c11m07
-
Posts
52 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by c11m07
-
-
55 minutes ago, meowcow said:
Care to share what method of communication they used (email, phone, mail, etc)? Thanks!! They are one of the last ones I am waiting to hear from so any info is better than no info
I was also waitlisted by BC-- received an email this morning explaining that I was on the wait list for the PhD, what the funding would be if I got off it, an invite for visit day, and that I would definitely be admitted to the (unfunded) master's program if I didn't get off the PhD waitlist.
-
3 hours ago, kelris said:
Wisco is a great program, you should be through the moon to be accepted here especially based on your interests. Nice job here. MI, NW, Stan and Prin are all comparably ranked as Wisco...Keep in mind that acceptance is largely about fit once you make it past hard thresholds like GPA and GRE, which you clearly were capable of since you were accepted into a top program (wisco). Sometimes the committees know more than we know about ourselves. No committee is going to admit you into a program that cannot ultimately support your trajectory. I would be in touch with Wisco as soon as possible, with a cheery and grateful disposition. You are very lucky. Madison is a great town to spend 5 years in, as icing on ze cake.
Maybe this didn't come through in my original post since I'd very freshly been rejected from 4 schools and was accepted to Wisconsin weeks ago, but I am indeed thrilled to be admitted to Wisconsin. Feels a little like I'm being chastised for being ungrateful, but perhaps I'm misreading your tone-- easy to do with just text.
I'm sure I'd be happy there-- I've done my research into the program and city. I was just seeking people's perceptions of Wisconsin vs. Penn.
Anyway, thanks for your input. I agree-- it seems like a great program.
-
I've received 4 rejections in the past 24ish hours (Michigan, Northwestern, Stanford, and Princeton-- ouch), but I'm starting to have a clearer sense of things now with the field narrowed. I have 3 offers plus one wait list-- I'm ultimately considering Wisconsin-Madison, where I know I'm accepted/funded but not sure of the funding package yet, and weighing whether I'd attend Penn if I were to get off the wait list there (if they are able to make me an offer, they've outlined the funding package, which is very competitive). Broadly speaking, my interests are gender, sexuality, family, and adolescence. I'm interested in qualitative and mixed methods.
I am well aware that I might not get off the wait list and then my choice would be made for me (I was on two wait lists last year and didn't get off either), but I don't want to wait until the last minute to think through the possibilities. So with that significant and humbling caveat-- any thoughts on comparing these two programs? Just interested in hearing others' thoughts on this.
-
5 hours ago, suisui said:
Hi, if you happen to be on the wait list at UConn, I just declined my offer there yesterday and they should be able to extend this offer to those waitlisted. Thought this information might help.
It's worth noting that this (usually) isn't how waitlists work. There are a certain number of offers-- say 20 offers aiming for a cohort of 10. So people wouldn't be getting off the waitlist unless there are more than 10 people who don't accept the offer (in this hypothetical scenario). That being said, I am not familiar with the program at UConn. However, because there are a number of moving pieces (rather than one person declines, one person gets off the waitlist), it's not unusual not to hear about getting off of a waitlist until late March/mid April.
-
22 hours ago, zipzipzip said:
On the results page it looks like there have been two acceptances, many rejections, and two waitlist notifications from Stanford already. Has anyone contacted the department?
Anyone else still waiting to hear from Stanford?
Sent you a message but posting here in case anyone else is in the same boat as us:
I emailed them on the 13th in the afternoon. No response yet.
-
11 minutes ago, inooradd said:
What types of cons are there? I imagine if you were considerate about it, it could either do nothing or benefit you. For example, I am dissatisfied with my mediocre GRE scores and, since I feel they are doing more a disservice than good, contacted a few universities to review my application regardless of the scores (e.g. GRE cut off numbers) because I have YEARS of grad school and research experience . I cant imagine they would give your application more negative weight because of this request.
If you're interested in different perspectives about this, take a look at the discussion here. It can be interesting how people fall on different sides of this issue: https://www.quora.com/How-does-contacting-a-professor-before-applying-factor-into-graduate-admissions
I agree with your inclination that it wouldn't give your application significant negative weight in general (unless the email sent was remarkably offensive in some way I guess!), but for me a large part of it was my own pros/cons-- I knew that a generic email was oftentimes seen as annoying, I was scrambling to get my apps in and wanted to dedicate myself to polishing them, and I purposefully picked programs that were a good fit for my interests such that there were 3-5 professors per school that I could see myself working with (so it was less important that one or two professors in particular be available to work with). If you're applying to a small department or you have uncommon research interests or you have your heart set on working with a specific individual, then I think in those cases you have more of a reason to email. Again, I don't think it damages an applicant's chances, but for me I ultimately decided to try to really focus on individualizing my SOP for each school instead.
