! but is it ok (and most importantly, official?) to initiate a skype interview with POIs (if they feel like to) before the submission of online application? 

[EvelynD]

I'm struggeling with the same problem; I found two potential (great) schools but the POI's aren't replying to my emails. I've waited two or three weeks and just send a gentle reminder. 

Struggle no. two is that I still haven't found enough schools to apply to, and that for some reason I can't find more. I've talked about this in another topic too and I think I might be searching to wrong way. I'm going to expand my search from anthro/socio to human/animal geography and,..well, whichever other department I can find that in some forn has someone there working on animal studies. Like animal science. 

But my main struggle is how bad my GRE practice is going. I practice using the Magoosh videos every day for three hours after work, but I keep failing at the practice questions. But the English part is also going quite badly because I encounter so many words I've never ever seen before. Lets just say I've been stuffing a lot of stuff in my face tonight. 

[Bschaefer]

Hey I was wondering if anyone was looking at the MD/PhD route for anthropology, I posted this on the medical forum but no one replied haha

[museum_geek]

I can barely manage applying to PhD programs, can't imagine trying to go the MD/PhD route!

[marxistglue]

Hey all,

I was here in 2015 applying to MA programs and now I'm back for the PhD season! I recognize a few names and I'm ready to suffer again with those who were in the same MA cycle as me.