jdsoc28

Thanks! I'm actually not interested in a research plan that would necessarily require extensive time in the City of Detroit (although I have no problem finding low cost places to stay, given that I'm a Michigan native and Detroit resident). And of course as you said plans can change. CUNY is attractive because of the emphasis on engagement and because NYC does provide a kind of unparalleled urban setting for the kind of issues I want to study. I'm actually interested in some of the data mining and analytics and networks research that is being done by Attewell, Romalewski and some others, particularly when combined with some legal data sets (my plan is I think a little more well defined than it might otherwise be, since I'm incorporating my experience with legal practice and research as an attorney, or at least plan to). .

I am not applying until the fall, but I am very interested in CUNY, both the EES-Geography track and sociology. I had an email exchange with John Mollenkopf, because I am interested in the work of the Center for Urban Research. Do you know if there is much interest in studying Detroit and the other emerging urban austerity regimes over there, or anyone in the urban research network working on it? Quite a bit going on in Michigan, certainly, and in CA, RI, DE, etc. I know that there is quite a bit of research into neoliberalism generally, but the focus is usually NY, from what I have seen (and which makes sense, but is not exactly what I am interested in focusing on).

As an attorney looking at graduate study, I would second manduke's advice. Your concern about employers is not really at issue, since most legal employers will not care. But you are looking at three years of additional study for a professional degree in a tight market, and one that requires an additional professional examination. And remember, each state has its own bar examination and the minimum period for reciprocity is three years. You are making a very significant commitment when you a) choose to go to law school in any particular place and choose to take the bar examination in a particular location. In recent years, a few states have made the bar examination more difficult, probably to erect barriers to entry. We've also seen that moral character and fitness committees are increasingly using debt as a basis for rejecting applications, in my opinion to make the market better for current attorneys. Now, I think that the legal practice will be fine in the long run because, unlike some other groups, lawyers can actually generate the demand for their services in ways that others cannot. That does not mean that the traditional models (particularly the large firm, hourly rate model) will not be changed, but there will be jobs out there if you make appropriate choices and sacrifices. But as manduke said, you will be much more competitive with a finance degree. I would add that you probably have a shot at doing well in the NY market and you would be extremely competitive in the DC market, which is one of the few markets that isn't experiencing the same awful crunch other states are coping with. Also remember that in law school you are ranked against other students and competing for spots on journals or to be in the top 10-25%. It is not much like graduate school. Also if you go to a highly ranked program your chances of landing an academic job would be markedly better with the actual Msc degree. Good luck!

What a great topic! I think that there is a lot to be said for looking at methodology. While I agree that the interdisciplinary shift has made the disciplines more open, particularly in terms of topics studied, there are historical reasons for the research methods that are favored in particular fields. Sociology relies heavily on statistics, even for people who plan to use "qualitative" methods (i.e., survey, comparative historical, etcetera). By contrast, economics has heavily favored formal analytical/mathematical modeling. Anthropology (the socio-cultural track) is less quantitative as a rule than sociology with an emphasis on ethnography and fieldwork, but to this outsider even the sociocultural track at least appears receptive to the incorporation of explicitly ecological and environmental science models. I am applying to programs beginning this fall, and this is an issue that I am sorting through. The "fit" does sometimes vary by program and/or institution; I could easily imagine myself falling into fields outside sociology if the sequence of study is flexible enough. The reality is that what I want to do also requires some legal training, which I already have, and beyond that I suspect that the subject, broadly conceived, could fall into either sociology or even another field. Some I can rule out based on prior training and experience. I know from the courses that I have taken in economics that a) it would require too much advanced mathematical training in before enrollment and the field has a focus that is too narrow and theoretically restrictive. I am ruling out political science because I do not think that it is broad enough to encompass subjects that will sustain my interest, and I am not wild about its methodology. Finally, my interests are at the intersection of sociology, law and economics, and in that particular intersection sociology is really the only viable discipline. Empirical analysis in the law is very (you might say extraordinarily) weak and the trajectory for studying the law in and of itself, beyond the JD, is unclear to say the least. I'm very familiar with "law and economics" and not at all interested in that direction. On the other hand, the political economy, economic sociology/organizations and collective movement traditions in sociology are a good fit for the subject matter.

Records for minors are usually sealed, but "minors" usually refers to people 17 or under, and "minor" for purpose of an MIP is under 21, and thus no sealing under juvenile records. Moreover, thank to Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other lobbies the state laws on sealing for any alcohol or drug related offenses are usually pretty bad, particularly if it is in any way connected to a vehicle (even if not an operating offense). The law on sealing and age eligibility also varies across jurisdictions. Honestly, I doubt that graduate schools blink at MIP charges, but a plea of no contest is equivalent to a guilty plea for the purposes that are relevant here (NC usually just preserves your ability to defend a civil suit or addresses some other collateral consequence). I would assume that they want disclosure, and I would also assume that you are likely to get into more trouble if you do not disclose. Actually, one would think an MFA program might actually consider it an advantage. Not everyone has been arrested, after all. And I had friends with DUI and similar misdemeanor controlled substance convictions in law school, and they're far more likely to hold it against you in those applications.

