Mwanafunzi

I am applying for Fall 2014. My interests are in race (and its intersections with other vectors of identity), culture (especially religion/irreligion and music), and social movements. A lot of my experience is in qualitative research, but I would really like mixed methods schools. I'm working on my statement, CV, and a few research projects. I have a few questions for those who may have answers: 1) When is the latest I could realistically take the GRE? I was thinking of taking it mid-September, but should I aim for earlier? 2) For CVs/applications in general, is listing "articles in progress/articles under review" a standard procedure? A few grad students I know have told me different things about this, and being that I will have a few things that would fall into this category, a few more perspectives would be appreciated. 3) With regard to the personal/purpose statement (or applications more broadly) how in-depth should I go in describing my research skills as they relate to RA positions? Should I be putting a lot of specifics (such as focus group coding, such-and-such quantitative analysis, etc.) or keep it a bit more broad (worked with focus group data and quantitative data on Topic X)? Thanks in advance for any feedback. Hope everyone's preparations are going well.

You also might be interested in a collaboration on The Society Pages between a professor of sociology and a photographer. It's called Changing Lenses http://thesocietypages.org/changinglenses/

Thanks for the feedback! I appreciate the well wishes. I definitely understand what you mean regarding the LOR. Since my first post, I've actually gotten quite close with another professor that already stated she would be interested in writing a letter. Thanks! I hope so, too! I've already read a lot of great information. Thanks for your response.

La_Di_Da, that was very helpful. Thank you. I was thinking of applying to about 10 to 12 programs of various rankings, but I thought it would be helpful to clarify whether or not I would be a competitive applicant at some of the higher ranked schools.

I realize that most people reading this forum have already applied and are receiving admission decisions so this won't pertain to most people, but I am wondering if I can get some feedback on my plans for applying next cycle. I am trying to determine if any programs are out of my reach according to my research and academic experience at this point. Here is the relevant information at this point: I have a 3.8+ gpa (probably around 3.85 at time of graduation in Spring 2013). 4.0 in sociology I have not taken the GRE, but I have tested well on standardized tests Multiple semesters of TAing for university sociology courses Served as an RA for a few sociology research projects (some paid, some unpaid). I also worked on some non-sociology research projects (in the biological sciences prior) I will have conducted original research for my senior sociology project, but I think it's a relatively weak project I'm not sure who I will ask for letters of recommendation at this point. I know I can get a couple strong ones from tenured faculty, but the third might be relatively weak. Perhaps I should get one from a former graduate student who I worked closely with that will have the title of professor at the time of application. I am only interested in applying to schools that I feel have a good fit for my research interests. Would applying to top 5 or top 10 programs (assuming they seem like a good fit) be a waste of money?