Why I picked this particular graduate school
Unlike most, if not all, graduate students, I did not overtly choose the school I went to for my Master of Arts in Anthropology. I wasn't even planning to go back to school when I did. I was involved with a large, multi-year archaeological project through the contracting arm of the state university system and had been fortunate enough to have made the jump from hourly to permanent state employee. For the first time in a long time I had health benefits, paid leave, and even vacations! One of the other benefits of working for the Board of Regents was a substantial tuition reduction at state universities. This got the mental wheels rolling because one of the real hassles (as I saw it) was paying for graduate school. I knew I had been out of the college grind for a while and was well into the "non-traditional" student category. Besides, my undergraduate GPA was not impressive and certainly wouldn't be opening any doors.
So, I looked for reasons to not take advantage of my newly acquired state benefits. Now is when the graduate school selection process begins to resemble everyone else's. What about the local university would cause me to *not* want to go there. The department was small, with 11 Ph.D. faculty and it did not offer a terminal M.A. degree. The other state university had the Ph.D. program and really was the more prestigious college with the state medical school, Law school, and other professional programs based there. So this was a smaller program at a smaller school. Most of the faculty were not in the archaeology subdiscipline, but of the three that were archaeologists, two were local area specialists, which was perfect for my needs.
Whether it turned out okay
I have no complaints about the department, they've been supportive. Compared with some of the apocryphal stories that are told when graduate students (current and recovering) tell their tales I've done OK. The only thing I would do different would be to not work full time and try to do graduate school. That was the bad thing about those job benefits, I had to have the job to keep them. Trying to juggle nine hours of graduate seminars and lecture while doing field work is no picnic. What would I have done different? I would have tried to get a teaching assistantship and integrate myself into the department better. I think I missed some things by not being "part" of the department. I never felt like I developed a mentor relationship with any faculty members or my thesis advisor. I'll claim half of that, it is pretty hard to be advised by hit and run. But then I think it helps if you're a more typical student in your early to mid-twenties. I did develop some friendships with faculty and students that will persist after graduate school. The world of archaeology and archaeologists is really pretty small and professional relationships are important.
The bottom line for me was that what I got out of the program was I put in it. What I didn't miss was getting involved in departmental politics and squabbles, the "drama" that surrounds some folks, and conflict with some students for the "spotlight". I didn't come to graduate school to do those things. I needed a degree so I could move on with my archaeological career. Doing CRM is sometimes like being in graduate school with impossible deadlines and too much on your plate. Still, the worst day doing archaeology is better than the best day doing something else.
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