rising_star

I'm reading some of A Thousand Plateaus this summer, re-reading some parts of it, for a paper I'm supposed to be writing now and presenting in August. That said, I'm not a literary theory person (anymore), but using it for social and spatial theory work, so I'm not sure if you'd want me in your group. Just let me know.

Not the case in many programs. I know about both my current and former institutions (though not in sociology), the general committee decides whether or not to pass the file onto faculty. And then the faculty members decide whether or not they would take that person as a student. If no faculty member wants to take you, you don't get in. If the person you want to work with isn't taking any more students, you've wasted about $100 and you don't get in. So there's definitely a reason to contact them since you want to make sure that person is accepting students before you apply. Keep in mind that professors aren't paid to work in the summer. If they have to do fieldwork, summer is often the only time they can do it. So yes, many professors, not just in sociology but throughout a university, lag on email in the summer. Honestly, I wouldn't even bother harassing or following up now. I'd wait until August or, preferably, September. Stop stressing out about this! Summer is not when professors get paid. They work 9-10 months out of the year. Now, this is going to seem silly but replying to your emails is something that's part of their job, for which they aren't being paid in the summer. If this is giving you an ulcer, I hate to think what waiting for acceptance/rejection/waitlist letters will do to you. Also, stop copying people on your emails. It makes you seem annoying/high-maintenance, even if you aren't. The professors will or will not reply when they want to and copying the program associate and DGS won't change that.

Do you mean that the letters themselves will be mediocre? If so, that's definitely something you need to fix now, before you apply. You want recommenders to say that you're a good researcher, a good student, and will do well in graduate school, in addition to highlighting some of your past accomplishments. A glowing letter from a relatively unknown professor is better than a generic one from a big shot. But then again, you might've meant mediocre in the sense that the writers aren't well-known names... As for the statement, I agree with what's been said about limiting your discussion of the past. It's ok to elaborate on specific, relevant experience, but the list of what you've done should be sent separately on your CV. Don't dwell on the past or elaborate on all of your experiences. Organize them categorically and chronologically and put them on your CV. Your Statement should focus on the research you want to do and why, who you want to work with, and why that department/program is the right one for your research and you're the right person for them to accept. If we're talking percentages, I usually had 1-2 paragraphs about my master's thesis, then explaining how my interests had evolved in a new direction based on something I learned while writing that thesis. The rest was about my research ideas for the dissertation, who I wanted to work, and other resources both within and beyond the department that could help me do my research.

Dude, don't tempt me to delete your account. Hahaha, that's at least one thing (on here) that I can do and you can't!

gut-wrenching (does that count as one word?) If not, I'll go with "terror"

Not for the GRE. Seemed like a waste of time. I scored in the upper 80th percentile on verbal without memorizing words specifically for the GRE. I don't think I even did more than glance at the pages of words you should know.

You were supposed to memorize words? LOL. I didn't memorize any.

bigwords.com searches for new and used books on all the major sites. addall is also a useful site (assuming I spelled that right).

1) I lived with an undergrad my first year of graduate school and it was awesome. She knew the town, had ideas for stuff I could do, and was quite mature so we never got in each other's way. I'd transport her to my current city and live with her again if i could. My point is, don't just swear off of all undergrads because of what year they are in school. 2) I second the craig's list idea, especially posting in the "housing wanted" section. You may also want to see if your university, department, etc has a graduate student listserve that you could post on. 3) Athens, OH is probably like where I live now in that only about 60% of available apartments/houses/duplexes/etc are listed online. The best way to find places that I've found is to couple an online search with driving/cycling around neighborhoods you want to live in, writing down numbers, and then calling them. 4) I lived with someone in my department during the 2nd year of my MA. Most of the year it was fine but then we had a personal conflict that extended to school and that led to several people in the department no longer speaking to me (I refused to mention the situation to anyone; she didn't do the same). Plus, you'll be seeing that person A LOT.

Should've waited a few days and gotten the 1005HA-P. Same battery life but a bit lighter... 2.8 lbs without the power cord and 3.4 lbs with it. I got one and I love it.

Why would this be so terrible? It shows that your research evolves, which is what people expect. FWIW, I applied in the third semester of my master's to PhD programs and gave a brief description of my MA thesis. When I was visiting schools that accepted me in Feb and March, I ended up telling them something a bit different than what was in my SOP because I'd actually written the whole thing by that point. No one said "Oh my god" and tried to rescind their offer. People asked if I planned on publishing my findings because they're interesting and contribute to a gap in the scholarship but I haven't and may never actually publish part of it (there are extenuating circumstances). Moral: Don't stress about churning out a perfect thesis chapter or thesis description.

Yes, the scores are sent separately from your application because they are sent directly from ETS to the institution. The schools get the permission to view your scores because you give ETS permission to send the scores out.

The check won't clear immediately. Last time I did something like that, it took 7 days for the check to clear.

You can find your federal and state tax brackets online.

