La_Di_Da

Ummmm... soooo... I just got an offer from UCLA.  After multiple attempts to find out my status and no reply (and me subsequently writing off the program), now I get an acceptance email.  
 
Super secret phantom waitlists exist, people!

Since we are steadily approaching April 15, I thought I'd go ahead and start the "official" decision thread for everyone to post where they're heading in the fall.  It just so happens that I submitted my official acceptance today...
 
It's UT-Austin for me!  

No different than "workplace romances", and carries the same caveats - most people do it, and if you're going to do it, be smart about it. For people moving to new cities, I'm surprised it isn't just accepted as fact that it will happen - you're most likely to see these people more than anyone else.

Your previous program still thinks highly enough of you to want you back? You're golden!
It would be unethical for a program to support your return without also supporting your application elsewhere. 
 
Have a frank conversation with your former advisor(s) about where you've been and where you want to go. A strong LOR from faculty who know you well and can vouch for your competence and the details of your situation should be quite sufficient to re-enter academia. Based on the strength of your previous work and the experience you've gained over several years of teaching, I would be surprised if you weren't able to gain admission to the program of your choice. I think it's easy to look at our professors and conclude that there's one "straight shot" way to be successful in academia. Non-traditional applicants are starting to get an edge, and I think this trend can only continue. Leverage those assets and keep your chin up!

I made the extremely difficult decision today to turn down Michigan, Chicago, and Northwestern. I wish the best of luck to everyone who is waitlisted at these programs. As someone who snuck into grad school the first time around with basically no funding, only to find myself juggling offers from four of the top programs in the country, I want to say emphatically that if you're on a waitlist at a place like this, you have every bit as much talent as the people who are winning endowed fellowships. The difference is that their signals are clearer than yours. If you don't luck out this time around, clean up your signals: improve your test scores, enter a MA program and excel in it, get better letters of recommendation that really center on your ability to do independent research, and/or -- most important -- polish up your writing sample and write a focused, intellectually mature SOP. Knock em dead. Best of luck.

http://www.nsfgrfp.org/
 
(and the like.)

I would definitely say relax.  I am currently pursuing my hobbies at full force atm (Starcraft II, Magic the Gathering, reading fiction,) while occasionally brushing up on sociological literature.  I am coming straight from undergrad (except for having this spring semester off) and have been doing research in my area of interests for the the past 2 years (albeit in history, but still have read relevant literature) so I do not feel that I will be a "rusty" student and therefore am not too worried about gaining some advantage in this 5-6 month period of free time.  I think it would be far more beneficial in the long run to relax and enjoy hobbies/hanging out with friends during this time.  Also, I plan on saving up for a big vacation over the summer since I currently have a full-time job and do not have to save too much money given that I have full funding, so being able to blow money is cool too.

I'm with you in that sentiment, OilandVinegar. I don't even have a day off between now and moving day. Just hoping there is enough time between now and late July to pull all the loose ends together in time for liftoff.

I will try to reign in my jealousy of those of you exploring this thing called summer break.

MimiG,
 
I was once more pondering your comment, "I am utterly clueless as to what I want to do after that. I have always been very interested in the social sciences, so I'm thinking about applying to grad schools for Sociology next year," and a few additional thoughts came to mind.
 
1) Why the rush to go straight from your BA to grad school? If you are feeling clueless, uncertain about what program or discipline is right for you, then consider taking some time off from academia to enter the job market, join the Peace Corps, teach ESL abroad, apply for an internship, or engage in some other venture that offers you invaluable work/life experience and the time you need to clarify and cement your academic/research interests.
 
2) Sounds to me that you are in a state of emergence, a point of reassessing and redefining who you are and what you want. These are the points in life when it is important to step back and take stock. When uncertainty abounds, making intermediate plans or taking intermediary steps may serve your present and future self best. (I speak from experience and as someone who has professionally helped high school and college students in similar situations.) Are you intending to apply exclusively to doctoral programs? Under the circumstances, you may want to consider an MA program in the social sciences or the humanities. It would give you time to dig into the scholarship and an opportunity to raise your GPA before applying to doctoral programs. An MA in Cultural Studies might be an excellent (side) stepping stone, given your writing background. And you can always push your research in CS toward a sociological horizon, making the transition to a PhD program in sociology that much easier. As previously noted, an anthro program might also be an excellent fit, and moreover, depending on the scope of your research interests, a better fit than sociology.
 
