Hey all! Lurker, but wanted to chime in. I was admitted to Penn State this morning and am over the moon excited! Still in disbelief. The reason I wanted to chime in is to give hope to those that may get rejected from all of the schools they applied to; a horrible, but possible reality. I applied to nine schools, mostly top 20 schools, last year and was rejected from all of them. It was devastating, to say the least, and left me feeling depressed and confused about my life direction. But I decided I wasn't giving up and reapplied this year, shortly after finishing my M.S. in Sociology. I was given advice from a dear professor that my fatal mistake was not reaching out to faculty members at the schools I had applied to and to try this tactic for round two. I emailed faculty members at multiple schools, receiving some positive and other neutral responses, but had really positive feedback from Penn State, including a phone convo with the director. So, to those that may not receive an offer this year, don't give up if it's what you really want. It's really tough to get rejected, I feel your pain, but tenacity can pay off. Good luck to all, and I am excited to meet my future colleagues of sociology throughout our careers!