ewurgler

Submit no more than 3. The problem with submitting more than 3 is that they will usually only read 3. Therefore, you run the risk of them skipping the "best" one and reading a mediocre one from someone who doesn't really know you. Submit 3. It doesn't look any better if you submit 5.

From a professor at UPenn.

I'm at Indiana and Tom Gieryn is now a provost and will be doing little teaching/advising with sociology after this year.

Check out UCSD. They have a strong interdisciplinary science studies program and are very strong in culture.

Take them again. Try to get in the 90th percentile in verbal. This is often used as a cut off in top schools.

I took french courses at community college in the interim. I can't imagine they gave a shit.

Simple answer, yes. Go with academics. Every single professor I have ever talked to said that it is very difficult for employers to write a recommendation that would carry any weight with the committee. This is mostly because they don't know the skills grad school requires and cannot speak to them. Even if you have to go back years, get academic recommendations. It is like this advice board...how much weight would you give to advice given to you by someone who never went through this process?

Most (I think all) schools have online applications and ways for recommenders to submit online. You basically "register" them on your application, and it sends them an email (and reminders, if necessary) with instructions on how to submit a pdf or word document of the letter. When they submit it, you get an email confirmation as well. You can send them reminders from the school so it doesn't look like you personally are bugging them. It is simple and works well. 2 of my 3 did it this way. If they do snail mail, you send them addressed and stamped envelopes for all of the schools so they just have to put in their letter and send it off.

Don't email during summer. I would be annoyed. Wait til september or october. Do email. It will never hurt, and will help you figure out if these are people you want to spend 6 years working with. All of the people I emailed responded. Some much kinder than others.

Do not use the politicians. If the cultural anthropology person is the only other academic who knows you and your work, use her. Since you already have two big figures, try to find another professor who may not be a big shot but knows you and your work very well. Don't use anyone outside of academia when applying to PhD programs.

Start looking in july. I live in the area(s) you are looking at, and they rarely put up places more than a month in advance of the move-in date. I didn't attend sdsu, but I'm going to recommended you keep to the neighborhoods you listed (adding maybe northpark, southpark, and kensington), and not get too close to campus. Way too loud for a grad student. Browse craigslist and see when the move-in dates are for ones up now. Get an idea.

I did gender studies in undergrad (the type you want to do, relatively non traditional), and my best advice is to go with a person who does the type of stuff you want to do. Traditional quantitive sociology in family stuff is going to bore you and is not going to get you the type of job you want. Yeah, people warned me too about going places just because of a person, but realistically, your main advisors are really going to be the only people you care about in the department beyond your second or third year. Steve Epstein was at my undergrad and is now at Northwestern. He does the type of stuff you want to do and is cool, maybe check him out.

Most people use craigslist. There is also an off campus housing site hosted by ucsd: http://offcampushousing.ucsd.edu/ But craigslist is usually best. All landlords post there.

Exactly! I just want to be able to wear scarves!

I am very much looking forward to leaving San Diego, California for Bloomington, Indiana. Call me crazy, but I will be able to buy a 3 bedroom house in Bloomington and the mortgage will be 1/2 of rent on a tiny 2 bedroom house in a bad San Diego neighborhood. I can't wait!!!