turbodream

I'm going to Irvine, U Oregon, and Davis. Anyone else going to Oregon? I booked myself an extra day to explore Eugene and hang out before flying home.

Don't forget to breathe and be yourself.

I can claim Oregon. They sent me an email.

office hours will be held in the lodge!

Thanks for all the comments. Yes jacib... the "schools on the rise" thread is also very insightful.

accepted to Boulder this morning... stoked! 3 for 3 now. good luck everyone. is snowboard potential a legitimate reason to choose a grad program?

No... I just dig vegan restaurants. I'm more about nutrition and the ethics of consumption in general so I greatly appreciate veganism.

so... you'll know where we can grab some good vegan food after the open house?

What's the deal with grad school rankings? Is it really a very accurate measure of a programs strength? I've always looked at the US News rankings (probably because it is the first thing to come up on Google). What other resources do you use to gauge the strengths of programs? Thanks for your advice and insights.

accepted to UC Irvine! stoked! now i'm definitely going to have to make tough decisions.

Good questions! Thanks for asking! I imagine when I start my PhD program in the Fall I'll be needing to answers to these questions concisely and often. I might as well start practicing. Why sociology? - I am interested in examining the world's challenges from the perspective of society (how society creates problems to how society reacts and solves problems). Social theory allows us to piece together frameworks to envision critical social progress. Like Das said... it is a discipline intimately tied to social change and solutions. In addition, the most inspiring mentors I have worked with were mostly sociologists. I identified with their worldviews and ideological sensibilities so I figured it was a discipline I should take a long look at. Also, we are living in a time of EXTREME social change (i.e. globalization, internet, climate change); therefore, I believe that sociology promises a very interesting career at the least. Why not humanities? - I got my BA in English and, by the time I was done, I was bored with critiquing literature and other texts and wanted to apply the critical thinking skills and all the theory I learned to 'real life' topics. In other words... I used to be like: "look how this theory is present in yada yada text and it is relevant because blah blah blah" / And now I'm like: "look how that theory is relevant to so and so place due to something something and here is a pile of evidence to support that inference" Research fields: Political Sociology, Environmental Sociology, Economic Sociology, and Globalization Attachment to the field: Curious about why humans continue to create so many of their own problems. Also professional because I want to teach, and teaching/researching in sociology is the best fit for me.

Thanks for sharing the info! I did an MA at UCSB. It really is an amazing place to study. Good luck. I applied as well... maybe I'll find myself there for another few years! What are your research concentrations? So much excitement right now. I can't look away from my phone/email either!

Ya... it was a mass email message. Nothing about a visit weekend yet. Have you heard anything from them?

ChicagoHusker- Thanks. Good luck to you. Location is very important to me too. We can't get any snow in California anymore so I figured I'd just go to grad school in CO so my snowboard could finally see some action!

ChicagoHusker... I got the Boulder interview. It surprised me a bit because I didn't know they did interviews. It was an impersonal email requesting phone and skype contact info.

I also recieved an acceptance from Davis and am also awaiting more information on funding. I'm very stoked to get this offer. This is my second year applying. It's been hard work. Hopefully it is a sign that a few more are on the way! Good luck everyone!