This is not legal advice, but I am a lawyer. What kind of program are you applying to? If you need to obtain licensing after graduation you could be in serious trouble if your answers to the application diverge from the answers you provide to the licensing board, and failure to be honest is almost always grounds for denial. Additionally, you cannot reasonably rely upon a single database report, particularly when you know that you were arrested for the violation at the time. If you did not enter a plea of guilty or its equivalent, it doesn't sound like there would be any problem with your response since the question calls for convictions premised upon guilt, which would not include civil infractions. However, the question that you provided does reference "first offender status," which presumably refers to Georgia. According to the Georgia Justice Project, if you received first offender status your criminal history would not show up on a state database search, and it is not clear that the database search that you entered was for Georgia or another state. Additionally, the question requires disclosure of "dead docketed" charges, which based on a very simple google search might encompass any charge that was diverted by the prosecutor upon agreement with defense counsel and the approval of the court, although it might be limited to felony prosecutions so that would not encompass a minor in possession charge. If you received a pretrial diversion of some sort without any entry of any plea, you wouldn't need to respond in the affirmative the way that I read that question. In any event, it might very well depend on how your case was resolved, and where. You cannot simply rely on the absence of a database entry. They're notoriously bad and subject to human error, and I've had clients with no records suddenly discover that there was an erroneous conviction entry or vice versa. If they have a different system and something comes up (although I doubt that they run them for all applicants), you might be denied on the basis of a materially misleading application. Additionally, there are sometimes criminal penalties associated with submitting false applications and documents, particularly to state agencies or entities. Just FYI. Good luck with your applications.

Thanks. I have looked at CUNY, too; I'm a big fan of Frances Fox Piven's work on social welfare policy and collective action. And I have also read David Harvey, although he's in the history department and not sociology. Do you know if there is any collaboration with the law school over there? I see that there is a lot of interdisciplinary work with some of the other departments, including Social Work, but sociology is not listed. Of course it also looks like the graduate center draws on a number of other campuses. My primary concern with NY, Chicago and anything on the coasts generally is high COL. That being said, New York experienced a fiscal crisis that I would like to use in my research and the resources are handy, and Bridgeport isn't too far away, either.

I realize that this is a bit early and there are people waiting on admissions decisions (and good luck to those who are), but I'm in the midst of preparing to apply in the next cycle and I wanted to get some advice early on. I've lurked quite a bit, but have yet to post. Here's the deal: Like many applicants, I did not major in sociology. In fact my major was Political Theory and my related area (equivalent to a minor) was economics. Still, I took a number of courses that were cross-listed with sociology and/or social policy, including my senior seminar, and I'm familiar with the field. The bad news: undergraduate cumulative GPA is not good, a 3.37. The last two years is 3.4, major and minor combined is 3.7. This includes an Econ GPA of 3.58 and a Public Affairs/Policy/Political Theory GPA of something a little higher, 3.7-3.8. I also took a statistics course designed for social and biological science majors and did OK. And I have an intermediate reading level in a scholarly modern language. So there's that. That said, I am not really counting much on the undergrad GPA, because a) I'll have been out of undergrad for about a decade by the time I start any program and I went to Tier II law school and did much better (the GPA is low by non-law standards but my class rank is top 15%), I served as a research assistant for a relatively high profile professor, I was on a competitive law journal and completed a "publishable quality" article, and I've been a practicing attorney for a number of years. And it just so happens that what I want to study and research dovetails nicely with my practice and my past academic experience in the social sciences. In this area I have considerable experience and can point to fairly high profile impact litigation experience (i.e., social justice oriented). I also am pretty involved with social justice organizations and sit on two nonprofit boards, one of which is dedicated to providing legal services to the poor and is heavily engaged in social welfare policy reform. I have not taken the GRE but I will be taking it in May (already scheduled), and I did purchase an online preparation course. I did OK on the LSAT, scoring in the low 80 percentile range. I have researched programs and the ideal setting would be urban and/or have plenty of economic sociologists and urbanists, particularly people with interest and training in political economy and/or law. My partner would prefer that I not drag him to the ends of the earth so I'm probably going to need to rule out some locations (i.e., the South and probably the Southwest). I am more concerned about fit than anything else, although I also want to study at a department that has a good chance at placement. I am not as concerned about academic placement versus research or applied, particularly since I would like to use my law degree and license in the future. The "praxis" option is one of the reasons that I find sociology so appealing. For reasons personal and professional (namely, the urban financial crisis), Michigan is the ideal location so my top choice is University of Michigan, which I know will be next to impossible. That being said, there is a faculty member there I am reading right now and I think that we would be a good fit. I also considering Michigan State University as a safety in-state choice because they have a number of urban studies resources, although I am concerned about their ability to provide funding and their placement rate. Beyond that, I am looking at (in no particular order) Temple University (urban specialization is a major consideration here but similar concerns to MSU and they have no placement data), University of Pennsylvania (same plus faculty interests), UC-Irvine (law), UC-Davis (law particularly Fred Block), U-Wisc (law and economic sociology), Northwestern (law and economic sociology), Columbia, NYU and UChicago (primarily for urban settings and crossover with law on all three of those), Yale, Brown and Cornell. The latter three all have individuals and research centers that I think would fit well. Am I out of my mind and need to scale back? Any advice on what I should do to improve my chances? Advice on who to reach out to, when and how to reach out to them? All advice appreciated. Thanks!