Matt12710

How important is writing a thesis if someone plans to apply to doctoral programs in the future? Some master's programs have a thesis or non-thesis option. I can see the pros and cons of each, but would a thesis be the best option because it shows research ability and experience? Or does it matter? A thesis isn't the only kind of research experience. Insight is appreciated.

I second your thoughts on the problems involved with applying to a Ph.D. program after an M.A. program. Some programs state on their website that they consider transfer credit for prior graduate study in sociology. Univ. of Pittsburgh, for example. states it will consider up to 18 credits (or 24 if they respect your thesis); although, I know some programs absolutely refuse to consider transfer credit. I believe Univ. of Connecticut considers transfer credit, but I dropped it off my list because I couldn't meet its Dec. 1st application deadline. Investigating whether doctoral programs consider transfer credit should be a decent component of an M.A. student's program search, I think, although this would probably always be trumped by then importance of applying to institutions strong in a student's specialty of choice, faculty a student wishes to work with, etc.

I was accepted into Marshall's terminal M.A. program today. Funding details will follow soon. For folks with only a B.A. but considering Ph.D. programs eventually (or reeling from rejections, as mine have started so far), this could be a good program to consider. It offers a degree minor in anthropology and/or an official degree emphasis on organization and institutions; stratification and diversity; demography, health, and human environments; or social problems and collective behavior. It's also possible to earn a graduate certificate in Women's Studies alongside the degree even though it's just a terminal M.A. I understand why people would loathe living in southern WV (I'm a WV resident so I'm a little biased) but the program has an excellent doctoral program placement rate, including top 10 schools and Ivy's. There is ample funding as well (GA's, TA's, RA's, etc.). I know most folks on this forum are considering top-notch institutions, but sometimes less-than-preferred detours are necessary to achieve this goal. At least I know I won't go into acres of debt after this degree if I choose to attend (unsurprisingly, southern WV is a cheap place to live but Huntington is supposed to be a cool college town).

Congrats!

I felt the Emory rejection bomb as well. Bummer.

I applied to Yale and have yet to hear anything. Nothing yet from SUNY-Albany or UMass-Amherst either, although their respective departmental website state their notifications arrive late February (UMass) and early March (Albany).

I figure we would have been contacted by a DGS or POI by now if we were on an official wait-list. The best programs obviously get more qualified applicants than they can admit, so they like to keep their back-ups in the loop in case they might be admitted at a later date. However, many people on this forum who have reported Minnesota acceptances have also reported acceptances to other top-notch programs. Whether they are admitted to two or ten schools, an applicant can only choose one. That has the possibility of opening up spaces for other students later on. It's far too early before the April 15th decision deadline for Minnesota to have received refusals from applicants they offered admission. I've yet to hear anything at all from most the schools I applied to (some explain on their departmental website how they don't notify until March anyway), so I guess we just have to keep waiting. The next two months will be brutal, right?

Has anyone been formally rejected from Minnesota yet? I know many folks have reported acceptances - and congratulations to them! - but my on-line application status still says "awaiting program decision." If applicants have been rejected, then perhaps I'm on a wait-list; however, if no one has been rejected yet, then perhaps they have just yet to notify their rejections of their status.

I applied to Yale and have heard nothing yet. My rejections from similarly-ranked institutions does not give me much hope, but my research interest relies on the Strong Program in cultural sociology currently based there - so who knows. Plenty of people on this forum have discussed their tales or or those of others who get rejected from less prestigious institutions only to later get into their dream, top-ranked institution.

Thanks for the info.!

Anyone heard anything from Colorado - Boulder, Emory, or Vanderbilt yet?

Try to keep your spirits up. I applied to a dozen doctoral programs, two terminal M.A. programs under doctoral programs requiring reapplication, and four stand-alone M.A. programs. I've only been rejected by one doctoral program (Notre Dame) and three others have sent out acceptances (Minnesota, Indiana, and Northwestern). However, I have yet to be rejected or even officially wait-listed at the three schools that have already sent out acceptances. We're not rejected until we're officially rejected, so try not to lose hope.

