Wicked_Problem

Tied for #5 in 2009 (U.S. News and World Report) -- link in post above...

Ok, not little

All too often people post here asking what their chances are at this and that school. I completetly understand their desire to know the answer. However, I also understand why some other people get somewhat annoyed by this question. Indeed, it is very hard to tell what somebody's chances are at certain schools, even if you know their stats and other details like a number of publications they have. That is why I decided to write this post. I will explain how, in my opinion, one can estimate one's chances and choose programs correctly. I hope that other people experienced in application process will correct me if I am wrong and add their advice. And may be, if moderators consider this post useful, they will be able to make it always stay on top of this board - if it is possible on this forum.

First of all, if you want to know whether your stats (GRE, GPA, TOEFL score) are good enough for you to be accepted to certain schools - there is one easy way to find the answer. Most schools post stats of students they have accepted, like on this page here. So try to find this info on websites of schools you are planning to apply to and if you can't find it, ask graduate secretaries/coordanators if such a page exists and if not, where you can find those stats. Remember that if your stats are low but not abysmal, that does not mean that your chances are low. It does not (always) go like - lower the grades, lower the chances (unless they are above some bare minimum) and vice versa. Because...

Second of all, even with the best stats, numerous publications, brilliant letters of reference, etc. you may not be accepted to a school if you have not chosen a program wisely. Because the most important thing in this game is fit. If a program thinks they are a bad fit for you, they will not admit you, however wonderful your application is. So you should apply only to schools that fit well your research interests and experience. How can you find schools with a good fit? First, of course, you schould know what your research interests are. If you know that, visit as many websites of programs in your field as you can find - and read about them, very carefully. Where can you find a list of programs? Well, browse the internet. When I was applying last year, I came across a biiiiiig list of programs in my field (it was not a ranking, just a list) and I spent a lot of time just going through all these program's websites. If you don't find such a list, just find some rankings. Not in order to find out what programs are the best in your field (many people don't believe in rankings anyway) but just to see what programs are out there. So, you read about the programs on their websites. From the way these programs are described you should get an idea if you would be interested in studying there or not. When I was choosing programs to apply to, I first used the list that I had found to make a shorter list of programs with a very general fit. Then, as I knew that I would not be able to attent a program without funding, I looked through this new shorter list looking for programs that were offering funding. As you can imagine, the list became even shorter after that Then I started to read about faculty in the programs from the last list, looking for professors who could potentially become my advisors. Then I contacted these professors, telling them about my research project, asking about their opinion. When some replied and I saw that they liked my ideas, I asked them if they would be taking graduate students next year. In the end I had only 5 programs left and I applied to all of them.

About contacting professors. As far as I understand, you can do that in all fields, except - for some mysterious reason! - English. (Here I ask other experienced forumers to correct me if I am wrong.)
BUT: If a professor is interested or even very very interested, that in no way guarantees that you will be accepted to this program because there are many other factors at play during the application process (most important of them being funding and faculty politics). But of course having a professor in a program who has expressed interest in working with you is a very good sign. It is definetely better than having no such professor. If you find a profesoor who is willing to take you as a graduate student but you are unsure about your stats, you can ask them about that. But of course don't ask it in the first letter to them!!! Only when you see that they are interested (and friendly).

Finally, I want to say, that all I have told above is based on my experience and it helped me - I was accepted to a school with a great fit (which is supported by the fact that they decided to give me a nice fellowship). May be there are other ways to choose programs and estimate your chances with them. May be in other fields (I am in social sciences) rules are different. I hope that others will correct me or pitch in some ideas based on their own experience with application process.

Good luck!

I'm not too sure on internet/email ettiquette, so I appreciate any answers to this question.
 
I've been in contact with a professor at University X. He was a really nice POI, and we've sent back and forth around 5 emails. A couple weeks later, I got a rejection from University X (It's ok, I'll survive ), but I'm not sure if I should write an email of acknowledgement of the program's rejection and/or my thanks to the POI for his time and extended conversations with me earlier. My field is so small that he could end up a collaborator with a professor at a program I (hopefully can) get into, so I'm trying to prevent any "burning of bridges." But it could be awkward post-rejection (or maybe perceived passive-aggressive malice?), so should I just leave it and not email him thanks anyways? What are your thoughts?

I think it's great that you want to thank him and you should definitely go for it. Just keep it simple, say even though they weren't ale to find a place for you in the department, you appreciate his help and his time. If he told you about current or upcoming projects, maybe you could wish him luck in those endeavors or something. Way to rise above the pain of not getting in, in any case!

I will need to collect survey data in the field. I have been looking at iPad apps, but there are so many out there. Has anyone done surveys with an iPad? What app worked well for you?
 
I need:
Offline data collection capability
Scaled responses, as well as multiple choice
The ability to sign (consent) would be really helpful
 
Do these apps allow you to later upload the data to a spreadsheet?
 
Thanks!

I guess it's like anywhere else - you're going to hear every department tell you that they are well rounded and great at what they do.  
 
