rogue

I have half sleeves, work on my upper and lower back, sides, wrists and random other places, some easily (and often) covered, some not so much. Also have stretched lobes and a tongue piercing that I don't intend to take out. I figure I'll cover the ink for first impressions, then stop worrying about it. At an academic conference I attended last summer, I ended up wearing short sleeves one day toward the end of the week, and the only people who gave my arms a second look complimented the work. So, I'm not overly concerned about reactions.

I was accepted to several sociology Ph.D. programs, despite having only taken one undergraduate sociology course ever (and my master's was an MBA). Go to the program that will make you happiest and where the funding situation is best; if you do well there, you should be a successful applicant to Ph.D. programs later.

Thanks, guys. I guess I'll stick with my choice. Sometimes I just need to be bitch slapped and/or reassured through the interwebs.

So, I got into a few schools and narrowed my choices to two top contenders. School A is in the city where I currently live, is a top-ranked program (literally #1) at an Ivy League institution, offered very generous funding, has a good track record of students publishing and a shorter average time to degree. School B is in a city where I've been dying to live, is a top 30 program at a large public university, offered less funding (but very generous for them), but more teaching responsibilities and a longer average time to degree. School B was pressuring me to make a decision so they could offer my funding to someone else if I wasn't going to take it. Last week, I committed to School A and very sadly turned down B's offer. Fast forward one week. I'm still sad about my decision, and to compound things, my girlfriend just got a sweet job offer in the city where School B is (which is two hours away from where we are now... and where I will presumably be for the next four to five years). I'm kicking myself for not choosing School B now. It's too late, though, isn't it? I mean, I'll look like an idiot if I call them and try to change my mind now, right? And the funding situation... I guess I'd have to go on the wait list for funding now, if they would even consider me. Am I just being ridiculous about the whole situation? What would you do if you were me?

You can't once it's been up for more than an hour.

My understanding is that there's not the same stigma attached to paying for a master's as doing an unfunded Ph.D., so the only concern would be if you want to take on that debt, not how it would look. Could you apply for external funding, at least for your second year? I'm not in anthro either, but I hear that Penn's program is pretty top notch. I guess it depends on what you want to do with the degree. If you want to go on to earn a Ph.D., it might be worth it to have that name recognition when you apply to programs next time around. Also -- and this has nothing to do with funding, really -- Philly is a great place to live.

I emailed them and got a response saying they're meeting today and will send decisions next week. I'm already 99% certain I'm going elsewhere, so it doesn't much matter to me at this point, but I wanted to share for others who are waiting.

Try StatCounter. I use it on some of my sites. It's free, invisible, and tells you how people are arriving at your site as well as what they downloaded.

I would also suggest looking at South Philly. It's not right next to campus, but if you stay relatively close to Broad Street, you can take the Broad Street line (subway) up to City Hall, then hop on the Market-Frankford line; Penn is just two stops from City Hall. I live in South Philly now, and assuming I accept my offer from Penn, I'll probably stay in the area. It's convenient, generally safe (though as with all of Philly, this changes in some areas block by block), affordable and has lots of character. You can get a three bedroom house with a yard for under $900 (sometimes much cheaper) if you keep an eye on the rental listings. Just be careful not to go too far west and end up in Point Breeze or Grays Ferry, which is not very nice or safe (though I hear it's starting to gentrify). I also have a bunch of friends who've been snapping up places in Fishtown for dirt cheap. It's further away, but you wouldn't have to change subway lines--it's a straight shot on the Market-Frankford. Fishtown isn't really my scene (perhaps because I haven't really explored it yet), but if your SO is an artist, you might want to check it out. There are lots of artists in the neighborhood. As for craigslist, I've rented multiple apartments in Philly using that site and have never had any problems. Also--and this goes for anyone in any city--I recommend using Google street view to check out potential properties/neighborhoods before looking in person. It'll give you a good idea of whether it's the kind of area you'd want to live in. Feel free to PM me with specific questions on Philly stuff. I've been here nine years and love the city, so I'm always good for a scoop.

I'm guessing that you're applying to master's programs, since you mentioned being there for two years. From my understanding, it's pretty unusual for master's students to be funded, especially full tuition remission + a stipend, and in the humanities to boot. I can't imagine them reacting favorably to you asking for more money. But then again, I'm in the social sciences and applied to Ph.D. programs, so this is sort of outside my realm.

