soc13

Bumping this topic! Really excited at the prospect of Cornell, but also apprehensive. Definitely used to living in urban environments and hesitant to let that go. Suggestions on best areas for graduate students to live? Any particular management companies or sites to use for searching (other than the usual craigslist)?

I'm with ya, @Shay825, would love to hear more about this and see more Penn results soon!

Also got a Cornell acceptance!

Another Duke update as well.

Got the heads up that the ad-comm at one of my top choices made their decisions on Friday.... have been incessantly checking email since. Nothing.

Anyone want to claim that Duke waitlist? Also, it says via website. Which website (the applicants.siss one?), and where on there did it say? I see nothing at all on mine, lol.

Two Indiana acceptances up... Congratulations! Guessing it was folks who interviewed.

Incredible! Congratulations, @ConsciousKid!!!

I would recommend against it. I'm not in your field, but in the social sciences. After deciding not to apply to Ph.D. straight out of undergrad, I worked for a year. Then decided to go back for a MPH, as I thought I wanted a career in public health, not so much in research. Well, turns out the research I did during my MPH made me want to apply for soc programs again. I was soundly rejected my first attempt (straight from MPH). I took 2 years to work and reapplied this year. 1. I deeply regret the debt I went (and will be in for perpetuity it seems) for my master's, especially after having undergrad debt too 2. Many social sciences master's are considered cash-cows for the university 3. Your time may be better spent increasing your GRE scores, refining your SOP and writing sample, and searching for best fit programs - so that you can get into a fully funded one next year. Also, since you are fairly local to this professor, I'd recommend seeing if you can work on one of her research projects while working your 'regular job.' I know it's asking a lot to give free labor (IDK if she'd be able to pay you as a non student, but she may have funds she could), but it could get you more experience/pubs/her to love you... and also a good recommendation from her. Just worth considering. Of course, this is all my opinion, and I am biased, having gone into debt for a master's.

Just throwing in my two cents here... If you can get into a fully-funded master's, than sure, go for it. If you have to spend ANY money on the master's, DON'T DO IT. Most master's programs are known as money-makers for their departments. With stats like yours, @hopefulsocphd, you shouldn't have any problem gaining admission into a top 25 school. It seems like maybe you're looking for top 5-10, in which case, it's just hard to say why someone with the exact same profile got in, other than noting that we don't know their publication record, interests, etc. IMHO, it would be more advantageous to spend a year working and refining your statement and writing sample and really tailoring things to programs than it would be to go into any debt for a master's. Of course, I'm biased, as someone who got a master's (albeit in another field, public health) that wasn't funded and regret it every day, especially now that I'm returning for a Ph.D. Sure, it helped me get a good job at a research firm, but not in comparison to making loan payments forever. I know it sucks to think of going through the process again AND not entering when you want to. Immediately after my MPH, I applied to 2 schools and was soundly rejected. I took two years to work and I'm really glad now that I did so, experience wise. Anyway, just my two cents. Don't forget that you still have 4 places to hear from!! Keep hope alive

I think it depends on your career goals. If you want to become a TT professor at an R1, you want to go for the highest ranked program that you get into - for the most part. Placements are much, much higher at top 10 (some will extend this to 25, and some will bicker over rankings forever) programs. (That said, I didn't apply for any top 10 schools, and I'd like to teach/do research at an R1, so don't mind me.)

I'm preparing for an Indiana rejection as I haven't gotten an email to interview

Congratulations!!!

Anybody claiming those Indiana interviews? ... they must've forgotten to send out mine

Looks like someone got an interview with Indiana.

I wouldn't stress yet. For example, @gingin6789 received her interview invite for Rutgers more than a week after mine. Sometimes they just trickle slowly. Likely depends on the committee's schedule if they divide up the interviews! We've clearly seen the same with acceptances from a number of places this cycle too, with some folks receiving theirs quite a few days after others did...

Also received acceptance from Maryland. Looking forward to talking to you more @krispykreme and @JTM61!

VERY. I will hope that the first week of Feb is a very fruitful one for all of us. In the meantime, I'm going to celebrate Carnavale far in advance (or drown my app problems) because the Latin rum bar by my job has started specials this week all the way through the 9th!

Hey @goofylemon, for me, I think, the thing that probably makes this a bit unpopular is the reality that most folks with lower GRE scores (especially quant ones) are well aware this is a limitation in their application. So, as lovely as it is for you to point it out, it can really begin to rub people wrong when you make statements like: "One should note out of fairness, a person with that kind of promise entering a highly-ranked program like UW is, in fact, truly devastating to many better-deserved applicants." I find that pretty interesting. So, what we're saying here is, I don't think it's fair that someone would get in above me (or others like me) as we have higher GRE scores, which make us more deserving. You also equate GRE scores with promise. Sure, in many cases they represent ability or 'potential ability.' But let's be honest, if an applicant makes it to a finalist round or acceptance at a school, you can pretty safely assume they have this "promise" you speak of. Last time I checked, for example, journals didn't require GRE scores for article submissions and publications. Nor do great mentors require them before you begin to work on their projects, which is pretty common if you've come from an undergrad with RA positions, or been in a master's program. All this to say is that for the most part, this forum has been pretty positive. I think it's fairly mean-spirited, assuming that's not the "troll" acceptance you think it is, to speak as if that person is less worthy of their acceptance than another person because of one portion of their application.

HOLD UP @DaisyGamble, you're not really trying to ask a group full of wanna-be sociologists to consider the intersection of class, race, culture, etc. on standardized test scores, are you? I think you're asking a little too much here. ;-)

When you used to enjoy your subject area forum but now...

I'm in the DC area. That hotel is right next to the metro so you can stay wherever. I would never recommend Rockville for food over DC, but to each his/her own! There are a LOT of good places to eat in DC, depending on what you're looking for. Plus, we have awesome bottomless brunches for when you feel like skipping your sessions, or going to afternoon ones feeling lovely. Any questions about the area, I'm happy to answer!

Congratulations to so many with amazing news today, including @Katastrophe @goofylemon @gingin6789 @lioneironaut @redhillgirl @hazenyc and anyone I missed (sorry, that was a LOT of names to keep track of!). It is lovely to see so many receive great news. Also @Shay825 and @ConsciousSteph former Bostonian here

And also (at least based on 2015): Duke 1/28-30, 2/4, 2/15 Maryland 1/31, 2/18, 1/31 Vanderbilt 2/3, 2/21, 2/11

Right there with ya, and sadly, I thought it was a pretty good fit for my interests.