mormlib

Accepted the offer at Northwestern! So excited! It's nice to have that off of my mind. For those on waitlists, that frees up a spot at: Ohio State, Indiana U, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Penn State. Congrats to all those accepting offers and good luck for those still waiting or deciding!

The only criticisms that I've heard is that top programs are competitive (but a lot of these may just by myths about students trying to sabotage each other), fixed on funding, and having people that can really focus on mentoring. Since they are so focused on research, many professors at top universities can't give as much time as other places. (This is all from others and not my own personal experience).

Isn't this a thread for decisions?

Penn State had called me about a week and a half ago. They were still formulating their list and just barely sent me the official email of acceptance. This is all speculation, but I'm assuming they are still in the process of finalizing who they are accepting.

Talking to one of my colleges, they asked me to let them know of other offers so that they could make sure they did all they could to get me there. I hear that it is harder to negotiate at the top colleges (my professors all have negative attitudes towards Princeton's and Wisconsin's attitude toward funding and caring about students), but if colleges want you, it's a good idea to improve your situation.

I just checked my Penn State application and it still doesn't say whether or not I'm accepted, so they are still waiting to publish results.

Congrats to today's Chicago admits! That was my first choice so I'm hoping good news is still to come...

A lot depends on what you want to do after. The general consensus I've heard from professors is if you want an appointment at a university after you graduate, you need to consider that you won't get a job somewhere better than where you went to school. If you aren't looking to be a professor at a top name research university, it might not matter that much. But, similar to what "Boba felt' said, the specialty areas are different. Yale doesn't have one of the highest rankings in total, but is one of the best cultural sociology programs. So, make sure you consider the specialty rankings

I'm not aware that Penn State has contacted anyone else yet (for rejection or acceptance). I think they are still making decisions.

I talked about talking to your professors, but I meant the professors you have already worked with (if you are a sociology major). My undergraduate program isn't a PhD program and so I felt my professors could be candid about which programs were the best. Of course, some were a little biased about the programs where they received their PhD (like UNC or Ohio), but they were also understanding of my interests and gave me some good advice.

A good friend from my school is in the same boat. He doesn't know what that means (and that's where I am with Michigan).

I feel that, rather than judging schools based on various ranking systems, the best way to judge a school's worth is to talk to a faculty member who is familiar with the areas of expertise that the school offers. They will know how the department is doing in regards to other programs that have that specialty. For example, Yale is ranked between 15-20 on some of those composite rankings, but in terms of sociology of culture it is considered one of the best by most of the faculty I've spoken with. The same for UCSD and the sociology of knowledge/science. Overall, it doesn't rank much better than the 20s, but it is turning out some of the best research. Speak to faculty members in the area you are interested in and they can give you better information. (This doesn't mean you should ignore the rankings. Obviously they mean "something", but don't be too rigid.)

Thanks Shewrote! Good luck to everyone waiting on them!

I totally get that. UCSD, Ohio State, and UNC are all on the same weekend (and that's also a weekend I had a conference). I would echo that question. I told UNC that I have already committed to Ohio State's recruitment days since they told me a week earlier and I had already bought the ticket. I'm trying to prioritize it by attending recruitment days for the schools that are on the fringe of me really wanting to go vs. being apathetic about it. Obviously if there is a school you want to go to, I'd go there for the open house to get yourself in a good position with faculty. One of my schools is still offering to set me up with a grad student to stay with. See if you can do that so you can talk to them outside of the school. Maybe having meals with grad students and then formal meetings with professors? But these are all just random ideas I've had and I'm wondering the same thing.

Ditto