Anonymona

Oh no! If it makes you feel better, I didn't hear back from one of my recommenders for a month. I was getting super nervous, and then he submitted it right before the deadline out of the blue. Phew. I haven't submitted all of my applications yet, but I'm already anxious to hear back. Anyone else like this? I keep reading old threads from this site as if they'll give me some perspective, but they just make me more nervous. This waiting game is (already) the worst.

Oh man, tell me about it. December and January are going to be a struggle to get through. I applied to schools mainly in the northeast and two in California. My interests fall between medical and cultural sociology (mainly in how people interact with ideas about preventative health). I reached out to POIs at four schools, and I wish I had for the final three (but it seems far too late now). What about you?

Question: How are you all confirming that the school has received all of your application materials? Should I trust the "check status" page, or should I call/e-mail as well? Can't tell whether I'm being paranoid or cautious. Current grad students, please share your wisdom as well.

Tiny celebration: thanks to December 1 deadlines, four of my applications are now complete! I'm somewhere between awe, relief, and unrelenting panic. I hope everyone else had successful December-first-deadline-days as well!

Hi strategicallyessential, I'm not sure whether it's too late or not, BUT I e-mailed a few faculty in August/September and I found it really helpful. The e-mail I sent was a very brief summary of my background and research interests, and included a sentence showing how our interests are related. I also asked if that professor frequently works with graduate students and, if admitted, what opportunities I might have to collaborate with them (I can't remember my exact wording, but something like that). All of the professors I e-mailed replied, and I found their responses helpful for two reasons: 1) some of them confirmed that our research interests are a good fit and encouraged me to apply, but said they wait until after admissions decisions are sent to talk to students at length. Although they probably won't remember my name come admissions time, I can be fairly confident that they'll probably be around for a few more years (not retiring or considering a move), and are vaguely interested in my work. 2) others responded with a lot of really helpful guidance, pointing me in the direction of research centers, other faculty, and other programs I should also consider applying to. They also gave me a better idea of their current research, and as a result, I had an easier time tailoring my SOPs. Based on my own experience, I'd encourage you to send out a few e-mails. What can it really hurt? Also, does the faculty member you mentioned teach sociology? I've gotten mixed feedback about contacting departments as well, but (from my very limited experience), I've noticed that my friends/professors in anthropology tend to emphasize it a little more.

Hi all, Since we're in the thick of our applications (or at least I am....), I thought we could use an outlet for this super stressful process (via this thread). How are your applications going? Anything you're super proud of? Anything making you nervous? I know I've finished a few SOPs (which is exciting!), but even after editing, having friends proofread, and proofreading myself, I'm still nervous there are typos or gaps that I just can't see. Also, the writing sample.

These are more food studies focused, but you might want to look through the programs on this list: http://www.food-culture.org/food-studies-programs/

Hi all, I found this over the summer when I was reading through old posts on this site, and I found the advice helpful and succinct. I figured I'd share! (I can't remember where/when I saw it, so my apologies if it was actually posted recently and I'm being redundant). https://sites.google.com/site/gradappadvice/home

Just from the way I'm constructing my own list, I consider Yale and NYU top-tier programs. I don't know as much about UT Austin, but I've heard it's a great program. Both Yale and NYU are ranked in the top 20, and have acceptance rates at or below 7% (based on the stats I've been able to dig up), so they're just as competitive as schools in the top 10. They also seem very well regarded with incredibly accomplished faculty. I'm sure some might disagree with me, but that's just how I'm going about constructing my list. Have you consulted the ASA Guide to Graduate Departments of Sociology? If you have access to a college library, they might have a copy. They list departments with strong tech, knowledge, and environmental programs. It might be a good way to target your search. Good luck!

Hey hey! I'm applying (and biting all of my nails off) this year as well. I took the GRE in June, so that's out of the way. I'm using August to write a few personal statements. I have a super short list of 3 programs I know I want to apply to, and then a long list of others I need to narrow down. I'm planning to apply to 6 (maybe 7?) schools - is that too low?

Hi all, Does anyone have a sense of how adcomms react to applicants who discuss professors and resources outside of the immediate department in their personal statement? I assume it varies by school and probably by person. I think I've seen one school that encouraged it, and I have yet to see commentary elsewhere. I ask because I'm interested in the sociology of food and nutrition, and quite often I find faculty and courses in anthropology, public health, etc. that would be excellent resources (and, honestly, are a huge pull factor for me). Is it a good idea to bring this up, or will it leave adcomms wondering why I'm applying for a PhD in sociology rather than an MPH?

Thanks for your responses so far, very helpful. I what I'm still confused about is leveraging "reach" (top 20 or top 30) schools and "safety" (still selective, obviously, but less prestigious and slightly less selective). I'm thinking about applying to 5-6 schools with a decent fit in the top 20(ish), and then 2 schools outside of top ranked programs. My rationale is that getting into top programs can be such a crapshoot that I want to optimize my chances there, but still have some options if they don't pan out. My other problem is that I'm not sure if I would actually attend my "back up" schools, so I'm not excited about spending the extra time/money applying to them (working with excellent faculty anywhere is great, but why commit to 5 more years of school if there are not jobs waiting?) But then again, the counter argument to that is what if I only apply to super selective programs and don't get in. So my logic just keeps going in circles. So, more specifically, what do you think of my logic? How did you classify the schools applied to, and how did it work out for you? All feedback appreciated. Side note: I don't love the the concept of "reach" and "safety" schools, nor do I love the elitism inherent in conversations about top tier schools, but I to think they're realities that I unfortunately have to navigate during the application process.

Hi all! I'll be applying to PhD programs this winter for fall 2015 admit. I'm currently in the process of creating a short list of schools I'd like to attend. I can't help but notice and be completely intimidated by how selective these programs are (or, at the very least, the schools that publish statistics are). Apart from finding schools that were a good fit, how did you choose which schools to apply to? How did you leverage dream schools, back up schools, and schools somewhere in-between? How did you figure out which were which? How many programs did you (or do you wish you had) apply to? Do you have any other insight about how to choose which schools to apply to?