Fall 2017 Applicants

[kittyball]

I think it's crucial to express your motivation - why you are passionate about your project, and your commitment to this discipline. Also some schools want to know what your career goal is, and why our school is your best choice. These are elements that don't appear in a standard proposal. And that's why it's called SOP not proposal.

Anyway, it's my two cents.

 

[Bschaefer]

@suavesana Thank you!

[marxistglue]

Just sent in my last December 1st deadline application! Onto the December 15th deadlines! 

[EvelynD]

Already? Pff,..I'm going to send them weekend!  I'm pretty bummed I wasn't able to find more than 4 schools. 

[suavesana]

@EvelynD I only have 4 too! And am also considering making it 3...

[UsernamesAreTricky]

@EvelynD @suavesana If it makes you feel any better, I'm only applying to two schools, including one where the DGS (who also happens to be my PoI there) told me that though my proposed research topic is "wonderfully compatible" with the department, my lack of background in Anthropology is a major disadvantage. So I might end up just applying to one school. Yay! 

Oh and I retook the GRE hoping to increase my quant score, but ended up getting a lower score (158 to 154, 70th percentile to 55th); however, my verbal and AWA scores increased, but they were both >= 93% in the first exam anyways. So now I don't know whether to send the scores of my second GRE test  because of the improvement in the V and AWA sections (I've already sent those of the first), or to refrain from doing so since my Q score dropped. As I've mentioned before, I NEED good GRE scores to try to make up for my lack of anthro background, publications, research assistantships, etc.

PhD applications have NOT been fun/easy for me so far  

[AnthropologyNRT]

Hi everyone,

Third time applying for PhDs. I actually turned down one doctoral admission two years ago in favor of a funded MA which I will finish up this year. I have to say, it was a great decision and has positioned me to apply to schools I would not have thought myself competitive for in previous cycles. Anyway, good luck folks, and if anyone is applying to Irvine, Rice, or UT Austin, hit me up!

[Quickmick]

I did cross post this in History...

December 1st fast approaching,

     and all through the nation

Hopeful applicants

     face much consternation.

 

POIs have been mailed,

     LORs have been written,

With dreams of great funding

     these minds have been smitten.

 

T's crossed and i's dotted,

     spell check is complete

For a chance at a PhD,

    unemployed on the street.

 

Happy holidays and good luck everyone!

[EvelynD]

Hahaha Quickmick, very funny!

Is anyone else applying at MSU? I'm having trouble with their application system and I can't figure out hwere to upload vertain things, almost like some buttons are missing. 

[museum_geek]

Have you tried changing browsers?  I had a similar problem with my UCSD app but it worked fine after I switched to Google Chrome.

[DancinFool]

Hi all! Just submitted my last Dec 1 app and thought I'd drop in here to do a happy dance 

 

 

 

. . . aaaaand onto the Dec 15 apps haha. Best of luck everyone! 

[enfp]

Hello all, first time poster, long time lurker. Nice to 'meet' you all! Dancinfool, I have no idea how to remove your blurb from my reply (obviously taking my time to get used to this interface) but wanted to know if anyone here is applying to UC Davis? I'm filling out the application and there's a section besides the personal/diversity statement AND the SOP. It's called "research/specialization essay" and I have NO idea how that's supposed to be any different from SOP. Thanks in advance!

14 hours ago, DancinFool said:

 

[EvelynD]

On ‎1‎-‎12‎-‎2016 at 1:00 AM, museum_geek said:

Have you tried changing browsers?  I had a similar problem with my UCSD app but it worked fine after I switched to Google Chrome.

I figured it out! I don't even know how I did it but at one point I noticed there are two different portals. My bad...

I'm working on my third application and yesterday I realized that I also should have applied at anthropology faculties with a strong Latin American focus. UT Austin seemed perfect but their deadline was december first. Does anyone has some tips about faculties with a Latin American / Mexican focus?

[bioarch_fan]

6 hours ago, EvelynD said:

I figured it out! I don't even know how I did it but at one point I noticed there are two different portals. My bad...

I'm working on my third application and yesterday I realized that I also should have applied at anthropology faculties with a strong Latin American focus. UT Austin seemed perfect but their deadline was december first. Does anyone has some tips about faculties with a Latin American / Mexican focus?

Look at David Hoffman from Mississippi State University. He's a cultural anthropologist who does a lot of fieldwork in Central America, specifically Costa Rica. He mostly looks at how humans and their environment affect each other. This is my program but not my advisor since I'm bioarch. But still something to look at.

[museum_geek]

@EvelynD Glad you figured it out! I can't speak to their propensity for human-animal relationships or environmental anthropology, but if you're looking for more programs with a focus on Latin American you should check out Vanderbilt, Syracuse, University of Florida, and University of Arizona, for starters.  If you're interested in Mesoamerica in particular, SUNY Albany should definitely be on your list.

