uselesstheory

Super jealous. I forgot to mention that I met Nancy Pelosi when she was Speaker of the House and have an awesome photo with her...I also met Boehner and he smoked cigarettes in his Capitol office, and my coworkers and I joked he probably has a personal tanning bed in his office.

It was, confirmed after a brief email exchange. That's a terrible mistake to make, especially if some people who received that email are on the wait list without any acceptances. Not the nicest thing to do to wait listed students...

Did anyone on the CUNY wait list happen to get an email about the visit day that congratulated them on their acceptance...?

NYU is probably a rejection, but UChicago could still offer you their terminal MA program (however, I think all PhD admissions have been sent). Someone correct me if I am wrong, of course!

This was unnecessary.

Music theory

Hey -- I know I responded to you on the sociology thread, but I do have some advice on this, especially because your background isn't in sociology (though a lot of this is obvious): You could, in theory, pay for the MA and get an elite institution's name on a degree with nothing else to show for it. This is the general picture we (the sociology thread people) have in our minds when we critique the sociology MA program at Columbia. However, you will be attending an elite institution, which means access to incredible faculty, incredible research resources/funding/opportunities, and, as a result, the ability to obtain incredible letters of recommendation if you work hard in your program, conduct good research, and publish. If you can really push yourself to do the best work/networking/conference presentations/pubs possible while at Columbia, you will absolutely do wonders for your career, and the Columbia MA will be more than worth it, especially if you have some money saved to make it less financially difficult. I know I am basically reiterating a more basic point I made on the other thread, but the Columbia MA can either be a way to lose money or it can be the opportunity for you to establish yourself as a noteworthy scholar and I have no doubt you can make the latter happen if that is what you envision for yourself.

From what I've heard -- it doesn't matter if you were accepted right away or accepted off the wait list: students typically do not know, within a cohort, unless you discuss it, and in either case, you are in the program because the program wants you. Usually acceptances vs. wait lists come down to funding and POIs (as well as the thoughts of the admissions committee, which may or may not contain faculty who have anything to do with your interests or POIs). If you get into a program off a wait list and want to attend, by all means, attend. However, I am speaking from my field-specific perspective, and I am especially unfamiliar with the 'hard' sciences with regard to this issue. In sociology, it seems to be more of a non-issue than an issue.

1. coming straight out of undergrad from a department that doesn't really provide many (if any at all) opportunities for undergrads to prepare for a phd program, let alone a highly ranked phd program 2. anxiety. there were new anxieties and fears at every step of the process, and it was really challenging to push through all of the uncertainty and fear (as such, it was also rewarding to overcome that fear). however, it seriously prevented me from reaching out to POIs as i would have liked to... 3. having a very unusual transcript, with mostly part-time semesters and having withdrawn once (but still completing my undergraduate degree in three years -- very confusing, i know) considering these three things, i got into a great program, which says a lot, especially for students with similar backgrounds as my own (unorthodox credit distribution, not reaching out to many faculty, not having years of research experience, no pubs/conferences, etc.)

Hi -- figured I'd start the IU thread for Fall 2015. Anyone headed here for a graduate program in the fall? I'll be a doctoral student in Sociology.

Anyone have information on queer life in Bloomington? I don't necessarily mean about the sexual aspect of it (specifically not the sexual aspect, actually -- more culture-related)...but all thoughts are welcome!

White wine and light beer.

In Sociology, after a Harvard rejection: "Got into all programs more highly ranked, so it fine." Stroke that ego to soothe the burn, yeah, yeah, I know how it goes...

I accidentally met David Sedaris after he spoke at my university. I was trying to find a shortcut out of the building after the event, through some basement tunnels, and I ran into him...pretty sure the other people with him thought I was in his group, and I just played along for a bit...

This is a very valid point. I think the decision (as to the "do I attend the MA program"? question) absolutely varies from person to person, and if it is the best move for your academic career, you know much better than anyone else! Especially (to note your other comment below) if you saved up money that makes the MA feasible, go for it. I was offering my perspective relative to my own situation and in no way want to be seen as criticizing people who choose to enter the program. Congratulations on the acceptance!

Thank you both -- I suppose I shouldn't worry too much, since I've already accepted the offer, anyway, and after thinking about it more, I agree with both of you. These were very helpful responses!

Also, to tack off of this question -- how "weird" of an appearance is acceptable? Is a nose ring okay to keep in? Tattoos would be hidden, but I have a pretty interesting haircut, which I can't change, other than making sure it's a natural hair color. I haven't encountered any problems before, but I don't want my first impression to be distracting or unprofessional. To respond to the question: I'd say a nice shirt and blazer with a nice pair of dress pants or corduroys. You don't have to wear a suit, for one, but a blazer is always a safe bet (I don't know your gender, but for anyone, it works).

This is pure speculation, but don't other sociology programs know that the Columbia and Chicago terminal MA programs are primarily money-making schemes? It seems as if departments would be familiar enough with this that unless a student coming from one of these programs (in a hypothetical situation in which someone applies to PhD programs after finishing the MA) demonstrated impressive improvement and accomplishments during their time completing the degree, the degree essentially is an expensive way to look good... Perhaps this is what letstalkshop is alluding to, and that makes a lot of sense. Personally, even if I did not receive any funded PhD offers, I would still turn down the Columbia MA acceptance given that I'd rather spend a year trying to publish, getting involved in research, networking, etc. (and working, of course) to reapply than going into significant debt with virtually the same future plan. I could make money during that time and still seriously improve my PhD applications, in theory. Debt isn't something to discuss lightly (referring to your post, TheoryOfTheories) -- and I expect better from sociologists than comments devaluing and dismissing minimum wage workers. $15 and a union, indeed!

I would say very opportunistic.

So I'm assuming no MA acceptance at Columbia (and no other news) probably means a rejection...

From what I know, top tier is either T5 or T20, depending on the person to whom you are speaking. That in itself speaks to the ambiguity surrounding ranking departments and institutions. For example, US News ranks Indiana-Bloomington #2 for social psych, though the ranking system posted above lists it at 11. There is definitely a lot of ambiguity when it comes to the top 20; different systems of ranking programs seem to shuffle T20 programs around depending on strange variables. However, outside the top schools, I get the sense that rankings stabilize and are more predictable. Correct me if I am wrong or making vast generalizations (I know in some rankings, Oregon has a pretty decent standing, whereas in others, it is completely ignored...). My main sense is that rankings can give us vague ideas of the prestige and strength of programs, but are largely subjective and lack any "scientific" validity regarding specific distinctions between, say, 10 and 12 and 15.

Karl is THE main man, always. Wish more soc programs had a Marxist lean, tbh.

I accepted my offer at Indiana - Bloomington. I am very, very excited to be going to this awesome program!

I know this may be a bit early in the season to start this thread, but I do know that people are starting to accept offers and make decisions, so...where are you going this fall?!

Has anyone already accepted a school's offer? I know it seems early, but I'm curious.