La_Di_Da

Congrats to the recent admits posted here, especially AMLobo (NYU) and OhGoodness (Cornell)! Way to go, everyone! DarthVegan, you're on a roll! What a difficult decision you have ahead of you. My opinions regarding whether full -- not to mention generous! -- funding trumps program ranking is not something I feel comfortable disclosing, but I will say that I'm certain you’ll pick the program and funding package that is right for you. Also, I firmly believe that you will excel, and more, be exceptional, no matter which school you attend. I suppose if I had one tidbit of advice it would only be to pick the program/package that allows you to become your best self and do your best work, that is, within reason of course, for every choice involves some degree of compromise. Again, congratulations to all.

"It's ironic that we don't look much at gaming, though, considering Simmel gave play and games great attention. Hey, there's always a first person to study something." I was also thinking of Simmel. And interactive, multiplayer gaming worlds could provide great fodder for a micro-sociology study. In addition to applying Simmel's ideas on the play-form of association, I can easily imagine framing these gaming networks as forms of free association (Tocqueville), a 21st century version of the 1970s bowling league, a cultivar of social cohesion and solidarity, which may sprout agentic nodes of social action. Now more than ever we are virtual, digital citizens, and much to my chagrin, all too often digital citizens foremost.

My personal opinion is that before you contact Professor McLean, you should, as much as is possible within your given time constraints, familiarize yourself with the stated sociological topic of interest, videogaming, by conducting a preliminary review of the lit and forming a thesis question. If you've formulated a striking research question, write within the vernacular of the discipline, and refer to these in a brief email that poses a pertinent question (e.g., "Am I a good fit?"), I believe you'll be more likely to garner interest and further instruction.

SocialGroovements covered all the bases, and has provided excellent advice. I most certainly would recommend the same and likewise urge you to "think hard about why you want a PhD," since doing so will not only help you determine whether a PhD is the right path for you, but also, if it is the right path, help you craft your statement of purpose. It's a good place to start. Good luck!

With your background and academic record, I would definitely apply to the programs you are most interested in and feel are a good fit. If they are in the top 5 or top 10, wonderful--go for it! That said, I would contact program faculty, with whom you could see yourself working, early spring or shortly thereafter to initiate a dialog. Express your interest in their program and scholarship, provide a snapshot of your academic/research background, along with a brief sketch of a future research project you'd like to conduct at the graduate level, and ask if you would be a good fit for their program. Any responses you receive to these initial queries will help you winnow through potential programs and select your top six or so, to which I would recommend applying. If you don't receive clearly enthusiastic responses from a department, keep in mind that faculty are busy, so this does not necessarily mean that you should scratch the program off your list. Competition is fraught, so cast a wide net, but not so wide as to be meaningless. Your background is strong and competitive, so I would follow your interests wherever they may lead you. Hope this helps!

Congrats on Rutgers! I really like K. Cerulo's work.

I've heard that the admissions committee met this week to finalize their picks. I'm guessing decisions will start going out early next week. The timing seems pretty consistent with previous years. p.s.: I'm also waiting on a decision from YU.

Thank you for clarifying, OhHello. I appreciate your generosity and willingness to help us sort through all the information. Most helpful indeed.

Confirmed: the student health plan premium is subsidized by the department 100%. That means the basic "award" package is 5 years tuition + stipend + NU student health plan annual premium. Fantastic.

No definitive word on health insurance yet, but apparently details about insurance subsidy will be outlined in the letter of acceptance (the formal letter sent via post). The dept. chair believes all Soc admits receive 100% student health insurance coverage. That would be great.

From the NU Soc FAQ page: "The Graduate School offers full tuition and a stipend to all students accepted to the PhD program for five years of study." So your tuition is covered. Your stipend is to help with the cost of living and conducting research. I visited the Grad School health insurance information page earlier this morning. Turns out the annual premium is around $2800. Subsidies are available (thank goodness!), but only by recommendation of your respective department, not the GS. I contacted the department chair today to get more info on that. Will post an update as soon as I receive word. Hope this helps! p.s.: Also asked about the possibility of first-year TA and RA grants. Will let you know what I find out on that end as well.

Mixdpikle - Two people I know who went through the program at UMN, Twin Cities, only had great things to say about the program and faculty. One of them is teaching at Emory now and the other at CSU, Sacramento.

If that was in response to my typo correction, LOL. No, not stressed out, at least not about how a typo in a forum post might look to others. It's a personal quirk. My editorial eye can't help but notice it; sort of like seeing a small blemish you just can't resist picking at regardless of its inconspicuousness. That said, I'm most forgiving of others' typos, just not my own. So, when time allows, I prefer to call mine out. Wonderful outline of the benefits to cluster participation. Thank you for taking the time to share. I applied to the Rhetoric and Public Culture cluster initiative. Will have to revisit my letter of admission or contact the cluster director to double check the status of that endeavor. Thanks again, OH!

Can you enumerate a few of those benefits? I have my own personal ideas of how I (and my research) might benefit from participating in a cluster, but I would appreciate the additional input. Thanks! Oh, and does cluster participation begin in the first year?