-
3 minutes ago, WorldPeaceMaker2010 said:
Did you apply there again this cycle? If so, have you heard anything?
I chose to stay away from the four schools I applied to last cycle. There were better fits out there for me once I decided that I was willing to leave New England. Also, I got my undergrad across town (Amherst College), and I decided that I needed a fresh start, which factored into my decision not to reapply. It is early for them still, so I'd try to wait it out, but if time goes by and you're looking to reach out, Millie Thayer was always quick to respond and patient with my requests for information.
-
3 minutes ago, soci said:
Did anyone contact a POI at Princeton during the admissions process? Wondering if not contacting anyone will affect my chances (assuming they haven't sent out all their acceptances already)
I didn't contact anyone (and I haven't heard anything yet). I've read a lot of different perspectives about the pros and cons of reaching out ahead of time, and ultimately I decided not to do so (though I've regretted it off and on since sending in my apps).
-
4 minutes ago, WorldPeaceMaker2010 said:
Do you know how many people got off the waitlist?
I'm not sure if anyone got off of the waitlist. They were very transparent and communicative about the process and their strategy, and essentially they kept saying that they didn't know how many people they were going to be able to accept if any... and then I received an email on April 15th from the DGS saying "I’m writing to you as someone on the UMass wait list to let you know that, unfortunately, we have filled our 2016 cohort and are not able to accept any more students for the coming year. I’m sorry to bring what may be disappointing news, but wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors." It was a generic email that seemed like it might have been sent to all who were waitlisted, but perhaps I'm wrong about that.
-
1 hour ago, shur42 said:
One of the state schools I applied to explicitly told applicants to share their other offers, because they have multiple ways to match funding you were offered elsewhere (additional fellowships and such). So I'd suggest emailing the program at the state school, telling that you are very interested in attending, but you got this other offer and are currently struggling to decide because of the funding.
Thanks for this insight. I'm currently wrestling with a similar situation, and my knee jerk reaction is to say that it's inappropriate to ask for more, but I think that says more about my own socialization... really it's not inappropriate to advocate for yourself if you make sure the way that you ask is carefully considered/intentional.
-
I have been remarkably zen the last week or two, but not knowing about Stanford is getting to me. I see two acceptances by phone Jan 30th/31st (when they don't usually notify by phone), 11 rejections Feb 2nd/3rd, two waitlists Feb 6th/7th... and I've heard nothing. They usually send their notifications out all at once in previous years anyway. I was thinking maybe I'm on an unofficial waitlist, but there's an official waitlist, so that seems unlikely. And then I start to get my hopes up because there were only two admits and they were by phone rather than their usual email... but I can't imagine they'd be sitting on a batch of acceptances since rejections went out 10 days ago. (And I've obsessively checked all of my spam, promotion, etc. folders, so I know it didn't slip by me.) I know it's pure conjecture, but any thoughts on this?
-
14 minutes ago, sociologicals said:
I’m sure each school handles waitlists differently, but I’ve heard that some schools replace whoever declined an offer with someone with similar interests. This is probably because they can’t have too many candidates who would like to study with one advisor, and also handles situations in which say only one spot opens up and advisors disagree on who should fill that spot. That said, if there is a clearly strong candidate they may choose them over someone who has similar interests to the applicant who declined the offer.
Last year I was waitlisted at UMass Amherst and this was pretty much how they handled it-- they generally waited until they knew who had accepted their offer and then tried to round out the cohort. They explicitly told me that they looked not only at areas of research interest (not necessarily as specific as pairing you with an advisor, but just general areas of interest) but also at demographics. They were intentional about trying to enroll a cohort that was balanced based on gender, race, etc.
-
1 hour ago, sociologicals said:
Just for some context, I am also going into school with just my BA, and I graduated from a college that is not very prestigious. I took off three years doing unrelated work but spent about 6 months re-familiarizing myself with the literature before applying. I believe my SOP and LORs are the main reasons I was accepted. If you have strong LORs and can write strong essays, you may not need a MA/research position. But I'm sure both may be of help and can be rewarding.
