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I didn't back-read in this thread, but I must add my two cents. I just invested over $1,000 in getting to two conferences, and a huge benefit that I had no idea would happen just happened. I applied to three universities, but in my SOP, I didn't mention any faculty/professors' names ... I have been kicking myself ever since for merely including my interests rather than people!!! I was going through the program for the conference where I'll be presenting in a few weeks. I'll be presenting during a mini conference within a larger conference, and the presiding member is none other than someone from one of the universities I applied to ... and she's the one I want to work with should I be accepted to that university's program!! She is going to hear me present my thesis research and everything!! I couldn't have asked for a better arrangement! So yes, even besides the manifest benefits, there are latent, unexpected benefits to going to conferences, even when it's hard to find funding or reimbursement!!

Yes!! I had 389 coding sheets, one for each newspaper article I coded. One day, my thesis advisor and I were talking things over at our weekly meeting, and she started writing down a few words ... and then we came up with how to turn complete chaos into beautiful organization. Our reaction to the breakthrough? We both just started laughing hysterically.

Thanks for letting me know, EngineerGrad! I've only seen those five minutes ... yes, that's enough to make me uneasy about the adcom process. I know it's just a movie, but still!

I've only started imagining the actual adcom meeting scenario because of some movie that was on the tv in the living room the other day. My gran was watching it, so the TV was on full blast so she could hear it properly. I only heard a bit of dialogue before she decided to mute it so that she could hear my mom talking to her. I don't know what the movie was called, but this undergrad adcom was slashing through applicants' red file folders left and right. Tina Fey was on the adcom. But, from what I could tell, Tina Fey actually saw an image of the applicant pop up as they were talking over their file, as if they were right there in the room with the adcom. Sometimes, Tina Fey felt sympathy and spoke up for them. I guess I imagine the adcom setting like that, and so I hope that I'm the type of applicant to not get slashed by the Tina Fey of the adcoms. Nothing nearly elaborate as OP's scenario.

you just made me melt into happiness!!! Lehigh is my number one choice. My research interests line up so perfectly with Dr. Lasker's, yet I failed to mention her name in my SOP and I've been kicking myself ever since. She has been an absolute pleasure to talk to on the phone as well when I had questions regarding the application process as well! I'm so sorry that I won't get to meet you in person if I end up going there! I visited the campus in October and felt instantly at home. No one was there because it was Fall break, but it was a wonderful experience. I'll definitely message you with questions about the program. You have made me SO excited!! Thank you so much for reaching out to me!! I was so giddily flustered that I forgot to say congratulations on your Rutgers interview!!!! Best of luck to you!!!

I always dreaded the FAFSA before I turned 24 because of one thing: my parents' tax information. They're separated now, but it always took them past March 15 to get their taxes done. This drove my FAFSA anxiety level sky-high! I'm assuming other prospective grad students or current grad students don't dig the FAFSA is because their parents may have done it for them throughout undergrad. So maybe, for them, it's like doing taxes for the first time (a bit intimidating at first, but so easy once you get the hang of it).

Thanks, OCD. I just submitted my FAFSA =) I must say, this is the second year I've been considered independent, and it's so painless when I don't have to provide my parents' info! It is a breeze now!

First of all, a HUGE congratulations, dysphoriablues!!! Second, Woah, deadline in mid-January? Gives me hope for my early January and mid-January deadlines!

Thanks for your advice, corrupteinnocenc! I will fill out the fafsa since my taxes are done!

Oh I am just praying they'll take me ... I had no idea how competitive it was until recently! I guess I was kinda just trying to put rank in the back of my mind until I got my applications finished. That is an excellent blog!! Dr. Cohen is AMAZING!!! Thank you for the link!! Congrats to you, curiouslyoptimistic!! Maleficent, I'm fortunate that no one here ever asks about hearing back. They are all wondering why I'm so worried about it, though. I am just praying I get accepted at one of these schools ... I do have these programs ranked, but if I get in to any of the three I've applied to, I will be elated!!

Hey there. I just did my taxes and am a seasoned FAFSA filler-outer. Five long years!!! I don't know if I should fill out my FAFSA, however, because I haven't been accepted or rejected anywhere yet. I do want to make the March 15th preferred submission date for full consideration of grants and loans though! Should I just put down all the schools I applied to on my FAFSA and cut as needed if I get rejected or get other funding? Thanks for you help!

I only applied to three. Of course I wanted to apply to more, but I can't. I have to stay close to home for my family right now. We live with and take care of my grandmother, and if they need me home in a moment's notice, I have to get here quickly. There were other schools that fit the distance qualification and even the "fit" qualification, but there were some snags: -I had three other programs in mind, but I talked with my thesis advisor and other professors, and they said not to. When a prof I trust just shakes their head as soon as they hear the name and gives me good reasons because they have insider info, I will not apply there. -Two others that were kind of nearby just weren't the right fit. Incredibly quantitative and demography-based. I do have a strong quant side in sociology, but demography isn't what I want to go to school for. -Finally, one of the programs I sent my GRE scores to actually closed last year, but they didn't update their website. Huge bummer. And now I have a list of three that I am content with. I just hope one of them will have me.

