2018 Interviews and Results Thread

[phyanth]

58 minutes ago, Indiana_Bones said:

Nope, not a peep about interviews or decisions here. I did get a question about my research interests from a potential PI, but that's it. The wait is excruciating... I've got my fingers crossed that at least one of my programs release results this week!

I would love to hear back this week, but I have a feeling we probably won’t receive any decisions/interviews until at least the week after... Some of the schools I talked to haven’t even really begun to look at applications! 

[suavesana]

18 hours ago, phyanth said:

From what I've seen on the boards and results, it seems like the sociocultural and bioanth committees convene separately and most of the results are for sociocultural tracks. Has anyone applying for bioanth tracks heard anything regarding interviews/offers?

I've only heard about interviews/etc from schools that collectively meet as an Anthro dept and make their decisions. but separate bioanth programs, also haven't heard anything!!

[Indiana_Bones]

@phyanth I only applied to 3 places (!!!!!), but I know Texas A&M have at least started looking at apps. UGA and South Carolina have been silent so far. Who are you waiting on?

[phyanth]

1 hour ago, suavesana said:

I've only heard about interviews/etc from schools that collectively meet as an Anthro dept and make their decisions. but separate bioanth programs, also haven't heard anything!!

Okay, phew! That gives me a little peace of mind. Who all have you heard from, if you don’t mind sharing?

39 minutes ago, Indiana_Bones said:

@phyanth I only applied to 3 places (!!!!!), but I know Texas A&M have at least started looking at apps. UGA and South Carolina have been silent so far. Who are you waiting on?

I’m basically waiting on everyone. I applied to 9 schools, but to my knowledge, no one has sent out interviews for bioanth. Yale, Princeton, Berkeley, WUSTL, Michigan State, UTK, LSU, Kent State, and UVic. 

I wouldn’t worry about 3! You just have to find who has the best fit  What’s your general focus?

[suavesana]

57 minutes ago, phyanth said:

Who all have you heard from, if you don’t mind sharing?

I have an interview with Notre Dame this week, and was invited to Uni of Georgia last week

I'm waiting to hear from Duke's Evolutionary Anthropology program and Boston Uni. I think their anthro program discusses/decides together, but the deadline wasn't until Jan 15 so it'll be a while for them. No idea about Duke.

Edited January 29, 2018 by suavesana
added info!

[Indiana_Bones]

1 hour ago, phyanth said:

Okay, phew! That gives me a little peace of mind. Who all have you heard from, if you don’t mind sharing?

I’m basically waiting on everyone. I applied to 9 schools, but to my knowledge, no one has sent out interviews for bioanth. Yale, Princeton, Berkeley, WUSTL, Michigan State, UTK, LSU, Kent State, and UVic. 

I wouldn’t worry about 3! You just have to find who has the best fit  What’s your general focus?

Bioarch + aDNA, isotopes, and demography. I love it all so wouldn't be upset anywhere. What about you?

[Indiana_Bones]

33 minutes ago, suavesana said:

I have an interview with Notre Dame this week, and was invited to Uni of Georgia last week

I'm waiting to hear from Duke's Evolutionary Anthropology program and Boston Uni. I think their anthro program discusses/decides together, but the deadline wasn't until Jan 15 so it'll be a while for them. No idea about Duke.

Did ANTH from Georgia contact you, or another department? If you don't mind me asking, what's your area?

[Choas]

2 hours ago, Indiana_Bones said:

@phyanth I only applied to 3 places (!!!!!), but I know Texas A&M have at least started looking at apps. UGA and South Carolina have been silent so far. Who are you waiting on?

I only did 3 places as well, and overlap with you on Texas A&M and UGA; my final was OSU. Still waiting to hear something from any of them. Good luck!

[Indiana_Bones]

4 minutes ago, Choas said:

I only did 3 places as well, and overlap with you on Texas A&M and UGA; my final was OSU. Still waiting to hear something from any of them. Good luck!

Good luck to you, too! Would be cool to know another person going into a program

[AnthroScout]

On 1/27/2018 at 12:00 AM, museum_geek said:

Hi!  I'm currently a PhD student at UVA, and while I'm not sure about when interview invitations are going out, I can tell you that our recruitment weekend for finalists will be going on February 22-24.  When I applied to the program, the process went like this: I participated in a phone interview during the first week of February letting me know I was a semifinalist, and was notified shortly thereafter that I was a finalist and invited to the recruitment weekend.  The recruitment weekend is an event where ~10 finalists spend three days in Charlottesville living with current grad students, interview with faculty members, and attend a couple different parties at the homes of faculty members.  It can be a stressful experience, but ultimately it's a great way to find out if you'll be a good fit in the department. 

In any case, if you've reached the semifinal stage you should be hearing from the department soon about a phone interview.  If you make it through the phone interview, you'll be a finalist and you'll be invited to visit Charlottesville.  If that's the case, shoot me a PM - I'd be happy to show you around town!