3) Echoing the above, and once more reiterating Rising Star's recommendation, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of taking the time you need right now to get to know yourself, your research interests, and ultimately, acquainting yourself further with your chosen discipline, whatever it turns out to be.
 
P.S.: I hope these thoughts do not come across as patronizing. I realize I do not know anything about your background or work/life experience. And I do not wish to underestimate the estimability or force of either one. But your comment gives me urgent pause and raises, if not a red flag, a bold yellow caution sign. Hence, I strongly advise giving yourself the time you deserve to sort this out, muddle through, and get clear about the course of study that would serve you -- and the multidimensional person that you are -- best. If you are a younger, traditional undergrad who is in good overall health, believe me, you have plenty of time. Use it to your advantage.
 
P.P.S: The average GPA of admitted applicants at the two top 20 programs to which I applied was 3.8. At the top 30 program to which I applied, the average GPA of admitted applicants was somewhere between 3.5 and 3.7. It's not impossible to get into a top flight PhD program with a lower than average GPA, but if you're going to try to make that work, the rest of your application, most especially your SOP, will have to be airtight. You will have to demonstrate to the adcomm that you are committed to 5-7 years of sociological study/research, have developed a strong, thoughtful sociological vision, are capable of conducting research, and are an excellent candidate for program completion. Also, what will you contribute to the program...the department, and what are your plans beyond the PhD? You'll have to address all these questions and then some.
---------------------------------
NOTE: Edited for typos. Getting used to this new 11" touchscreen interface is rough.

If you haven't already, visit the survey results page for sociology. Highlight reported GRE scores by rolling over the red diamonds with your cursor. You may want to look at scores reported for previous years, too.   http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=sociology

MimiG,
 
I was once more pondering your comment, "I am utterly clueless as to what I want to do after that. I have always been very interested in the social sciences, so I'm thinking about applying to grad schools for Sociology next year," and a few additional thoughts came to mind.
 
1) Why the rush to go straight from your BA to grad school? If you are feeling clueless, uncertain about what program or discipline is right for you, then consider taking some time off from academia to enter the job market, join the Peace Corps, teach ESL abroad, apply for an internship, or engage in some other venture that offers you invaluable work/life experience and the time you need to clarify and cement your academic/research interests.
 
2) Sounds to me that you are in a state of emergence, a point of reassessing and redefining who you are and what you want. These are the points in life when it is important to step back and take stock. When uncertainty abounds, making intermediate plans or taking intermediary steps may serve your present and future self best. (I speak from experience and as someone who has professionally helped high school and college students in similar situations.) Are you intending to apply exclusively to doctoral programs? Under the circumstances, you may want to consider an MA program in the social sciences or the humanities. It would give you time to dig into the scholarship and an opportunity to raise your GPA before applying to doctoral programs. An MA in Cultural Studies might be an excellent (side) stepping stone, given your writing background. And you can always push your research in CS toward a sociological horizon, making the transition to a PhD program in sociology that much easier. As previously noted, an anthro program might also be an excellent fit, and moreover, depending on the scope of your research interests, a better fit than sociology.
 
3) Echoing the above, and once more reiterating Rising Star's recommendation, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of taking the time you need right now to get to know yourself, your research interests, and ultimately, acquainting yourself further with your chosen discipline, whatever it turns out to be.
 
P.S.: I hope these thoughts do not come across as patronizing. I realize I do not know anything about your background or work/life experience. And I do not wish to underestimate the estimability or force of either one. But your comment gives me urgent pause and raises, if not a red flag, a bold yellow caution sign. Hence, I strongly advise giving yourself the time you deserve to sort this out, muddle through, and get clear about the course of study that would serve you -- and the multidimensional person that you are -- best. If you are a younger, traditional undergrad who is in good overall health, believe me, you have plenty of time. Use it to your advantage.
 
