coyabean

Yes. Sorry. :/

The above poster is correct. There may be a few questions specific to your statement or something outstanding on your application but it is mostly about why sociology and why Emory.

What normally happens is your application file is initiated by receiving an app and payment. What can happen is that you send your transcripts before that file is created. Most schools try to keep track of these floating docs until an app comes in but, as you can imagine, that gets tricky. I would suggest requesting transcripts the day you hit payment or send on the app.

Oh, noes, Robin!! It pains me so to see the folks I went through the cycle with on the boards being beaten down by the system. It hurts worse to be one of them. I hate these people. Well, ok, I don't hate them. I love my colleagues for the most part but the professors could kick rocks. My advisor was - surprise! - fired the week I started. Oh, they knew but did they tell me? Nope. That means no advisor, no mentorship, no political cover, no support with reading lists, figuring things out, nothing. No one else gives two shits of a care about my research. This prof was the only one. So, I talk about my idea to people who look at me like I'm an alien. I am busting my ass emailing, calling, and attending functions in hopes of connecting with someone who will be interested in at least TALKING to me. So, see, I understand. I just know that people as focused and excited and grounded as we were before this should be able to make this work some kind of way. They cannot be bigger and better than we are. They can't be. I refuse to believe it. I seriously doubt people hate you. Reach out more, find a few friends in any department, from any school, not even in school -- just find some people. I met some women the first week at a hyphenated american interest group on campus and were it not for them I think I would have packed up my shit and slept on a greyhound weeks ago. We can do this.

I ditto this. And never forget that punks who use sex as power in this way are your basic schoolyard bullies. If it is at all in your ability to do so, embarrass the hell out of them. The next time one of them says something tell him to whip out a ruler because you have size guidelines and he looks questionable. I mean just say something impeccably ruthless as casually as you please and walk off. Write down a grab bag of one liners before hand to keep in your pocket, metaphorically speaking. In addition to documenting and refusing to be cowed do not be afraid to be the greasy wheel. I despise that role, too, but I'm learning that there are times when, if people refuse to respect you, then having them fear you works just the same. I am so sorry this is happening. People are stupid, stupid, vapid, stupid vats of stupid. Does your campus have a womens' center? I'd make friends there or with any other allies across disciplines to help you cope.

I don't know if grad school kills it but living in Atlanta surely does! As does attending a school with very, very few minorities and/or students in your age group. ETA: As soon as I posted this I realized that I've just gotten home at around 2am from a b'day dinner at a swanky midtown jazz bar, a live music irish singalong and a night of debauchery with colleagues. So, dating might be slim but I am not hurting for socialization. You need it. A group of women I met at orientation and I have become great friends. A week or two can pass with no conversation and then one of us needs a break, sends an email and it's on! It's working out. It's a new kind of way to do relationships: we never, for instance, speak on the phone. But we all understand the day-to-day life we're leading and it isn't expected. So, it's good. And possible.

I am in a PhD program and do not have an undergrad degree in education or a teaching license. That is to say it is possible. The threshold for you will be showing familiarity with the language and theory of the field. That will require some reading on your part. Depending on your sub-discipline (educational psychology, urban ed, administration, etc.) I would start by googling syllabi of university classes with that focus. Read, or at least skim and supplement with articles, the major works you see repeated. Mirror the lexicon in your SOP and address, directly, why you are making the switch. You don't want the adcomm to have any lingering questions about your motivations or preparedness. Identify theoretical frameworks you want to pursue further, tie it to your tutoring experience, and then have an unbiased party read your SOP. Whatever questions they have? Rework the statement to address them. Good luck.

