Same place.
An international student. BA from a very normal university in my home country. Two master degrees, one course-based and one research-based, in a "good" university I would say, but it is not in the US and western countries. (sociology ranked less than 50). I am working as RA after graduation. BA 3.62 and MA 3.65 for the GPA. TOEFL close to 110. GRE 158+164+3.5.
Lots of research experiences and strong quantitative analysis ability. I started doing research since BA. A couple of presentations at major conferences in sociology (ISA and ASA). Several work-in-progress manuscripts, one of which is my writing sample and it was submitted to one of the top journals in my field before the application. I received an R&R for it a few days ago. 3 or 4 letters from my teachers who all graduate from IVY schools.
Sure I am a good fit for some of the programs I have applied to. So what? Get rejected by 9 out of the 12 programs and no acceptance.
Cant be more down in my life and cant figure why. And now, I dont even bother thinking about it. Perhaps nationality counts?