Museum_Geek,

Thank you for your insight, I'm really hoping to get a phone call; UVA is one of my top choices! I will be sure to send you a message if I get a phone interview.

[phyanth]

1 hour ago, suavesana said:

I have an interview with Notre Dame this week, and was invited to Uni of Georgia last week

I'm waiting to hear from Duke's Evolutionary Anthropology program and Boston Uni. I think their anthro program discusses/decides together, but the deadline wasn't until Jan 15 so it'll be a while for them. No idea about Duke.

Congrats, that's awesome! Yeah, I had some later deadlines, so I figure we won't hear back until at least early-ish Feb. But its sounds like you already have promising prospects, so hopefully it's a little less stressful in that aspect

1 hour ago, Indiana_Bones said:

Bioarch + aDNA, isotopes, and demography. I love it all so wouldn't be upset anywhere. What about you?

That sounds like a blast! Well, hopefully you start hearing back soon I'm hoping to continue my thesis work, which is in functional morphology, female skeletal anatomy, and obstetrics. 

[Indiana_Bones]

8 minutes ago, phyanth said:

That sounds like a blast! Well, hopefully you start hearing back soon I'm hoping to continue my thesis work, which is in functional morphology, female skeletal anatomy, and obstetrics. 

Cool! Anything with the preauricular sulcus?

[suavesana]

11 minutes ago, phyanth said:

Congrats, that's awesome! Yeah, I had some later deadlines, so I figure we won't hear back until at least early-ish Feb. But its sounds like you already have promising prospects, so hopefully it's a little less stressful in that aspect

Thank you @phyanth ! Cant wait for all of us to hear some good news soon.

1 hour ago, Indiana_Bones said:

Did ANTH from Georgia contact you, or another department? If you don't mind me asking, what's your area?

Hi @Indiana_Bones - I was actually invited because I also applied to the Integrative Conservation program ... they're the ones who invited me out last week. No news yet from Anthro but think we will hear within the next 2 weeks. My area is primate behavior (which is where the integrative conservation stuff comes in!)

[phyanth]

8 minutes ago, Indiana_Bones said:

Cool! Anything with the preauricular sulcus?

No, I'm looking mostly at the pelvic canal  

[Indiana_Bones]

Thanks @suavesana!! And congrats on getting the invite  Athens is a great place.

[Archaeodan]

2 hours ago, suavesana said:

I was actually invited because I also applied to the Integrative Conservation program

Yo, @suavesana...wait. You were at the ICON symposium? Wait...we met. You're the monkey/primate person, right? I'm the geography girl. Online world and reality coinciding is weird. 

[suavesana]

5 minutes ago, Archaeodan said:

I'm the geography girl.

HEY @Archaeodan!!!! That's so funny. I wonder how often this happens? Anyway, I'm going to PM you.

 

[Ben Merrill]

Just now getting onto Grad Cafe upon the recommendation of a first year Medical/Linguistic PhD candidate who I'm close with - hello! The waiting game sucks, but I just found out I've been admitted to the University of Iowa's MA program in Cultural Anthropology! I'm fourth on the waitlist for funding, but to have an admit at all is exciting! To those who have had interviews or admits, congrats!! To those still waiting, hang in there!

[Grace Bones]

I didn't interview but I was accepted to the MSc Osteology/Funerary Archaeology program at University of Sheffield last week. I have 0 experience in archaeology and majored in history, so this will be very new. I took 1 phys anth class in undergrad. Apparently archaeology  in the UK is considered a subfield of history so my major is more applicable.

[Archaeodan]

@Grace Bones SHEFFIELD IS THE BEST. GO. THEY'RE AWESOME!!!!!! PIA IS SO COOL! If you have any questions whatsoever about Sheffield/Sheffield Arch/Sheffield Osteo omg please feel free to ask. I had the best time there (and I was a prospective student guide) and I literally love everything about it. 

[Grace Bones]

5 hours ago, Archaeodan said:

@Grace Bones SHEFFIELD IS THE BEST. GO. THEY'RE AWESOME!!!!!! PIA IS SO COOL! If you have any questions whatsoever about Sheffield/Sheffield Arch/Sheffield Osteo omg please feel free to ask. I had the best time there (and I was a prospective student guide) and I literally love everything about it. 

I've heard lots of people talk about their arch department, which is why I picked it. It's quite well-developed and had the PERFECT program for me.

Any tips for surviving life in Sheffield?

[Archaeodan]

1 hour ago, Grace Bones said:

Any tips for surviving life in Sheffield?

Apply for your visa early. Mine got delayed for stupid reasons and I almost didn't get it in time. Start as early as you possibly can. 

Fly into Manchester, use Trainline.com to book you train tickets to Sheffield. The train is cheaper if you book before you get on, takes less time than buying at the station (though you still have to pick up your ticket from the auto kiosk), and is much more convenient than taking the bus. Costs less, too, if you book for a specific time, but give yourself at least an hour, maybe more depending on whether its a big day for student travel, to get off the plane to get to the train. Border control for student visa holders can sometimes get really packed with all the students coming back. The train station is an easy walk from the terminal. Manchester to Sheffield takes more or less an hour. DON'T COME FROM LONDON UNLESS YOU WANT TO PAY A BAJILLION POUNDS. London to Sheffield is 4 hours. If you choose to take a trip to London, take the bus. RyanAir is your friend. Travel often.