When I spoke of "conservative" and "critical" schools, you have to understand that nobody is going to brand themselves one way or another. They want the maximum number of applicants per year, and like used car salespeople, they (and I mean even the best schools) will tell you what you want to hear. The 'pudding', as it were, is in the CV. Nearly every faculty at most universities have CV's available online. Look at them. ALL of them. Do you see any of them publishing in your area? Are they focused on very specific things that fall well outside your thoughts on the discipline (i.e. biosocial, structural, environmental, neo-classical, critical/radical, policing, law etc etc.)? This, and this alone will tell you what the general theme of the department is. Look for commonalities across cv's (they won't be explicit, but you can usually get a sense of the feel of the department). Don't expect to find a place where everyone researches what you like. Then again, make sure there is at least one, but more likely two people that specialize in your area and depending on where you want to work, it's helpful if one of them is somewhat known in your area. 
 
On par with checking faculty in my opinion, is checking up on the current doctoral students. Many of them have their CV's also available online, and if not google/googlescholar them and see what they are doing, if anything. If the students (2nd years and up) aren't publishing, it's probably not a great program to be in, and likely has little in the ways of faculty mentorship.
 
The next step I would recommend is to see what in the sam heck the alumnus of the program are doing. Do a number of them have tenure track positions at universities that you would like to work at (assuming you would want to be faculty)? Are they working as adjuncts or non-tenured faculty at junk universities? What are their salaries (this can be commonly found with google as state university professor's salaries are public knowledge)? Take this information and understand that, for better or worse, this is likely the best indication of your coming future if you attend that program. 
 
I hope that this helps. I had very little of this information going into my program and finding schools, but I had great mentorship and have learned a lot since. Know that I am not putting down any program or university in any of the my above statements - they each have their place and fit for all different types of students. Keep in mind also that the Ph.D. is 100% different than an MA/MS program. You are no longer really a student; you're in training for a job. A very complex, difficult, and self-sufficiency requiring job. Who do you want to train you? Best of luck.

PM'd you.

I was intrigued by the discussion of which programs were conservative and which weren't, so I made some inquiries... IUP's Graduate Program representative, Dr. Jennifer Roberts, offered this in response: "I was actually surprised by the characterization of IUP as "conservative". Historically, we've had a mix of folks who consider themselves to be mainstream or otherwise (e.g., peacemaking, critical, feminist, integral). Our students are encouraged to select dissertation topics that they are passionate about. While we've certainly had students select dissertation topics that very much reflect the mainstream, we've had many other students test ideas that are far from it and/or outside of our discipline. So, I guess I refute the categorization of our program as conservative." Furthermore, they have rolling admissions but funding requires both the application and the assistant ship application be in by March 15th. Food for thought.

I took what I wanted from it, realizing that my knowledge of the various scenarios was constrained to what Dr. Wiener presented. I prefer books that revel in the complexities of the human condition and expect readers to arrive at their own conclusions. It's not as if I don't appreciate a point of view, but I feel like if one is attempting to prove a thesis one should be exceedingly rigorous and cognizant of the critiques those with opposing views might levy. I prefer an airtight argument, if one can be made. This was not offered. That being said, I enjoyed reading it and gleaning from it what I could. If any one thing emerged that I will take away from it, it is the litigious nature of our society and the impact that had on the AHA in multiple cases. That, and -- between the lines -- be very careful choosing your advisor.

Congratulations. Not only not posting, but those who have are not providing "red diamonds"... What gives? I am going to be completely forthcoming when (IF) I am accepted somewhere, in consideration of those who came before and those that follow.

Believe me, I really do not care how many positive or negative posts someone gets on an online forum. The fact that you, an adult, care about such things and accuse someone of even more ridiculous behavior is sad. You questioned my intellectual ability and this is absolutely inappropriate. In case I said something that I offended you, I already apologized. You, in turn, cannot admit the fact that you went overboard and you were clearly disrespectful. Instead of considering the other side's opinion, you are counting "likes" or "dislikes," question one's intelligence, and act defensive. Even the way you are handling this "virtual misunderstanding" is  illustrative.  I don't know what kind of relationship you have with this student, but the fact that you act in such an immature and rude manner online is beyond inappropriate. 
Either way, I am done with this discussion and hope you have a great day/night and I wish you all the best with your graduate studies.

I would just like to ask that we stop hijacking threads, it's not fair to the OP's or to the rest of the members of the forum. 
 
If certain individuals would like to PM me to discuss the merits of direct action, or my personal political views on issues such as a "diversity of tactics,"  whether I consider property destruction "violence," or whether or not I believe the state is a fundamentally violent institution, feel free. If I am in the mood to have such a discussion, I will choose to reply. 
 
Frankly, this forum really isn't the place for it. I come here to share in my experience with potential graduate applicants in sociology. Yes, I have somewhat radical political views and I am happy to discuss them with polite, interested individuals. While my views may inform to some extent my world view, they do not make up all of who I am as a person or as a researcher for that matter. My views are not all that outside of the realm of folks in academia, you can have similar discussions with Angela Davis, Judith Butler, David Graeber, Noam Chomsky or the various outspoken political activists that happen to work in and out of academic circles (and whose research may or may not be in any way related to their political views). 