Thank you for the input and clarification, OhHello! Most helpful. I'll PM a few questions in a day or two. On an aside, I noticed a typo of mine from an earlier post, which I'd like to correct: [...] but the deliberations become more difficult as their consequences *become evidently more real. [Alas. I was originally going to type "are becoming evidently more real," changed my mind mid-sentence, and the motor sensory just didn't keep pace with cognitive.]

Thanks for the heads up, OhGoodness! I'll definitely make an inquiry.

What good news, DarthVegan! I know it makes the deliberation process more difficult, but wow, that's quite a show of support!

Maybe my POI meant something else by "take on," but the answer was in response to my question regarding potential advisors. Guess I'll have to add this one to my queue of questions when I contact the dept. next week. p.s: As a result of the answer I received to this question from my POI, I thought perhaps only candidates had advisors and that students in the first three years of the program did not.

My NU POI communicated the following on the front end: "At Northwestern individual professors do not take on individual students as is done in some European doctoral programs, nor does funding flow through specific faculty members or research shops. Students work with a variety of professors, especially during their first several years....Students in our department work with faculty members, including me, all the time as research assistants as co-authors, as collaborators. These connections arise once students have been admitted to the doctoral program and begin their studies here." Hence my question and confusion, especially since at my other top choice school students are required to select an advisor by the end of their first year. Granted, that program does allow a student to change his or her advisor at any time. In spite of this apparent flexibility, it seems to me, at least superficially, that their prospective faculty-student dynamic/structure differs significantly from the one my NU POI has outlined. I like the idea of working with a variety of professors, but I also know that I would benefit greatly from having a single advisor/mentor. Sometimes consistent, individual feedback is more trenchant than what one, speaking only for myself, is able to garner in a workshop. So much to consider, and I have, but the deliberations become more difficult as their consequences becoming evidently more real.

Thought I would start a thread for 2013 admits to discuss the program, funding, and other questions regarding admittance. I am particularly interested in hearing from current and former NU sociology graduate students. What was your candidacy experience like? I was told that students do not work with an advisor. If true, how did this affect your work, research focus and momentum, especially in the first three years? What opportunities did you have to work with faculty? What were the time requirements/demands of working simultaneously within a cluster initiative? Regarding my last question, did the interdisciplinarity create any interdepartmental research conflicts? (If I accept my offer of admission, I will be doing a cluster initiative in Rhetoric and Public Culture.) For other newbies, like me, who are trying to gather as much information about program culture and outcomes before making an acceptance decision, here is the link to NU's program statistics page: http://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/academics/academic-programs/program-statistics/index.html. Under the sociology program heading you will find links to attrition/completion rates, PhD outcomes, and placement. I find the information helpful.

Somewhere on the FAQ page it notes that all admits receive full tuition and a base stipend of 22k plus change. If you apply for and receive outside funding, such as a fellowship, they will adjust--i.e., reduce--your base stipend accordingly. What remains unclear to me is whether or not I will have to pay out of pocket for NU student health insurance, which, according to another page on the site, runs approximately $1500 a year. That's extremely cheap for health insurance, but if the coverage is not comprehensive, and the co-pays/deductables low, I may have to buy a private policy as well, which could be prohibitive. Does anyone else know more about NU's student health insurance plans? I'm going to contact the Grad Admissions Dept. this week to find out.

Congrats to (Removed at request)!

I was going to add an addendim to my note above stating that if no one else felt similarly, then I gladly rescind my suggestion. I just found the post a little out of keeping with the topic of this thread, but not totally outside the realm of reasonableness. My position is equivocal. In any case, feel free to disregard my previous comment. Ultimately, seems to me that NotSure is forewarning prospective grad students to know thyself. Always good advice. If you do, I believe you are good to go. Trust yourself and don't worry too much about the external, economic variables that are not within your control. Life can be both long and short. Steady as she goes.

@NotSure - Your post is off topic. We are here to share news of our acceptances and rejections. I realize someone else interjected with a warning about CUNY, but I believe we should do our best to keep to the topic at hand. I believe most--if not all--of us who have posted to this thread have spent sufficient time acquainting ourselves with our chosen discipline and its associative body of literature and/or methodologies. Having survived the application process, and having made a 'good faith' investment in our futures, I am sure that we each have spent a good many hours researching both our top choice programs as well as our safety, backup programs, including the faculty at each, their body of work, etc. Probability would suggest that some of us here already have research experience in the field, and perahps even an MA or two. I doubt many of us are pursuing this path for glory, the outstanding pay, stable track to tenure, or academic celebrity. Adjunct generation or not, I believe the vast majority of the 2013 applicant pool is inspired by intellectual engagement, following a particular line of inquiry, theoretical dialogue and critical thought. Even if we must muddle through at times, I am sure all of us here possess the skills, intellect and motivation necessary to craft a meaningful, successful career path, one that fits our goals and individual circumstances. Your advice has its place, but I do not believe your audience is well served by your choice of forum. If my reading of this thread is correct, your caution and warnings were not invited. If there isn't already another more appropriate thread topic to which you could post your advisory, consider starting a new one. (Anyone else on this thread concur?)

p.s.: My notification was delivered by way of the website. Best to all. Looking forward to next week's cycle of admits.