Also, your undergrad faculty advisers may be able to give you the best advice since they are likely more aware of your strengths/weaknesses as an applicant.
I want to echo this experience as well. I don't have any formal research experience beyond coursework as an undergrad (no thesis, publications, etc.). Research experience is of course valuable, but if you're looking to strengthen your application for the next cycle, I think that your SOP is the place to focus your energy. I have no idea what your stats are, but if your GPA is decent and your GREs are above a certain threshold, so much of it comes down to fit, which of course is communicated in your SOP. After an unsuccessful season last year, I cast a wider net and applied to 12 schools, focusing on top notch schools that were the best fit for me (10 of the 12 schools I applied to are top 20 precisely because of what's been reiterated here about the importance of rank). The only real difference in my application is that I picked schools that were a better fit and I tried to be very clear and thoughtful about why each school in particular would be a good fit for me. I'd warn against trying to make your SOP "pop" too much, as that can come off as gimmicky. A thoughtful, detailed explanation of why you're excited about each program in particular as well as what you could bring to the department makes a big difference.
For my two cents, I would say it probably makes sense to rule out the school that's ranked in the 80s. But visit the school in the 20s, see if you'd be excited to go there after talking with faculty and current grad students, and investigate their placement record (which it sounds like you have been doing). My point is that I wouldn't write it off just yet, but at the same time you can apply next year with very different results if ultimately you aren't excited about the higher ranked program you've been accepted to. I think it's (unfortunately) hard to overstate the importance of rank, but I think it's a mistake to commit the next 5-8 years of your life to a program that you're lukewarm about.
-
24 minutes ago, Planner101 said:
Did Yale send out all of the offers? I saw the one post and the other about the "insiders' list" but I didn't see any denials thus I assume we were still waiting for an official response.
I think @csot was compiling a list of schools where no one (that we're aware of) has received an acceptance yet. I'm sure there are schools that may have sent out some acceptances but have yet to send out all of their offers, but this is a list of places where no one has been accepted yet.
As far as Yale goes, it seems like they've sent out their acceptances and the rejections will follow in a bit (they tend to send rejections several weeks after all of their acceptances... last year acceptances came in February and I wasn't officially rejected from Yale until March).
- Planner101 and csot
-
2
-
Anyone else still waiting on Stanford? I see a handful of rejections, a waitlist, and two acceptances by phone on the results board... and I've heard nothing.
-
13 minutes ago, jipario said:
Still reluctant to accept the no news is good news strategy on UCLA as someone said they've already accepted 31 people. Unless we are part of that 31 and they just mistyped our email addresses, I think we might be out of luck. There are so many of us without notifications and so few actual rejections on the board.
On checking the app status, I think it's done at a different portal (thus not the application portal). Googling UCLA grad app brings you to a different portal that allows you to check your status. It asks for a particular password that must not be the same one you used to apply with as mine doesn't work for that portal nor does requesting a new password.
UCLA's acceptances/rejections "waves" and Boston's blizzard are the only things standing between me and my decision!
I hear you. It's incredibly tough waiting and I understand not wanting to hold onto hope as things start not to look so good. I'll cross my fingers that you get some good news from Harvard soon!
As far as the app status, I was unaware of the other portal until maybe a week ago. When I did find it, I entered my email and then hit the "retrieve password" button and it sent it right to my email (still says no decision has been made). Not sure why the same isn't happening for you?
Edit: the password was a string of numbers and letters... not a password I chose.
-
19 minutes ago, jipario said:
I wonder what's up with UCLA. Didn't get an acceptance notification last month nor a rejection today. It, along with Harvard, is my top choice, so any info would be great!
Looking at the results board, UCLA notified acceptances and rejections in waves last year (for example, rejections range from the end of January until February 25th). I know that "no news is good news" doesn't do much to quell my anxiety, but I think there's some truth to it particularly in this instance (or at least "no news isn't definitive bad news" in this case).
Best of luck and here's hoping to some good news soon!
-
3 hours ago, WorldPeaceMaker2010 said:
Sweet, what program was that for?
I applied for the sociology phd program.
-
Just got a call from the DGS at Brandeis letting me know that I've been admitted with five years of funding! Very nice conversation. Invited to visit a grad seminar and meet with students/professors (there's no set visit day for all admits).
