IncomingPhD2017

Additionally, UPenn has only sent out a few acceptances, so I'm still waiting to hear from them...

Feel like I gotta vent here for a moment. I'm feeling pretty despondent. I've received 3 rejections, and I only applied to the 5 schools where I felt my fit was strongest. I have excellent GRE scores and a publication in a sociological journal, which I wrote independently after undergrad. I know these are competitive programs but I thought I'd get into at least one of them. Not sure what else I can do to improve myself other than getting a MA first, which is what I'll aim to do now. Thanks for reading :/

I'm right there with you. Haven't heard a thing from UCSD either way. I'm really appreciating the blunt rejection from Princeton now!

The silence from UCSD is killing me... I'm tempted to take their silence as a rejection, since they seemed to send many notifications these last two days. :/

To those who received word from Rutgers today, did you previously have an interview? I'm habitually checking my status for Rutgers but it continues to say "No Decision."

I also eagerly await any sign of life from UCSD...good to know I'm not alone!

Congrats on the acceptance! Based on your research interests you might find this book a worthwhile read: To Live in Peace, by Mark Gornik.

Today was the first I've seen; in years past it looks like they are very diligent about sending all of their acceptances in a two-day window, and then their rejections a few days later. So it seems like all acceptances from Princeton should be sent out by Tuesday evening.

Congrats! Are you the one who has an MPhil from the UK? Mind if I ask where you studied? I'm considering applying for master's degrees in the UK since they have several schools that align well with my interests (culture, social psychology, technology, online/digital studies.)

They may have sent out all the interviews, but the interview is optional for admission to Rutgers. At least, that's what it seems like from looking at their website, though of course I may have missed something! :/

To the person who has the UCLA acceptance and who was "super shocked. I had 1 publication, 2 under review"... why are you shocked?! That's good experience! Also congrats. Now to share my own stats, at the request of Starbuck2015; overall I feel pretty average. GRE: 158 quant, 166 verbal, 5.5 essays; GPA 3.5; no master's degree. But I think that I fit very well with the few programs I applied to, and my best quality is my publication: I was able to publish an article right out of undergrad, in the subfield that I want to pursue for my PhD. So I think that's what makes me most competitive.

Nothing from Rutgers here. Based on previous years, we should hear from Rutgers about interviews pretty soon...

The MIT HASTS program also has an interview process. Not sure when they send out emails for it, though. I think in years past, they haven't sent out their notifications by this point; seems they do things a bit later than most.

Yes, I was able to publish it the summer after I graduated from undergrad. I really just dove into the process myself; I had an interesting idea and started to write on it, and when my prof saw what I was working on he told me to pursue publication. From that point, I worked on my literature review for the article and submitted it to a few journals. It was rejected by the first, but accepted by the second. I'm not sure how much help I can be, unfortunately; I think the process can be simpler than it seems, it just remains unknown if you don't try it out. I will say, it consumed many, many hours of my time. I had to work very hard for my literature and to bring it all together. But I think it was worth it!

Interesting to hear your thoughts on the UK as an insider; to me it looks perfect! But of course I know that it can't actually be perfect. I'm sure the master's degree will help you immensely. My background is also not in sociology, though I do have a minor in it from undergraduate. The only reason I'm applying to PhD programs directly without first getting a master's degree is because I was able to publish an article. I'm hoping my article will be the extra push I need to get into the top-tier programs that I've applied for. Otherwise, I'll be applying for and pursuing a terminal master's degree first. (And actually, I was published in Sociology, one of the British Sociological Association's journal.) I'm interested in social psychology and issues of identity, selfhood, etc. as they pertain to online interaction. My interests may change through the years of my master's/PhD, but this is what interests me most right now.

I'm interested in the same things, so I can tell you where I'm applying. I'm applying to Princeton, UC San Diego, Rutgers, Boston University, MIT (their HASTS degree), University of Pennsylvania. I almost applied to: Duke, Brandeis, NYU (Media and Communications). I'm also interested in why you are looking to come to the US. I've thought about getting my master's in the UK rather than jumping into the full PhD program because it seems like there are more people in the UK doing research on the internet and culture.

Not sure if OP is still answering questions on here, but maybe someone else can help me. My concern echoes a thread I just posted as well: Did you come across any applications that were overtly religious, and did this adversely effect the application? I ask because, while I don't plan on mentioning religion in my SOP or writing sample, I did do 1 year of graduate work at a seminary (working towards a Master of Divinity). I'm wondering how much, if at all, this will impact my application. Feel free to answer here or on my post: Thanks!

I find myself in a bit of predicament and was hoping for some advice. Many programs require that I list all schools attended, which would include a Master's degree that I did not finish. I do not want to list this, but I fear getting "caught" not listing it (which I find frustrating, because I feel it should be my right to withhold that specific information...) But what further complicates this issue (or merely frustrates me) is my master's degree was a Master of Divinity, ie. I went to a theological seminary and then decided to switch to Sociology, which leads me to where I am today. So, I suppose I have to list my year at seminary for those schools that demand complete knowledge of my educational history. But, do you think that putting this seminary on my applications will significantly hurt my chances of getting into a program? Sociology is staunchly secular, and I was hoping to avoid mentioning my religion on my application; has anyone else had this particular issue arise in their application process? And, should I list the seminary even for those schools that don't explicitly request a listing of my complete educational history? I should also mention that my grades were fine at the seminary, all A's with only a few B's. So the issue is not my grades, but just the seminary as a religious institution itself. I am a fairly strong candidate otherwise, though not exceptionally strong; my GRE is 166 verbal, 158 quant, 5.5 writing, and my main strength is that I have a publication in an academic journal even though I'm coming straight from undergrad (with the exception of the year spent at a seminary). But this issue with the seminary is troubling me a bit. Any thoughts and ideas are much appreciated.