rogue

Congrats! That's exciting. I'm new to soc too; it's nice how the field is open to those of us from different educational backgrounds.

Nope, just the ones that might potentially be more compelling than this one, which was already near the top of my wish list of schools. If I take another offer, I'll tell them right away. If I hear back from the others and I don't get in or if I get in but choose this school over them, I'll tell them ASAP. And you're welcome. Good luck!

Me too! Luckily, my job allows plenty of time for GradCafe.

Yay! Congrats Astronautka, risapiecees, and everyone else who's been getting good news! I feel like the floodgates are really going to open in the next week or so.

Philly is very gay friendly and there are tons of events for girls (mostly monthly parties; these currently include Stimulus, Scene, Code, OverTime, Any Questions, Ladies, and a few more I'm forgetting). It's also really convenient to NYC and DC if you need a change of pace for a weekend.

I asked for a couple of weeks. They replied that technically I had until 4/15, which I already knew. But I understand their situation, so I won't wait that long. Really, if your school is part of the Council of Graduate Schools, they shouldn't make you commit before 4/15. http://www.cgsnet.org/Default.aspx?tabid=201

No, don't contact the other schools. That's probably a really bad idea, for reasons expounded upon in numerous other threads. We're all tempted, but try to sit tight until you hear from them.

In my case it's because they have a limited amount of funding, and if I'm not going to take it, they want to offer it to someone else who's been admitted, before that person chooses to go elsewhere. I'm sure this happens in other programs. Sometimes it also has to do with the number of admits they give, and if you say no, someone on the wait list gets in. Again, they want to snag this other person before s/he commits to another school. It would be great if all schools had to issue all acceptances on the same day--say, March 1--and then everyone could compare their options and decide with full information. Of course, I guess that still wouldn't help with the trickle down funding and wait list stuff.

I talked to someone on the NYU ad comm this week, and this person said they're meeting next week. Now there's an acceptance posted on the results page. Based on my conversation with the committee member, I'm inclined to think it's bogus. Anyone want to claim it and share info?

Is that common--post-docs leading to TT positions? I didn't realize that. From what I've heard, it mostly seems like if you're not hired initially as TT, it's hard to become TT at that institution. Or maybe that just applies to adjuncts?

Technically, they're supposed to give you until April 15. I just had to ask for an extension from a program that wanted to know by March 1, and they were very understanding about it. You should just tell them you need more time in order to make an informed decision and that you'll notify them as soon as possible. I can't imagine a school rescinding an offer because you need more time to think about it, but maybe I'm wrong.

You should ask the school about this, as it varies. But many programs have additional funding you can apply for (like dissertation fellowships), or you get funded through a professor's grant, or you adjunct or whatever you have to do.

This. Also, you can just explain that you're not able to take time off from work (add that it's due to a big project/deadline/something, if you want), so it doesn't seem like you're not interested.

I went to my first visit day this week, and ended up settling on black skinny jeans and a black sweater and boots (not fancy ones; black lug sole snow/work boots). It was in NYC and it was snowing, so I wasn't going to dress up too much. I felt pretty perfectly dressed for the occasion. Some people were business casual and some had on blue jeans. I think once you're in, what you wear matters a bit less than if you were interviewing for admission.

Totally agree. I didn't have a suitable writing sample, so I had to do a research project and write a paper just to submit with my applications. The only problem was IRB approval for human subjects; since I'm not affiliated with a research institution, I didn't have access to an IRB and therefore had to frame my research so that it would be exempt.

I had a second job cleaning horse stalls last summer. It was awesome--I was totally buff from the physical labor, and there's nothing corporate about it. No pushpins, either. On the thread topic, I'm lucky in that I work in academia, so I'm fine with what I'm doing until fall. I'm probably a bit more slackerish as of late, though.

As far as LORs go, none of mine were from sociology professors--one was a communications prof, one was an accounting prof, and the third wasn't even a prof (I've been out of school for a while and was told it would behoove me to have a recent, though non-academic, LOR in the mix). I was shown two of the three letters, and they were stellar. I've gotten a couple of acceptances so far, so they must've done the trick, even if they were from outside the field. Just my two cents, but I wouldn't stress so much about that part of your app, as long as you have solid letters from someone in a position to evaluate your promise as a scholar.

You know what I always think when I see those lists of Ph.D. placements? How many others graduated from this program who aren't listed, and where are they? I'm not sure how to get that information, either. Most programs just point you to that page on their site when you ask about placement. I wish there was some big national database where you could see where everyone from everywhere ended up.

Or if you really don't want to name schools, but don't want to seem vague or haphazard, how about something along the lines of, "I applied to six programs that I found to be especially good fits for my research interests"?

I wouldn't call it mean, but I think this may also happen on occasion in academia. I remember reading somewhere (I wish I could remember where) about a guy who lied on his applications and someone caught it and posted it to some listserv so other adcoms would know. I think Princeton might've been the school that caught it and posted it, but I'm not sure. If I recall correctly, the guy then tried to sue for defamation or something. Does anyone else recall hearing about this?

I think having stuff written down makes you look organized and prepared, which are both good things.

This strikes me as really weird advice. It's hard enough to get in to graduate programs, let alone get hired as faculty. Why would anyone give up a chance to earn a Ph.D. in a program they "really, really love" on the off chance that there MIGHT be a tenure track faculty position open there when they go on the market years later? And especially considering how much competition there will be to even get an interview for that hypothetical position. It just doesn't make sense.

You have to ask. Talk to professors, department admins/coordinators, current students, etc. I went to my first open house for admitted students yesterday, and between all the folks there, I managed to get almost all of my questions (some of which came from this thread) answered.

I <3 this thread.

I completely agree. For all the money I paid, and all the time I spent on the application, take a minute and at least tell me I didn't get in, rather than making me check your website constantly. It doesn't even have to be a letter; an email would be fine. But no response? That's rude.