It might also be worth asking POIs if they know of anyone else who is doing quality work in their specialty.  I got some good recommendations on people to contact that way.

[Zebu]

Hi all! I'm switching to anthropology from IR and have not much of an idea how to justify this in my SoP. Applying to 4 Dec. 15 programs.

Will someone please post a link to Duke's sample essays; I couldn't even find those.

From my side, looks like they've taken it down.

 

Panic 

Edited December 5, 2016 by Zebu

[Bschaefer]

@Zebu, Honestly, it's better not to look at those, in my opinion, because they have in-text citations all over the place and are typically longer than what most programs want anyway. I would focus on wording it how the graduate school (and department if they list) want because that's what they are looking for. I know how nerve-racking it can be to write one of these for the first time but my advice is to find out what the program wants, write everything out and leave it for a few hours or a day, come back and edit it, and then have a friend or a professor take a look at it and edit again -- Given how short of time you have. 

[Quickmick]

@Zebu I, too, had to address changing directions in some SOPs. I just took the straightforward approach and explained the motivation--I don't know if this qualifies as "justification" or not. I spent more time on my SOP than any other piece of my app (if you don't count writing time for sample--though it was closer than I would have guessed) and went through several revisions. It was read by: me, my wife, two professors not otherwise related to my app, three POIs, two fellow applicants I met here and my UG writing center. Probably the best move was going to the graduate resource center on campus, where I luckily found a tenured Prof. who has served on adcomms who edited it twice. If I found myself up against the clock I would use the center again, and if I didn't get lucky use them to find an appropriate reader. Hope this helps, good luck.

[Zebu]

Thanks @Bschaefer and @Quickmick for very useful advice. I'll be looking to do the same.

[museum_geek]

Just submitted the last of my applications.  Simultaneously relieved and terrified! 

[Bschaefer]

@museum_geek congrats! did you submit already to Vandy?

[museum_geek]

I did!  I submitted all my apps with December deadline over Thanksgiving, and sent in the January deadlines (Vandy, Rice, New Mexico, UCSD) over the past few days.  I didn't want to go into winter break with any unfinished applications.  Now I just have to make sure all my letters get submitted - my letter writers have a tendency to wait until a day or two before my deadlines to turn their letters in, which is kinda stressing me out.

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

Undergrad/Grad Institution: SJSU
Major(s): B.A. Anthropology, M.A. Applied Anthropology
Minor(s): Humanities (undergrad)
GPA in Major: 3.97
Overall GPA:3.97
Position in Class: near top? (not reported)
Type of Student: domestic

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 156
V: 164
W: 5.5
B: N/A

Research Experience: 

Student Researcher on use of things study in collaboration with institution and the French Ministry of Energy

Student Researcher on leadership study in collaboration with institution, city, local neighborhoods, and associated organizations (2-3 publications in progress, 4 presentations to date, including at conferences)

Student Researcher on autonomous vehicle study in collaboration with institution and Nissan Research Center of Silicon Valley (1 publication being discussed, 1 mixed media presentation to date, 2-3 presentations planned for Spring 2017)

Principal Investigator on exploratory research focused on gender issues in careers which require online interaction and communication (associated paper received 3rd place in the SWAA grad paper competition, 1 presentation to date)

Principal Investigator on graduate research focused on online communitas, geek culture, philanthropy, and organizational interaction (several publications being discussed, 1 presentation to date, 5 professional and conference presentations planned for 2017)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Community Service Scholarship (undergrad), 3rd place in SWAA Paper Competition 2016, honors student

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor (10+ years), TA (1 year), Multiple student researcher positions (2 years), freelance writer of geek culture articles (4+ years), Twitch streamer and Youtube content creator (3+ years), Twitch moderator (2 years)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 

Have also co-written a paper and presented at a conference on the evolution of attitudes towards the other, specifically the othering of pagans, and the parallel evolution of the Wicked Witch of the West

Have written over 100k words about how magic and magical creatures could be explained by science in a hypothetical universe for Borealis Academy of Magic and Hogwarts is Here)

Applying to Where:

MIT-Comparative Media Studies-online communities, geek culture, digital ethnography, entanglement

USC-Communications-online communities, geek culture, digital ethnography, entanglement

NYU-Anthropology-online communities, geek culture, digital ethnography, entanglement

UCI-Anthropology-online communities, geek culture, digital ethnography, entanglement

UCL-Anthropology-online communities, geek culture, digital ethnography, entanglement

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

I'm just waiting for one of my references to write her last 3 letters. Totally nerve-wracking.

Also hi, I'm new.  

[Chong0318]

UCI has visual anthropology program in PhD?