They Say

            I study Iron Age trade between Greece and Etruria. Something my younger self would never have imagined us ever saying. But it is not like I planned it. It just happened as my interests developed during my time as an undergrad. Before I knew it, or could stop to really access these decisions, I had become quite familiar with things like ancient Greek pottery, and Etruscan tastes in luxury items. As you would expect this leaves one with a very short list of things that they are qualified to do. If this is what your CV looks like at the end of your BA, a list is not exactly what I would call it.  

When contemplating grad school it is easy to be over taken by the constant stream of advice. Everyone has something to say. In fact you would probably die before you managed to read everything the Internet has to offer about whether or not you should go to grad school. Often the information is contradictory, with equal numbers for and against each issue. Where then should one begin? Is it worth it to follow your so-called “bliss” no matter the cost, or should you quit regardless of whether you are ahead, or not? I find myself in this exact position, and like so many others, despite all the advice, I am lost.

After spending a little over four years on a BA in Anthropology I find myself suited for little else besides more education. Not to mention that the careers I strive for such as, archaeologist, academic, or museum curator requires at minimum a Masters. Even fictional archaeologists have PhDs. So, like many other aspiring thinkers I applied to graduate school. But I am just one of many. Though I am smart, there are others who are smarter. I am a good student, but others are better. There is always a bigger fish, and with a sad economy applications swell, and admissions shrink.

After applying for nine programs I was accepted to three, two being in the UK, and one in the US, no funding. That last part is the kicker, because they say you should never pay for grad school. I have heard this from two people, and read it from two others. I have also heard that you do not get funding to study in the UK as an American, and that to do a degree there it is common to pay. But you are not supposed to pay. Though it has become even more common to not get funding for a Masters. But you are not supposed to pay. Also, everyone has a BA. You are not special. But do not pay for grad school.

There are many reasons, but the biggest is that it is not worth it (much like my BA). What you will end up with is a loss of time and a gain of debt. You will also not get a job, because it went to the person who was also good enough to get the funding. I even know people who got funding; sadly they are not in my field. Do you want to know what I have learned? Mostly that I have made poor decisions, also that the Greeks thought that people who drank milk were barbaric. I am, however, certain I will make more bad decisions. Because the study of history teaches us that hindsight is twenty-twenty, that a Greek politician named Themistocles saved the Greeks from the Persians by lying to get what he wanted, and that Erica Jong was right when she said, “Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.”

So you should not pay for grad school. Forget for a moment that we do lots of things we should not. I probably should not drink as much as a do, but good wine and craft beer are one of the things that make life worth living. Nor should I have adopted the dog rescued from the Arizona desert when sometimes I can barely take care of myself, but he also makes my life better in return for making his better.

I am letting you know that I am going to make more bad decisions. Sure, I will also make goods ones, as well as questionable ones. However, I will not be certain which ones are bad until after the fact, time is funny that way. Just as I do not know, neither do you, and neither do they. I promise that I have heeded your warning, and in turn I shall leave you with the words of John Augustus Shedd, “A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships were built for.”

Decisions

The worst thing about making a decision is that never fail, once you've come to a decision, directly after  you will receive some new piece of information that makes you question that decision. The harder the decision is, the more likely it is to be called into question after you have made it. This serves two purposes: to make you doubt yourself, and to make you look like an idiot to anyone you've told said decision to. It is also true that the more people you've told about your decision, the more likely you will be to question that decision after. This seems to be one of those situations that you are fated to never win. Or if you do happen to win, you will not actually know that you have, and will instead, go on questioning yourself. This might lead one to decide not to make decisions, which might seem like a good idea until you realize that you're not going to go anywhere that way. In the end there seems to be no right decision, only plenty of wrong ones, and some that are more wrong than others.

Graduate Applications

I suppose I've only been leaving general thoughts as of late, and not much about what is actually going on.

I participated in this latest round of graduate applications. Here in the US we have pretty firm deadlines, so people apply at the same time. There's quite a few things to do for applications here in the US. You need three letters of recommendation, a personal statement, a CV, GRE scores, transcripts, and a writing sample that must be tailored to each school. Every schools application is different, and often they ask for a variety of other things on top of the main one's I've mentioned. For example, Stanford wanted essentially two personal statements. To compare my applications for schools in the UK only wanted two letters of recommendation, transcripts from the school I got my BA from, my CV, and my personal statement, way easier. They were also less money, if they even charged at all.

Now getting into graduate school has always been highly competitive, but I would hazard to say that it has become more so with our current economic conditions. More people are applying to graduate school, while at the same time schools are taking fewer people, both of which make for an even more cut throat environment. This year I applied for nine graduate schools total, this was my first year of applications, and I did apply for more schools than is normally recommended. Usually they say (whoever they are) to apply to between six and eight schools. Of that you would have a mix of safety and dream schools. But given again the economic climate, even safety schools can afford to be picky as the number of qualified applicants rises, and admissions to even top programs decreases.

So, where does this leave me. Well out of nine schools I was rejected by six: Stanford, Boston, Cornell, UCLA, Buffalo, and UMass Amherst. UCLA and Buffalo didn't even bother to send a response, I imagine I'll get one sooner or later in the mail. But at least I got into some schools, three to be exact, one of which I almost didn't apply to. I received acceptances from Sheffield University, University College London, and New York University. If you were wondering NYU was the program I almost didn't apply for. I see this as a choice between two schools, NYU and UCL, New York, or London. This is where things stand currently, and I have until April 15th (deadline for all US schools) to decide. It has basically come down to this simple issue:

NYU... 2 years... $57,000... MFA History or Art and Archaeology
UCL... 1 year... $25,000... MA Archaeology of the Mediterranean

While there are certainly other factors in this decision, both London and New York are very expensive cities, and of course the obvious that London requires me to move from my home country, it still always falls back to this simple issue above. So you can see which way I'm leaning.

London or New York

If I go to the UK I’m going to commit myself to a minimum of four years there. One year for my masters and three for my PhD, which is so much shorter than here in the US. Not that I think a PhD will grant me a better future, for there is no guarantee, and our fates are more often simple chance. Still I find it worth it if for nothing more than when I meet people at parties and they ask if it is Miss or Mrs. I can say, “It’s doctor.” Even if I only do it once, it is totally worth it.

However, if I choose to remain in the states, it might not be worth the cost in time that I will spend on a degree program here. I am not old, but I am old enough that I do not want to spend a possible six to eight years more in school. Unless of course they give me money. Then, you know, that’s money.

I go back and forth, London or New York, London or New York, and I know there is not a wrong choice. There is, however, a better choice, but I do not know which one it is. For I also know that things rarely turn out as planned (otherwise I would be a millionaire). This is neither bad nor good, but it is the way things are. Maybe I will never know which is the better choice, maybe neither are. But I suppose I have come too far to turn back. And it is also time for change; time to move on to London or New York, old cities of the new and old world, prestigious universities, and places that will change my life.