NeckPocket

I lived in the neighborhood around CSULA in Alhambra, CA. The college doesn't have a college community in the neighborhood as most students are commuters, so there isn't a place I can point you to specifically. An attractive place to live is in and around Old Town, Pasadena. It's a roughly 20 minute drive away during regular traffic, but relatively close. If you leave early, the commute is an easy peasy 15 minute drive through nice neighborhoods. On the upside, you get to really enjoy Old Town Pasadena which is an absolute delight. There are cafes, creperies, restaurants, and outdoor lounging space everywhere. Here's a link to a bunch of photos: https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x80c2c37109a7bdeb%3A0x1c22086da4c04a6b!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipO4FJo2ABz2A97v5gLqZ3Es4OuPCLkLcGmqUgWI%3Dw284-h160-k-no!5sold town pasadena - Google Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipO2j_CbpFFkY3YOmtDuU2PLp9itBlHGnRcXNqlB&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjDobeMjLjvAhWMGDQIHVj3AY8QoiowHHoECDQQAw The neighborhood has a lot of good shopping, dining, and night life options. If you live near Windrose Apartments (271 E Bellevue Dr, Pasadena, CA 91101), you'll be within 3 blocks of a Trader Joe's and a block away from Whole Foods. The Old Town strip will be less than a ten minute walk away. If that is too far or a little rich for your blood, living near Garfield and Main in Alhambra is a nice option too. A lot of good ethnic and hipster food options. It's more of a suburb, but it's nice too. If you're really into a hipster lifestyle, check out Highland Park, specifically York Blvd. The neighborhood appears rougher, but it's just as safe as any other place in LA, with a lot off-the-wall to shop and dine. It's probably the furthest from CSU LA compared to Old Town and Alhambra, but it's likely the cheaper option.

I was told I would receive an email today about my admission, but there's nothing in my inbox. Sorry to get all of your hopes up that you'd receive a decision, I'm just as disappointed as all of you.

Just emailed a guy on the admissions committee at USC. He said decisions are being sent out today. Wishing the best for you!

Just want to commiserate with the person who had no offers. I received another rejection. I've received all rejections in sociology so far, and I'm waiting to hear back from 3 more programs, but I'm not optimistic at this point. I wasn't even referred to the master's program at a medium-ranked school, which I thought would be the minimum of my luck. It's fairly distressing having so many rejections and minimum optimism. When I look back at my academic record, yes there are blemishes, but I've worked my ass off to overcome them. I had to invest tremendous emotional and intellectual energy to get to where I am. I am an Iraq war veteran with severe PTSD and numerous physical and neurological disabilities from being caught in bomb blasts. I sought therapists, took excellent care of myself, received the right medicines, and generally really worked on myself to overcome my disabilities. I also cultivated professional relationships, and earned good LoRs. Now I wonder, if I worked this hard but didn't get in, what was it all for? I could've coasted to finish my degree without all the stress of being #1 in my classes. And while I shouldn't be mad at them, I can't help feel a little betrayed by all my professors who said that I should apply to programs because they think I'm made of the right stuff. I take solace in the fact that I still have options, like paying for a master's degree in the field and reapply for a Ph.D. program down the road. I even have an interview for a master's at an Ivy League for a somewhat unrelated field, which I feel good about. But still, the bus for the Ph.D. is passing by my stop and I don't have the fare to get on.

Here in California, we have another system of of universities called the "California State University" (or Cal States for short) as opposed to the "University of California" system (UC). They're more numerous than UCs actually. They're teaching oriented, rather than research oriented, thus they do not grant Ph.D.s. On the other hand, they do grant masters degrees. They tend to place people in good institutions too, for a good price. My local Cal State has placed people in Ivy Leagues and Stanford, and UC's look at Cal State applicants favorably. From what I gather, the quality of education is on par with their UC counterparts. You can do a thesis, take an exam, and you are mentored by a faculty of Ph.D.s. Even though the schools are teaching focused, the professors still research and publish as a requirement for tenure. Thus every CalState has its own research strengths and you're likely to find a professor and school that teachers what you're interested in. They're pretty accessible too. I called a few professors at a few CalStates and was able to get a zoom call within a couple of days. Hopefully this is a good option for those of you who want to live the California dream but can't quite get into the UC yet.

I haven't heard a thing from them, and it seems quite a few people are waiting on them as well, so I'm presuming not.

I was rejected after the 2nd or 3rd wave of rejections. Not saying you should have unwarranted hope, but you're not out of the game yet either.

Nothing from Riverside, or any of the UC's except for Berkeley on my end. Sluggerotoole, your profile says you're from the UK. Is that current? And have you had a chance to visit Riverside? It's a great program, but the neighborhood and community is far from what people consider California living.

I saw that UC Irvine just sent out a round of rejections. And a few weeks ago, they sent out a round of acceptances. I haven't heard anything about me being accepted, rejected, or waitlisted. Anyone in the same boat as I am? And any inkling as to what our status could be?

Good luck with your interview at Berkeley! You've got one interview in your back pocket, so you have a bit of an idea of how it'll go.

Thank you so much! It's a huge relief to get into a good, reputable program.

