Whatishistoryanyway

Take a look at this thread: These threads come up multiple times a month it seems. Sociology is no different than any other field in the humanities and social sciences when it comes to prestige, yet you don't see these popping up so much in the other sections of the message board. I'm not really sure what's being added to the discussion when it just seems like one side of the debate is convinced that noting much comes out of schools out of the top 20. Although, after scrolling back, I realized that not all of the debate was that one-dimensional. My edit in my last post was meant to tone down things a little bit. I didn't really mean to call anyone a clown, I just meant to say that some of the accusations could be offensive. Take a look at the OP in the link I just referenced for an example.

The trolls are still out feeding, huh? I don't see why this thread is still alive. It started off as a rant that warned others of the eternal hell one would face if attending a school that isn't in the top 20. Many folks countered it saying it was ridiculous and that this isn't the community for that type of mess. Now the conversation has evolved into one that claims only the faculty at top 20 publish worthy research. This is also absurd. I just don't get it. What is there to be gained from these conversations? We know prestige exist, but you have to go deeper than that. It seems like gilbert, thetruth, and a few others are the only ones obsessing over it. Wait until you hit the job market and realize only a handful of schools in the top 50 are hiring. And then, because of the same prestige issues you are trying to parrot to us, you only get an interview or two at a lower ranked, nonranked or small liberal arts school. Walk in with your nose in the air pretending you're better than the established scholars interviewing you and are automatically qualified for the tenure track job at middle-of-nowhere state university just because you finished up at Prestigious University the month before. Before you know it, you'll be sitting at home (your mom or SO's house) wondering why you're unemployed. A forum for prospective sociology grads is the last place I would have imagined having these types of threads every week. Take a look at the other forums and tell me if you see this. Everyday there are plenty of young sociologists on this forum trying to help others out. They're from all backgrounds--anywhere imaginable in the rankings. Yet everyday they have to sift through masked clowns claiming they're getting a worthless degree. edit: upon further review (I hadn't read all the posts), I'd like to retract some of my statements. Although I disagree with some of the sentiments, Gilbert seems to understand that many are perfectly fine with the outcomes that are associated with receiving a PhD at lower ranked universities. I still have no idea why we are debating some of these issues though.

Marx at the Margins by Kevin Anderson Planet of Slums Mike Davis GRE Study guides. Might as well improve that score. Those are really the only book projects I'm working on right now. Spending the rest of my time looking for work during my gap year and writing a few pieces (I'm considering whether or not I should start a blog or something. Just to, you know, continue working on my writings skills or something).

From what I've been told, there are selective schools all across the rankings. Because there are competitive programs all over the rankings, it's hard to classify schools as reach, safety, etc. And to give a little perspective, a friend of mine got into Chicago a few years back, but was rejected from a school ranked in the 40s and one in the 60s. Not all programs will be good fit for your research interests, so those are somewhat easy to eliminate. Because of my research interests, there is only one top20 school I'm considering. The majority of the schools I'd feel comfortable at are in the 30-60 range. So be careful in narrowing down schools. I only applied to three schools this past cycle because I was still narrowing things down. Don't be scared to take your time because it's a big decision.

I don't get what you're saying here. Roll said there are plenty of non top 20 folk publishing and participating in the discussion. Roll didn't say they were doing it at higher/better rates. Are you saying Roll's wrong? Because I think that would be a silly thing to say.

It looks like I may be taking a year off too. Although, I may find a way to take a class or two at my undgrad institution. I've been looking for a decent job for months now with no luck. So much effort into those online job applications and many don't even give you a response. Also, like hj said, maybe you should contact the dgs at one of those schools. I emailed one earlier today asking for feedback on my application. Hopefully I'll hear something soon! Anyway, looks like some of us will be at it again next year.

Oh ok! Well I still haven't heard anything in the past month. So perhaps I'm just at the tail end of the wait list. Sigh.

They've had several superstars over the years, but many are retired or passed on. It could be a great place to be, especially for a MA, but there just aren't too many big names there anymore, especially after Hobsbawm left. A professor I've worked with in undergrad got his degree in sociology from there. I considered it for a very long time, but they just don't offer enough funding so I finally decided against it.

Nevermind. Looks like someone has been admitted off the waitlist, according to the results page. I wonder if anyone else will be pulled from the list? I wonder if it's worth continuing to express interest to the department this close to the 15th?

