gingin6789

WOW, great news, jmu! I'll leave this post to bump the thread up so that others can see your post!

I have a feeling that thesis is going to really strengthen your application. Not only do you have an undergraduate thesis and, therefore, research experience, but the nature of your research is challenging in that you're doing interviews, and you're traveling to do these interviews. If your thesis is as awesome as it sounds, you'll really have an advantage. GRE math scores sound excellent, GRE verbal could use a bit of bulking up, but I started at that range of scores, too, and practice is what it took to get mine up. Your gpa does matter, but focus on what you can change most right now: GRE scores and your thesis. Those will shine very brightly!! And your gpa isn't terrible to begin with!! Best of luck! I'd write more, but I'm on my phone!

PHC!! got to hear her speak last spring, *swoon* was too nervous to speak with her afterwards... My thesis advisor wisely had her sign all of her books... She was going to bring just one, but PHC graciously told her to bring them all to be signed. She is a legend.

Roll, I believe Marx to be an honorary sociologist. He's the philosopher who can hang (as in hang with us. Don't want anyone to read that the wrong way, or I'm just over thinking my phrasing). As a sociology and philosopher double major in undergrad, I lovingly approve. And freaking Bourdieu. More like Bourdieu-tiful, am I right?? He's so amazing.

My friend was just pulled from the UConn waitlist with a fully funded offer of acceptance. They're giving her til the end of the month to make her decision. I hope this helps!

I think you're safe sending a thank you email, Gnome =) She'll appreciate it, I'm sure!! Hopefully the cycle doesn't continue until July =p

I don't really believe they should be called guilty pleasures because the label has the potential to stigmatize things that shouldn't really be stigmati---- --- Yeah, I'll stop. I'm not gonna try to dress this up. It's tiramisu gelato. Right before bed. Boom.

I keep running out of upvotes, but just know I'm throwing everyone a big party in the thread right now, complete with cookies and doughnuts! So excited to see where everyone is going!!

Brush your teeth at least twice a day, and floss your teeth at least once a day (especially if you drink coffee with any sugar!!). It'll save you major dental bills and TIME (you know, the time you won't have while in grad school). Oh, and if you're afraid of dental work, it will make things less painful. Example: While I brushed twice a day, I wasn't doing so thoroughly. I also wasn't flossing at all. It took a root canal to get my act together, and the root canal had to be done during the semester where I was taking three of my core courses for my undergraduate programs. If you also don't have dental insurance while in graduate school, brushing/flossing regularly will work to your benefit. I know it sounds so mundane, but dental health is often overlooked as part of overall health.

Environment, including location, was critical in making my decision. I need to stay as close as possible to home for family reasons! The university I'm attending is also just minutes from where my boyfriend's family lives. So, if something goes wrong (if I get ill or if something happens at home), I have "family" nearby! As for environment, I'm from a small, urban town with a steel mill, and my backyard is completely concrete. Green in seldom seen among the gray-scale landscape. The university I will be attending in the fall is also in a town with a (now-defunct) steel mill, and the town has houses that look like the ones in my own neighborhood. The campus itself, however, is on a mountain, and is filled with beautiful buildings and a rich landscape. So, I feel at home, but with more comforting greenery. =) It's a gorgeous campus. I'm elated to attend school there, and the environment is one of the reasons why. So, to answer your question, I'd much rather attend a rural school than an urban school! I've not seen enough urban schools to determine whether I would absolutely NOT attend there, though! A school with great professors and a great program located in the city might work for me. I'm straight from undergrad, and I've attended colleges in more rural environments (a community college and a four-year university).

I will chime in and also recommend tailoring your SOP! It is so easy and convenient to reuse the same SOP, but, retrospectively, I don't recommend this. I didn't use the same SOP, but I know I could've tailored mine better to each program. I only applied to three programs. Two programs only allowed two pages, and one program gave me a generous five page limit. I didn't take the opportunity to flesh out my SOP for that school, and my SOP was still only two pages. That being said, I will direct my next statement to people who have ALREADY submitted SOPs (they might read this thread during next application season. I know I was desperately digging through old threads for nuggets of reassurance): if you have not mentioned faculty or if you haven't flawlessly tailored your SOP super specifically, you have not shot yourself in the foot and you have not completely botched your chances! There is hope! (anecdotal evidence: I did end up getting in to two of the three places I've applied.) Take a deep breath; you're going to be ok!!

