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pcs

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  1. pcs

    Deferring

    Chicago doesn't allow deferrals. I was hoping for the same thing last year. What they have you do is reactivate your application. There's no fee and you have to answer a couple of extra questions about your activities during the year you deferred. Obviously this guarantees nothing, but if they know you're very interested but can't attend this year (with good reason) you have a good shot. I was accepted again this year with the same funding as in the previous year. Again, no guarantees-- just my experience. If you can, keep in touch with a professor or two with similar interests to yours. Good luck with your decision.
  2. I've been through the same situation. Stacking is definitely an option, but no guarantee since the grad application process can be so seemingly random. If you manage to find out where you've been accepted before your partner goes on interviews, s/he can then hint during the interviews that s/he would be committed to ranking that program first,etc. As I understand it, it's not possible for a residency program to say yes or no during an interview, but if the applicant can make a strong case that they'd move to that location (i.e. my partner has been accepted to a phd program here) it can help. Unfortunately, most grad programs don't hand out acceptances/ rejections until after the residency match day in March, thus it is long after residency interviews take place in December/January. Another option is to try to get your applications in early in the hopes that your chosen programs don't wait until the very end to assess applicants. Unfortunately there's not really any good method to deal with the match. Make your applications as strong as possible so that you have a better chance of being accepted wherever your partner matches. Worst case scenario, apply again the following year after you know where your partner has matched.
  3. I've now been successfully through the grad application process twice (once for a masters, once for a phd). In both cases, I was switching fields and thus none of my recommenders were in the same field as the program to which I was applying. For the master's I had two academic letters and one from a woman who supervised me on an international volunteering project. For the PhD letters I had my master's thesis advisor and two profs with whom I'd taken several classes. With this group I had someone who could testify to my ability to produce quality graduate level work (the master's thesis), a prof who could discuss my knowledge of research methods, and a prof who could discuss my ability to think and write theoretically. In other words, if your strongest advocates are outside of your chosen field, choose them strategically. Have them be folks who can present a well rounded picture of you as a scholar. If your field or desired programs have an interdisciplinary bent, having letters from people outside your field may even be a strength.
  4. I went to Wesleyan for undergrad. Middletown is quite small. There are some decent restaurants (at least there were 5 years ago) but not much else. I lived off campus for part of my time there and if you are within walking distance of campus, you'll essentially be in very close proximity to undergrads. If you need a bit more quiet, you might want to look into some of the residential neighborhoods a bit further out from campus. I believe there is a house for international grad. students that's on campus. Essentially, Middletown is a small residential town. You won't find public transportation, so a bike or car is quite useful. It's pretty easy to catch a bus to New York City if you have friends there or want to have a change of scenery. There are many apartments near campus, but you may have to compete with undergrads for them. Home Ave. was the center of housing for upper level students. Juniors and Seniors typically live in free standing houses that are on the outskirts of campus. The University owns a bunch of houses surrounding the campus, but these are interspersed with the homes of Middletown residents. If you want a bit more of an urban environment, Hartford is about 20 minutes away. It's also pretty small-- definitely not like New York or Boston in terms of things to do. New Haven is about 30-40 minutes away and is a decent place for live music.
  5. I too struggled with rankings, promises of up and coming departments, etc. Although all these things are important and it's great to have particular faculty you're really excited about, you might want to consider a bit more about the program. Some programs set up a really close student/faculty mentorship, others provide a broader and more general structure. Consider how you best learn, the type of support you need to advance your research (e.g. a really hands-off advisor who's available when you really need her/him v. an advisor or committee who are constantly looking over your shoulder with encouragement/criticism). No matter what the ranking of the program or who is on the faculty, you need to be in a program that fits all of your needs-- academic and social. That said, a number of my academic mentors have been very clear in their advice to go to the highest ranked program possible. It all seems like a crapshoot. Follow your gut and work hard. Chances are you'll be fine.
  6. A draft may be a bit over the top-- but it's not a bad idea to have a central system for applications. Applicants could specify which schools they'd prefer (or even a region of the country, a city, etc). Schools listed or meeting an applicant's other criteria would be open to draft. Trouble is-- where/ how would such a system be managed? Regardless, it's better than scrambling to fix issues after transcripts etc. suddenly go missing and screw up an application.
  7. tmmcj-- I've heard from UConn. The director of graduate studies for sociology called me last week. She said she'd be away at a conference and so there might be a delay in sending the official letter. When did you submit your application? I'm not sure how they handle decisions (i.e. rolling basis, etc). For reference, I received an email letting my know that my application was being reviewed by the committe about one month prior to the phone call. If you've received a similar email, you can estimate when you might hear from them.
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