My call was yesterday, and it was the person in charge of my particular specialization. Judging by how informal and relaxed the phone call was, it did not seem like it was a usual thing for him/her (don't want to give this person away). So I wouldn't worry if you don't get a phone call because I doubt other people received phone calls too.

Just thought I'd report a data point for everyone. I interviewed for the documentary specialization at Columbia earlier this week. It went by well. It was very casual, but I was very stiff because I was very nervous! Despite that, it flowed, and they asked me a lot of casual questions (how old are your kids? would you move to NY?). They also asked 4 questions they give everyone. I would love to share the Q's, but I also don't want to give an unfair disadvantage to people who won't read this post. They seemed receptive to my unusual life experience. They did note that they tend to pick people who are artists with a minimum background in journalism, or journalist with a minimum background in art. I happen to be a little bit of both, so I hope I'm a good fit. In addition, I got a phone call from USC's specialized journalism in documentary filmmaking--a fellow who runs the program. He seemed super enthusiastic about my application because of my life experience. In his words, "I'm very happy you applied," and "You're in." He still has to run it by the committee, but he said he'd put in a very strong recommendation for me. I think that one is in the bag. A little background: I have some experience in public radio, a solid background in photography, with a lot of research exposure in my sociology undergraduate degree. I have a bad overall GPA (2.11) but my major and recent GPA is good (>3.8). Scored well on the GREs, which I reported to them (V: 75th percentile, Essay: 92nd percentile). The most interesting thing about my profile is that I'm an Iraq war veteran, and I'm very critical of that experience and what it says about America writ large. I have some Ph.D. programs I'm waiting to hear from, but I increasingly doubt that is that way I want to go...

I have heard nothing from the sociology programs I applied to, but I did hear from a global studies program at Irvine and the journalism program at Columbia. Rejected from Irvine, and interviewed at Columbia. My primary goal is to get my Ph.D. in sociology, but a master's in journalism is just as good, really, and much less enigmatic for most people.

I was thinking about why these schools are being so responsive and kind about our inquiries about the admissions decision timeline. I bet they get tons of inquiries a day from anxious students, so they must be annoyed! But I recently heard back from a university about a timeline, and they were incredibly gracious and patient with me. I realized that they are nice because if we are to be accepted, they don't want us to have a sour opinion of them from the get-go. It reflects really well on a department for them to be patient, and that may say something about how they treat their grad students. On a note that's not related to graduate school, I've been listening to Alicia Keys a lot lately. I grew up with her music, but never really paid attention. Then I watched a video of her playing live with John Mayer in Times Square and I was... blown... away. Also, I've been using the Nintendo Switch Ringfit to exercise. It's pretty fun!

Second on hearing nothing from Boston College. I am an excellent fit for their program, but I have a bad overall GPA. But that's pretty much my only blemish, while I have great other stats. Other programs I've applied to but have heard nothing from: UC Irvine (Sociology and Global Studies) UC Riverside UC Santa Cruz University of Chicago Cal Berkeley (Geography) Binghamton Columbia Journalism School USC Journalism School I thought I would hear back from somebody by now, but I'm hoping that this silence means my application is being seriously considered.

My application season isn't until Winter of 2014 for the following year, but I thought I'd post up my stats as an introduction: Mid-Level UC School Sociology Major, Certificate in Business, Economy & Organizations Statistics & International Studies Minors (Formerly Pre-Med, so a lot of coursework in Biology, so some of my social interests can be anthropological in nature) <2.5 GPA No GRE yet Extensive overseas experience as an Army medic, largely informs my perspective and research ideas No research under my belt, but I'm working on a couple papers Active in minority and military advocacy Interests include: Small group theory, Neo-institutionalism, Economic Sociology and Military Sociology (with small interests in gender, anthropology, race & ethnicity) Schools I am eyeballing: University of Maryland, College Park Harvard MIT Sloan School Columbia Cornell UCSF Stanford Berkeley Chicago UCSD UCLA Admittedly, my largest weakness is my GPA. It's extraordinarily low. A large part of it was the poor transition from Soldier to Scholar. I'm fairly confident that this year and my last year of school will reflect my true potential, as I've begun seeking appropriate treatment for my mental war wounds. Nonetheless, my GPA is a source of anxiety. I want to use my military experience as an overall strength: Having been on the front lines of American foreign policy, I wanted to know what structural forces created the common behavior among troops, the tribes of Iraq and if the Iraqi economy will become robust again. This last part is particularly interesting because I want to apply Sociological understanding to Economics (if I had enough time, I would probably pursue a third minor in Econ! I'll have to settle with some intro courses.) Things I will be doing in the next year to strengthen my application: 1) Cultivating relations with individuals who will offer good LoRs 2) Study my ass off for the GRE 3) Start working out so I can build stamina for the GRE 4) Either have one of my research papers published or participate in another professor's research 5) Dig deep into the literature of schools I'm interested in

Geeze, I'm glad I'm applying for 2015! I better get my questions in before December 2014.

PM me as well. I'll be happy to help you with your writing sample! I don't have one myself, but I'll be applying in about a year.