That... Thread title. Haha! I wasn't expecting this to be the topic. I was expecting it to be some kind of fun sociology thread. But this might be fun for some folks! I do try to avoid the instrumentalist mindset of "I'm in grad school to get a degree to get a job. Therefore, top 10 only." I'm not naive (well, maybe a bit.); I do know that rank matters! But there's so much more to consider in the decision making process than rank. I was steered away from some highly ranked programs due to instability in the department at this point in time, for example. Also, personal situations matter, but I mentioned more of that in the other rank thread. Thanks for the advice though! I know it comes from a good place in your heart, and that you're not trying to be insulting.

Glad I could help!! :-) I have to agree that 4.5 is a very decent writing score as well...

Here at home during the time before grad school? I go to the gym with my sister, and whenever she wants to go, I go. During grad school? I have no idea how I'll fit time in, but the university I'm attending *is* on a mountain, so that should help my legs, at least ...

oh my goodness, the wind map!!! <3 My boyfriend showed me that before (he's a meteorologist), and I'm so endlessly fascinated by it ...

I don't know much about your areas of interest, but I can say that your GRE scores look pretty darn solid, and your independent research projects should make excellent writing samples.

I ended up pouring my heart out over the phone to the DGS of the program I rejected because I did really love the program, and it was a very difficult choice! I'm glad email ended up working well for you! Congratulations on making your decision!!

I do understand that this poster (and the poster of the other thread) is trying to offer advice. I always appreciate advice. However, I'm thinking: 1. "Yes, I've heard this before. Rank matters, seniority of faculty matter, ranking in AOI matters." 2. "Why now, when applications have already been submitted and many folks have made their decisions?" Individuals' life situations must also be taken into account when choosing a program to attend. How "cutthroat" the program is must be taken into account. A lot more goes into a decision than rank, for me, at least. I'm not a robot sociology undergraduate, meaning one cannot simply take my test scores, GPA, and AOI, and say "Here is where is best for you," because they're only taking a fraction of my being as a student and as a person into account. I do feel a bit defensive only because I chose the program that is the best fit for me in my life situation (academic and personal), and being told that it's a waste of time really does feel like a punch to the gut rather than constructive advice, especially since I've been told by multiple people in the field that it's a good program for me. I do actually trust their word. (If they told me pigs could fly, then no, I wouldn't believe them. I would tell them to go home and get some rest because they've been working too much and have had too much coffee to drink.) My program is a terminal MA, and I'm going on for my PhD at another university that is a good fit. If it's in the top 20 - 50, that's wonderful! If not, I'm not going to say "no, thanks" to a program that is a perfect fit, but is #52 or something. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you for the advice, but a lot more than what you listed must be taken into account to ensure a brilliant student doesn't drop the program halfway through because it's not a good fit otherwise. Also, calling other programs a "waste of time" reads as an insult, and once folks take in that insult, they're not going to absorb the advice properly.

Talking about the weather to a meteorologist, however, will get you a few solid hours of conversation in at least! I usually bring wherever myself and the other person are into the conversation. At a party: "so where did you meet Judy?" at a conference: "so, how was the journey here?" on the first day of class: "I'm really excited for this Philosophy of Bacon course!" Philosophy of bacon is a made-up class because I'm hungry.

I have OCD. when my stress is related to obsessive thoughts, I don't have an appetite. When my stress is related to things that make sense (for instance, research for my thesis), I can have the tendency to eat more. I just find I eat more when I have less to do or if I'm at home all the time, like I am now. I've been keeping up at the gym, I have my "my fitness pal" app ready to go because I suck at being conscious of/keeping track of what I eat otherwise. At the end of today, I met my healthy eating goal for the day. Super pumped. Get upstairs to get ready for bed, see a bag of skittles my boyfriend got for me. Ate half the bag. Yepppp.

Glad to hear I'm not the only 24 year old sociologist without their ears pierced Oh you ended up getting your nose pierced?? How do you like it?? They tend to look pretty awesome :-)

You are a lucky one! I've had enough blood taken from me to feed an underprivileged vampire family for four years! (slight exaggeration)

Congrats to meowth and taco!! Enjoy that Florida weather!!

Those are very good scores! I don't think you need to retake the GRE!