Sheffield is ridiculously hilly. Like, for real. Unless you live in City Center which is 5 mins from uni, student housing in Endcliffe is a half hour up the hill, Ranmoor is 45 mins. Getting to class, the walk is nice, coming home, it...takes getting used to. You can take the bus, but I'm cheap and appreciated the walk at the end of the day to clear my head. I lived in Endcliffe, where most students live. It was nice, felt like the suburbs. I often took the long way home to walk through the Botanical Gardens (so much so my friends thought I lived in the gardens, but check them out, they're beautiful). The postgrad housing is not in the same complex as the undergrads, so it's quieter (though we did have this one guy who played endless ukulele at all hours of the night...don't be that guy). It is near a couple tiny kid schools, so you will see many small children in uniforms. I thought it was adorable, but it did get dicey to go running in the afternoon trying to dodge them (i joke) (kinda). 

Classes are harder than in the US. Your entire grade in a class may be one 3000 word paper. Paper writing is also different, more scientific. Prepare yourself by analyzing what makes a journal article good (organization, clarity of descriptions, concision). The grade scale is also different. A 70 is an A and they're hard to get, 50s and 60s are things you will probably get. It's based on the idea that a Nobel Laureates best work is a 100 and everyone gets graded on that scale. Being 70% of a Nobel Laureate is an A for a Masters student. 

Fear Human Anatomy. That class literally made people in my year cry it was so much work. I was osteo, so I didn't have to take it, but I was told the best thing is to just trust Pia to get you through it. Though it's hard af, the human osteos knew so much about the body by the end of the year, it was awesome. Also, Human Osteology quizzes suck, but again, you'll feel like a superhero by the end of the semester because you'll be able to identify any bone in the body by feel (literally you'll have to do identifications of a bone in a cloth bag by feel) (it's cruel, but also kinda fun). Lean on your fellow students. The archaeology department is big into discouraging a competitive atmosphere between the students. They want you to collaborate (not cheat, obvs), so embrace the camaraderie and raise each other up.

The archaeology building is different this year as Northgate House was falling over (), so I can't speak to the labs, but I've been told they're better than before, and they were awesome. If you get after hours access to the building, take advantage of it. You seriously will need that hands-on time to study.

Get involved in everything. The Human Osteo people are great, so are the Zooarchs (I'm still friends with a bunch of them, profs included). Take advantage of the fact that the archaeology department has a pub. You will spend more time at the Red Deer than you'd think is humanly possible. Embrace it. Embrace Sheffield. It's really a wonderful place and I miss it so much.

I'm going to stop writing now as this is getting ridiculously long, but if you have more questions, please ask. As you can tell, I could talk about Sheffield all day. 

[Grace Bones]

You're amazing!

I'm looking at student houses near the city center. I have a cat so I can't live in uni housing. Does Sheffield have a bus system or t-bane? 

Did you make friends mostly within the arch. department? I've always made all my friends through living with them. I love having a nice community house but have no idea how to go about finding that.

I'm honestly getting quite nervous about some of the science courses, I'm better at history and reading. I'll just have to do my best lol.

[Archaeodan]

@Grace Bones Alright, for living in the private housing...closer to city center, Ecclesall Road has some decent cheap apartments/houses you can share. This is around the other uni in the city, Sheffield Hallam, so you can get good places. Get closer to around Hunter's Bar and the houses get giant and way out of student price range, but they are worth a walk past to see (and cry about the riches we will never have as archaeologists, but that's neither here nor there). Sheffield's bus system is absolutely great, so are the more pricey trams, but they go fewer places. 

Oh, also, check out housing near/in Kelham Island. Hipster district down were the steel mills used to be, but now there's just a museum, a few great pubs, and a to-die-for doughnut shop. 

All of my friends were within the department/were roommates with my department friends. That said, not impossible to like the people you end up living with, but finding good roommates without knowing anyone is a crap shoot. Also that said, most of my department friends lived in the same complex as me...so, I guess both in my case...but I didn't know that going in. Making friends in the department was just really easy, cause the department is small so you see the same people all the time and the people were great. I'd suggest not trying to force it by trying to make a house work if you're moving somewhere where you know no one. What worked for me was putting my social efforts into trying to make connections with people I saw a lot/had something in common with. In my case, that wasn't my flatmates. That said, that was just my experience. 

Eh, your experience coming into it sounds a lot like mine before I went. You're more adaptable than you think. It'll be hard, but you'll do it, and you'll do it well. Trust yourself. 

Edited January 31, 2018 by Archaeodan
addition of Kelham Island

[waltzforzizi]

So many arch acceptances showing up, yay!