Today12345

Olive_via First, I'm really sorry that you're having a hard time with grad school applications. Your post saddened me and I don't even know you. I'm a current PhD candidate and was on the admissions committee of my program this year so I think I have some general words of wisdom. It might also be useful to note that I applied to 10-12 programs and got admitted to only 1 of them even though I was generally competitive for most of them. While I applied to only the top 15 schools, graduate school is competitive regardless of the tier of school. I wonder if (1) you are applying to too few programs in (2) a particular geographical area. I noticed that all the programs you listed are mostly in NY or in the Northeast. It is possible that those programs are much more competitive because more people live in those places. If you do choose to apply again, I would suggest applying to more schools all across the country inasmuch as they are good fits for you. In the meantime, I know that there is not much I can say that can comfort you right now; it is difficult. However, I believe that every disappointment is indeed a blessing in disguise - perhaps those programs are wrong for you. Take this year to reflect on what you can do differently and apply again. I wish you luck!

Until the list is finalized, things may still move around. You never know.

Thank you. Were you an alternate? I wonder when they'll inform alternates about their final decision.

The deadline to accept was April 19.

Congratulations on being named an alternate! There is such a list; it's almost like a waitlist. Hopefully, some people decline the offer so that you can be selected. I know someone that received a fellowship after getting off an alternate list.

I'm in Sociology.

I received the award; this was my third try. I applied before starting grad school, during my first few months of grad school, and then at the beginning of my second year. A number of things changed. First, I changed my research focus. This was not because of the fellowship, but it may have helped, because this time around, I had a more focused research area grounded in theory as opposed to practice from my prior employment. Second, the third time around, I had done some preliminary work on my research proposal. It is possible that they want to see that the study can actually be conducted so that they reward folks that can show that they have begun work on it. I had access to a proposal by someone that received the Ford a few years ago and he had also already conducted some research on his topic. Hope this helps and I do encourage you to reapply. Do not be discouraged.

Double Shot, did you get Honorable Mention?

I was on a plane on my way back to the US from vacation overseas. As soon as we landed, I turned on my phone and there it was among 30+ new messages in my mailbox. It was a great moment.

Why don't you send both scores? Schools would generally take the highest score in each section. That way, you'd end up with 165V 160Q.

You could also skip it - I don't think it would hurt either way though.

Certain schools ask you to list these kinds of classes in addition to providing them with your transcript, which obviously includes those classes. You should list as many classes as permissible in the spaces provided. It's time consuming, but I'm guessing that they would like to see the classes listed on each application and not have to go through each applicant's transcript to find them.

You don't have to take my advise, but I respectfully disagree with the people that said that you should not apply to certain schools based on your GRE alone. If you have other things going for you (publications, presentations, outstanding GPA, strong SOP and LOR), then apply. Programs do look at applicants holistically and sociology programs would be more concerned about your verbal score, which isn't too bad. In this process, people are going to tell you want they think you should do. Think carefully before taking suggestions. Good luck!

I applied too - and waiting.

The supplemental data form becomes available after you have submitted your application. It's sort of like a second form that your submit.