uselesstheory

All of a sudden, things feel very...real. Good luck to all!

I had a dream that one of my first choice schools rejected me but took the time to specify exactly how terrible my SOP was...and sent me a T shirt that said something along the lines of "X School thinks I suck" I woke up terrified that I had actually submitted the SOP that I had apparently written in the dream

Thank you all so much for your replies. They helped me envision, to an extent, what a trans person can expect in the academic environment...I think it will be very important to carefully examine each department's atmosphere before I make any decision (obviously, I intended to do this before, but it is good to know specific things to keep in mind) if I am granted admission anywhere! If a department isn't respectful, I would not want to be a part of it anyway, and that's a really good point you all made (directly or indirectly).

The title is mostly self-explanatory: what is the general attitude among academics/in academia about trans colleagues and graduate students? Obviously, this varies by department and discipline (I am assuming sociology is a safer atmosphere for trans people than others, but this is an assumption), but I am quite curious. If anyone has personal experience, that would be even better, but I am hoping for any perspective. I do not want to generalize my overall positive experience with one department (mostly, with one exception) to all of academia.

@ktk: I'm generally pretty anxious when it comes to situations in which I have absolutely no control - so knowing that an admissions committee will decide my fate sooner than later (sooner, hopefully) makes me terrified, because it's out of my hands and entirely unknown. However, I actually feel much calmer than I did while I was working on my applications, because right now, I actually have the time to distract myself and do things I like! I think that if we were given an exact, guaranteed date by which we'd hear back, I'd be more relaxed, since I wouldn't be frantically checking statuses and emails every second (a bit of hyperbole, but I'm sure you know what I mean).

One of my mentors told me four was the maximum I should apply to; another mentor told me such a limit was ridiculous. I ended up disregarding any input about numbers of programs and just went for the places that were the best fit. This is a bit of a reiteration of the above, but basically, do what you think is right. This is your future!

I had to spend my New Year's Eve with my emotionally abusive grandmother...and was with her for three days prior to that. I now know what "drive me to drink" REALLY means (worse than applying to grad school, huge fights with a best friend, etc.) - I am just shocked I didn't scream at some point. The worst part is, I feel like a terrible person for disliking my grandmother so strongly, and "strongly/dislike" are understatements.

Different programs may ask for specific and different formats for essays (and other application documents), so check to make sure you follow those guidelines!

I'm learning how to cook creative (and sorta gourmet) food with what I find around my kitchen! Also, I want to take a week-long phone/email/social media hiatus, but my research job and - ironically - knowledge that programs may be emailing me makes that a difficult plan to put into action. The last time I did that, it was very, very helpful, though.

I have really vivid dreams/nightmares that I thought I had under control until recently - with the stress of waiting to hear back from programs, I've been plagued with horrible grad admissions-related nightmares and other really scary ones that I can only imagine are symbolic in some grad school-related way. Going for walks and writing/drawing/doing DIY stuff has helped me destress and refocus my energy a lot. It's more helpful for me to spend time with my friends who aren't very familiar with the PhD program applying process (or anything about PhDs, really), because we can have fun and completely forget about that decision that looms over my head. Hopefully you can find a few easy and relaxing outlets like that to distract you and bring a bit of calm.

I had two nightmares about the quality of my SOP this week - Needless to say, my anxiety dreams cannot change anything about my acceptance/rejection chances now. Re: emailing profs: wouldn't it be seen as too late now, and perhaps as a "last ditch effort" to get a possible advantage in the admissions process? If I am wrong, please ignore this, as I do not want to hurt anyone's chances of getting in touch with a POI!

Scores are mostly used for cut-offs, though sometimes schools will waive fees if an applicant's scores are high (I do not know if this happens with sociology departments, though), but no score can guarantee anything other than that your application will be read, to reiterate what SocInTheCity said. Considering your other stats, I think you can be successful without relying on your GRE scores to give you a huge advantage -- publications are very important, but LORs are quite important, so I understand your concern. Best of luck!

Thank you all for your feedback. I agree, and hopefully I can stop worrying about things like this now that my applications are submitted!