-
7 hours ago, montanem said:
After finally finishing my conclusion and intro to my thesis and sending it to my advisor (I topped 200 pages!) I decided to finally read something non poverty related. Naturally I chose the one book that would give anyone applying to grad school pause. Has anyone else read Inside Graduate Admissions: Merit, Diversity, and Faculty Gatekeeping? I made it 1/4 of the way through the book tonight and her findings reflect the confusion I've watched on this board. No one knows what these committees are looking for because it isn't consistent, none of them are the same...idk after seeing the discussion on here today I thought I'd share/suggest others looking for insight. The only thing she suggests helps are good GRE's even though they aren't a good predictor of success.
That sounds interesting-- I'll have to look into it. It can be unnerving to think about the nature of this process, but it really helps me not to take the rejections (as) personally. Of course it feels validating to get an acceptance, but a rejection doesn't say much about an applicant. Easier said than done to internalize this, but it helps to be reminded. Thanks!
-
3 hours ago, kris10mb said:
@csot - Thanks for the good vibes. I've resigned myself to taking another year off between my M.A. and Ph.D...it's not ideal, but it is what it is. I'm not a big believer in religion or a higher power but I do think that the universe unfolds as it should. It just wasn't meant to be for me this time around. But I have to believe that there is something bigger and better waiting for me and I just can't see it yet.
Next time around I'll try and cast a wider net than just four schools but as I paid for all of the applications/sending of GRE scores myself, I just couldn't afford to apply to more schools this time around on an adjunct salary.
I applied to four schools last year. Rejected by two, and waitlisted at two (including one that I considered sort of a "safety"-- as much as any programs can be considered a safety in this process). Ultimately, I didn't get off either wait list.
This year I applied to 12 schools. I cast a much wider net and when I allowed myself to disregard geography (I'd been looking right around New England exclusively last year... well, and Cornell). So far I have 2 acceptances, 1 rejection, and still waiting on 9 schools. I didn't change much in my application-- very slight edits to my SOP and writing sample and one different LOR because I couldn't get in touch with a retired professor. Both of the acceptances I have so far (Wisconsin-Madison and Minnesota) are much better fits and in general higher ranked programs than what I applied to last year. My point is this: I was absolutely devastated last year when I ended up with 4 rejections; now I am incredibly grateful that those schools didn't work out because I'm going to end up in a much better spot for me.
I think there's something to be said for trusting that things unfold as they should. Sending you positive vibes for the rest of this season, and if it doesn't work out as you'd first hoped, don't give up. Be kind to yourself and try not to be discouraged. This process can be incredibly arbitrary and you'll end up where you're meant to be.
-
1 hour ago, song95 said:
Brown admitted! With 5-year funding and first year fellowship!!
Anyone more familiar with Brown Sociology style? I heard that it's a small one.
BTW: Somebody know why I couldn't add my result into the result page? I am using IMAC and safari, I have also tried chrome. The verification code just doesn't show!
I can never add my results from safari on my macbook, so I use firefox. Not sure what's going on there, but it's not just you!
P.S. Congrats!!
-
5 minutes ago, sociologicals said:
Not all schools make it so obvious, but there's two parts of the admission process. Admission by department and then the official ok by the grad school. Many departments will provide you a letter saying you were recommended by the department for admissions and most people post those results on GC as an acceptance. Which in most cases it is. But it is possible that the GC will look at your scores and say they are too low and ultimately deny you. I've never heard of this. So I would say its pretty safe to say you're accepted and department will get in contact with you.
Technically though, you're not accepted until you receive an admissions offer by the graduate school of the university you are applying to.
Congrats!
Thanks! That all makes sense.
I guess I expected more formal communication before the website updated (even for an unofficial acceptance), so I'm second guessing myself and not celebrating just yet. But the procedure and timeline for each school (and even each year) of course varies.
Fingers crossed we all get some (official) good news before heading into the weekend!
-
45 minutes ago, theorynetworkculture said:
Noticed on the results page that a few folks heard back from Stanford and Wisconsin-Madison: still nothing for me so far. Anyone else experiencing the same?
I am still waiting on Stanford, too. Just logged in to the Wisconsin portal and it says the same as the poster on the results page-- the program has recommended me for admission, the grad school will review my file, refer to the page for updates. I mean-- that sounds like an acceptance, right?? Such a weird way to find out if it is. I only checked the portal because I saw the posts on the results page.
Fall 2017 Acceptances/Interviews/Rejections Thread
in Sociology Forum
Posted
So happy for you! Congrats!