P.P.S: The average GPA of admitted applicants at the two top 20 programs to which I applied was 3.8. At the top 30 program to which I applied, the average GPA of admitted applicants was somewhere between 3.5 and 3.7. It's not impossible to get into a top flight PhD program with a lower than average GPA, but if you're going to try to make that work, the rest of your application, most especially your SOP, will have to be airtight. You will have to demonstrate to the adcomm that you are committed to 5-7 years of sociological study/research, have developed a strong, thoughtful sociological vision, are capable of conducting research, and are an excellent candidate for program completion. Also, what will you contribute to the program...the department, and what are your plans beyond the PhD? You'll have to address all these questions and then some.
---------------------------------
NOTE: Edited for typos. Getting used to this new 11" touchscreen interface is rough.

I'm in a similar position - entered a top-5 program straight out of undergrad, completed two years of coursework, comp exams, and teaching. Program ended up being a poor fit. I left, worked for a year, reapplied to PhD programs, and right now I'm narrowing down my offers and deciding where I'll end up in the fall.
 
Regarding whether you're better or worse off now than you were the first time around: I don't have an easy answer to your question, honestly, but if you're able to get a convincing letter from either your advisor or any other faculty you had a close+positive relationship with, that will help assuage a lot of adcom concerns. (I had a letter from my advisor.)
 
I did reasonably well with my applications compared to the first time I applied (4 funded offers out of 6 applications), but then again I shot for mid-20s and 30s rather than top 5s (as I did my first time around). One of those offers came after an interview, and the interviewer did ask about leaving my previous PhD program. I just gave her the straight answer - my research interests changed and I felt that the schools I was applying to were much stronger fits intellectually. 
 
So, I don't think you're sunk by any means, and I don't see any reason to shoot low. As always, I'd apply to a range of programs just to have options, but definitely don't apply anywhere you won't want to go. 

I admit that I'm an odd applicant, but without the CV i included neither of the schools I applied to would have clearly understood how I've spent he last forty years, which included a Fulbright to England, a long career in business management, election to public office, starting a 100-store retail chain, writing a popularly published book, and service on several nonprofit boards. If I had tried to cram the specifics into the SOP it would have run ridiculously long. I didn't ask whether to include the CV; I just added it on and referred to it in my SOP. As for results, I gotinto one of my two choices and not the other, though after I applied to the second I was told by the lead POI that they were no longer accepting new students in Medieval History, so I'm unclear on whether I would have been accepted if the specialty were ongoing. In any case, the CV certainly didn't hurt, and it allowed me to write a SOP which focused on where I want to go rather than where I've been.

Update: I did end up getting into this school, although I didn't decide to go there.

Just in case anyone else has this question in the future, I thought the outcome might be helpful : )

Was your GPA strong as an undergrad? Did you produce quality work? If so, you may be surprised to find out that many professors do remember you, possibly even quite well. It also helps to jog their memories with examples of projects you did, scanned tests or problem sets that you did well on (if you still have any in your possession), etc.
 
I do think it's going to be important for you to have academic references. One out of three or four recs can be professional, but that's tricky in your case since your jobs haven't been relevant to the CS field.
 
If worst comes to worst, you can possibly take another relevant class or two (might be a good idea anyway as the industry is dynamic and 2006 is ancient history--assuming you took any CS-related coursework as an undergrad), find a CS-related job, and/or volunteer somewhere with a CS focus with hopes of getting some recs. Those would all be good for your CV anyhow.
 
ETA: Don't forget that your GRE and SOP can strengthen your app, as well as the POIs you make and the schools you choose. If you kill the quant section and write an enthusiastic, convincing essay after aligning with profs whose work interests you, your app will be all the better for it.

Yup, that call just about sealed the deal. Looking back on my first round through PhD programs, I realize how few conversations I actually had with faculty that might predict any kind of positive research relationship - probably why that program didn't end up being a good fit.
 