I totally ignored the fact that more than two schools could be abbreviated as UM. Oops.

heyitsthatguy, By UM, are you referring to University of Minnesota or University of Massachusetts at Amherst?

Thanks!

I earned a 147 on a practice test I took last night. If that holds and, with a little luck, I earn around a 150 then I think I should be alright (or I hope I'll be alright) considering I'm applying for cultural sociology/qualitative methods, I performed well in stats as an undergraduate, and, perhaps most importantly, I'm not solely applying to top 10 schools. Many are 30-50, and some below that. Only certain schools specialize in cultural sociology. I take the test tomorrow, Nov. 1st!

@billy.r.: Thanks for your post. That relieves a little stress. I imagine departments vary greatly. I'm sure there are those that rate the GRE highly and use it as a primary cutting mechanism and those that require it save their reputation but barely glance at it.

@ Willows: Thanks for your response. I take the GRE this Thurs., Nov. 1st. We'll see what happens on the date. I'm wondering if a score could be too low and result in immediate dismissal of an application without the rest of it (writing sample, reference letters, personal statement, etc.) being examined. @xdarthveganx: Thanks for your response. See above, and I earned an 'A' in statistics as an undergraduate and performed well in other math courses. I'm wondering if I should mentioned this in my personal statement? Would this slightly mitigate a low GRE math score or just draw more unwanted attention to it?

I'm in a bit of an application conundrum: I'm afraid an embarrassingly low GRE math score will bomb my graduate sociology applications. I think I have an otherwise solid, if not stellar, application: salutatorian and Distinguished Honors Program graduate from a non-elite private liberal arts school, majored in double major in sociology and political science with a minor/concentration in English, master's degree in literary and cultural studies that involved a lot of theory found in sociology, experience as a teaching assistant, actual teaching experience in literature and composition & rhetoric, a writing sample from my master's program noting the "spatial" turn in the humanities and the "cultural" turn in the social sciences and benefit of applying urban studies ethnographies to the study of space in literature (as much a social science essay as could be coming out of a literature program), solid letters of reference, etc. I also feel confident about my statement of purpose. I toyed with graduate school in sociology after undergrad. but decided I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life so I got an M.A. in English instead. Now a few years older and wiser, I realize I have a direction of study for sociology: cultural sociology (in the tradition of Yale's Strong Program) and qualitative methods as well as visual sociology and sociology of gender. When I took the GRE in 2008 to attend graduate school in English I scored well in the writing (90th percentile), alright in the verbal (78th percentile, I think), and the math didn't matter for English and I blew it off. I made the plan to study like crazy from the spring until now for the GRE (I take it Nov. 1st) but I made the mistake of accepting some adjunct work in English for the experience and because, in an ideal world, it's a field I'd still be involved in to some extent. However, the class I picked up this fall was way more work than I anticipated and it's killed my study time. I really regret taking this course to teach (although it seemed like a good idea at the time). I also underestimated how difficult the GRE math section would be for me. Practice tests have not gone as I would like. Basically, now I'm scared a below average to abysmal math score will be a huge black mark on an otherwise appealing application. I'm worried about not making it through the first sorting solely due to my GRE math score and the other parts of my application (writing sample, personal statement, letters of reference) never even being looked at. Granted, I'm applying specifically to programs with strengths in cultural sociology and qualitative methods; I'm by no means a quantitative sociologist. Should I worry less since I'm not applying for quantitative sociology? I know I'll have to take statistics and other math courses in graduate school, but I did fine in statistics and other math courses as an undergraduate. So, will a horrible math score result in immediate dismissal of my application even if I'm applying for highly qualitative forms of sociology? Secondly, assuming I bomb the math section, should I mention in my statement of purpose my strong performance in math class (like statistics) as an undergraduate as evidence I can hack it in sociology even if my GRE score math might imply otherwise? My fear is total rejection across the board from all schools due to one weak part of my application; furthermore, a weak part that might not be as important for me compared to more math-y sociology. Any insight would be appreciated.