I'm in a field where contacting and communicating with POIs is not as important as it is in others (in fact, a lot of sociology professors have told me and other students to not email POIs), which is why I am uncertain about this situation: One of my profs (also a recommendation writer) knows a POI at one school to which I'm applying, and I did work under my prof that used a lot of this POI's work as foundation - he helped me draft an email to this person, and suggested I attach a short sample of my writing pertaining to the POI's work. My professor spoke to her about the work I did for him and said that she was impressed (not with me, specifically, though - the project as a whole). I never heard back from this POI. Does this mean, without a question, that she is not interested? I'm kind of assuming this, but I also know that I left her with all of the information she would have wanted from further emails, and that my professor would not have helped me contact her if he did not think she would want to work with me. I'm just looking for peace of mind (either to know I should focus my attention elsewhere, or to know there is some hope for this school/POI still).

I withdrew from a semester (medically approved) because of a serious illness, and addressed it as exactly that - I took time off because of an acute health problem that has since been resolved and is no longer relevant, especially in the context of my studies. If you feel like you need to address any sort of related "blemish" on your transcript, keep it short, vague, and positive. It is probably best to address withdrawals rather than assume an admissions committee will not care: they do care. That being said, the less specific, the better. Mentioning mental health problems is (unfortunately - stigma is a terrible thing) a bad idea in applications.

I am essentially ghostwriting a friend's chapter in a volume about a very specific topic that I have theorized and re-theorized; because I have experience writing about this topic, my friend asked for my help, and although I am enjoying being able to freely write on something not connected with my formal academic studies, I have realized that my contributions are quite significant and theoretically strong, and I feel as if my friend is essentially stealing my work. I don't know if I should demand credit or if the fact that the work is so far out of my field and that my relationship with my friend may seem odd to the larger academic realm in which I may end up very soon makes it more of a "for fun" type of thing, even if it will end up in a book, with my friend's name and my ideas.... The problem is that once I get sucked into a project, intellectually, I can't extract myself from it, so I can't easily stop thinking about the theoretical work I've done and can't easily stop developing it further. Is my work being stolen? Am I just letting it happen? Blah.

staying up late, parties, young adult fiction, deviled eggs, florida (? do people like florida? because in any case, i do not)

I've heard that as long as the recommendations are in by the time applications are actually reviewed, there is no need to worry and you will not be penalized. Admissions committees are full of professors who know how other professors can be with these things.

SUNY Buffalo would be a decent fit for your interests, is somewhat city-like, and offers the possibility of funding/scholarships for MA students. However, I'd guess that PhD students receive most funding and most opportunities, given that it is an R1 school. It's also not very highly ranked, but it would be a decent back up.

It certainly sounds like you were accepted (in which case: congratulations!) - but I'm not familiar with the school's application system, so if you're confused, email the grad coordinator and I'm sure they will be able to clarify.

Just to echo @eteshoe: include it if relevant! I just want to emphasize that including HS experience is okay if it is relevant and professional (as yours is, as opposed to a high school club, perhaps).

This is true, mostly: as long as your recommenders have their letters in before the committee actually begins reviewing applications, you're fine. So a week or so after the deadline isn't a problem, but it is best to notify the department grad secretary if they're going to be late, just to make sure and give a heads up.

I honestly filled in nothing - I can only afford a PhD program if I'm funded by Chicago/the program, and I wasn't going to write "I could try to find a minimum wage job if things get rough" or "my parents probably would throw 20 bucks at me if I were about to lose my apartment"...I thought that section was weird. I was doubting my decision to not write anything, though. I'd say ask the department if you're confused and think it's important, because I'm not sure if my approach was correct. Edit: I did list university support, though. So I basically did what your hunch is to do.

@anna_M: where are you applying? I have not really heard of Skyping with POIs before applying in this field, at least from what I've read on here, so that's very impressive. Edit: I'm on mobile and just realized you're in IR, not soc?

I applied to sociology PhD programs and used a research proposal (around 20 pages) as one of my writing samples, and my professors/advisers were very supportive and encouraging of that decision. I think a book review would also work well -- really, anything that shows your writing ability (and is relevant to sociology) would suffice, as long as it meets the page/word requirements!