Chris Bosh the Dinosaurman

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2014/03/10/methodology-best-social-sciences-and-humanities-schools-rankings My impression is that US news is the most standard/accepted ranking system. Its purely based on peer opinion. For this reason, it accurately measures the academic perception of programs. NRC is supposed to be more scientific/empirical in its ranking but its methodologies are inaccurate at best. Additionally, the historical ranking of a program is actually more important than the current ranking. For example, I decided between UNC and Penn State this spring. UNC has been considered a top 10 for the past 50 years. Penn State is considered an up and coming program that is probably perceived as a top 20 program currently. UNC has an advantage because its alumni teach at many of the top universities in the US. Penn State's best academic placement in the past 15 years is actually at UNC.

Keep in mind that the rank isn't a hard rank like with med schools and law schools. The historical perception of the program is more important than the current ranking because they produce better alumni networks. Also, I think that it is easier to categorize schools into particular perception rankings than actually ranking them. There are probably more than twenty schools that fit the description of "top" 20 program. As the last poster just said, don't apply to any programs you don't want to go to (or don't fit). For example... if you want to be a demographer, don't go to Stanford. If you want to do ethnographic research, don't go to Penn State. Also, try to see how you fit into the quantitive/qualitative/mixed methods focus of the department. Most departments will have some options/flexibility... however, in order to get the best experience you probably want to fit the department research methods training focus. Here are a few that I know. Quantitative: UNC, Penn State (almost purely quantitative), Washington Qualitative: Northwestern (I don't know much about this side)

Please do not overlook ranking or overall perception of a program's quality. The reputation of sociology graduate programs strongly effects your placement opportunities. Unfortunately, sociology is a very prestige/reputation conscious field. Those who graduate with PhDs from schools in the consesus top 10 or top 20 will have more job opportunities than those who attend lesser schools. This is particularly important to today's academic job market.

Try applying to market research positions (these hard to get but your social science skillset probably fits them well). If you know you want to go to grad school next year and only want to work part-time, you could try working for a tutoring company. Taking a year off is often a good idea. I didn't apply last fall and am very happy that I did this. Applications sent after senior year are often better because you have your senior awards on your CV and you have more off-time to concentrate on your applications and your GRE during your gap year. College is way more distracting than work! Also, if you want some advice about writing applications, shoot me a message.

Ansley Coale. Demographic transition theory and the European Fertility Project. Demographers count too!

Going to UNC. Committed earlier this week. Tough choice between UNC and Penn State.

The standard length SOP is 2 pages. I really don't think that it is necessary to modify your SOP much if every school has a standard SOP length. Like I said... I changed 2 paragraphs each time. All of the schools that I applied to didn't mention a different length... Btw.... xdarthevaganx... do you know Jim Hull at Irvine? He went to my alma mater!! Same academic adviser!

Maleficent999... that's very interesting. I was able to make a single SOP that fit each school. I just changed the parts about my interests and the faculty I wanted to work with. It probably depends how much your interests vary with the school. I discussed demography in my SOP and specified interests (like fertility, mortality, etc etc). Just make sure that your interests fit the department. You don't want to discuss your interest in ethnographies or social theory if you want to go to Penn State or say that you want to be a demographer in your Northwestern app.

Reputation is largely based off of historical record. Not necessarily about quality at the moment. For example, UNC has been known to have a top 10 sociology program for the last 50 years. Duke might have faculty that are as good but the UNC has more name recognition and it has more graduates in elite schools (networking). Also, some programs are very specialized which keeps their rankings down. Penn State has really good quantitative training and demographer faculty. However, they have very little variety otherwise. If you're applying for non-academic jobs or specifically demographer jobs... Penn State will probably look as good as UNC, UPenn, and Princeton. However, if you're trying for an academic position, schools usually look at the overall rank/reputation because schools usually look for sociologists in general (not demographers or ethnographers or anything else specific).

UCLA is a good program but I've heard some issues about its quantitative training (which is very important for a demographer). Ask current students their opinion on the issue.

Make sure that your personal statement matches the faculty at the program you are applying to. Send me a message if you want more details on how to format this. This approach was recommended to me by a well-known faculty member at UNC that I will be working with in the coming year. I ended up getting into 5/7 programs I applied to. I'm pretty sure this person's assistance contributed to my success. P.S. I would recommend applying to Penn State. They have a few great faculty who work on immigration. Their funding packages are pretty good and they have a very collegial department. Even providing RAships for your entire time in grad school. They have good placements and their quantitative training is top tier.