Tritonetelephone

I think the problem here is that you have been given too much information before your visit. It would have been better to evaluate the social climate of the area during your visit with a blank slate. The Irvine poster was probably writing from an UG perspective - which is going to be very different than your experiences, priorities, and interactions in a grad soc department. That's my opinion, anyway. I just don't want you to think that getting admitted somewhere better next year is going to be easy. This is my second year and I made big improvements to my app too, but so far have only gotten into my safeties.

No, I didn't . I haven't heard anything yet, but I'm less invested than ever. I did email UCSD on Tuesday and got no response, so maybe that's what changed my mind about emailing anybody else...

I definitely think a visit is OK, but I would be sure to focus on talking to current grad students so it doesn't seem like you're trying to influence their decisions at this point. Just let them know you're coming and ask if you can talk to some current grads... I would think that the profs would know about it too and might volunteer to meet with you as well if they feel its appropriate. If they ask why you're coming now (or maybe even if they don't), I would be open about your SO having been admitted and is excited about it so you'll be in the area. They want to know that you're committed to stay for a while.

Last year, the soc section was dead and this year it's alive and well!

Oh, I bet you're right!

I like this analogy a lot! Thanks, Sociologist. I agree with what's been said about needing to be passionate about your subject area. And I agree that theory/methods are important for your skill set. But if I'm already interested in something, it does become a huge plus to pursue it professionally if it's in demand. That's one reason I'm pursuing cultural and cognitive sociology as secondary interests - but I already had the passion to enjoy them. It's kind of like, when I was a kid, I was really interested in Math. I was great at Calculus in High School. But no one really pushed me to be an engineer, even though I might have been a good one and made a LOT more money. I'm happy now and love what I do, but I do have some regrets about that.

Anyone else think that 9500 was typo? I could believe 950... (I didn't apply - just going off of the results page.)

I've heard that it's VERY common to have the following thoughts during the first year: I can't do this. I'm stupid. How did I even get into this program? This is too hard. Etc. So I'm trying to prepare for that.

LOL

Since their open house is only 2 weeks away, I emailed the grad coordinator at UCSD this afternoon to find out my admission status. Haven't heard back yet... I also never received the email referenced in my WL letter from USC. Urgh!

Thanks!!! I hadn't thought about visiting my waitlisted schools... I probably won't either. Seems like kind of a waste.

I'll email on Wednesday. I can be patient. BTW, how's the funding????? (you probably don't know yet, but let us know when you hear!)

Yeah, but it's still only a top choice. I need to visit everywhere, but Delaware's "intangibles," like student-faculty relations and overall support, are going to be very hard to beat. Like I said, their students have plenty of opportunities to publish and their job placement rates are excellent, so prestige isn't necessarily the best predictor of career success.

Yeah. It was great!

Thanks, JPF and Nick. The competing-for-funding thing is just a lesson I learned when visiting a school this last weekend. Several of the grads talked about it, and they explained that it makes a big difference. They don't compete and were really happy and had good relationships with each other. The school might not be as prestigious as UT, but they still have awesome pubs/job placement stats. So remember that good dynamics and career success are not necessarily a trade-off! Just go visit and see what fits you best. Good luck!

Congrats! I guess that means if the rest haven't heard by Wednesday, it's a no.

Having visited UT and hated it even when it was my dream school last year, I would be more cautious than that. It's not a great environment for some. Especially find out if you have to compete with other grads for funding... schools that make you do that tend to have a MUCH less supportive air about them. I wouldn't want to go somewhere where I'd have to step over others to succeed. Prestige is good, but there are other things to keep in mind. Back to the topic at hand: should I just assume I'm on the waitlist for UCSD at this point? I haven't heard anything but many people have.

I haven't heard anything from SBU either. I was going to email Kimmel tomorrow... Are you a masculinities person, too? Who is at the other schools you applied to?

I heard nothing. Please let us know if they respond to your email!!

I'm out of town through Saturday to attend a conference at a school that's trying to recruit me. I just got an email from another school asking when would be a convenient time for a phone interview. I need to tell them that I can't talk until Monday... is that a big deal? Do I need to explain why it can't be today or tomorrow? Do I divulge that I'm at a conference until Monday? Do I mention it's at another school - to make it sound like I'm a competitive applicant? Advice, please :|

This has always been the climate of my relationship, too. Definitely not the case for everybody, I totally understand those that disagreed. But neither of us wants to hold the other back, and we're still very young and have no plans to marry, so... BTW, would it be ethically wrong to send in job applications on his behalf without him knowing, once I know where I'm going to be? (JK)

I don't think it's unusual at all for the school to not know about funding yet. You may not find out during the visit either, but it would be absurd for them to pressure you into a decision before knowing about funding. Don't worry about it - just be patient.

I don't want to make dirkduck worry more, but I got the email unprompted. So definitely contact them.

If you're sure that it wasn't sent to an alternative email address, it might be a good idea to contact them tomorrow. Maybe they had your email address wrong, but would use the same one to notify you this week? Good luck, everybody!

I'm sorry to hear that widefellow! I still haven't heard anything at all. They sure are taking their sweet time to disappoint us one by one!