mav1113

HI all, I earned my master's in applied sociology a few years ago from BC. I'm currently thinking about returning to school for a PhD in Sociology with a focus on social welfare, poverty/homelessness, immigration and nationalism, race/class (SES/mobility), political sociology, and mixed methods. I've been working in research for about 6-8 years (in policy think tanks, program eval, and private industry). Any suggestions on sociology programs outside of the top 10 who are accepting of students with aspirations other than the ivory tower?? Thank you in advance!

To everyone else...has anyone applied and been accepted to the (PhD) Heller program at Brandeis? I haven't seen anything on here (or the results search) about it? [i'm waitlisted and curious about when other folks may find out (and if they won't be accepting their offer!!) since I contacted the department not vise versa.]

Thanks, Carryon08. Sadly, I got my rejection email from GWU last week....from previous searches on GWU, it doesn't seem like they fund many of their phd policy students...not sure why (they seem like they're large and well-funded enough to do so). Agreed! I saw that you were accepted at Delaware---have you visited the school or made a decision yet? I'd be curious, I was also accepted, but won't get a chance to visit. Feel free to PM me!

George Washington. I noticed in the results section that they notified master's students last week- and someone posted that they would do the same for phd applicants on monday. It's sort of crazy that I'm waiting to hear back from them given that I'm pretty sure what the end result will be, but there's something about just seeing the rejection letter that, apparently, I'll find comforting

if you don't mind me asking, what school, Arkibarki, did you apply to that is releasing decisions tomorrow? I've heard nothing from the last school I'm waiting to hear from for over a week now. Anyone care to explain why schools wait to send rejection letters after acceptances have been mailed to/notified master's students??

Has anyone heard anything about phd admissions for GWU? Only 2 postings in the results section, but seems like it might be a fluke?

I should add that this offer also stipulates that I cannot work anywhere else...which would be difficult considering how little I will be paid!

I have one unofficial offer, which is about 16k, plus health insurance, guarenteed for 4-years. This is for a smaller department, but it is located near a major city. I have one school that I'm waiting to hear back from in regards to funding, but from what they've told me already, that will only be for 3-years. Personally, I feel more comfortable with the 4-years guarenteed; I know that some programs only offer a couple of years funding then you're on your own, and the last thing I want to do as I'm finishing classes/preparing for my dissertation purposal is try to fund additional funding! To give some additional perspective, the grad school where I did my master's (a private D1 school in Boston) offered their soc. phds only 18k- barely enough to cover housing. I've never heard of a school giving more than 28-32k, which I think I read was Harvard's stipend for one of their social science phd programs (either poly sci. or soc....I can't remember). Besides these figures, I'm not too familiar with what other schools, particularly policy departments, offer. I think the other thing to consider is the cost of living in your program's area, which makes it more difficult to compare offers. Like I said, my previous grad school offered 18k- great in more rural areas, but in a city with one of the most expensive cost of living/housing in the country, not so much. I hope this is helpful!

Anyone heard anything about the Phd policy program at GWU? I checked the results section, and only master's students have posted with the exception of 1 phd applicant (which may be a fluke?). I thought they were supposed to post, via their website, today...

chronicle is the real deal rankings for sure- thanks for the link!! US News has less than a 40% response rate (and only deans /dept. heads are polled.....no bias there, clearly), and I think the us news rankings posted are only of master's programs.

I couldn't tell you where they stand in the rankings, but I've heard it's a good one--and, from the impression I've got, it seems like it's an expanding section compared to their other tracks.

Hello Zelda, Did you apply to Phd or master's degree programs, a!nd in what fields? I'm a doctoral applicant to public policy programs for Fall 2012 and finished my master's in applied sociology last year after working in research for three-years and completing a year of AmeriCorps (congrats on finishing your service!). In applying to schools/programs this year, compared to when I went for my master's in '09, I noticed that a majoritty of them requested not only a 3.5 min. GPA, but a master'[s degree in a related field....and these were state/public schools! In particular, more "professional" degree programs, such as policy and administration want folks with experience since these programs tend to be a bit more applied than others in the social sciences. With that said, and regardless of field of interest, I would try and get as much research, work, and/or volunteer under your belt---which will also help counterbalance bad GRE scores--which I also had both times I took them! However weak the weakest part of your grad application is (for me, this was also my GRE scores and quite possibly the fact that I completed a master's degree and didn't do a thesis or have publications), you need to make sure that the strongest part is THAT much stronger. For you, it sounds like that will be your experience. Be confident about your americorps experince...it is HUGE. My undergrad was completed at a pretty low-ranking school---the only thing it scored in the top 10 of in the past decade was a list of party schools, but with my americorps and work experience under my belt, I got into 4 out of 5 master's programs I applied to--including 1 that offered 50% tuition remission and 1 was full remission. Remember, AmeriCorps not only speaks to your character and commitment to various causes, but more often than not, you're getting exposure to work enrionments and tasks that a "normal" undergrad would not. There is something to be said for that--use it to your advantage. As I was leaving my master's program, one person in my cohort applied for the PhD, and got denied....so, I understand how embarassing that can be. However, unbeknownst to her, the person in our dept. she wanted to CONTINUE to work with was actually leaving, which is also part of the reason as to why she got denied---there wouldn't have been enough faculty in her area of interest, and they weren't intending to hire additional faculty in that area b/c they were trying to bulk up on other areas. My point in relating this story to yours is that there could be a multiude of reasons as to why you get rejected---many applicants may want to work with the same faculty as you (thus increasing your competition), the person you knew may not have sat on the review/admissions board (and, afterall, they only represent one vote), there could be an impending faculty change, the department may be in the midst of changing direction/focus area...etc. etc. There are only so many variables you can control, and you'll NEVER know all of them, despite what the person (who, ultimately, doesn't really care--they have more to do than field calls from disappointed applicants) tells you when/if you decide to call the department. Anyway, things happen for a reason...and not going to school this year will do nothing but HELP make you a better applicant for next year! Best of luck~

Has anyone heard from Rutgers, New Brunswick/GWU/Brandeis yet? I saw 2 admits posted in the results section (posted yesterday, I believe) for Rutgers and one for GWU, but both looked like they were for their master's programs. If it's helpful: I heard (my rejection) from Univ. of Washington (Evans) last week, via email Univ. of MD Baltimore County: I heard from 3rd week in Feb. via email Univ. of Delaware: last week via email .....I should probably put this in the results section. Lastly, does anyone know if it's typical for public policy programs to typically notify master's students of their admissions status before doctoral students? It may be an issue with posting, but it seems that master's applicants are notified, at times, weeks before PhD applicants.... Thank you in advance!!

Recently, I received email notifications from 2 of the 6 PhD public policy programs I applied to informing me that I was granted admittance and should be receiving an official letter via postal mail shortly. One program mentioned that funding decisions will come at another time and is a separate process. My question to all of you is why are funding and acceptance decisions made at different points in time?? Is this typical of phd programs in the social sciences and departments that do not offer tuition remission to all accepted students? Any insight is appreciated! Thanks and good luck!