Waiting to see if I get pulled off the waitlist. I've been told the odds of anyone being pulled are very low.

Thanks for acknowledging at least one thing said. We can continue to point out big name scholars from outside the top 25 (and 50) all night if you want. And the longer we do it, the further it proves the end result is about something more than the name on the degree. In addition to looking at the recent hires, browse around faculty lists at programs all over the country. Folks up and down the rankings land on their feet.

Shhhhh! It's only the beginning of April and I'm holding out hope for my Princeton application. Don't let them hear you say I could be happier at Santa Barbara!

Is it just me or do these pointless threads come up every week? Rankings, by definition, point out 'superiority' in terms of program quality. We get that. But to say anything lower than the top 25 is pointless and a waste of energy, well that's just absurd. And the contradictions in your post are abundant: "Though the job market is a crapshoot", "base your choice on the following","Anything below the top 25, and at worse the top 50.", etc. So is it a crapshoot or can can this get-rich-formula lead you to success? So is it 25 or 50? That's a huge difference. And it pretty much defeats the point of your post. If you want to see a discussion on this, go look in the silly "holy shit" thread. Take a look at programs around the country and see where their faculty comes from. Of course the top 25 dominate, but plenty of programs have tons of people who DIDN'T attend a top 25 school. To say that person A from Chicago is going to get a job over person B from Santa Cruz (or anywhere else) simply because of prestige is naive, especially if person A is busy doing a bunch of nothing while person B is producing high quality research. The sociologist I'm most interested in working with got his degree from New Mexico (#78 for the nuts who obsess with rankings). He's one of the premier minds in his field right now. Take that elitist mess somewhere else, yo. There are plenty of people using these message boards who don't attend top 25 universities just trying to lend a helping hand to future colleagues while being forced to read insulting posts such as these.

Haha. Nah, I'm an undergrad in history (but know and have worked with folks like Dahms and Shefner) so I don't think you'd know me. Going to do sociology in grad school, somewhere.... At least I hope.

My dreams have been shattered. Only one program in the top 20 fits my research interests and their admissions rate is ridiculous. I suppose these other schools are lying about their placement, eh? For a field that prides itself for welcoming people of all backgrounds and being open minded, politically, there seems to always be a stench of elitism around here.

Bewildered, sounds like you have a great start. Have you looked at UNC, Rutgers, or Duke? They may be good places to add to your list. In addition to that, I suggest maybe taking a few more Latin American history courses as well. Write a good paper for a Latin Americanist so you will have a good letter and possibly a writing sample. As far as familiarity with work goes you're not expected to be an expert already, but reading more definitely won't hurt you. It's not a realistic expectation for you to have read books of 15-20 scholars as you're applying. But on the other hand, having read the key works in your field is pretty much a must. Be knowledgable enough to know how their work relates to yours. An article or book chapter from each would be great. Also, find out what their future research plans entail (from the department website or their personal website).

Riverside, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco. But depending on your goals, you may be doing yourself a disservice by limiting yourself. Then again, California does seem to have almost every type of program you could be interested in. Good luck!

Oh cheer up! It looks like you're learning it from one of the best anyways.. Dahms.

Which ones would you be talking about here? Marx can't be defined as someone who simply believed the workers would rebel and overthrow the capitalists. That summary of Marx is too narrow and doesn't demonstrate his changing views (not to mention it's a little played out by anticommunists and should be avoided by sociologists). I would argue that his biggest 'prediction' did come true--capitalism would continue to adapt and revolutionize itself to ensure its existence. As commodity fetishism chipped away at human 'nature,' revolution would prove to be more and more difficult to achieve.

Wait lists will drive you crazy. Sigh.

Can anyone tell me when the UCSB visit is? I'm on the wait list. Looking to get off.

Looks like the OSU results are up. Rejected.

Nope. I'd even like a response saying I've been rejected at this point.. Or a wait list or something. Anything is better than nothing! :/

A guy I know was accepted into u of t for medieval history. I think it's for an MA, though. Not sure if that matters. I'll link him here and see what he says. Not sure if he's accepting or not.

Didn't know that. I wasn't paying much attention to their process since I didn't apply. But from the sound of it, maybe phdwannab should just chill until mid march. Quite a bit could happen before then.