Congrats, curiouslyoptimistic!!!!

Pinooysoc, you are obviously exhausted and likely want to explode with frustration. It's so important to express your emotions; just let the frustration and the sadness exist and flow for now. That being said, know that you don't know what Cornell, UMD, Berkeley, UoT, and McGill think of you yet. This exhaustion and persistence isn't a sign that you're a weak candidate; it just shows the intense passion you have for sociology and academia. I don't even care about your stats. THAT is what makes you a fantastic candidate in my book. Hang in there, friend. Let yourself feel, and we'll be here to lift you up.

I want to stay so that I can support those going through the application process!! I also hope to frequent the graduate student forums.

I do pretty well at all-nighters, but I would definitely have more of them when I didn't have a roommate. I started at a community college, so I was a commuter student. So many all-nighters during those three years!! When I transferred to a four-year school to finish my bachelors degree, I didn't have a roommate, and the university told me I had to move in with someone or buy out the second half of my room. So ... I bought out the other half of my dorm room with some of my savings because I had to start my GPA over again and knew I probably couldn't study well into the night if a roommate were there. That semester was AWESOME for all-nighters! For the next year, I had the greatest roommate ever who slept like a rock. People could be yelling right there in the room and she wouldn't wake up. Nevertheless, I was paranoid about waking her, so there were far fewer all-nighters during that time. Those were also my two toughest semesters of undergrad!!! So, I guess I love pulling all nighters when I don't have a roommate ... all-nighters just give me a whole new kind of energy, and I just feel so productive. I am much more hopeless when I have to pull myself out of bed early in the morning!!

Congratulations to everyone today!! From what I've researched (from reading through the acceptance/waitlist/interview/rejection threads from the past two years and going through the results search records), I MIGHT just be hearing from Maryland sometime soon if I'm lucky!!!!!! However, there's no way to know if their deadlines, number of applicants, and admissions committee are the same or similar from year to year!

Needed to post this one from my mom: Me: "Out of about 220 applicants, they only admit 10-20" Mom: "You're gonna get in. You're gonna get in somewhere." Me: "Maybe .. I mean it's not like I applied to Stanford or Princeton or some place really highly ranked." Mom: "You deserve to go to a place like that!!" I. love. my. mom. =)

My feet don't sweat much at all, but I still change them every day. I've worked at a brand-name retailer for nearly six years, and I can get nine pairs of colorful socks with little designs on them for about $5. Now, some of you might be tempted to say "I can get 20 pairs for $1!" or something. However, I really like colorful socks ... and they're most readily accessible through my place of employment. Some women go for shoes, while I go for socks. It's more of a treat thing; I don't buy them often at all. I also thought this thread said "refuse" instead of "reuse."

Right here!! GED class of 2007 representing!!!!! Community college class of 2011!! I'm also a non-traditional student I agree with everything up to the last couple sentences. Has coming up from the bottom made me eternally grateful to just be able to apply to grad school? Yes, of course! I can't think of myself as better than those with traditional backgrounds, however. Sure, there are kids who have had everything handed to them, access to extra resources such as tutors and SAT prep classes (never took the SATs, myself), and things like that make me angry; if a score becomes based on access to resources rather than ability, then I get upset. However, My mom was third in her class in high school. Very traditional background. With the world her oyster, she chose to attend community college and commute to nearby PSU Harrisburg for her bachelors degree because it was less expensive and so she could be home to take care of her grandmother. Even though I dropped out, she never saw herself as elite compared to me. I could get Fs as long as she knew I was trying my best. She went to college for business administration, and I'm going for sociology. She never saw it as a "soft field" or asked "What are you going to do with that?" like so many others did and still do ... So there are folks like my mom with a traditional background who aren't elitists. I've met non-traditional students who were extremely elitist! I do understand where you and trizzleyo are coming from though. Just thought I'd add my two cents =)

I applied to three. Because of my location restraint (I have to stay close to home), fit, and thesis advisor's advice, I was swiftly cut down to three. My GPA and GRE Verbal are stellar, but my GRE Quant score is a bit low, and I'm constantly fretting over how my personal statement wasn't exactly the most tailored to the programs. I didn't use a boiler plate SOP and made sure to include why I would be a good fit for their specific program (focus in gender, focus in applied sociology, etc.), but I didn't include professor names!! Granted, I only had two pages to work with ... oh well ... I'll see what comes of it!

It sounds bland, but certain music helps me study or write much better. My friend sent me a link a long time ago to some of his mother's music (she sings opera), and it is the only thing that truly calms me while working. I also can only write on paper tablets, not in notebooks. This is just because I'm left-handed.