Definitely helpful. Thank you!

Good point. I think I'd be equally happy teaching either. I'm not so worried about the teaching part, but more about the research part. Like, is someone going to say at some point down the road, "oh, you can't do that--what's that got to do with communication?" ("That" not really being my current interests so much as some nebulous, as-yet-unidentified future interest.) I guess that becomes less of an issue if all interactions among people can be framed as communication, which is what some of you seem to be pointing out (but correct me if I'm wrong here).

Thanks, everyone, for your insightful responses. This is all excellent food for thought. Keep it coming! Someone asked about whether I intend to go into academia. Yes, absolutely. That's my goal. I'm not sure which department I'd rather be in when I'm (I hope, anyway) a professor; that's sort of the point of this exercise, I guess. Where am I going to feel most at home, and free to pursue the research I want?

I'm in a kind of interesting situation, and I'm hoping some of the communication-oriented forumites can help me out. I've been accepted to several good programs that offer very different opportunities, and I'm trying to decide where to go. The sticky part of the issue is, I applied to all sociology programs except one--an excellent communication program where I was just accepted, and which part of me feels I'd be an idiot to turn down. I'm very familiar with the program and my opportunities there; I have less of a handle on my opportunities once I've graduated. A little about me: my background is actually in comm (BA in comm, MBA w/ marketing concentration, lots of work experience in various fields including PR, advertising and new media). My research interests are in gender and sexuality, especially identity formation, visibility, community/social networks and marginalization. I feel like I can tackle this research from a communication or sociology angle, but I'm wondering if sociology would really be preferable in the long run. I guess my question is, would I be limiting the sort of topics I can tackle down the road if I get a Ph.D. in communication rather than sociology? It seems like I can approach communication topics through a sociology lens fairly well, but I'm not sure if the reverse is true. Any thoughts on this?

I don't know... I think people will still report acceptances over time, but will be less inclined to report rejections. I mean, each acceptance is a victory, and people tend to want to share their victories. Most people probably get more rejections than acceptances, and may not bother reporting later rejections, once the novelty has worn off.

Actually, I do that a lot. But I don't necessarily go by what the coin says--I base my decision on my reaction to the coin toss. Silly, perhaps, but often useful as a quick and dirty way to tap into my gut feeling about something. I'm debating doing that with schools, too.

I haven't heard anything from them either. They seem to notify much later than other programs, based on results from previous years.

What about school A's location is so terrible? Is it unsafe, or boring, or is the weather crappy? Is it something you can deal with for a few years in order to get your degree without accumulating a ridiculous debt load? Everything I've ever heard/read says unequivocally NOT to go into debt for a humanities Ph.D. Just based on what you've said, I'd eliminate choice B based on the funding and the fact that you don't seem terribly excited about it. Call choice C. Ask about the package, as well as other opportunities for funding (grants/fellowships/scholarships you can apply for, adjuncting, etc.). Don't form an impression of the department as rigid or formal simply based on the lack of contact. Get to know the program a little, even if you can't do it in person. Contact the profs you're interested in working with, and maybe ask the DGS to put you in touch with a student or two for the inside scoop on life in the department. Then make your decision. Good luck!

Congratulations! That's awesome!

Thanks! And congrats to the other admits as well. Perhaps I'll see you this fall.

Not only that, but it looks good on your CV. Fellowships, scholarships, RA/TA, grants, etc. all show that someone in some position of power had faith in your abilities and work.

Yes, I do. I've been in contact with my potential advisor for two years (it's been a long process). I'm probably an outlier in that, though. I also have very specific work experience that was apparently of interest to them. I don't want to give too many details and out myself, but I think I just happened to have the right skill set/background at the right time--and an in with the right faculty member. Good luck if you reapply--next year might be the year you're a perfect fit!

That was me. I was told they got over 400 applications and accepted 20. The funding info I was given was consistent with what I'd found online. That's about all I know; I'm supposed to be getting a letter with more details soon. Good luck to everyone else waiting to hear back!

Sigh. I'm feeling prematurely bummed about this one, too.