rbouwens

To get into an Ivy League grad program for (anthropology?) It's probably my dream to get into a top university for grad school....is it possible for an average student like myself? What schools should I be looking at? I don't have any stats or special achievements to post....yet. I'm working on that part. At this point I have no idea of what's attainable/realistic and what's not. I keep having these fantasies of attending an Ivy or UChicago and it's prob not even possible.....

I think I read that Princeton accepts about 10% of grad applicants in anthro.....that's a crapshoot for me.

warblersrule

Extremely. Mostly exceptional and lucky.

No.

That obviously depends entirely on what you want to study. Students wanting to do ethnobotany in the Amazon, Mississippian archaeology in the US, and lemur ecology in Madagascar would probably have very different lists from one another.


Get over fantasizing about the Ivies and Chicago. Sure, some of them have great anthropology programs, but many other colleges do as well, and they're definitely not good at everything. It doesn't do you any good to apply to Harvard if it doesn't have the courses and faculty support you need.

hesdjjim

If you're an above average student, but not an academic freak of nature, consider a 10% acceptance rating to a grad program a red flag. Even if you could get in, you probably don't want to spend time with a bunch of students that can get straight A's easily but can barely speak.

rbouwens

Can you elaborate, hesdjjim?

moonchild

That's right. The top grad students in the country can barely speak.

What separates students who get into top programs from those who don't is often something as simple as having the opportunity to work with, and then get exceptional recs from, prominent profs in your field of interest as an undergrad. That's where the "luck" comes in.

juillet

This doesn't even make any sense. First of all, the stereotype that all exceptionally bright students are socially awkward is tired. Second of all, most top PhD programs are going to have acceptance rates lower than 15%. Top PhD programs typically have between 4 and 10 slots a year, and sometimes you have 200+ people applying for those 4-10 slots. That's automatically a small acceptance rate. Grad school is competitive.

Besides, even if all of your cohortmates are socially awkward losers (which is unlikely - professors don't want to work with a bunch of socially awkward losers, and I've found the majority of academics to be quite pleasant people) - it doesn't matter if you go to the #1 program. Don't sacrifice research and job prospects for social comfort Would you rather be comfortable for 5-8 years or comfortable for all of your tenure as a profesor?

FWIW, I go to an Ivy League program that is top 10 in my primary field and top 20 in my secondary, and the people here are great - friendly, warm, willing to help and collaborative. I get great mentorship and I've made close friends here in other graduate students.

g0ld3n

This is probably the stupidest thing I have seen on CC in as long as I can remember. And trust me, this is CC, I've seen a ton of stupid things...you sound very bitter.

hesdjjim

I can't remember the last time I was called "stupid." I guess people can't take a joke anymore, or at the very least, an exaggeration.

spectastic

can you please define "top phd programs"? do you mean top 10? top 20? top 5?

Because out of the 200+ that apply, I'm assuming none of them are the types who apply because of the lack of job offers. I bet they're all high GPA students with lots of research experience. The thought that only 2% gets admitted makes me a little worried.

g0ld3n

If you were actually kidding then, you've indeed successfully trolled me. Congratulations. I assumed seriousness.

PS: I didn't call your person stupid, just the comment.

rbouwens

So should I just plan on not getting into a top school? With 10% acceptance rates, that's nothing to bank on.....if I applied to 23 schools for undergrad, I may as well apply to more for grad school. It's just not realistic. Would there be any safety schools in this field??

polarscribe

There is no such thing as a "safety school" for graduate admissions, and if there was, you wouldn't want to attend it anyway.

Graduate admissions are competitive, as juillet said - particularly for doctoral programs, because any Ph.D program worth attending provides close-to-full funding for its students.

warblersrule

Many people apply to a mix of PhD programs and terminal MA programs, with the MA programs acting as feeders to PhD programs in the event they're not admitted to one right off the bat. Not exactly the same as a "safety," but it's much better than going Stanford or bust. Non-flagship publics are a particularly good place to look for funded MAs.

PhD programs are highly selective, yeah. Heck, in my field people would LOVE to have an admit rate as high as 10%. That doesn't mean nobody gets in, though. To maximize your chances of success, you need to do the following:

• Take a wide range of anthropology courses and do well in them
• Develop a good rapport with at least three professors - visit office hours, talk with them about your interests, consider doing independent studies, etc.
• Get involved with research / field studies
• Master any languages you need for your interests

If you've done that, the only thing left during application time is to find a handful of programs that fit your needs and interests almost exactly; those programs are the most likely to admit you. You just have to hope for the best at that point, which is all anyone can really do.