This is what I, too, am finding. I joke only half-heartedly that I am in the remedial PhD program. I mean what is a statistic? Really? It's picked up a bit towards the end of the semester but I finally figured out that the whole point of classes is to justify paying me a stipend to be here. The professors don't seem to particularly care about rigor so I guess the adage that if you are doing too well in class then you're doing grad school wrong has some merit. When I get bored I go to the library and randomly start pulling books and articles in my subject area. I am becoming a professional lyceum attendee. I'll attend anything on any subject in any department. I'll attend twice and early if there's food. I have to seek out stimulating conversation by any means necessary. I will say that it has been a bit disappointing to find that a doctoral program at a private elite school is nowhere near as...interesting as I'd hoped? But people are just people, I guess. And those of us who enjoy challenge of any kind are probably in the minority no matter the environment. I learn more in the grad school office and department computer lab from advanced students than I do in class. But, again, changing my perspective has made it more enjoyable. I just do what I need to do to contribute to class and spend the majority of time trying to make connections between coursework and my research to keep the classes relevant.

Those are smart, insightful questions. It is not at all improper to inquire about his or her expectations. I did the same thing and I think everyone appreciated it. It shows you are savvy about what success in grad school requires. A strong advisor relationship is central to that success for most students. People may have said your questions about department culture are not best directed at faculty because their perspective may not be compatible with the role you'll embody as a grad student, not that it is improper to ask. Faculty experiences of department culture can be so different from a grad students that it can be comical. It is still a good question. If nothing else you can get an idea of what kind of politics are played there that might get in the way, for example, of you building an effective committee. Asking to speak with graduate students, if available, is smart and acceptable (desirable, even). My program had grad students do almost all of our interview orientation for this very reason. Just be aware that no one is going to direct you to the bitter grad student. LOL You'll get department cheerleaders but even seeing their level of satisfaction is instructive. If they best they can find is the grad student who sued the department for discrimination? You know happy students are slim pickings. None of your questions sound improper. Remember that an inquisitive applicant is still, even this market, a pretty hot (ok, luke warm?) commodity. You have some power...at least until you sign the offer letter. Go with confidence.

Several people in my dept also got into TC and our experiences reflect this assessment. The most you'll get is 75% tuition remission although I've heard of offers at 0, 25%, ad 50% intervals. Columbia is notoriously stingy with funding as is NW and University of Chicago. The expectation is that you should be smart enough to trade on their name for outside funding. Just keep in mind the cost of living in NYC.

It depends upon your sub-discipline. Education is so broad and some areas have negative associations in academia. If you are far away from the "professional" track of teacher training then you can sell a research-intensive sub-discipline to Ford. Spencer is the biggie for our discipline. There isn't too much that is education-specific so, again, your sub-discipline matters greatly. If you're in ed psych look at psych funding, quantitative measurement look at data centers like IES, etc.

Did it, strongly recommend it. Like Medieval I took the approach of two professionals discussing a business matter with personal ramifications. So, they had some stake in it, too. Now, that may or may not be actually true but it put me in a good mental space for the conversation. Only the most sadistic academics like sweaty-palmed, terrified applicants. A little confidence can go a long way. As can good questions. I think the quality of your questions -- do they go beyond basics found on the website? are they insightful? do you have a commend of the language of the discipline? -- can leave the biggest positive impression. So few people ask anything intelligent in these things...or, so I've been told. LOL All of the people I talked with before applying made reference to that during the app cycle and even now people in my program talk about those conversations. So, it matters.

This and it's also a statistical thing. Schools want to know if you applied to peer schools where they know something about funding/politics/yield, etc. All of it can matter during final decisions. If they are the most prestigious school on your list they may take another look at your app to figure out why. If they are the lowest and funds are tight and they think you stand a chance elsewhere it's not unheard of for adcomms to take an applicant more likely to say yes. When in doubt leave it blank. During chats and interviews be vague. If pushed something about other schools prominent in your field but you prefer this school because they have XYZ should do it.

This. Make adcomms work hard for a reason to dismiss your app. Handing them a reason (not a low GPA/GRE which should be countered) to toss you that they maybe would not have come up with on their own is counterproductive.