Also, when I referenced "one of the most important members of the faculty" in my earlier post, I meant important to me in terms of interests and potential advising - not important in some abstract or prestige-related sense

May the gods be listening! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you. Highly doubt I'd have to go as far as making any burnt offerings on your behalf. But if you want me to do one just in case, I do have the requisite classics background, so I'm sure I can determine the proper propitiation forms if need be. (Of course, I jest.) I'm wishing you all the best, DV, as you make your final decision.

DarthVegan:
 
Re.: "I am also quite happy with my PhD offers at the moment, both in terms of the faculty I would work with and the relative prestige/and or recent job placements." 
 
As an objective outsider, when I contrast this sentence with the rest of the content in your previous post, I can't help but think that this one sentence says it all. I believe, but don't take my word for it, that you already have your answer. Just a hunch. 

MimiG,
 
I was once more pondering your comment, "I am utterly clueless as to what I want to do after that. I have always been very interested in the social sciences, so I'm thinking about applying to grad schools for Sociology next year," and a few additional thoughts came to mind.
 
1) Why the rush to go straight from your BA to grad school? If you are feeling clueless, uncertain about what program or discipline is right for you, then consider taking some time off from academia to enter the job market, join the Peace Corps, teach ESL abroad, apply for an internship, or engage in some other venture that offers you invaluable work/life experience and the time you need to clarify and cement your academic/research interests.
 
2) Sounds to me that you are in a state of emergence, a point of reassessing and redefining who you are and what you want. These are the points in life when it is important to step back and take stock. When uncertainty abounds, making intermediate plans or taking intermediary steps may serve your present and future self best. (I speak from experience and as someone who has professionally helped high school and college students in similar situations.) Are you intending to apply exclusively to doctoral programs? Under the circumstances, you may want to consider an MA program in the social sciences or the humanities. It would give you time to dig into the scholarship and an opportunity to raise your GPA before applying to doctoral programs. An MA in Cultural Studies might be an excellent (side) stepping stone, given your writing background. And you can always push your research in CS toward a sociological horizon, making the transition to a PhD program in sociology that much easier. As previously noted, an anthro program might also be an excellent fit, and moreover, depending on the scope of your research interests, a better fit than sociology.
 
3) Echoing the above, and once more reiterating Rising Star's recommendation, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of taking the time you need right now to get to know yourself, your research interests, and ultimately, acquainting yourself further with your chosen discipline, whatever it turns out to be.
 
P.S.: I hope these thoughts do not come across as patronizing. I realize I do not know anything about your background or work/life experience. And I do not wish to underestimate the estimability or force of either one. But your comment gives me urgent pause and raises, if not a red flag, a bold yellow caution sign. Hence, I strongly advise giving yourself the time you deserve to sort this out, muddle through, and get clear about the course of study that would serve you -- and the multidimensional person that you are -- best. If you are a younger, traditional undergrad who is in good overall health, believe me, you have plenty of time. Use it to your advantage.
 
P.P.S: The average GPA of admitted applicants at the two top 20 programs to which I applied was 3.8. At the top 30 program to which I applied, the average GPA of admitted applicants was somewhere between 3.5 and 3.7. It's not impossible to get into a top flight PhD program with a lower than average GPA, but if you're going to try to make that work, the rest of your application, most especially your SOP, will have to be airtight. You will have to demonstrate to the adcomm that you are committed to 5-7 years of sociological study/research, have developed a strong, thoughtful sociological vision, are capable of conducting research, and are an excellent candidate for program completion. Also, what will you contribute to the program...the department, and what are your plans beyond the PhD? You'll have to address all these questions and then some.
---------------------------------
NOTE: Edited for typos. Getting used to this new 11" touchscreen interface is rough.

MimiG,
 
I was once more pondering your comment, "I am utterly clueless as to what I want to do after that. I have always been very interested in the social sciences, so I'm thinking about applying to grad schools for Sociology next year," and a few additional thoughts came to mind.
 