1) Find out if there is a course coordinator that oversees the course. I'd imagine that there is since you are likely not the only person teaching Intro to American Studies. If there is, you should be directing your questions at this person, rather than the administrative staff. Remember, it's not the staff's job to oversee how you teach your course. 2) If you do need to order a textbook, you'll want to do it soon, to make sure the bookstore has time to get it for students. Alternately, you can assign chapters from books and journal articles, which could eliminate the need for a book. 3) Honestly, in my department, when you're assigned a course, it's your course. If you're instructor of record, then you're in full control of the syllabus, the readings, etc., just as you would/will be when/if you are a professor teaching courses. Do they help you figure things out? Not really. But they do handle textbook ordering at the bookstore for us and make sure we have a classroom that will meet our needs in terms of audiovisual equipment. Everything else is the instructor's responsibility. Honestly though, I wouldn't freak out about it. I'm just finishing teaching a summer course. I made my syllabus about 5 days before class started. No one seems to be complaining about that. What kind of logistics are you hoping to get help with?

Is there a specific aspect of race/ethnicity that you are interested in? Are you open to other disciplines besides sociology?

You can definitely contact the person, but don't be too surprised if you don't get a reply. I actually met with my advisor in June, because I came out to look for an apartment then. That said, he's out of the country on a research trip right now so he's not really checking/replying to his email. If your concern is about registration for courses, you might do best to email and see if you can meet with the person before orientation. That way, you can have 30-45 min to talk about your research interests, get info on what's being offered and what you should take, and that sort of thing. I really think it's one of those things that you want to do in person.

Yes, you can apply. You'll have to have research experience to be a good candidate. Your admissions won't be final until you send them a final transcript that shows that your degree has been awarded. Same thing happens if you do your MA at one school and your PhD elswehere.

I moved tons of marked up, printed out articles across the country. I haven't looked at most of them since I moved, but will be needing them in the fall. If you have access to an industrial copier/scanner, you should totally put it to use. You can stick the papers in the tray on top and it pulls them through, scans them, and then you can email yourself the PDF. That's awesome, if you can. Otherwise, keep things that are in your area of research and ditch everything else.

Dammit! Why couldn't you come to Arizona? I need more sports junkies!!

Depends on your field. In my discipline, no one will admit you for a PhD unless you have a master's (either completed or will be done before you start the PhD program). So in that sense, doing the master's is NOT a waste of time, particularly since a lot of them are funded in my field. That said, many programs will let you continue on after doing your master's, but you do have to do the master's and a thesis and earn the degree before your PhD studies can officially begin.

I think in two rounds of applying (MA and PhD), only one school required a writing sample other than the SOP. That doesn't mean they aren't concerned about the writing skills of their future students. Instead, they judge that from your SOP (which is, after all, a sample of your writing), rather than by asking for a separate writing sample. And, for what it's worth, I don't think it's a knock on me or my current colleagues that we didn't submit a 15-25 page paper along with our applications. There are other ways that programs use to assess quality which, quite frankly, must work or my discipline would be full of people that can't write since so few programs actually require a separate writing sample.

I told my potential advisor at every school I turned down where I decided to go. Why? Because my subfield is big but not that big and I knew I'd be seeing all these people again. Plus, they all know my advisor. At any rate, my hunch that I'd see them (as in they'd find out anyway) proved right when I applied for a research scholarship for summer funding and the contact person for the award was someone I'd met with last year when visiting programs I got into. Could have been awkward but it wasn't because I was super professional in my correspondence, let them know I enjoyed my visit but wouldn't be accepting the offer, and was wished the best of luck by them all.

You have time for a lot of things, if you're good with time management. I'm a huge football fan and do a ton of work during the week in the fall so that I can watch whatever games I want on the weekend. And yes, I have time for that. I also have a host of TV shows that I watch regularly, either when they air, recorded using the DVR, or online if that's an option. When? While I'm reading email, cooking, relaxing when I get home, relaxing before bed, etc. Think about it. We all did lots of things outside of class as an undergrad. There's time for that in grad school too. School doesn't have to--and really shouldn't--be your life. You have to do something for fun and, if that's TV for you, it's well worth it to have it. I know personally, I'd spend more than $60 a month at bars on beer and food while watching football (I watch college and pro) so having cable at home is well worth it and I'm not about to give it up. I actually had less time for TV as an undergrad due to working a couple of jobs and having extracurriculars that were 20 hour a week commitments. Like I said at the beginning, the key to anything is time management. I try and keep banker's hours (9-4 or 9-5) during the semester, regardless of whether or not I have class. I stay at school, working on campus or in my office when I'm not in class. Why? Mainly because it means that a lot of times, I come home and don't have any schoolwork (either for class, TA, or research for my project) that really has to be done. So, I can read for fun, watch TV, hang out with friends, and/or read something academic if the fancy strikes me. It definitely leaves time when I'm home to watch TV because by 7pm, I've already done everything I need to do each day.

I would contact current students, not past students. And yes, it is entirely appropriate. How else will you know what the person is like to work with?