The videos you proudly posted clearly show direct action anarchists pushing other protesters out of their way, to which you add in your comments a warning for others to not get in your way.  Is it radical news to you that the state is fundamentally coercive?  This is an idea from first-course political theory taught in every department in the nation, and one that spills over into major subfields of anthropology, economics, and sociology.  
 
You would have some currency to purchase the request people address you in a "polite and interested" manner, had you not already spent yours by addressing others like this: 
 
"yawn."
"This is so beyond offensive it's not even funny, you are so inherently bigoted towards "anarchists" there would be no point in even debating this."
"It's clear to me that you're a total prestige snob"
 
Three separate board members have sympathized with me privately that you are abusive, immature, and irresponsible in the way you behave here.  And I suspect many more stay away from dialogue with you because of your embarrassing attitude and lack of erudition.  As I pointed out in the other thread - I've known quite a few abusive, immature, and irresponsible academics.  Seemingly these people get away with it because they are otherwise brilliant and offer enormous contributions to their colleagues.  I haven't seen an insightful thought come out of your mouth yet.  You lurk on threads, posting generic one-line application advice occasionally, and otherwise chime in on debates uninvited just to throw politically-charged ad hominem around.  This apparently constitutes a "diversity of tactics" approach to political action.  
 
I don't deny that I'm arrogant and condescending.  At least I make some attempt to translate that into constructive dialogue.  Your belligerence gets channelled into pronouncements that "there is no point in even debating."
 
I've brought people into my apartment that were blind from teargas -- you are precisely the kind of idiot that instigates this sort of harm.  Your actions are the reason police fire beanbags at people.  Your politics are a disgrace, and I expect nothing but disappointment from your scholarship as well lest you spend less time flaming people on the internet, playing shoot em up video games, watching bloody fights on TV, and more time considering your own priors more deeply.

Let's get this out of the way, this is the last time you will get a response from me on this forum. 
 
First, if you're referring to the Black Bloc incidents in Oakland, it would be wise to have your facts straight before commenting. Black Bloc members in Oakland chose to engage in the controversial tactic of property destruction and economic sabotage. I am well aware that many activists are uncomfortable with said tactics and there is certainly space to debate their merits. However, It was Black Bloc activists who were physically assaulted by folks screaming about non-violence, not the other way around. This mischaracterization is indeed intentional I imagine. That said, I'm not having this discussion on here, nor am I going to continue it with you at all. If you are truly interested in this debate, might I suggest looking up the Crimethinc debate with Chris Hayes on YouTube. 
 
 
 
 
 
Three, is that all? let me just say that in terms of PM's regarding your behavior on this forum, I've lost count. You've managed to get in spats and offend at least half the posters here. There was in fact not a single argument that I saw in the sociology sub forum until you showed up (and i've been posting here for 3 years). 
   
 
You're beyond arrogant and condescending. The reason people take such offense to your posts is the fact that you take such a blazen approach to ripping the work of other scholars and people with far more experience and intellectual development than yourself. I am not on this forum to get in political debates, last I checked this forum was for folks interested in applying to grad school. I am also not interested in your attempt to repackage your libertarian beliefs with academic prose (akin to the repackaging of creationism into intelligent design). 
 
 
 
 
Let's get this straight, you don't know me. Comments on a spattering of YouTube videos (taken out of context no less) from 2-5 years ago, are not reflective of who a person is or their beliefs. 
 
Police shoot beanbags at people because police are violent. I'm guessing the Occupy Folks that got hit with a barrage of teargas and beanbags WHILE SLEEPING, must have been victims of "my actions" (whatever those were). 
 
I also don't see how my interest in video games or martial arts has any relevance whatsoever, but hey, those childish attacks say more about your character than mine. It's been a pleasure, I'm done. 

Hey Clay,

I am an international candidate for MPP program,just like you. I am also in the process of short listing schools with respect to my TOEFL and GMAT scores.
I have mailed to Munk school regarding their internship and placement statistics.However, I haven't yet got any reply from them.

Are you aware of other Canadian schools which offer great global mobility and provide good opportunities to work for international organizations such as IMF or UN.
Please let me know your opinion.

Warm Regards
Amit Ganguly

If you want to really stick to that type of crim -  steer towards the somewhat critical and radical schools. IU - Bloomington, John Jay, and U of South Florida come to mind first. Definitely steer clear of totally conservative and mainstream crim programs (Sam Houston, IUP, etc.). The best thing for you to do is go find books/articles that you like the best, look up that professor and contact them. Don't expect to be accepted with open arms everywhere if you state that as your research interests (especially in Ph.D. programs), because unfortunately a lot of the discipline is not open to much of it. The best of what little advice I can give as a current Ph.D. student in crim would be to find a nice, smaller school where you have more freedom to write what you want and still maintain faculty relationships. Not only will you get more freedom at smaller programs, but it's much easier to stick out as a good student (if you are), and that can result in more opportunity. Good luck!

Congratssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!