1) Why the rush to go straight from your BA to grad school? If you are feeling clueless, uncertain about what program or discipline is right for you, then consider taking some time off from academia to enter the job market, join the Peace Corps, teach ESL abroad, apply for an internship, or engage in some other venture that offers you invaluable work/life experience and the time you need to clarify and cement your academic/research interests.
 
2) Sounds to me that you are in a state of emergence, a point of reassessing and redefining who you are and what you want. These are the points in life when it is important to step back and take stock. When uncertainty abounds, making intermediate plans or taking intermediary steps may serve your present and future self best. (I speak from experience and as someone who has professionally helped high school and college students in similar situations.) Are you intending to apply exclusively to doctoral programs? Under the circumstances, you may want to consider an MA program in the social sciences or the humanities. It would give you time to dig into the scholarship and an opportunity to raise your GPA before applying to doctoral programs. An MA in Cultural Studies might be an excellent (side) stepping stone, given your writing background. And you can always push your research in CS toward a sociological horizon, making the transition to a PhD program in sociology that much easier. As previously noted, an anthro program might also be an excellent fit, and moreover, depending on the scope of your research interests, a better fit than sociology.
 
3) Echoing the above, and once more reiterating Rising Star's recommendation, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of taking the time you need right now to get to know yourself, your research interests, and ultimately, acquainting yourself further with your chosen discipline, whatever it turns out to be.
 
P.S.: I hope these thoughts do not come across as patronizing. I realize I do not know anything about your background or work/life experience. And I do not wish to underestimate the estimability or force of either one. But your comment gives me urgent pause and raises, if not a red flag, a bold yellow caution sign. Hence, I strongly advise giving yourself the time you deserve to sort this out, muddle through, and get clear about the course of study that would serve you -- and the multidimensional person that you are -- best. If you are a younger, traditional undergrad who is in good overall health, believe me, you have plenty of time. Use it to your advantage.
 
P.P.S: The average GPA of admitted applicants at the two top 20 programs to which I applied was 3.8. At the top 30 program to which I applied, the average GPA of admitted applicants was somewhere between 3.5 and 3.7. It's not impossible to get into a top flight PhD program with a lower than average GPA, but if you're going to try to make that work, the rest of your application, most especially your SOP, will have to be airtight. You will have to demonstrate to the adcomm that you are committed to 5-7 years of sociological study/research, have developed a strong, thoughtful sociological vision, are capable of conducting research, and are an excellent candidate for program completion. Also, what will you contribute to the program...the department, and what are your plans beyond the PhD? You'll have to address all these questions and then some.
---------------------------------
NOTE: Edited for typos. Getting used to this new 11" touchscreen interface is rough.

Single author publications at top tier journals (AJS/ASR) are basically the gold standard of getting a job - in fact, you probably just need one and you are set with a T20 placement.  Next are single author publications at other journals.  I've heard that being the second or third named author on an article is a bonus, but its really the former two that matter the most.  (I've also gotten the advice to not get so subsumed in another professor's research that you fail to do your own).  Job search committees for assistant prof jobs are really looking for single author first and foremost - hopefully that helps you sort this out a bit.

So glad to read that you are in a position to move forward with final deliberations! Yay! Do you know which program you're going to choose? Keep us updated.

I firmly believe that one's future job prospects are determined more by the spirit and quality of one's work than program ranking. Likewise, your work will shine brightest as a result of choosing the program where you, yourself, may shine brightly -- i.e., were you will do your best work, become your best self. And that equation is not linear. My only (unsolicited) advice: trust yourself, for no one else knows you--your needs--better than you. Wishing you all the best as you make your final decision.

I firmly believe that one's future job prospects are determined more by the spirit and quality of one's work than program ranking. Likewise, your work will shine brightest as a result of choosing the program where you, yourself, may shine brightly -- i.e., were you will do your best work, become your best self. And that equation is not linear. My only (unsolicited) advice: trust yourself, for no one else knows you--your needs--better than you. Wishing you all the best as you make your final decision.